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Natick town seal designs get public viewing

February 6, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Several dozen people stopped by the Morse Institute Library on Sunday to check out 3 town seal designs being considered as a replacement for the 1980 version that’s been questioned for depicting an inaccurate understanding of Natick’s early history.

The designs being mulled are much simpler and cleaner than the older one, too.

seals

 

I’d asked if any designs got left on the cutting room floor and indeed, 1 featuring the gazebo on the common didn’t make the top 3.

Natick’s seal is used for official documents, but also serves as a town logo found on signs, uniforms, and more.

The Town Seal Review Committee soon seeks to settle on 1 design to bring to Town Meeting this spring for approval.

The committee has a sweetheart of a meeting slated for Feb. 14 at 8:15pm, with agenda items including a review of feedback from a public survey and the open house, as well as voting on a Town Meeting warrant article for submission.

You still have time to share your thoughts via the online survey.

town seal design open house


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Filed Under: Art, Government, History



Natick presents its ‘rebalancing year’ budget

February 3, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick Town Administrator Jamie Errickson and Public Schools Supt. Dr. Anna Nolin led a presentation on Feb. 1 (see Pegasus recording) at a joint meeting with the town’s Finance Committee on the preliminary fiscal year 2024 budget. This balanced $193M plan reflects some unusual realities, including stimulus funding that won’t be around forever and financial turn backs resulting from hard-to-fill jobs.

We’ve embedded the overall budget, as well as the school budget that accounts for 44% of the overall town budget, at the bottom of this post.

“This is a rebalancing year for us,” Errickson said at the meeting, which helps to prep the government bodies for Annual Spring Town Meeting, slated to start on April 25. Post-pandemic trends are starting to emerge and local receipts are rebounding faster than expected, but inflation is being felt across the board (the Department of Public Works, for example, is experiencing a 10% cost increase from energy and supply chain issues). “So [the budget] certainly does come with some caution,” he said.

Nolin added to this by noting the schools’ efforts to “not to create a cliff of support,” where students’ are soon robbed of the sorts of academic, social, and emotional resources that pandemic-related funds have covered. “It is this delicate balancing act that we’re trying to do, and my School Committee governance team has been asking all the hard questions about which things in what order should stay and how do we plan for the long term,” she said.

Errickson cautioned that the preliminary budget has been crafted without knowing some key data, including health care costs and state aid (the latter of which he hopes will be increased and help the town restock general and operational stabilization accounts).

Deputy Town Administrator John Townsend dove into the details of the preliminary budget, highlighting among other things, a projected 27% increase in local receipts (excise tax, etc.) over the current fiscal year. While that’s certainly heading in the right direction, the projected amount still pales vs. the receipts that would have been expected by now if there hadn’t been a pandemic. “So while the pandemic has receded, we from a financial point of view are still suffering from it,” he added.

Townsend also covered other revenue issues, including planned restraint on using free cash and reserves to shore up the town’s financials in the way it has had to do over the past few years.

On the expense side, he highlighted the biggest increases, which will come from schools and its $83M-plus budget and public works, facing nearly a 10% increase in costs. Debt service is an area to watch, but Townsend noted the town didn’t need to do any large scale borrowing during the pandemic without big projects getting underway.

A public form will be scheduled between now and Town Meeting, and a revised budget book will be out by the end of March, he said.

School budget

Supt. Nolin joined forces with Assistant Superintendent for Finance Dr. Peter Gray in sharing the school system budget, over 90% of which is fixed based on mandates and contracts, such as for busses and teachers’ pay.

Nolin addressed challenges in coming up with a budget. These included everything from surprising changes to the student population (Natick had an influx of refugee students, including from Ukraine, who required English Learner services) to teacher shortages (25-30 per day). “It’s a time of extreme change in our profession and desirability of being an educator in public schools,” Nolin said.

The compensation request is up 3% and the request for other expenses is 13.5% higher than in fiscal year 2023. Compensation is rising in part because Natick is striving to reward teachers who stick around for a long time. Nolin acknowledged Natick was one of the few districts in the area without longevity incentives. With nearly half the staff in the system for over 11 years, Natick Public Schools want “to send the message that experienced teachers matter in the district,” Nolin said.

