Wakefield Town Council Notes -- November 4, 2024

Here's what we covered at the Town Council's meeting on Monday, November 4:

• The Town Council held its annual Tax Classification hearing to set property tax rates for Fiscal Year 2025. This year's residential tax rate will increase by just under 1%, with the average single family tax bill increasing by 4.5% due to rising residential property values relative to commercial values. The Council engaged in a lengthy discussion about the long-term outlook for the commercial real estate market in our region, and the long-term impact of declining commercial values on residential tax rates. As in prior years, we adopted the maximum allowable shift of the residential tax levy to commercial properties, resulting in nearly $1,000 of annual savings to the average residential taxpayer.

• We received a presentation from UrbanSDK, a company that uses geospatial location data from vehicles and other sources to track speeds and traffic on local roadways. Adopting this tool would allow the Wakefield Police Department to better investigate resident questions about traffic speeds, and to more effectively target traffic enforcement patrols. It also would allow the Town to better evaluate the traffic studies prepared by developers proposing to build multifamily housing and other large projects. The Council will consider a potential contract with UrbanSDK at a future meeting.

• The Council voted to install no idling signs at all Wakefield Public Schools as required by state law, and approved an easement to National Grid to allow for the replacement of aging gas lines on Main Street and Greenwood Street.

• The Department of Public Works shared information on their policies and procedures to repair utility trenches in Wakefield's roads. The Department has set construction standards for repairs and mitigation payments that are required for all utility work completed in Wakefield, though remediation is needed on some roads that were repaired before these standards were adopted several years ago. The department noted that final repairs generally are completed after a winter freeze/thaw cycle to ensure the durability of any repairs made.

• The Town Council received an update on the spending of Wakefield's federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). All funds have been allocated, though there are approximately $54,000 of unspent funds from the installation of the Fit Court at Moulton Park. The Council voted to reallocate these unspent funds to the Galvin Middle School solar project that will be considered at Town Meeting on November 16.

• The Council voted to approve the five Town Council-sponsored articles that will appear on the Town Meeting warrant on November 16. These articles include the Galvin Middle School solar project and set of zoning changes to bring Wakefield into compliance with the MBTA Communities law.

Our next Town Council meeting will be on Monday, November 18 at 7:00 PM at Wakefield
Community Access Television and on Zoom. Before then, please mark your calendars for the Regular Town Meeting on Saturday, November 16, starting at 8:00 AM at Galvin Middle School. All registered voters in Wakefield are able to participate -- please join us and make your voice heard!