Author: Jennifer Lambert

Natick Center Station has been under construction for 5 years. Here are 5 things to know.

Construction workers worked on accessibility upgrades at Natick Center Station (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

It’s been five years since construction began on major accessibility updates at Natick Center Station, and commuters are still waiting for it to be done.

The MBTA is spending $40 million rebuilding the station with two new elevators, two accessible ramps and six stairways. The project was supposed to be completed in three years, but it has dragged on for five. The MBTA now says it should be done this year.

Riders, such as Jeff Richards, say they’ve been left in the dark.

“It’s just been painfully slow, and then when you ask, you get nothing,” said Richards, a longtime resident of Natick who has commuted daily on the train to Kendall Square for almost a decade.

Richards said he noticed during his daily commute that South Station’s renovations, which are nearing completion, have made significant progress.

“In that time, they built a skyscraper above South Station,” Richards said.

Once a loyal rider of the Natick Center stop, Richards now drives to West Natick because of the ongoing construction and limited train schedules.

“It was a 12-minute walk [to Natick Center], and I loved it,” Richards said.

A “Building a Better T” sign was displayed outside of
Natick Center Station (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

Jory Lucas, a Natick resident who takes the train into Boston about five nights a week, said that during construction it’s sometimes difficult to find what platform the train is coming in on.

“I’ve actually missed the train because of the wrong tracks,” he said. “You just constantly have to look at the MBTA app. You have to constantly keep an eye on it because it’s changing just nonstop. Now everybody stands on the bridge in Natick because they don’t know what side it’s coming on. Then when they see it, they all run to one side.”

Until this week, the MBTA had shared few public updates. After the Natick Report inquired about the lack of updates, the project’s webpage was updated Wednesday with a clearer timeline and more detailed information.

Here’s what you need to know about the delays in construction at Natick Center Station and what’s coming next:

The MBTA says the station will be completed this year.

Construction began in February 2020 and was estimated to conclude in 2023. More than five years later, the MBTA has updated its timeline to indicate that the train tracks will be shifted to their final location in early summer 2025, the new accessible platforms will come into service in late summer, and the project will be completed in early fall.

A commuter rail train, inbound to South Station, arrived at Natick Center station. (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

“The MBTA is proud to be upgrading stations across the system, including Natick Center Station, especially in an effort to improve accessibility. We are anticipating Natick Center Station to be open by the end of the year and we appreciate the community’s patience as we work to get to that point,” the agency wrote in a statement via email.

Lucas, who works as a builder at JMAC Development Corp., said he believes the project could be done by the end of 2025.

“I don’t just have the commuter perspective,” he said. “I also watch these guys work. These guys have stepped it up in the last three months, they’ve been non-stop … The way they’re going now, I could see it being done [by the end of the year].”

Delays were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and construction restrictions, according to the MBTA.

Within weeks of the project’s start date, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted labor availability and supply chains, resulting in setbacks that persisted long after the initial shutdown. The MBTA also designed the work to minimize interruptions to service on the Worcester Line, requiring crews to work around active train operations.

Instead of using weekend shutdowns, tasks were done overnight, which helped cut busing costs but extended the construction schedule. Keeping the station open to riders throughout the project also limited productivity.

Progress was also slowed by more specific issues, including a 2021 storm in Texas that knocked out the factory producing fiber-reinforced polymer–a modern material replacing concrete and rebar–for the station’s platforms.

Riders say the delays have upended their commutes, and they feel left out of the loop.

For Jeff Richards and others who have expressed frustration on social media, the biggest frustration is a lack of communication from the MBTA. He said the “bare minimum” would be transparency.

The Natick Center Station sign was displayed at the station, with a map.
(Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

“It’s keeping their page up to date and being transparent about why they can’t maintain the schedule,” Richards said. “And I think with any references to COVID and supply chains, there has to be something that’s concrete. Who’s overseeing this? Why isn’t the T there every day? How many people are on the project? How much money has been spent on this? Those are the questions.”

The lack of communication, he said, weakens trust in a system he wants to believe in.

“I want the system to be awesome because I would rather be dragged by someone’s car on a hot day on the [Mass.] Pike than drive,” Richards said.

The project has been years in the making, long before construction began.

