The Select Board took a first pass at constructing a town business to-do list for the next year, using its annual goals meeting to assess the merits of 101 items that had been flagged for possible action.
Over the course of three hours on the morning of July 26, the board engaged in a municipal triage exercise to determine which issues require the most attention, which are important but not urgent and which will likely need to wait.
The list of ideas was developed by the Select Board with input from town staff and the public. It ran the gamut of town services with multiple items on housing, zoning, town infrastructure, economic development, public health and safety, the environment, the arts, recreation and a range of town policies that guide how it spends the town’s $259 million annual budget.
There was consensus that there is a pressing need for better communication with the public and meaningful public engagement on all issues. And while no final determinations were made, the policy weight of the planned $300+ million Pollard Middle School renovation project clearly framed the discussion.
“We all know that, with Pollard, there is going to be a huge need for resources,” Select Board Chair Heidi Frail said after the meeting. “It’s going to take priority over other projects financially.”
Which is not to say that 2025-26 will be all Pollard, all the time.
“In terms of resources and finances, it’s kind of the elephant in the room,” Frail said of Pollard, while also noting the town has myriad other wants and needs.
“Ignoring ongoing maintenance and ongoing needs in our existing buildings is basically what got us into the situation that we’ve been in for the past ten years, which is needing to rebuild every building in town,” she said.
Three of the town’s major public buildings — Pollard (built in 1956), Mitchell Elementary School (1950) and the DPW building at 470 Dedham Ave. (1961) — have been frequent fliers on the town’s goals list. They have largely waited while the town dedicated its capital resources to other projects, such as the public safety buildings, the Emery Grover school administration building and the Sunita Williams School.
“We have a constituency, our town residents, who need good buildings — whether that’s the library or the senior center or whatever,” said Frail. “And we can’t just abandon those investments in favor of the newest shiny thing.”
“We have to continue to invest in them. And it’s true, some projects will have to be put off, but some of them are important and can’t be put off.”
Making a list, checking it twice
The goals meeting was not intended to discuss any issue in depth, rather it was described as “a discussion about when to have the discussion” on all issues.
The only actions taken by the board at the meeting were to offer a preliminary opinion on whether particular issues should be taken up in the near term (over the next 18 months), the middle term (18-36 months), or the longer term (36 months). In addition, some two dozen ideas were “referred” to town departments or others for additional study.
Between now and its next meeting in August, each board member is expected to complete a survey ranking their top priorities and rating each idea on a numerical scale. “The survey will help us prioritize the most actionable items, and then they get a timeline,” said Frail.
Judging by the discussion at the meeting, attention to community engagement and improving public dialogue will likely rank high.
“We don’t always have a feedback loop,” Frail acknowledged. “I think communication is one of the greatest needs that the town has right now. It’s a worldwide phenomenon, honestly. And I think that everyone’s aware of that.”
Many of the issues that were discussed are ongoing issues yet to be resolved. This includes the work being done by several ad hoc committees looking at issues such as how to make downtown Needham more vital, manage teardown activity and the impact of large houses, tree preservation, stormwater management, the possible creation of a Quiet Zone, addressing traffic management along Highland Avenue and addressing parking issues downtown and in Needham Heights.
There were multiple ideas related to economic development and the need to increase the town’s tax base, which has stagnated somewhat in recent years. The need for an updated overall economic development plan was discussed, addressing both the downtown and the business and industrial parks.
There will also be some relatively new issues emerging, including planning for the disposition of the Stephen Palmer building on Pickering Street. The former school, built in 1914, currently houses 28 apartments under a 50-year “ground lease agreement” with a property management company that expires in May 2027.
An ad hoc committee has been formed to study possible new uses, which could include multi-family housing, a community center, a reconfiguring of Greene’s Field or some form of mixed-use development.
There was also discussion of a review of the town’s committee structure itself and if the almost reflexive decision to create new committees is always the best option.
“I wonder if sometimes there are committees — and we all have to think about specific examples — that persist beyond their necessary life,” Vice Chair Cathy Dowd said during the meeting.
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