Natick’s also looking to fill new positions, including those related to the upcoming closure of Johnson Elementary School and due to the need for more technology instruction for staff. A surprising increase in French language popularity also calls for a new middle school teacher. More staff are needed as well to address early student intervention as a result of possible and actual learning and socialization delays caused by the pandemic. More parents are asking for special education evaluations. “We are about to see the impact of those children hitting elementary school,” Nolin said.

Other expenses are up for assorted reasons, including inflation affecting utility and fuel costs, an $800K out-of-district tuition increase (not something the district is taking lying down, per Nolin), and teacher and student laptop replacements.

To the future

During Q&A with the School Committee, Select Board, and Finance Committee, the presenters fielded questions about the FY24 budget, but also those going forward. Things have been messy and unusual over the past few years, as new sorts of grants and outside funds have become available that likely won’t be available going forward, and there have been big changes in staffing and services as more work shifted to online and town employees had more work piled on them.

Errickson stressed his focus on figuring out how to retain good staff, and rightsize the amount of work they should be expected to handle. “For me, rightsizing isn’t cutting or adding, rightsizing is what’s the reality of the job market and let’s figure out how we can position our existing positions,” which could include adding consultants or addressing community service needs in other ways, he said.

The town’s administration is admittedly looking ahead month to month and quarter to quarter, with longer-term projections much more challenging. Errickson said that a year ago he never could have foreseen the way some things have stabilized or improved, and that while increased local receipts and the Boston area’s general economic strength offer room for optimism, there are also broader forces at play, including the geopolitical environment. “It is a crystal ball that is really challenging to look into right now,” he said.


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Filed Under: Education, Government



Your 2023 Natick town-wide election candidates

January 26, 2023 by Bob Brown

Those seeking town-wide office in Natick had until Jan. 10  to collect 25 signatures of registered Natick voters in support of their candidacy and turn in their nomination papers to the Town Clerk.

Below is the list of those willing to contribute their time and talents to the town’s local government. Incumbents are listed first in alphabetical order, and then new candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

The election will take place on Tuesday, March 28.

There will be vote by mail/absentee voting and election day voting, but no in-person early voting. Vote by mail applications are available.

Select Board (2 for 3-year terms)
  • Richard Sidney (candidate for re-election)
  • Kat Monahan
  • Kristen Pope
  • Roger Scott

School Committee (2 for 3-year terms)

  • Donna McKenzie  (candidate for re-election)
  • Matthew Brand
  • Kate Flathers
  • Leigh Preston Hallisey

Planning Board (1 for 5-year term)

  • Teresa Evans  (candidate for re-election)

Board of Assessors (1 for 3-year term)

  • Wendy J. Curran-Elassy

Board of Health (1 for 3-year term)

  • Karla Hope Sangrey  (candidate for re-election)

Recreation and Parks Commission (2 for 3-year terms)

  • Barbara Fahey Sanchez  (candidate for re-election)

Morse Institute Library Trustees (5 for 5-year terms)

  • Kathleen Donovan  (candidate for re-election)
  • Carol Gloff  (candidate for re-election)
  • Gerald Mazor  (candidate for re-election)
  • Sally McCoubrey  (candidate for re-election)
  • Thomas Hourihan
  • Anna McMahan

Natick Housing Authority (1 for 5-year term)

  • David Ciminelli

Natick Housing Authority (1 for 3-year term)

Constable (2 for 2-year terms)

Natick Town Meeting

Natick Town Meeting has 180 members—18 from each of the 10 precincts. Every year one-third of the Town Meeting members are up for re-election and if there are vacancies those will also be on the ballot. Incumbents must file an intent to run in the Town Clerk’s office by Tuesday, Jan. 31. New candidates need to take out nomination papers in the Town Clerk’s office. Nomination papers for new candidates require 10 signatures from registered voters in their precinct. Nomination papers are available now and are due back to the by Tuesday, Feb 7.


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Filed Under: Government, Town Election 2023

Open house to give peek at 3 Natick town seal designs being mulled

January 25, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Natick Town Seal Review Committee has scheduled an open house at the Morse Institute Library on Feb 5 (1:30-3:30pm) to share 3 town seal designs being considered and to give the public a chance to give feedback to the designer and committee members. You can also weigh in online.

natick seal designs

 

The Natick committee was created following 2020 Fall Town Meeting approval, and charged with “reviewing the history of town seals in Natick [and] proposing a new town seal after a public process.” The town’s current seal includes an image designed in 1951 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Natick’s founding as a Christian mission for Indigenous people. The image was adopted for the town’s seal in 1980, but has since been questioned for depicting an inaccurate understanding of Natick’s early history.

