Priorities

Encouraging commercial growth, while maintaining the unique small town character of Westwood, is important to Westwood’s future. Smart development which is addressed in a respectful and participatory way will add further vibrancy to the Town and allow us to effectively manage our split tax rate - thereby reducing the burden of residential property taxes. We should also continue to focus on the need for diversified and affordable housing, so that our seniors and young people can also live in Westwood. Proactively attracting new businesses to Westwood will bolster new growth and the commercial tax base.

Our nationally-recognized school system excels in the education of our children. The Pinehill School now stands as a beacon for both energy efficiency and academic excellence in the state, and I am proud to have supported that effort on the Select Board. We must ensure that the needs of each student, and our standards of excellence, are continually met, and that our children are well-prepared to enter the global economy.

Due to careful stewardship, the Town enjoys a strong financial position with a Triple A bond rating that supports our debt financing. We should build upon this success for the long-term financial sustainability of the Town, with an emphasis on conservative fiscal management and balancing the needs of the community.

Our Department of Youth & Family Services has expanded its reach to meet the needs of our families, and we must continue to seek opportunities to increase support for all residents to ensure that public health needs, particularly including the mental health needs of our youth, are met.

Westwood has shown commitment toward being a welcoming and caring place in which to live, work and learn. We must continue to work to ensure that Westwood is a supportive, safe and inclusive community for all residents, recognizing that the diversity within our community is a source of the strength and character of our town. Westwood is making strides in prioritizing universal access with respect to all Town resources and policies. The work of the Human Rights Task Force and the varied contributions of our diverse community should be supported in working toward strengthening our connections to and mutual respect for each person in our community.

Our town government is of, by, and for the people. Our Home Rule authority as a town is predicated upon our Town Meeting - which in turn depends upon active public engagement. Our town boards’ meetings are open, transparent and largely recorded, and active participation by residents in matters leading up to Town Meeting - our Legislature - results in better governance.

Our well-being as residents in Westwood depends upon the protection provided to us by our police and fire departments. We are extremely fortunate to be served by the dedicated members of the Westwood Fire Department and Westwood Police Department, led by Chief Steve Lund and Chief Jeffrey Silva, respectively. I have been a vocal advocate for public safety since my tenure on FinCom. I remain committed to maintaining and adapting our public safety service to meet the evolving needs as the Town grows.
Westwood now has the opportunity to replace our main fire station on High Street (Fire Station 1 - or “FS1”). Built in 1948 and last renovated in 1975, the replacement of FS1 is an urgent need, because the current FS1 no longer meets the needs of the community and does not provide a safe working environment for our firefighters. The current fire house is undersized, inaccessible, and was not built to sustain the weight of today’s apparatus. As a result, the apparatus bay floors are deteriorating, requiring steel supports in the level below to support them, and limiting the useable space in the station. The station no longer meets applicable fire safety and building codes and our firefighters are continually exposed to known contaminants which threaten their health and well-being. In addition, the current fire station is inaccessible for people with disabilities and does not provide adequate facilities for the men and women in the Department who serve us.
The need to replace FS1 was formally identified by the Public Safety Facilities Task Force which convened in 2013, during my tenure on FinCom, to analyze the needs of our public safety facilities. Comprised of town elected officials, consultants, staff, and community members, the Task Force recommended a phased approach to address Westwood’s three aging public safety facilities - the replacement of Fire Station 2 in Islington (“FS2”) due to University Station and apparatus, followed by the replacement of the police station and then Fire Station 1. The Town was able to accomplish the replacement of both FS2 and the police station via borrowings within Proposition 2 ½, without increasing taxes on residents, due to the new growth from University Station. While the intention was to proceed with addressing FS1, around the time that the Police Station was constructed, the process had been started for acceptance of an important elementary school project in the Massachusetts School Building Assistance program. Recognizing that two projects coming forward at the same time would be daunting for all of us as taxpayers, the work on replacing FS1 was put on hold.
In order to meet the public safety needs of our community and protect our firefighters, waiting to replace FS1 is no longer a viable option. As Select Board Chair, I was proud to have successfully led the effort to obtain Town Meeting’s approval (at the Special Town Meeting in January of 2024) to expend $3.5M ($2.1M from Free Cash and $1.4M in American Rescue Plan Act funds) to pay for the design and bid documents for a new FS1 which will meet the needs of Westwood and protect our firefighters. Since January of 2024, the Town has hired an architect and Project Manager for the design process, and the requirements for a new FS1 have been identified in close consultation with our Fire Chief and members of the WFD. Based on the Operational Study and Feasibility Study commissioned by the Select Board in 2022, and after careful consideration, it was decided that new construction at the current site of FS1 is the most cost-effective option with the highest priority given to minimizing response times.
The proposed design for the new FS1 has been vetted by the Select Board in collaboration with other Town boards and staff and has been discussed at numerous public meetings including community forums. The FS! Design recently received approvals from the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals and is scheduled to come before Town Meeting on May 19, 2025, with bids in hand. The projected cost of the project is currently $40M, which would be financed by Town-issued long-term debt outside of Proposition 2 ½, requiring debt exemption authorization by Town Meeting and also a majority ballot vote. If approved, the annual cost for the average home in Westwood would be approximately $368 per year - about a dollar day.
We cannot compromise on the investments we have made in public safety. I urge you to educate yourself on the public process which has been conducted on this project to date; please see the FS1 Webpage on the Town website for links to public meetings and FAQs: Fire Station One Project | News List | Town of Westwood, MA I am fully committed to continuing to work with our residents to address our public safety needs in Westwood; the construction of a new FS1 is an urgent solution.

Our seniors, many of whom have lived in Westwood for decades, are an integral part of the fabric of our community. Our Council on Aging does a superb job in providing services for our seniors, and supporting their health, safety and well-being, with continued efforts at providing appropriate tax relief, is an important priority.

As a Green Community, we must continue to build on the great strides the Town has made toward sustainability, consistent with the Commonwealth’s regulatory program to address climate change. We should strategically make progress toward the meaningful reduction of greenhouse gas, incorporate sustainability at every level of town government with an emphasis on preserving open space, and encourage our residents and businesses to be more sustainable.