Weston Select Board Approves $200,000 ARPA Funds for Water Asset Management

WESTON — July 16, 2024 — Weston Select Board approves $200,000 in ARPA funds for a water asset management program and honors police accreditation. Meeting at the Weston Police Station in a special session, the three-member board voted unanimously to allocate the federal American Rescue Plan Act money for a software-and-field-inventory program of the town's water infrastructure; the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will reimburse $150,000 of that cost, leaving Weston's net exposure at $50,000. Town Manager Leon Gomond warned that Weston's roughly $2.8 million in uncommitted ARPA funds must be committed by December 31, 2024, and fully spent by the end of 2025, creating pressure around pending water tank expenditures. The board also unanimously appointed financial services attorney Samantha Cooper as a trustee of the Merriam Fund and attorney Eileen Faber to the Conservation Commission, both for terms expiring June 30, 2027. Police Chief Linehan credited Lieutenant Dan Costa with driving the department's Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission certification — achieved after meeting 274 mandatory and 83 optional standards — calling it "a credit to everyone here."