Weston Select Board considers replacing all three water tanks at once

WESTON — March 14, 2023 — Weston Select Board weighs $35 million three-tank water replacement as town meeting warrant reaches $105 million. At the March 14 meeting, Town Manager Leon Gaucher walked the board through a draft warrant totaling roughly $105.1 million — a 2.6 percent increase over the current year — anchored by a $92.9 million combined operating budget, with Finance Director Susan Leger estimating the tax rate at $12.10 per thousand. The most contested item was whether to ask town meeting voters to authorize replacing all three municipal water tanks at an estimated $35 million, up from a two-tank plan at $26.2 million; Gaucher said Finance Committee members urged the larger scope, and engineers believe bidding two similar tanks together yields cost savings. Member Rebecca J. Mercuri cautioned that funding the project entirely through the water enterprise fund risked pushing rates up roughly 40 percent, describing a likely mix of enterprise, ARPA, and general fund sources. The board also heard a proposed wetlands protection bylaw from Conservation Commission Chair Joe Berman, who called it "a very minor deal" codifying existing policy for vernal pools and isolated vegetated wetlands, and unanimously appointed Sean Rush to the Conservation Commission and set the fall Special Town Meeting for November 28.