In a Facebook comment, Josh Ostroff, director of capital strategy for the MBTA, noted that accessibility planning for Natick Center Station began more than a decade ago. In 2012, the Natick Select Board approved $80,000 for a feasibility study and conceptual design at the station. That led to approval in 2016 and eventual construction approval. At the time, Natick Center was the busiest commuter rail station in the system that was still fully inaccessible.

The project will include major accessibility upgrades.

When completed, the station will include high-level platforms, elevators, ramps, canopies, bicycle parking, new signage and emergency lighting. It will also include a rebuilt pedestrian bridge.

Richards says he does not believe the project will be completed when the MBTA says it’s going to be.

“There’s so much that has to be done, and I just don’t see it being done by the end of this year,” he said. “I think it’s going to be more 2026 before that station’s open.”

This story is part of a partnership between the Natick Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

May 1, 2025
Rain or shine, Wellesley College’s annual hoop rolling event is ‘full circle’ moment for graduating seniors

Arushi Ghosh, the winner of Saturday’s hoop rolling race at Wellesley College, posed in her graduation gown with her hoop (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

Not even heavy rain could dampen the excitement Saturday morning as Wellesley College seniors ran down Tupelo Lane with wooden hoops in one of the school’s oldest traditions.

The annual hoop rolling race, which dates back to 1895, marks a celebratory right of passage for Wellesley seniors. During the race, seniors sprint about an eighth of a mile while rolling wooden hoops. The objective is to keep the hoop rolling upright, but many seniors dropped their hoops, picked them up and kept running—even if it caused them to fall behind a bit.

Originally, it was said that the winner would be the first to marry, but today she “will be the first to achieve success, however the winner defines it,” according to Wellesley Magazine.

This year’s winner, Arushi Ghosh, was thrilled to fulfill what she sarcastically called her “ultimate purpose” at Wellesley.

Arushi Ghosh stood proud in Lake Waban after
being tossed in by two of her friends
(Courtesy photo from Arushi Ghosh)

“The reason I came to Wellesley was to win hoop rolling,” joked Ghosh, an economics major from Hong Kong. “Forget about the bachelor’s degree–now I get a hoop rolling degree.”

Ghosh and her friend, Gabriella Olavarria, were the first seniors to arrive. About two rows of people there were underclassmen saving spots for their “Big Sisters.” Some of those “littles” had been there since 6 a.m. Ghosh and Olavarria arrived around 8:10 a.m., almost an hour before the race’s 9 a.m. start.

“We were texting from bed, and we were like, ‘Should we do it? Should we rally? Should we try to win?’” Ghosh said. “And then we got there, and we were the first seniors there, and all these underclassmen were bullying us because they were saving spots for their bigs, which is really sweet. But we were like, ‘OK, we’re here to win.’”

@swellesleyreport Annual hoop rolling race @Wellesley College ♬ original sound – swellesleyreport

Seniors Maya Lu-Heda and Arushi Ghosh, who were roommates as first-year students, posed in front of Lake Waban (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

Around 200 seniors participated in the race–about a third of the approximately 600-person class of 2025. The race, which lasted only about 45 seconds, ended with Ghosh crossing the finish line and being tossed into Lake Waban by two of her friends. Throwing the winner into Lake Waban is a tradition that dates back to the 1980s, following a prank where a Harvard man posed as a Wellesley senior and won, according to WBUR.

For many seniors, Saturday’s race was a full-circle moment. Ghosh recalled her first year at Wellesley, when she and her freshman-year roommate, Maya Lu-Heda, jumped into the lake together as part of the “Lake Jump” tradition. In this tradition, resident assistants pick a random day to knock on freshmen’s doors and bring them outside to jump in Lake Waban together.

For many Wellesley seniors, who will graduate on May 16, the day was bittersweet.

“It feels weird because I’ve been to watch hoop rolling, and now we’re the ones doing it,” senior Jessica Cohen said.

Students gathered to take photos after the hoop rolling race (photo by Jennifer Lambert)

The rain and potholes posed some challenges for the students, but they still embraced the spirit of the tradition.

“I’ve been excited for this since sophomore year, so it’s a shame that it’s raining but a beautiful day nonetheless,” senior Ellie Gurguliatos said.

