Special Town Meeting - 10/26/26

Westwood Special Town Meeting, October 26, 2026, considered the proposed Fire Station 1 replacement and a capital-stabilization-fund transfer. The town presented a redesigned station with an all-in project budget of $39.98 million, about 20% smaller than the prior proposal, and identified PMA Consultants as project manager and Castle Booze Associates as the design firm. The funding plan uses $5.18 million in available local funds and anticipates $38.1 million in borrowing; the town estimated this use of local funds would save about $10 million in debt-service payments over 30 years. The town described estimated annual tax impacts of about $343 for a home assessed at $1.25 million and about $295 at the median assessed value. Article 1 received an electronic vote, but the vote tally and outcome are not present in the transcript. Approval at town meeting would also require passage of the related debt-exclusion question on the November 3 ballot. If approved, the town anticipated permitting in spring 2027, bidding and construction startup later in 2027, and completion in 2029.

Article 2 proposed transferring school-facility-related reimbursements to the town’s capital stabilization fund and renaming the fund to support future facilities projects. The transcript records the article as passing unanimously; its amount is garbled, appearing as “1,35,419.” A proposed resolution was ruled out of order because it had a financial component and had not followed the town’s petition and review process. No construction contract award or bid approval occurred at this meeting; bidding was described as a future step.