Natick Report

Since 2020: More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

Latest South Natick spillway removal photo dump

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South Natick dam spillway removal

The concrete spillway has been removed at the South Natick Dam and the contractor is expected to be outta there by the end of September.

The fish ladder is sticking around for structural support reasons, though only the most dextrous of fish will be able to use it. Masons are fixing the retaining walls.

Next up will be monitoring river flow, sediment travels, and invasive plant incursion.

Grove Park (where the trees and picnic tables are) remains off limits for now, while Old Town Park (near Bacon Free Library) has pretty much reopened.

More South Natick Dam updates

When we stopped by on Labor Day, people could be seen exploring the riverbank up river. We hoped they wouldn’t sink through the muck, and didn’t spy anyone going under.

Boating in the area is prohibited for now, not that you would get very far given the water levels at this point.

A steady stream of people are stopping by to take photos and videos documenting the changes. We haven’t noticed any wedding parties stopping by for photo shoots.

The town decided a few years back to remove the decades-old spillway (aka, falls) to protect the municipality from liability in case the high hazard earthen dam at the site ever collapsed.

South Natick dam spillway removal

South Natick dam spillway removalSouth Natick dam spillway removal

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Natick town government meetings for week of Sept. 7, 2026: Main Street Improvement vote; Fall Annual Town Meeting prep; Chick-Fil-A continued

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A sampling of Natick town government meetings and agenda items for the week of Sept. 7, 2026 (Review all meetings &  agendas):

Housing Authority Board (Sept. 8, 6pm, Robert P. Ryan Community Hall at Coolidge Gardens, 4 Cottage St)

Financial review/update; Capital and modernization updates; Staff and organization updates

Finance Committee (Sept. 8, 7pm, town hall and online)

Fall 2026 Annual Town Meeting Warrant – Public Hearings and votes: Article 7 – Lilja Elementary School Accelerated Repair Program – Feasibility Study and Schematic Design (Superintendent of Schools) • Article 5 – Establish and Authorize a Revolving Fund for Low Income Community Shared Solar (Select Board) • Article 11 – Bylaw Article 3 Procedure at Town Meetings (Town Moderator)

Natural & Synthetic Turf Field Study Group (Sept. 9, 5-6:3opm, Community and Economic Development Conference Room, 2nd Floor of Natick Town Hall)

Public speak; Approve Final Report

Select Board (Sept. 9, 6pm, town hall and online)

Main Street Improvement Project Discussion and Vote

Commission on Disability (Sept. 9, 6:30pm, online)

Volunteer partnership with Spark Kindness and Library for Calm Room for Natick Days; Follow Up for Future/New Commissioners, Events

Planning Board (Sept. 10, 7pm, town hall and online)

Town Meeting public hearings on Amending Zoning Bylaws: Non-residential Uses within Residential Mixed-use Development (§ III-E and § III-EE) and Off-street Parking (§ V-D.3 and V-D.4); Development review public hearings: Chick-Fil-A proposal for site in Mall parking lot; 72 Pleasant Street  and 78 Pleasant Street for Riverbend School.

The town dutifully complies with outdated state law by posting paid public notices in a print newspaper where no doubt few see them. Please consider supporting your actual local news source with a tax-deductible donation.

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Your 2026 Natick Fall Annual Town Meeting lineup

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Natick’s 2026 Fall Annual Town Meeting, slated to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 7:30pm at Kennedy Middle School Auditorium, features 17 articles covering topics ranging from the budget to bylaw updates to citizen petitions on snow removal and embracing diversity.

The articles are collected in a warrant that has been published, and each article will have one or more motions under it that elected Town Meeting members will vote on (while article language is filled with “whereas” and “thereon” gibberish, motion language makes clearer what the articles are really about).

Town Meeting serves as Natick’s legislative branch and includes up to 180 members, with up to 18 from each of 10 precincts. For those who don’t track town government closely, note that Natick has many “town meetings” throughout the year, from Select Board to Planning Board sessions, official “Town Meeting” takes place in the spring and fall, and an occasional “Special Town Meeting” can be sprinkled in as needed.

Natick Report is the ONLY news organization that faithfully covers Town Meeting. Please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation.

The first batch of articles this fall are all financial-related, and will be getting a full vetting from Natick’s appointed Finance Committee ahead of Town Meeting. This includes the omnibus budget, unpaid bills, and stabilization funds, the latter of which has become the subject of increased discussion in recent years. The capital equipment funding article, #6, can be of some extra interest, with show-and-tell photos often included of cool gear the town may be purchasing.

