Weston Finance Committee backs train depot funds with 75-percent private-match condition

WESTON — September 25, 2025 — Weston Finance Committee votes 7-0 to support $18,000 train depot study while demanding 75-percent private match on future costs. The committee, chaired by Bharath Venkataraman, attached a formal position paper to its support for the citizens petition article, stating it will not back additional town funding for the privately owned historic depot — outside the normal Community Preservation Committee process — until at least 75 percent of estimated total project costs are raised from private and other non-town sources. An earlier motion by Matthew Seltzer to oppose the article outright failed 2-4, with Rebecca Kantar arguing the town should be "the last money in and the first money in" on any major restoration work. The committee also unanimously endorsed a $483,695 budget correction package covering a Middlesex Retirement actuarial shortfall of $115,004, $211,548 for EPA-mandated lead and copper water-line work, $100,000 for smart water meter purchases, $20,000 for MBTA 3A consulting, and a $37,143 recreation enterprise deficit, with funds to come primarily from free cash.