Weymouth Council Approves $562,000 for Historic Emory Estate Restoration
New Parking Regulations Proposed for Columbian Square
WEYMOUTH - November 12 - The Weymouth Town Council has approved $562,000 in Community Preservation Act funding for the exterior restoration of the historic Emory Estate. The project, totaling $774,000, includes roof repairs, window restoration, and lead paint abatement.
The funding request, presented to the council on Nov. 12, received unanimous favorable action from the Budget Management Committee earlier that evening.
"This year we received a $200,000 grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism to fix the envelope of the building," said Leilani Dalpe, the Program Manager from the Mayor's Office.
The restoration work includes asbestos removal from the roof, new shingles, fascia board and trim replacement, gutter repairs, window abatement, lead paint abatement, and repainting of the exterior.
John McLeod, Director of Asset Management, added that the rear canopy, where railings were blown off in a storm a couple years ago, will also be replaced.
The CPA committee recommended $562,000 from historic preservation funds, with the town contributing $12,000 of in-house consulting to reach the total project cost.
Councilor Greg Shanahan confirmed that the historic resources account had a balance of $575,638.16 at the time of submittal, sufficient to cover the appropriation.
In other business, the Council heard a proposal for new parking regulations in the Columbian Square municipal lot. The measure aims to address parking challenges and support local businesses while deterring hospital employees from using the lot.
Owen MacDonald, Town Traffic Engineer, explained that the proposed ordinance would allow the Police Chief or designee to issue permits for daytime parking in excess of the posted two-hour limit.
"The idea was to provide a means of giving these individuals a means of identification so that their cars would not be tagged for anything for being over time," MacDonald said.
Sgt. Michael Egan of the Weymouth Police Department suggested implementing a yearly color change for the window stickers to be issued to business owners and their employees.
Concerns were raised about the impact on businesses with clients requiring longer stays, such as beauty salons. Councilor Rick Coughlin mentioned that some customers might need three to six hours of parking.
"If there's no other solution for that, then they could end up losing business because of that," Coughlin said.
Bob Luongo, Planning Director, emphasized the flexibility of the proposed plan. "We don't want to hurt customers. We don't want to hurt the merchants. So this is all to drive. We can bring more business into the square," he said.
Luongo also noted that the town has invested $11 million in improvements to Columbian Square, with the final piece being the activation of traffic lights expected by the end of November.
The Council did not take immediate action on the parking proposal, which will require further discussion and a public hearing before implementation.
In other matters, the council:
- Approved National Grid pole installations on Broad Street and Pleasant Street.
- Referred a measure to shift the fiscal year 2025 tax rate to a 1.47 split to the Budget Management Committee.
- Sent a $2,950,000 borrowing request for modular classrooms at three elementary schools to the Budget Management Committee.
- Referred an amendment to tax title payment agreements to the Ordinance Committee.
- Directed a $55,000 reserve fund transfer for the town's annual audit to the Budget Management Committee.