Wakefield Town Council Notes -- October 20, 2025

Here's a summary ofour Town Council meeting on Monday, October 20:

• The Town Council held our annual tax classification hearing for Fiscal Year 2026. The average residential tax bill will increase by 9.3%, due in large part to the debt exclusion approved two years ago to pay for the Wakefield Memorial High School project. In addition, the continuing growth of residential property values relative to commercial values contributes to higher residential tax increases compared to commercial increases.

• We approved a liquor license, restaurant license, and entertainment device license for Bao's Kitchen, which is opening on Water Street.

• The Council approved a zero-interest water bond of $1.3 million from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to fund various water main replacements in Wakefield.

• We approved resolutions recognizing Wakefield Community Access TV for Community Media Day, and The Scholarship Foundation of Wakefield for their 65th anniversary.

• The Town Council appointed four individuals to the Affordable Housing Trust board, including Gail Severt, Kevin York as the Planning Board representative, Sarah Fowler as the Housing Authority representative, and Marie Rej as the Commission on Disabilities representative. We also corrected the term lengths for the other three incumbent members of the board. There are two remaining open positions on the Affordable Housing Trust board.

• The Council tabled appointments to the Economic Development Council to our next meeting, pending interviews of the applicants.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, November 10 at 7:00 PM. As always, please feel free to join us on Zoom or Wakefield Community Access TV.