For the seniors, many of whom had once stood on the sidelines cheering for older classmates, Saturday’s event marked an emotional milestone.

“Everyone goes, but only the seniors roll the hoops,” senior Alaina Fox said. “It’s such a big tradition, especially in the rain. I’ve never seen it like this before.”

Ghosh was happy she could finish her college experience by winning the race.

“Now I’m at peace,” she said. “I’m like ‘I can graduate now.’”

Wellesley College seniors Nyssa Youhn, Ellie Gurguliatos, Kathy Li, and Maya Lu-Heda posed with their hoops after the race (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

This story is part of a partnership between the Swellesley Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

April 27, 2025
‘We’re just going to be the store that Natick needs’: Ten Trees Books starts new chapter downtown

Kim and Rob Rickard, owners of Ten Trees Books, smile in front of the shelves and decor inside their store. (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

Kim Rickard walked downstairs one August morning two years ago, uncertain about her job in executive recruiting at a small accounting firm, and made an announcement to her husband, Rob.

“I think I might want to open a bookstore,” she said.

Rob was unsure about the idea.

“I said, ‘Yeah, let’s think about it,’” he said. “I mean, with e-books and everything, it’s like, really?”

Now, nine months after Ten Trees Books opened its doors in Natick Center, the shop has become what Kim calls “a third space, where it’s not work and it’s not home.” Inside The Hive building, which was once home to several women-owned businesses, Ten Trees Books offers a cozy, independent bookstore open every day.

“I’ve always been a reader, and I’ve always wanted to be around books,” Kim said.

After working at Barnes & Noble in college and briefly wanting to become a librarian, Kim started looking into what it would take to open a bookstore, something she said the Natick community needed. She tapped into the American Booksellers Association, which advocates for the success of independent bookstores, to help her assess Natick’s viability.

“[Natick] just met all of the check marks of a town that would make a successful business in terms of the size [and] the education of the people,” she said.

“We’re open into the evening, which no one else [downtown] is … and we’re just going to be the store that Natick needs.”

Kim and Rob Rickard’s dog, Piper, kept children comfortable while they listened to storytime at Ten Trees Books. (Courtesy photo)

The Natick community’s response to the shop “has been incredible,” Kim said. The family-run business has all five-star reviews on Google.

Mary Vasquez, a Natick resident and member of the romance book club at Ten Trees, appreciates that the store is a “third space.”

“One of the nice things about the store is that it’s not just a store–it’s also a place to gather,” Vasquez said. “Kim has been doing a lot more book clubs and events, and I think it’s a really nice thing to have in our community as well.”

The entire Rickard family is involved, with the couple’s 11-year-old daughter, Cassidy, working the register on Saturday afternoons, and their dog, an Irish Setter named Piper, keeping the guests company during story times.

“It was my birthday yesterday, and [Cassidy] said, ‘You are the most awesome mom in the whole world, and you’re doing so good on your bookstore,’” Kim said. “Because she watched me do this when there were no shelves.”

Rob, who works full-time in finance for a quantitative hedge fund, spends weekends supporting the store however he can.

“It’s [Kim’s] vision and her idea, so I just let her go with it,” Rob said. “I’m behind the scenes.”

The Hive is a retail incubator, giving early-stage businesses a chance to launch and grow. Kim said Ten Trees’ lease runs until February 2026, and then they will move into a new space, which she and Rob will start looking into over the summer.

“The idea is, you think you have a concept that might work in Natick, and you want to test it,” Kim said. “It’s low capital investment in the beginning to get us in.”

Ten Trees Books occupies The Hive building.
(Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

The world of independent bookstores has been expanding in recent years, according to the Associated Press.

“There’s a need for independent bookstores now more than ever, because of what’s happening in the administration, what’s happening in schools: banning books or putting them under critique,” Kim said. “And I think there should be independent bookstores where you can go buy anything you want.”

With recurring book clubs, literature groups, poetry nights, visiting authors, weekend storytime, and other events, Ten Trees has quickly become a downtown gathering place. Kim said she wanted to foster that community after reading posts in a Natick Moms Facebook group.

“There were women who were bold enough to say, ‘I need friends,’ and I felt that way for a long time, because you reach a point in your life where it’s hard to meet friends,” Kim said. “So it was very intentional for me, when I opened [Ten Trees], I planned to have activities for people to get out of the house, specifically women.”

