League of Women Voters Of Weston December, 2016 No. 187

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1 League of Women Voters Of Weston December, 2016 No. 187 League of Women Voters of Weston President. Katty Chace Treasurer. Barbara Flannery Membership. Lenore Zug Label Bulletin Editor. Katherine Wolfthal Observer Corps..Robin Peakes Coutts This LWV/Weston Newsletter is published monthly except July and August. The LWV is a nonpartisan political organization open to all citizens of voting age. League of Women Voters of Weston 15 Conant Road, Weston MA VOTER INFORMATION League of Women Voters of Massachusetts 133 Portland Street Boston MA (617) Submit articles to Katherine Wolfthal by at kate@weichi.com OPENING MESSAGE Katty Chace The political scene has gotten very quiet since the election and Town Meeting ended. Of course, we do get daily notifications of Donald Trump's Cabinet selections and now hear confirmation from the CIA that Russia was in fact responsible for the hacking and release of John Podesta's re Hilary Clinton's campaign. But I thought we already knew that... Town Meeting was completed in one night. Most of the drama came from the discussion about adopting a new amendment to the Planning Board's by-laws dealing with limiting room rental in a private house to more than 90 days. This was proposed by residents of Whitney Tavern Road to deal with a weekend Airbnb situation in their neighborhood. (More details about the Town Meeting can be found on page 12 of this Bulletin.) We are pleased that our state legislators, Mike Barrett and Alice Peisch will be joining us on Saturday, February 4 for a Coffee Hour at 11:00 am in the library's Community Room. This has become an annual event, and provides an opportunity for townspeople to hear their legislators' priorities for the current session. There will also be time for us to share our concerns with Mike and Alice, and get answers to our questions. Please renew your League membership before the end of the year. We need your support to continue the work we do in the community, including candidates' events and voter registration drives at the High School and informational coffee hours. A membership form can be found at the back of this Bulletin. Our Civics Bee this year will take place on Sunday, April 2 in Sudbury. We will be putting together a team of adults, high school and middle school students to compete with their peers from Wayland and Sudbury. If you would like to participate, or know someone else you think would enjoy it, please let us know. 1

2 LWV of Weston CALENDAR DECEMBER 2016 APRIL 2017 December 25, Sunday CHRISTMAS January 1, 2017, Sunday. NEW YEAR S DAY January 3, Tuesday LWVW Board Meeting 9:15 a.m., 37 Juniper Rd. (Beth Keane, ) February 4, Saturday LWVW Coffee Hour 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. State Senator Mike Barrett Weston Public Library Community Room and State Representative Alice Peisch April 2, Sunday.. 9 th Annual Civics Bee 2:00-4:00 p.m. Sudbury Middle School 2

3 LWV of Weston WHEN IT S TIME FOR ACTION President President Barack H. Obama The White House Washington, D.C U.S. Senators The Honorable Elizabeth Warren (617) Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC (202) Contact: The Honorable Edward J. Markey Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC (202) U.S. Representative 5 th District The Honorable Katherine Clark 2108 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C (202) Governor Governor Charlie Baker Office of the Governor State House, Room 280 Boston MA (617) State Senator 3rd Middlesex District The Honorable Michael J. Barrett (617) State House, Room 213A Boston MA Mike.Barrett@masenate.gov State Representative 14 th Norfolk District The Honorable Alice Hanlon Peisch (617) State House, Room 473G Boston MA alice.peisch@mahouse.gov Weston Board of Selectmen Weston Town Hall, P.O. Box Town House Rd. Weston, MA selectmen@westonmass.org 3 BOARD HIGHLIGHTS Kathleen Rousseau The December board meeting was held at the home of Kathleen Rousseau. Present were: Kathleen Rousseau, Kathie Strehle, Katherine Wolfthal, Robin Coutts, Lenore Lobel, Barbara Flannery, Barbara Fullerton, and Beth Keane with Katty Chace presiding. The minutes were accepted as amended. Treasurer's Report: Cash on hand is $3, The $200 for the web-site has been mailed as have the state quarterly dues. We are a non-profit organization for tax purposes. Membership: We discussed the current membership and will send an to those members who have not yet paid their dues. Lenore went through the people who have advertised with us, and handed out information to those with a relationship with these businesses. Town Meeting: Passions were aroused by the housing ordinance that was brought up because of one family renting out their house on weekends, resulting in large parties. The related article was voted down. Of the Town Center issues, the first two passed. Burying the wires did not pass. Coffee Hour: Peisch and Barrett will join us on February 4 at the library. Charter School Study: Katty will see if the Needham league is having any consensus meetings that we may attend. Civics Bee: April 2 in Sudbury. We need adult participants.

