Weston Select Board Votes 2-1 to Place $60 Million Fire Station Design on Warrant

WESTON — October 24, 2023 — Weston Select Board sends $60 million fire station design article to special town meeting over one member's dissent. The board voted 2-1 Tuesday to place the fire station design fee article on the November special town meeting warrant, with Member John F. McDonald voting no, citing the project's scale and the absence of alternative options in the public record. Chair Lise N. Revers and Member Chris Houston voted in favor, with Houston arguing the town cannot defer critical infrastructure: "This isn't like a JST or an old library where it's an option — at some point we're going to need to do this." McDonald countered that a project "this being the biggest by two or three x" of prior capital projects deserved more open public process before reaching voters. The board also unanimously approved a slate of consent agenda articles including a $16,500 Board of Health permit software appropriation and an $8,200 supplemental cable franchise fee allocation to Weston Media Center, and added stretch energy code and an Affordable Housing Trust home repair grant program — offering grants up to $15,000 for deed-restricted unit owners — to the warrant for full town meeting debate.