The store’s name is connected to Natick’s town common, Kim said. In 2020, Natick removed 10 trees from the town common, sparking an uproar on Facebook. The town later replanted 10 diverse species—an act Kim saw as symbolic.

“It’s new beginnings, it’s growth … and it’s diverse,” Kim said. “That speaks to a message that I’m interested in.”

Rob said the most rewarding part of the store’s nine months in business has been the sense of community.

“People come in all the time and say, ‘Thank you. We love that you’re here.’ And you’re like, ‘Wow, OK, I’m making a difference.’”

The couple hopes that Ten Trees becomes a lasting part of the town.

“I hope that it exists here, even if we don’t own it for a very long time in this town,” Kim said. “And because I think the town wants it and needs it. So I do look at it a little bit like my legacy.”

This story is part of a partnership between the Natick Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

April 11, 2025
Wellesley’s Strategic Housing Plan nears completion date amid tensions over growth, affordability

As Wellesley prepares to release its long-anticipated Strategic Housing Plan this month, residents, advocates and town officials are clashing over a familiar dilemma: how to balance neighborhood preservation with the need for more diverse and affordable housing.

The town’s Planning Department is working with a consulting firm, Barrett Planning Group, to draft the plan. Eric Arbeene, Wellesley’s planning director, said the town is taking a “strategic approach” to look at what kinds of housing the community needs, from affordable and senior housing to “missing middle” options like townhouses and condos.

The plan would succeed the housing production plan, which was adopted in 2018 to help Wellesley meet a state rule requiring at least 10% of the town’s housing to be affordable.

The town is incorporating input from a public survey, community forums and discussions with advocacy groups. Arbeene, Meghan Jop, the executive director of government services, and Corey Testa, the assistant executive director, meet biweekly with Barrett Planning Group to discuss the plan’s progress.

“Wellesley is a very affluent community where the average sale price is about $2 million for a home,” Arbeene said. “You combine that with high demand for housing, not just in the town, but across the whole region and state, it’s … what does the town want? That was the genesis of the public survey, these meetings, and whatnot — to see what the town wants.”

Strategic Housing Plan forum (June, 2024)

More than 1,400 residents participated in the townwide survey last year, a small sample size for a town of almost 30,000 people. While nearly three-quarters of residents said it’s important to stay in Wellesley as they age, fewer than half of all respondents, including non-residents, said they could afford Wellesley’s $1.9 million median single-family home if they were to buy one in 2023.

The open-ended responses were split: Some residents voiced concern about losing community character, while others stressed the need for housing that teachers, older people, young families and other workers can afford.

Ann-Mara Lanza, founder and co-chair of Building a Better Wellesley, a housing advocacy group, said the survey reinforced what her group already sees: a shortage of attainable homes. However, she emphasized that since not everyone in town participated in the survey, it is not completely representative of the community.

“There are definitely people who feel strongly that they don’t want Wellesley to ever change – they’re out there,” Lanza said. “And then there are other people who see the needs, who want to find a solution for seniors, who understand that multi-family housing is not an evil but that it is a piece of the puzzle.”

Katie Schuller founded Neighbors for Better Planning — a group focused on neighborhood preservation in development decisions — after she was concerned about a proposed 64-unit condo project threatening wetlands and historic homes near Cliff Road. She said people also voiced their concerns in the community forums on Nov. 14 and 17.

“People basically said that they like the town the way it is,” Schuller said, “and that they wanted to protect our open spaces, the safety of the town — those kinds of things.”

The plan is also being shaped by a town-appointed Housing Task Force made up of public officials and community members. Building a Better Wellesley was initially on the task force, and then Jop expanded it to include Neighbors for Better Planning, Friends of Brookside and Wellesley Conservation Land Trust to get alternative perspectives, Jop said in a Feb. 27 Advisory Committee meeting.

“The Housing Task Force does not vote or approve anything,” Jop said in the meeting. “They work within the public bodies.”

Funding for the Strategic Housing Plan came from Town Meeting, Jop said. She also said that it is taking longer than expected to come out because the town is prioritizing public opinion.

