Addressing Priority Projects on Town Meeting Warrant

May 2, 2025 (Updated May 5, 2025)
• Prior to the Annual Town Meeting on Monday, Needham’s town manager discussed several projects up for consideration.

The 2025 Annual Town Meeting looks to be a “bread and butter” session for the Town of Needham, Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick said. Of the roughly 43 articles up for consideration, few appear apt to spark controversy or big questions, she said.

The town’s conditional compliance with the MBTA Communities Act could be cemented with an affirmative vote on the Base Plan, which would comply with the minimum required zoning under the state law. Following January’s referendum, that seems to have support.

The article with the heftiest price tag is the proposed expansion of the Jack Cogswell Building, which the Department of Public Works uses in addition to its building at 470 Dedham Ave.

Though pricey, the project is necessary, Fitzpatrick said.

“The entire building needs to come down. Systems don’t work, it floods, it’s inadequate for size, but the air quality and the exhaust issues are particularly troubling,” Fitzpatrick said. “The people who work in the mechanics shop in fleet are there all day, every day.”

The town plans to house its Fleet Maintenance Division in the expanded building, which would better accommodate other DPW operations. The move would also synergize work between those at Cogswell and the neighboring Recycling and Transfer Station, Fitzpatrick said.

“It also offers us the opportunity for RTS employees to use the employee amenities at the new building, because the RTS, they’re operating just out of a trailer, and they don’t have, honestly, good bathrooms or showers of any kind,” she said. “So that’s made it a logical location for that.”

This DPW project would potentially benefit the Pollard Middle School renovation down the road — an alternative site for that project is the DeFazio Field parking lot, which “would really squeeze the town’s DPW operations” abutting the space, she added. Keeping the DPW entirely at 470 Dedham Ave. would cost more than $50 million, according to estimates provided by the town.

Public Works could also receive $5 million as part of its recurring Public Facilities Maintenance Program. That funding, which varies by year, would go toward general upkeep in town and school buildings. Last year’s allocation was $1 million.

As financial uncertainty looms, the town is taking a cautious approach to project funding in the next couple years. The second phase of the Cogswell project, as well as future auditorium projects, are on the horizon. Federal policy could also control the timeline and price of certain efforts — Cogswell’s build could be impacted by a tariff on steel, Fitzpatrick said.

Local students, however, may get a new library space under budget. For around $2.4 million, the Needham Free Public Library plans to build a youth adult area to provide space for groups to study, do homework and discuss assignments.

With bids for work scheduled in September — a relatively quiet time for contractors — as well as the need for fewer materials from outside the United States, the cost was lower than budgeted, Fitzpatrick said. She expressed enthusiasm about the impact of the new library space.

“It’s going to be a place where young adults can have a little place where they can bring their Dunkins and they can have group study,” she said, “and it doesn’t have to be quiet, and it’s going to be really lovely.”

Both proposed housing projects at Seabeds Way and the Charles River Center requested significantly more funding from the Community Preservation Committee, Fitzpatrick said. Seabeds Way, a Needham Housing Authority property for seniors and disabled residents, looks to maintain its facilities with $3.2 million from the town.

At the Charles River Center, an organization that serves people with developmental and physical disabilities, they hope to create 86 affordable housing units, half of which would be reserved for those whom they serve. Five of its units will house staff, while the remaining will be open for community members who qualify. The project would cost $2.8 million from the CPA.

With increased attention on trees — as seen with the establishment of the Tree Preservation Planning Committee and ongoing tree relocation program facilitated by Parks and Forestry — Town Meeting will vote on appropriating $222,600 for forestry management. That funding would help arborists and staff complete a tree inventory, plant more trees and conduct “targeted tree removals,” according to the warrant.

The funding request serves as “a reaction to people who are very concerned,” Fitzpatrick said.

“We have a forestry division, we have dedicated funds for this, but this is a way to increase our ability to put more work into that area,” Fitzpatrick said, “because we know people really do care about it.”

Complaints of late or inaccurate utility bills could also be addressed with a nearly $2 million allocation for a new financial application software for the town. Needham’s current system is disjointed, with several different moving parts that sometimes fail to be cohesive, Fitzpatrick said. The town’s server also overheated and melted, she said, and leadership decided an entire system replacement was the best option.

“I’m sure we’ll be asked, ‘Well, why didn’t you do that before?’ but we only have the amount of money we have,” she said.

Should the article pass, the new system would likely run parallel to the current one for a year, Fitzpatrick said.

The Needham High School stairs at the front of the building have been inaccessible for months, surrounded by yellow caution tape. The stairs appear to be visibly deteriorated, posing a safety concern.

The staircase has gone virtually untouched since its construction more than 100 years ago, Fitzpatrick estimated. Repairs will cost just over $1 million. Fitzpatrick attributed the delay in repairs to the need for “legal egress” — ensuring students and staff have other paths out of the building.

“They’re crumbling from below, and we actually have an emergency preamble to start the work right away,” she said, “because we really want that work done before the school opens in September.”

Those repairs would start immediately upon approval at Town Meeting.

A citizens’ petition to seasonally ban gas-powered leaf blowers has since been withdrawn, with petitioners citing opposition from local landscapers. Town Meeting will consider a petition calling on Needham legislators to advocate for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

The Annual Town Meeting begins Monday, May 6 and continues Wednesday night if necessitated.

This article has been updated to more accurately describe the proposed funding allocation to the library.