Weston Select Board unanimously backs $1.53 million fire station design request

WESTON — November 14, 2023 — Weston Select Board cuts fire station design request from $4.5 million to $1.53 million. The board voted 3-0 Tuesday night to support the reduced article for the upcoming special town meeting, with member Christopher Houston proposing the compromise after engineering firm Tecton confirmed the smaller amount could fund a first phase of design work — including a structured review of whether the original $50-to-$60-million two-station plan is the right approach. Member Thomas Palmer, previously a holdout, said a tour of both stations with Town Manager Leon Goleman confirmed "doing nothing is not an option," and said the revised scope addressed his concern that a $4.5 million ask carried too much inertia toward a predetermined outcome. Finance Committee Chair Lisa Ritano told the board her committee had voted 7 to 1 to oppose the original article and had not reconvened to assess the new figure, leaving the measure headed to town meeting without Finance Committee support. The board also voted unanimously to appoint Robert Ritano to a vacancy on the Commissioners of Trust Funds and to seat Harvey Bozzard as chair of a new Town Governance Study Committee.