Wrentham Allocates Sweatt Fund Money

The Board of Selectmen voted at its meeting Tuesday night to allocate Sweatt Fund money after hearing recommendations from the fund's advisory group.

William Jones, the chairman of the advisory group, said there had been $78,598 in requests this year, down from the usual $100,000 range. He said the group was recommending the town fund $76,000 of those requests.

"In the last 10 years, we've dispersed $700,000 to programs in town," he said.

Jones said the programs recommended for funding this year include senior center bus trips, town concerts on the common, museum passes for the library and an update of the town common tree inventory.

"The common has lost a lot of trees, and they've planted new ones," he said. "They last did [an inventory] five years ago — they tag trees and estimate their age and lifespan."

"They want to make sure the new trees are in, healthy and up to a decent size before they take the old ones out," he said.

One project the group recommended was $10,000 for security measures at Sweatt Park.

"They've put almost $130,000 into that wall, and it's almost finished," he said. "There's been vandalism, so they're looking into lighting."

The selectmen generally agreed to the group's recommendations, but asked that they fully fund the purchase of 10 trees for the Rice Recreation Complex.

"It's a beautiful complex," said Board Chairman Joseph Botaish. "We'd like to see [the trees] get in as soon as possible."

"If the funds are there, could we make this a priority?" he added. "And if they aren't, could we make this a priority next year?"

The board approved a motion to allocate the funds and ask the bank that manages the fund if money was available for the tree project.