Wakefield Town Council Notes - September 8, 2025

Here’s what the Town Council discussed at our meeting on Monday, September 8:

• The Council approved an employment agreement with Wakefield’s new Town Administrator, Denise Casey. Denise will start on Monday, October 6.

• We received an update on Wakefield’s Annual Town Day from Wakefield Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Smolinsky. Town Day is scheduled for Saturday, September 27 from 1:00-4:00 at the Lower Common, with a rain date of Sunday, September 28. The event will feature over 70 artisan and food vendors, a beer garden, many community organizations, and lots of entertainment. Wakefield’s health department also will be offering flu vaccines.

• The Town Council discussed a potential Town Charter amendment from Councilor John Carney to allow Town Meeting to move the question on a warrant article before the sponsor of the article has the opportunity to present its merits. After discussion, we declined to take any action on Councilor Carney’s proposal. We also reviewed the Town Council’s Public Participation Policy, and again declined to make any changes.

• The Council approved the issuance of $1.8 million of Bond Anticipation Notes (BANs), representing a roll-over of the BANs issued when the Town purchased the Butler Avenue property a few years ago. We also approved the annual transfer of $1 million from Wakefield’s General Fund to the Debt Services Capital Needs Account.

• We provided conditional authorization to the developers of 200 Quannapowitt Parkway to re-grade a portion of Town-owned land adjacent to Lake Quannapowitt to improve contiguity with the publicly-accessible park being created as part of the development. The Town Council’s authorization is contingent on approval by the Conservation Commission, oversight by the Town Engineer, and satisfactory testing of the soil to be used.

• The Town Council approved an easement for Verizon to allow for the placement of a utility pole at Wakefield Memorial High School. This pole is needed to provide service to the new building. We also postponed discussion of two deeds for parcels on Water Street, pending further information and explanation from Town Counsel Tom Mullen.

• The Council scheduled Wakefield’s Regular Town Meeting for Saturday, November 8, beginning at 8:00 AM at Galvin Middle School. The Town Meeting warrant will close on Friday, October 3 at 12:00 noon.

• We appointed Kathleen Tuhy to a three-year term on the Traffic Advisory Committee.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, September 22 at 7:00 PM. As always, the public is invited to join us at Wakefield Community Access Television or on Zoom.