“None of our plans come out on time, in particular in Wellesley, to be quite honest with you, because we try and include public engagement and get back to people as best we can and be inclusive,” Jop said in the committee meeting.

At the center of the town’s housing tension is the Residential Incentive Overlay, or RIO, bylaw, which allows multi-unit projects on sites larger than one acre and near commercial centers and transit.

In 2019, the bylaw was broadened to allow RIOs in all zoning districts, including single-residence zones. That change helped Wellesley push forward with major developments — including Terrazza on Linden Street and The Bristol on Weston Road — and surpass the state’s 10% affordable housing threshold.

Schuller says her group wants more transparent planning surrounding RIOs.

“None of the abutters had been notified, or informed, or talked to,” Schuller said about the proposed Cliff Road project.

That concern has continued with Article 42, a citizen petition that would restrict RIOs to commercial and industrial zones. It is on the Town Meeting warrant and is expected to be discussed in one of the scheduled sessions this week or next. Petitioners argue that this would help preserve neighborhood character and prevent unexpected development.

The Planning Board has voted 4-0 against Article 42. The board’s chair, Tom Taylor, outlined the reasons why in an April 4 Swellesley Report Letter to the Editor. In the letter, he advocated for awaiting the Strategic Housing Plan before making changes to the RIO bylaw.

Max Woolf, who spoke on behalf of the Charles River Regional Chamber in a Feb. 26 Advisory Committee meeting, advocated to oppose Article 42, and said eliminating RIOs from residential areas would affect the town’s workforce.

“For Wellesley’s health care facilities, child care centers, grocery stores and countless other businesses, attracting and retaining employees is directly tied to housing availability,” Woolf said. “Weakening the RIO bylaw further limits opportunities for the workforce that keeps Wellesley running.”

Last month, Wellesley voted to form a task force to review the RIO bylaw and recommend changes to it.

After about a year of work on the Strategic Housing Plan, residents are ready to see the results. However, Lanza says she would rather wait than have a rushed plan.

“I know we’d all like it like yesterday, but I’d rather have a more thorough job done, personally, from the consultant,” she said.

Barrett Planning Group is expected to give an update on the plan in late April or early May, Arbeene said.

This story is part of a partnership between the Swellesley Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

April 9, 2025
Popovers and partnership: How a Natick couple built a Wellesley bakery from scratch

Carl Parisien and Morgan Schaffrath, co-owners of Popovers at Church Square, recall the excitement of opening their doors for their first day in business in July 2024.

“We got absolutely crushed,” Parisien said. “I was like, ‘Lock the doors!’”

The flood of customers eager to try the restaurant’s popovers caught the husband-and-wife duo off guard.

“There were 20 minutes when we didn’t have any popovers because we were so overwhelmed with support,” Schaffrath said. “It was great.”

Carl Parisien and Morgan Scaffrath, husband and wife, smile in front of the menu at their restaurant, Popovers at Church Square. (Photos by Jennifer Lambert)

In business for eight months, Popovers at Church Square has sold more than 15,000 popovers, not including the 16 popover breakfast and lunch sandwiches on the menu, Parisien said. Fans have traveled from around the state to try the big, light, and airy pastry made with just four ingredients — flour, milk, eggs, and butter.

Although it has only a few ingredients, creating the perfect popover is a difficult task, the couple said. The pastry is baked until it pops up dramatically, creating a crispy exterior and hollow interior.

“It’s not as simple as you might think,” Parisien said. “I spent probably the better part of a year or more just developing our own proprietary popover batter recipe. A lot of things had to fall into place.”

Schaffrath said she loves seeing customers’ reactions to their enormous popovers.

“It will never get old for me when I bring a popover out, and they gasp and say, ‘That’s so big,’” Schaffrath said. “Then, they take their phone out and take a picture because they’ve never seen a popover that big.”

A simple popover, warmed and buttered with a side condiment or cheese, goes for $4.95 at Popovers at Church Square, including a gluten-free version costing $5.95. Other variations – such as a pepperoni pizza, bruschetta, or strawberry Nutella popover – cost about $10. Popovers have been around since the 1800s when English settlers adapted the Yorkshire pudding recipe, and they became popular throughout New England.

One of the restaurant’s huge popovers with homemade honey butter on the side.

