Town Meeting Takes on Recurring Issues in Night One

May 6, 2025
• Town Meeting members approved the MBTA Communities Act compliance plan and the FY26 operating budget in an opening session marked by little fanfare. However, the divisive Envision Needham Center project, though not on the warrant, received continued attention.

Before approving several warrant articles, attendees heard an update on the downtown redesign project and its future Monday night.

During officer reports, Select Board member Kevin Keane announced the project’s yearlong pilot phase, which was set to begin July 5, will be postponed at least six months. The extended timeline would allow the town to “increase the opportunity for public engagement,” he said.

“In December, a mid-July pilot seemed possible,” Keane said. “Not so much in early May.”

On Article 17, Town Meeting Member Rob Dangel intended to make a motion to limit the use of Chapter 90 funds along the stretch of roadway impacted by Envision. In response to the update on the project, he held off. Chapter 90 funds, from the state, go toward roadway repairs and maintenance.

Even still, the amendment would likely not have changed how those funds are distributed. With an expected allocation of about $1.35 million, the town plans to fund work at the Central and Great Plain Avenues intersection and reconstruction on Marked Tree Road, according to the warrant.

Dangel said conversations with his constituents made clear the need to pause both the Envision pilot and the project as a whole. He requested the pilot additionally be pushed back a full year “so that we can go back to Town Meeting next year and give it some oversight.”

Business owners previously have expressed strong disapproval for the proposed changes to that portion of Great Plain Avenue, which could include a reduction of traffic lanes, added bike lanes and fewer parking spaces. The Select Board will hold a public hearing on the matter next Tuesday, May 13.

After additional comments, the Chapter 90 funds were approved.

Town Meeting reached near unanimous consent on a total of eight articles discussed Monday, including a line-by-line approval of the close to $236 million operating budget for FY26. Finance Committee Chair Carol Fachetti walked attendees through the budget, stating the town’s growth has decelerated as development slows, but that Needham is “fiscally sound.” On the budget, Select Board Chair Heidi Frail said the town is “preparing by being prudent.”

Part of the Needham Public Schools’ $104.6 million budget includes the hiring of a Newman first grade teacher and guidance counselor. That comes after the district, facing a steep budget shortfall, eliminated eight full-time staffers — some of whom opted to retire — and reduced time for other faculty.

School Committee Chair Michael O’Brien said the school is taking a “thoughtful and strategic approach,” making note of the anticipated Pollard Middle School renovation in the coming years. Town Meeting funded a feasibility study on the project last year.

Residents present at October’s Special Town Meeting may have experienced déjà vu on Monday, when they took a second affirmative vote on a zoning plan to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, the state-mandated zoning effort aimed at incentivizing housing development along public transit. The Base Plan meets the minimum required zoning.

In October, the town passed the Base Plan and the Neighborhood Housing Plan, which zoned for significantly more units. The town held a referendum vote in January, overturning the Neighborhood Plan and bringing the Base Plan back to Town Meeting.

While supportive of the plan, Town Meeting member Joe Matthews said he feels it won’t be enough to meet the town’s “goals for demographic balance and revenue generation.” The article passed.

The meeting unanimously approved $222,600 from free cash for forestry management, which entails tree plantings, tree removals and taking an inventory of trees in town. And $2 million went toward a new financial application software for the town, addressing frustrations with the current system that Finance Committee member Barry Coffman called “untenable.”

Town Meeting passed 21 articles through its consent calendar, which included a $560,000 boiler replacement at Eliot Elementary School, $104,000 for improvements to Needham’s trails and a series of water and sewer allocations.

Next on the agenda is a vote on funding for the Charles River Center’s East Militia Heights Development, a proposed affordable housing complex, and an appropriation for the Needham Housing Authority’s Seabeds Way property, which similarly offers affordable housing.

Town Meeting will also vote on a $19.6 million Department of Public Works facilities revamp, as well as a library renovation, repairs to the Needham High School stairs, improvements to the Newman Elementary School auditorium and design funding for pickleball courts.

Town Meeting continues Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Powers Hall. Live coverage will air on The Needham Channel’s municipal and HD channels and will be streaming at needhamchannel.org.