Wakefield Town Council Notes -- March 11, 2024

Here's what we covered at a long, but productive, Town Council meeting on Monday night:

• Representatives from The Scholarship Foundation of Wakefield attended to promote their annual appeal, which takes place this Saturday, March 16th. Since its founding in 1960, the Scholarship Foundation has granted more than 12,000 scholarships to Wakefield students, totaling over $16 million. To support their annual appeal, please consider donating online at tsfofwakefield.org.

• The Town Council approved Fiscal Year 2025 budgets for the Wakefield Fire Department and the Department of Public Works. Together, these budgets total $15.5 million, or 14% of Wakefield's overall budget, and they are increasing by 7% for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2025. One of the drivers of this increase is the expiration of federal SAFER grants that have fully funded the salary and benefits for three firefighters in recent years. As part of our discussion of the Fire Department budget, we reviewed improvements that the department is making to the data they collect and report, which will help inform staffing and budget decisions in the future.

• The Council approved several warrant articles for consideration at this spring's Town Meeting, including the $2.5 million trash and recycling budget for Fiscal Year 2025, $5 million of borrowing to fund water main replacements on and around Main Street and Emerson Street, and $150,000 to design a replacement for the aging fuel island at the Department of Public Works facility. We also referred a citizen petition related to the MBTA Communities Act to the Planning Board for a public hearing.

• We reviewed and approved two recommendations from the Traffic Advisory Committee, one of which would place a new traffic warning sign on Prospect Street near Morningside and Overlake Roads, and the other of which would create a loading zone on Princess Street between 7:00 AM and 2:00 PM.

• After years of work, the Council approved a Bike and Pedestrian Plan for Wakefield. This plan sets forth common standards for sidewalk construction, crosswalk marking, and bike accommodations, and it identifies priority areas in Wakefield where pedestrian and bike improvements are needed. I'm especially excited because the plan provides the details needed for the Town to start applying for state and federal grants to help make the projects envisioned by this plan a reality.

• The Town Council reviewed Wakefield's spending to date on its $8 million of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). To date, $6 million has been allocated or spent, though a small portion of the funds originally allocated to Wakefield's home heating assistance program may need be reallocated if they cannot be used by ARPA's statutory deadline. We reviewed potential opportunities for spending the $2 million of ARPA funds that Wakefield has not yet allocated, including the creation of a small business incubation fund, capital improvements to the Senior Center and Albion Cultural Exchange, funding for additional sidewalk repairs and replacements, improvements to parks and other open spaces, and the addition of solar panels to the Galvin Middle School roof. While the Council will continue this discussion at our next meeting, we did vote to allocate $150,000 to support the opening of the non-profit Inspire Café in downtown Wakefield, and $25,000 to complete assessments of Wakefield's historic monuments.

• In light of parking challenges that many voters faced at last week's Presidential Primary Election, the Council asked the Town Administrator to work with the Town Clerk and School Department to develop a more effective parking policy for future elections.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, March 25 at 7:00 PM. Residents are always welcome to join us, either in person at Wakefield Community Access Television, or online via Zoom.