Playing to each other’s strengths

Parisien and Schaffrath, who live in South Natick, spent years turning their vision into reality. Parisien, who is an IT director at Northeastern University, works weekends at Popovers, bakes in the early mornings, and helps clean after the restaurant closes. Schaffrath is a former district manager at Dunkin’. They said they play to each other’s strengths.

Schaffrath is familiar with morning business, ordering, staffing, and dealing with health inspectors. Parisien said his IT background has helped him navigate point-of-sale systems.

“We came together in that,” Schaffrath said. “I had the front-of-the-house kind of experience, and he could do the back-of-the-house kind of stuff. We complemented each other, and that made it easier.”

Parisien also uses many lessons he learned while working at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in high school.

“All the little things I learned about baking, service, and cleaning are still with me 25, 30 years later,” he said. “It takes about an hour for us to cook a batch of 36 popovers, so you always have to think an hour ahead … It was the same thing that I learned at KFC as I was cooking chicken.”

The right location

Parisien and Schaffrath said they spent a lot of time looking for the right location for Popovers before they settled on 16 Church St. in Wellesley. They said some landlords would not allow them to open in an area where a bakery or cafe already existed.

The restaurant’s location was previously occupied by the clothing store Cachet, which closed in 2022. Turning a retail space into a fully functioning eatery was no small feat.

“We had to gut the place and convert it into a food service space, so we had to figure out all the plumbing, electric, everything,” Parisien said. “When we signed the lease, we were supposed to be open in three months … Well, that never happened. It took us about 11 months.”

For many Wellesley residents, Popovers at Church Square reminds them of another popover restaurant, which closed in 1996 and occupied the space across the street. Parisien said many people ask them if they are affiliated, but they are not.

“We got really lucky because we didn’t know about it, but it was a good spot with great memories,” Schaffrath said.

Popovers at Church Square, which opened in July 2024, is located at 16 Church St. in Wellesley.

Despite the challenges before opening the restaurant, Popovers has delighted customers.

“I have an office downstairs, but I can hear through the floor when it’s jam-packed in here,” Parisien said. “All I hear is, ‘Popovers, popovers, popovers.’ It’s amazing.”

All about relationships

Beyond the food, the couple cherishes the relationships they’ve built through the restaurant. They partner with Speedwell Coffee, a roasting company in Plymouth.

“[The owner of Speedwell] literally knocked on the door and said, ‘What’s going on in here?’” Schaffrath said. “We’ve made some great relationships just from people saying, ‘What’s going on in here?’ Because the popover is a unique idea.”

A bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich made on a popover. Parisien said the couple even had to develop the way they wrap their sandwiches because the menu items could easily fall apart.

Schaffrath said the most rewarding part of the couple’s hard work is seeing it all come together.

“On a busy Saturday when there’s not one seat available, and my family’s hanging out, and it’s loud, I just look out, and it’s so rewarding that the idea and work created something that people love,” she said.

At the heart of it all is Parisien and Schaffrath’s dynamic as a couple.

“In the pandemic, when he had to work from home, I liked having him around,” Schaffrath said. “And now we get to work together … all the time.”

But it hasn’t always been easy. Schaffrath said the biggest challenge of running a business has been the stress.

“Every little thing is on us to take care of,” she said. “It can be a lot, but at the six-month mark, it kind of calmed a bit, and we knew what we were doing. We worked out the stresses and unknowns, and now we can be more proactive.”

Popovers has a staff of six, including Parisien and Schaffrath. Some work full-time, and some are students at Wellesley College who work part-time.

“The most important part of running a business as a couple,” they say, “is remembering to laugh.”

This story is part of a partnership between Natick Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

March 19, 2025
Less than a week before town election, candidates discuss green initiatives at Sustainable Wellesley event

Candidates for town office agreed at a forum Wednesday that Wellesley must stay committed to sustainability for the sake of the community’s future.

The event, hosted by Sustainable Wellesley less than a week before the March 4 town election, allowed each candidate in the town’s two contested races — for seats on the Select Board and Recreation Commission — to give a three-minute speech about their positions on sustainability.

Wednesday night’s Sustainable Wellesley event at the Wellesley Public Library was well-attended, with Town Meeting members, residents, and Wellesley High School students (photo by Jennifer Lambert)

The Select Board candidates — Kenny Largess, Odessa Sanchez, and Michael Tauer — kicked things off.

