Attend the Weston Special Town Meeting

7:00 pm Wednesday, March 12, Weston High School Auditorium

Recent Progress

The Warrant Articles for this infrastructure project were voted down again at last December’s Town Meeting.  Since then, three constructive and positive developments have helped to clarify the underpinnings of the water-related Warrant Articles that will, once again, be in front of voters on March 12th. 

First, a Water Tank Working Group was formed and has held extensive discussions through multiple meetings over recent weeks. The increased transparency and access have expanded resident participation, allowing voters to raise important questions and providing better insight into the project. The Working Group has also delivered better project planning and significant progress toward meeting our town's critical water infrastructure needs.  

Second, the Select Board has made an important commitment to engaging an Owner's Project Manager (OPM). This independent expert will conduct peer reviews of all key design features, adding a needed layer of oversight to this landmark project.

Third, the town’s engineering firm, Wright-Pierce, has put forth a detailed milestone chart that has incorporated, integrated and sequenced all of the work that is required to get from the project’s current status to a fully-engineered, fully-specified, fully-peer-reviewed, and “financeable” solution to Weston’s many water-related challenges. And that timeline has significant implications for Warrant Article 3, the proposed authorization of funds.

Project Timeline

Wright-Pierce has estimated the following key completion dates:

Tank Siting: April 2025

Land Swaps: October 2025

Final Detailed Design: July 2026

Application for Low-cost Financing: August 2026

Issuance of Bidding Documents: September 2026

Voting Recommendations

How has this affected our view of the upcoming Warrant Articles?

When you attend the Special Town Meeting on March 12th, you will find that the Articles on which you are asked to vote are not the same as the Articles in the Warrant that was mailed to residents.  The responses of the Water Tank Working Group to the questions that have been raised by residents have resulted in four different proposals and have confirmed that the most important pieces of work in front of us are (i) finalizing the siting of the tanks, (ii) finalizing the land swaps required to support the siting plans, and (iii) completing a Detailed Design.  Therefore, we support only three of the four proposals:
Article 1: YES
Article 2: YES
Article 3; Motion 1: YES
Article 3; Motion 2: NO

Article 1: Authorize Land Exchange for Water Tanks Project and Filing of Article 97 Legislation

Vote in Favor. The proposed land swaps appear appropriate and include sufficient oversight and approval processes, and the government approval process required to complete those land swaps will afford all residents or abutters an opportunity to raise questions or objections.

Article 2: Amend Zoning By-Laws — Municipal Utility Structure Standards 

Vote in Favor. Although the final wording for the by-law amendment was still being refined as recently as late last week, our understanding is that the version being presented at the Special Town Meeting limits the variance specifically to the water tanks at the three currently proposed locations and includes only safety related appurtenances. It also includes protections and reasonable limitations on municipal by-right variances, making it an acceptable compromise.

Article 3: Appropriate for Water System Improvements

Article 3 has been split into two motions to separate the request for design funding from the request for full project construction funding. This allows voters to consider each phase independently rather than committing to construction costs before a detailed design is complete.

Article 3; Motion 1. Vote in Favor. Motion 1 is a proposal to authorize $2 million of additional design funds for completing the Detailed Design of the project. 

Article 3; Motion 2. Vote Against. Motion 2 seeks to authorize $39.6 million for estimated construction costs, but it should not be approved for the following reasons:

• Premature Approval – Construction funding is not required at this stage for the project to move forward.

• No Benefit to the Town – Pre-funding broad cost estimates offers no advantage before a peer-reviewed, detailed design is completed in July 2026.

• Uncertain Costs – Without a finalized design, cost estimates, or bids, we have no way of knowing the actual funding needed—approving this now is effectively signing a blank check.

• No Preferential Financing – Contrary to misinformation circulating on social media, the town will not qualify for preferential state financing this year.

• No Effect on Balancing Debt Load — Contrary to misinformation circulating on social media, voting now to simply appropriate nearly $40 million is not the same as borrowing $40 million, and we won’t be ready to borrow those funds for more than a year.

For these reasons, we urge voters to reject Motion 2.

What can you do?

Democracy requires active participation. The decisions made at this Special Town Meeting on March 12th are important to Weston’s future, and your voice matters. Your vote matters.

We encourage every resident to:

1. Attend the Town Meeting on March 12th at 7:00 PM at Weston High School.

2. Review the Select Board Water Tank Working Group meeting videos: https://www.westonma.gov/AgendaCenter

3. Review the project details at Weston's official websitehttps://www.westonma.gov/1828/Water-Tank-Replacement-Project.