Letter: 'ARPA Money Is Burning a Hole In Our Town's Pocket!'

"ARPA Money Is Burning a Hole in Our Town’s Pocket!"

A few weeks ago, the residents of Wood Hill Road received a letter from the Town informing us of a proposed plan to convert our dead-end street into a gated through street to School Road for the purpose of an ‘emergency egress’ for the school in the event of catastrophe. In light of the recent school shooting we understand the need for access way to the school. However, this a small part of a larger ‘bucket list’ that a select-few town agencies have been working on for over three months, driven by funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to Weston (and other municipalities). The notice to Wood Hill residents announced that town officials would present, in a Zoom call a few days later, their plan to modify our street. This presentation would be just ahead of the Board of Selectman’s and Finance Board’s final vote the following week. Our first thoughts were what’s the rush? Why not study all of the available options and develop a proper emergency plan?

Prior to this Zoom meeting the neighbors signed a letter of opposition to their plan and delivered it to the Town. We are not opposed to a third access point. However, this option will NOT accomplish the goal they are trying to achieve.

The Zoom call was attended by many Wood Hill residents, as well as our First Selectwoman Sam Nestor, members of the police and fire departments, as well as the Weston Finance committee. Our other two Selectpersons were not on the call and the call was not recorded. In their presentation, the officials expressed the need for a third point of entry because School Road and Weston Road would be too crowded. We questioned the wisdom of putting the third access point so close to the main school entrance. It would have the same traffic congestion issues. Also, anyone who has entered or exited this street also knows that it’s a blind turn in both directions. Why not consider other options which would diversify the exit routes to Old Hyde or Norfield Roads away from the crowds? They readily admitted that the Wood Hill proposal was the easiest and cheapest. According to Sam, “It’s just taking down a couple of trees.” Why would our town officials seemingly rush through such an important safety matter without seeking the input of engineering and emergency planning professionals? Was our children’s safety a matter of convenience and cost? In the end, the town officials indicated that they would look at the other options we identified.

After this meeting we wrote an opposition letter outlining our concerns and asked that alternate access ways off of Old Hyde on the opposite side of the school campus be considered for best route diversity. This letter was delivered to our First Selectwoman Sam Nestor and the Town Administrator Jonathan Luiz.

It is important to note that there was not a traffic study or survey done to evaluate the different locations. The current entrance to Wood Hill is nonconforming with current state requirements for roads entering on to a State Highway (Route 57) and since the usage of the road is changing no research has been done to see if the entrance to our road also needs to be changed. There are questions that haven’t been answered.

It is disappointing that the other departments on the Zoom call did not seriously look at any other options. Why? It turns out that these ‘pet projects’ on the town ‘bucket list’, including the dog park, pickle ball court, and several others are part of Sam Nestor’s agenda, and she is intent on pushing them through whatever it takes. Our other two Selectman were unaware of our opposition.

Let’s take a closer look! The ARPA charter is intended to: Address the negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency; Replace lost public sector revenue; Provide premium pay for essential workers; and. Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. These funds should be better spent to tackle the intended purpose of health, welfare and safety initiatives.

Let’s remind our officials that they serve us and not themselves. The use of these funds should have been opened to the Town for input, not negotiated in the back room of our Town Hall. This entire situation reminds me of the song from Hamilton ‘The Room Where It Happens'. Some people have said that Sam Nestor is transparent, I would question that!

Please be sure to attend Tuesday’s (June 7th ) Town meeting at 7PM at the Weston High School to discuss ‘Sam's Bucket List’. We need to remind her that we should have a voice on what projects these critical funds are spent on.

Ed Migliaccio
Wood Hill Road, Weston

(This letter was revised at 10:16 a.m. on Jun. 7 at the request of the writer. —ed.)