Largess, a member of Wellesley’s Advisory Committee, told the crowd that the town is responsible for its future.

“We wouldn’t build a house knowing it would crumble in a few years,” Largess said. “But when we ignore sustainability, that’s exactly what we’re doing — building a future on shaky ground.”

He said sustainability can benefit the town’s economy and that “short-sighted decisions” can create long-term damage that is more expensive to fix.

“Energy-efficient homes lower utility bills,” Largess said. “Walkable, bikeable towns boost local businesses. Communities that invest in sustainability become more desirable places to live, raising property values. The future economy is green, and towns that resist change risk being left behind.”

Sanchez, chairperson of the Wellesley Housing Authority, said she listened in on Climate Action Committee workshops when she became chair in 2021. She lives in public housing and wants to ensure it is included in sustainable action.

“I swore myself to be dedicated to find out more ways that my community — I live in public housing — can be recognized and be considered whenever they’re making any kind of sustainability initiatives,” Sanchez said.

Collaboration among environmental advisers, town stakeholders, residents, and businesses is necessary to achieve environmental justice, she said.

“Going green should never create a hardship for anyone, and I think that if I was on the Select Board I would make sure that those conversations happen,” Sanchez said.

Tauer, chair of the Permanent Building Committee (PBC), said sustainability is about maintaining the planet for future generations.

“Whatever we’re arguing about today, whatever we’re focused on today, we will wake up tomorrow and we will still share this one special planet that we have,” Tauer said. “So if we’re going to achieve that goal of handing off a town that is vibrant and thriving and sustainable and financially secure, it is critical that we also hand off a planet that is vibrant and thriving and secure.”

The crowd included many members of the Wellesley community, including Town Meeting members, residents, and Wellesley High School students.

Maisie Fitzpatrick, a student taking an AP environmental science class at Wellesley High, said she appreciated the candidates’ emphasis on the future.

“Since I’m learning about the environment in school and how important it is to take action now, it was really cool how much they were emphasizing wanting to make a better place for the younger generation,” Fitzpatrick said.

Tauer also highlighted the sustainability impacts of his work through the PBC on Hardy and Hunnewell Elementary Schools. Both were net-zero buildings with all-electric systems, and Tauer and the PBC are working to make the Warren Recreation Center net-zero.

The Recreation Commission candidates — Nathalie de Fontnouvelle, Garfield Miller, and Laurance Stuntz — also delivered brief speeches. De Fontnouvelle could not attend, but Sustainable Wellesley board member Phyllis Theermann read written remarks de Fontnouvelle sent beforehand.

De Fontnouvelle wrote that she heard the results of the 2023 MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey in a school committee meeting, and said pollution can be a stress factor and harm mental health.

Evaelle Huor, another student taking an AP environmental class at Wellesley High School, said she was intrigued by de Fontnouvelle’s comments.

“I didn’t know the link between pollution and climate change and mental health,” Huor said.

Miller — a volunteer at the Tolles Parsons Center and a participant in other recreation activities in town — said that after discussing the mission of the Recreation Department with its director, Matt Chin, he thought about how it could connect to Sustainable Wellesley’s mission.

“If you put those two missions into a Venn diagram, there’s obviously going to be places where they might butt heads, but there’s also areas, I think, where we could work together to make improvements to the town.”

He listed initiatives such as encouraging the continued use of shared resources, promoting afterschool activities on-site at schools, and advocating for more busing as ways the Recreation Department can improve while remaining sustainable.

Stuntz, who is seeking re-election, joked about the refreshments at the event at the start of his speech.

“There’s nothing more sustainable than the fact that there’s no plastic cups and nothing more Wellesley than the fact that they’re all Yacht Club double old-fashioned glasses,” he said.

Stuntz said he has always supported Sustainable Wellesley’s goals and voted in favor of sustainable practices in town. To him, sustainability means reusing and sharing resources.

A sign reminding voters that election Day is Tuesday is displayed for drivers (photo by Jennifer Lambert)

“I do think that there’s always going to be a balance between, we should reduce our carbon footprint, but that doesn’t mean no development whatsoever,” Stuntz said.