Town Meeting in the fall of 2021 via Article 36 got an update on the committee’s work and approved the appropriation of $11K to be used for design services related to a new seal.

This past fall the committee hired designer Sebastian Ellington Flying Eagle Ebarb, a Northeastern University associate teaching professor who previously served as the City of Boston’s design director for nearly 7 years. Ebarb’s Northeastern bio includes that “As a member of the Choctaw-Apache tribe of Ebarb, he has spent his years working to revive, hold and revere his native heritage.”

The committee last spring released a survey seeking to get public input on creating a new town seal that more accurately reflects the community. About 750 people filled out the survey, and results were released this past fall in a report.

Among its findings: “Briefly, many comments we received addressed the depiction of Native Americans on Natick’s current seal. Respondents highlighted their concerns about racist and offensive imagery and urged the committee to work with Indigenous
community members on any future depiction of Native individuals or symbols. Respondents also expressed concerns that
removing the current image would contribute further to erasure of both the history of the Christian mission founded in
Natick in 1651, and the much longer (and ongoing) Native American habitation of this area.”

Only 4% of respondents urged the committee to keep the current seal intact.

The committee and designer incorporated public feedback as well as additional research into the designs now under consideration.

The 3 designs each have their own emphasis (water and hills, leaves, a bridge, each with nods to history), though are open to interpretation. They are subject to minor changes based on feedback. And nope, the South Natick dam didn’t quite make it into the imagery.

The Town Seal Review Committee soon seeks to settle on 1 design to bring to Town Meeting this spring for approval.

Natick’s seal is used for official documents, but also serves as a town logo found on signs, uniforms, and more.

The designs are initially being presented in black and white so as to focus on the design itself. Expect colors to come later.

 

town seal

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Filed Under: Government, History

Natick citizen petition could pave way for senior living facility atop scenic Pond Road

January 19, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The owner of 200 Pond Rd., a property that boasts a Wellesley address though mainly falls in Natick, will look to Natick Spring Annual Town Meeting to approve a zoning bylaw amendment that could pave the way for an assisted living development atop the scenic road.

200 pond road

As we reported this past summer on our Swellesley Report, the Wellesley Senior Living project being discussed at that time could change the scenery at the top of Pond Road, near Rte. 135, dramatically—again. The previous owner of 200 Pond Rd., which sold it to an investment firm, also owned adjacent property sold to a developer who built 2 large homes very close to the road, much to the chagrin of Pond Road neighbors. Whoever buys those homes could be in for a bit of construction noise if the senior living plan comes to fruition.

According to a presentation shared by the development team last year with Wellesley town officials, plans are to build a multi-story, 130,000 sq. ft. assisted living and memory care facility where a 10,000-plus sq. ft. Georgian Colonial estate with a pool and tennis court now stands. That 1990 home, on property spanning some 9.6 acres, has gone on the market in the past for nearly $10M.

This facility would be about a mile down the road from the new Anthology senior living facility in Natick on Rte. 135.

The draft citizen petition, submitted by the petitioner’s attorney, seeks the following:

A. To amend the Town of Natick Zoning Map as follows:
By including an “Assisted Living Overlay Option Plan (ALOOP)” overlay district on the land off East Central Street known as 0 (R) East Central Street and 0 Dorset Lane; also known as and shown as assessor’s parcels 1AA, 1B and 1C on assessor’s Map 38.

B. To amend the provisions of Section III-I.3 Assisted Living Overly Option Plan as necessary and desirable to allow for the inclusion of the above property into the ALOOP use district.

Pond Road plan

 

The petitioner needs to provide information about the article to the Select Board, which would then put this on an agenda for a open meeting. It would then be referred to the Planning Board for a public hearing that would be advertised in a print newspaper that no one would see. Though abutters would also be alerted.
After the hearing, the Planning Board would make its recommendation to Town Meeting (the Board would not be the sponsor).

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Filed Under: Government, Real estate

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