New this time around, with Article 5, is a proposal to establish a revolving fund to “utilize monies from low income community shared solar projects to subsidize the electricity costs of income-eligible customers through the Town’s municipal aggregation program.”

lilja school natick
Lilja Elementary School

Sustainability is also the theme for Article 7, which seeks funding for “feasibility study and schematic design costs related to a heat pump conversion project at Lilja Elementary School.”

Article 8 marks the second round of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding requests—this stash comes from a 1% property tax surcharge, plus some matching state contributions. Requests this fall include $1,243,50 to fund construction of South Natick Park renovations along the Charles River where the spillway is being removed. The town tried to get this funding from the state, but failed in that bid, so had a CPA funding request as its backup plan. Other CPA requests pertain to digitizing and preserving historic photos ($37,500), a Cochituate Rail Trail connector from the Modera housing development and establishment of a native garden ($42,375), and Murphy Park improvement planning ($150,000).

Articles 9 through 13 are about cleaning up or revising town and zoning bylaws, including one that has to do with “indecent or profane language” and another regarding permitted non-residential uses within residential mixed-use developments.

Town Meeting members will also have a chance to hear updates from the Hybrid Town Meeting Committee exploring ways to modernize Town Meeting and from the Natural and Synthetic Turf Field Study Group.

The warrant wraps up with citizen petitions—those filed by individuals rather than town bodies—on sidewalk snow removal and recognizing diversity/promoting harmony.

While only Town Meeting members can vote at Fall Annual Town Meeting, anyone can attend.

Please send news tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com

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Natick turning to Town Meeting for Charles River park funds after state rejects grant bid

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The Natick Select Board on Sept. 2 received an update on plans for the South Natick parks along the Charles River where the spillway is being removed (see Pegasus recording about an hour in). Efforts on the parks renovations project have been ongoing for several years.

The headline from this briefing came from Angela Snell, director of community services, who said the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs this summer turned down Natick’s request for a $1,243,500 ECO One Stop Grant for park renovations. This grant would have been paired with town staff time and $147k in already secured town funds as a matching requirement. The town doesn’t know yet why it got shot down, but Snell said Natick expects to get feedback from the state later this month. It looks as though the state went with communities during the recent funding round that it hadn’t awarded such grants to before, she said.

The parks project team, however, had hatched a backup plan in May to apply for a Community Preservation Grant from the town, and now that $1,243,500  request will head to Fall Annual Town Meeting in October following the Community Preservation Committee’s (CPC) recommendation. Snell read from a memo during the Select Board briefing, then answered questions.

If approved by Town Meeting, this segment of the project will be funded courtesy of the 1% property tax surcharge that most property owners in town have had to pony up since 2023, following the town’s adoption of the Community Preservation Act in 2022. Natick receives matching state funds amounting to about 15% of those that the town collects from taxpayers via the surcharge. (Of course state grants also come from taxpayers, though a larger base of them.)

The town last fall tapped the CPC for $82,500 to fund final design and permitting work. The town used that money to work with ubiquitous consulting firm Weston & Sampson, which teamed with Natick to apply for the state grant that failed to materialize.

Natick will use the CPA funds, assuming they are appropriated by Town Meeting, to work on Grove Park—the picnic table and tree-shaded area where the spillway removal team has staged its worksite—and the long dilapidated multi-purpose park that has been home to basketball hoops, skateboard ramps, and who knows what else.

In May, the town received an Order of Conditions for the project from the Conservation Commission, and that permit is good for five years.

grove park picnic table near dam
Grove Park, pre-spillway removal project

Old Town Park, on the Bacon Free Library side of the river, will have to wait, as archaeological assessments will need to be conducted ahead of permitting. Further grant opportunities are being explored to fund renovation of this shabby chic park, though Natick may wait to see how the newly-freed river reconfigures itself before going too far on Old Town Park renovations.

Speaking of grants… if you’re with or know of an organization that might be willing to award Natick Report grants to support student interns, please let us know: natickreport@gmail.com

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Natick singer’s national anthem proved to be highlight of this Red Sox game

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We were excited to hear before the start of Wednesday afternoon’s Red Sox-Mariners game at Fenway Park that the national anthem singer was from… Natick.

Gabi Samels sang beautifully.

The Sox stumbled, though Roman Anthony’s home run was a thing of beauty, too.

 

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