Theermann of Sustainable Wellesley said she was pleased that the event, held at the Wellesley Free Library, was well attended, but she hopes people vote.

“There’s so many things that people can do, and some things are heavy lifts, and some things are not,” she said. “Voting is an easy lift, and people should definitely get out and vote their values.”

This story is part of a partnership between the Swellesley Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

February 27, 2025
Wellesley Public Schools won’t reduce bus fees next school year due to ‘budget constraints’

February 11, 2025

After reducing bus fees for three straight years to encourage more ridership, the Wellesley school system will keep the price at $300 next year for students living within 2 miles of their schools.

“The budget for next year had some pretty tight constraints, so we weren’t able to work that in,” said Niki Ofenloch, vice chair of the Wellesley School Committee.

School buses are free to ride for students up to grade 6 who live more than 2 miles from their schools. All students in grades 7 through 12 and those who live less than 2 miles from school must pay the fee.

The bus fee was $521 for the 2021-22 school year, but the district gradually reduced it over the next three years, lowering it this year to $300 per student, with a $700 family cap. By increasing ridership, the school system aims to help the town lower carbon emissions and time spent in traffic.

As fees have been reduced, more students are taking the bus. Paid ridership grew from 810 to 971 over the three years, said Sharon Gray, a spokesperson for Wellesley Public Schools. Gray cautioned that the district has not made a direct correlation between the fee reductions and the increase in ridership, however.

Bus ridership increased even as overall school enrollment declined over these three years. The district projects that enrollment will continue decreasing in the next two years, according to the recently approved budget.

Although school bus fees have not been lowered for the 2025–26 school year, Ofenloch said the school system still has a strategy to get more students on the bus. The district’s five-year strategic plan, adopted in 2023, called for eliminating bus fees by the 2027–28 school year.

“It is still part of the district’s strategic plan to continue to reduce the bus fees,” Ofenloch said. “And I think the School Committee will, each year, as part of the budget process, consider that and determine the best possible path forward. [This year] there was not a change in strategy – it was just a tight budget constraint.”

Wellesley has three MBTA commuter rail stations and three MWRTA bus stops, but traffic congestion persists. Only 5% of Wellesley residents said they use public transit to get to work, while 49% drive alone, according to 2023 U.S. Census data.

Rachel Laufer pays the $300 bus fee for her daughter, a first-grader at Hunnewell Elementary School. She said cars on Washington Street are often “bumper to bumper.”

“Sometimes [traffic] in Wellesley is super stressful, just getting from point A to point B,” Laufer said. “You just get clogged up, and there’s just way too many cars.”

Finn Reilly, a sophomore at Wellesley High School, said he drives to school and often gets caught in traffic.

“Especially before school, there’s a ton of traffic,” he said. “You maybe move up five cars in one minute. It’s crazy. What would be a 5-10 minute drive takes like 20 minutes.”

Phyllis Theermann, a board member of Sustainable Wellesley, which advocates for local climate action, agreed that traffic congestion is a problem in town.

“We have a saying that, ‘You are not in traffic – you are traffic,’” Theermann wrote in an email.

Wellesley has a greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. About 32% of Wellesley’s emissions came from transportation in 2023, according to the greenhouse gas emissions inventory from the Climate Action Committee.

“The more folks we get out of single-occupancy vehicles and into public transit, school buses, walking, biking, scooter and carpooling, the better,” Theermann wrote.

Brynn Franceschini, a sophomore at Wellesley High School, said she understands the environmental impact but isn’t sure how many high school students would take the bus rather than drive to school.

“A lot of people like [driving to school], but reducing carbon emissions is always important,” Franceschini said.

Laufer said she appreciates Hunnewell’s “Safe Routes to School Program,” which encourages “walking, biking, and rolling to school” in the warmer months, according to the school’s website.

She said her daughter, Olivia, loves the program.

“It’s all about getting outdoors,” Laufer said. “[The students] walk right on the Brook Path, and they give the kids keychains. It’s a really fun event. I love that they do that. That’s a great option, too, as opposed to taking the bus, but both would be great.”

Making things more accessible for families helps drive the goal of eliminating bus fees and increasing ridership, Ofenloch said.

“It just allows families to have another way for their children to get to school,” she said.

February 11, 2025