Weston Select Board sets tax-deferral limit, approves Pollywog gas-line variance

WESTON — March 11, 2020 — Weston Select Board maps town meeting contingencies as coronavirus closes schools. Meeting hours after Superintendent announced schools would close March 12 through March 18, the board heard Town Administrator Leon describe ramped-up cleaning protocols, a continuity-of-operations plan that could move payroll printing to the police station, and a request that residents avoid Town Hall trips. Town counsel told the board the moderator may recess a posted town meeting for 30 days under M.G.L. c. 39, § 10A in a public-safety emergency, and that less than a quorum can continue a posted meeting beyond that. No statutory mechanism exists to move the April 9 annual town election; the secretary of the commonwealth has filed emergency legislation. The board unanimously set the fiscal 2021 property-tax deferral income limit at $90,650, kept interest at 4 percent, and granted a street-opening variance to longtime resident Tom Selldorff at 14 Pollywog Lane to bring gas service through pavement under a five-year cutting moratorium.