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5 LWV of Weston AN ELECTION POEM by Doris Peakes, 1940 Doris Peakes is a cousin of our Board member, Robin Peakes Coutts. 5

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7 LWV of Weston Homestyle meals with no stress, no mess! Stuffed pork chops and apricot-glazed turkey. Magnificent meatballs and curried cauliflower. Scratch baked cookies and enormous cupcakes. All ready to roll out the door and right into your kitchen. No matter how hectic your schedule, Brothers Marketplace has easy and delicious meal solutions without compromise. 41 Center Street, Weston, MA Monday to Saturday 7AM 9PM Sunday 8AM 8PM 7

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12 LWV of Weston TOWN MEETING Katty Chace W hen the article proposing a change to the Planning Board by-law was introduced at Town Meeting, two of the three Selectmen and the entire Planning Board expressed opposition to the article, largely because they felt there needed to be more time allowed to come up with a thoughtful proposal to deal with such situations. Some felt that such infractions as late-night noise, traffic, raucous parties and littering could be dealt with under existing laws. Others spoke against the article saying that they had used Airbnb when visiting offspring in other cities and felt it would be hypocritical to now vote against the organization, and that the bad behavior had been sharply curtailed since speaking to the homeowner whose property was the site of the neighbors' complaints. We also heard from a family that rents half of their house short-term to visiting professors and speakers from Brandeis University with no problems and would like to continue that practice. One of the neighbors who had originally spoken in favor of the article finally offered an amendment reducing the proposed rental time limit from 90 to 30 days, but that amendment failed, as did the article. The three articles dealing with improvements to the Town Center were handled in increasing levels of change and expense, so that after the first article (described as level-service) passed easily we proceeded to discussion of Article 2. Article 2 proposed some beautification items such as returning some paved areas to grass, while trying to improve traffic flow at certain key intersections. One feature of this proposal might be to change traffic on Townhouse Road from one-way to two-way. It was stated that Article 2 is now more of a concept of beautifying the center than firm proposals, and that there will be plenty of time to hash out details before the Annual Town Meeting. Article 2 passed. Article 3 proposed burying all the wires in the center underground, a very expensive prospect (around $5 million). I supported the article, but expected that with such expense, there would be little support in the vote. As it turned out, a majority supported the article ( ), but the article failed, since it needed a 2/3 vote. The four articles that involved financial support from the Community Preservation Act all passed easily, including additional design fees for the renovation of the Case House, an historic preservation restriction on the house at 55 Coburn Road, and extended walkways (sidewalks) on Ash Street and Merriam Street. The Meeting voted to transfer Burt Field (off Oak Street) from the town to the Conservation Commission, despite Isabella Jancourtz's objection that this might thwart the town's efforts to build affordable housing. The Meeting also approved spending $290,000 to make the very unattractive water pump station at the corner of Highland Street and Black Oak Road more visually appealing. Neighbors had collaborated on the plan, including a small easement on one neighbor's property. 12

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16 LWV of Weston League of Women Voters of Weston MEMBERSHIP FORM The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan, political organization, which encourages informed and active participation in all levels of government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. We serve the local community in many ways: Sponsor Candidates and Issues nights before elections Provide voter information and conduct voter-registration drives Encourage voter participation with banners and rides to the polls Study local, state and national issues and hold open meetings Act upon carefully considered positions by lobbying and circulating petitions Publish a "Know Your Town" booklet Train members to be active and involved citizens. Our membership year runs from July 1 to June 30. As a Weston member, you also belong to and receive publications from the State and National Leagues. Name _ Date _ Address _ Phone Check one: Renewal New Member I enclose a check made payable to The League of Women Voters of Weston* for: $60 Individual Membership (covers required local dues to the State and National Leagues) $80 Family Membership (two individuals in the same household) Name of second household member: Any contributions above and beyond regular dues are greatly appreciated and assist our local league in providing more services and offsetting our operating expenses. $ _ TOTAL ENCLOSED $ LWV Education Fund (Tax-deductible contribution made payable by separate check to the LWV Education Fund ) Return form to: Lenore Zug Label, 31 Love Lane, Weston, MA Do you know a friend who might be interested in joining the League of Women Voters? Name, address & phone * It is the policy of the LWV of Weston that no resident shall be refused participation in the League because of inability to pay. If a hardship preventing payment of dues exists, please contact Katty Chace at