Town of Westwood

The meeting results detail votes taken on several articles pertaining to ongoing litigation against the Westwood Land Trust. Article I sought to recommend immediate withdrawal from the lawsuit, with subsequent votes showing majority support for continuing the legal action. Article II aimed to prohibit the expenditure of Town funds on the litigation. Article III concerned a full public accounting of funds spent on the litigation. Article IV proposed requiring an open, in-person public meeting before initiating any further legal or administrative action related to the matter. The document also includes results for preliminary or separate votes on indefinite postponement for Articles I, II, and IV, and votes 'For the Article' for Articles I, II, and IV.

The meeting focused on reviewing research from various facility tours conducted by the committee, including fire stations and town-owned properties, in preparation for submitting long-term and short-term recommendations by March 1, 2026. Key discussions included programmatic needs of Fire Station 1, presented by Chief Lund and Assistant Chief McCarthy, detailing current staffing levels, vehicle usage, and optimal response times (4 minutes for the first vehicle, 8 minutes for full response). The department operates as an Advance Life Support service with mutual aid agreements. Training requirements, equipment storage needs, and various staffing models for current operations, and projected needs for 10 or 11 firefighters, were reviewed. Future predictions included addressing growing needs at University Station, possibly requiring a future substation there.

The purpose of the meeting was to provide committee members with firsthand familiarity with potential sites for a future Fire Station through a guided walking tour. Locations reviewed included Town Hall, the Deerfield School, the American Legion site, and a landlocked parcel behind Starbucks. Key discussions focused on the options of demolishing Town Hall for a combined Public Safety Building, constructing the station in front of the Police Station, or building it on the Deerfield Elementary School site. Site access to High Street was a recurring point of discussion, particularly for the landlocked parcel which appears suitable but lacks frontage.

The committee established a framework for modernizing fire services by defining programmatic needs, emphasizing requirements such as dedicated decontamination zones, integrated training towers, and gender-neutral living quarters. Operational efficiencies, including climate-controlled medical storage and on-site maintenance bays, were prioritized. The committee began narrowing down construction or renovation sites from eight initial options, rejecting the existing station renovation due to insufficient footprint to meet safety codes. They retained three options: redesigning the current site with an economical layout, analyzing town-owned land behind Starbucks, and exploring the Deerfield School site. A significant focus was placed on community outreach and managing public perception by launching a robust engagement plan, intending to use the town website as the official source of truth. A community forum is scheduled for January 29th to provide updates and gather feedback.

The in-person meeting involved a guided tour of the Needham Fire Station Headquarters to allow committee members to view a recently constructed facility, understand the functional purpose of each space, and gather information to inform departmental needs regarding a new fire station. The committee toured various areas including storage, training room, maintenance bay, apparatus bay, administrative offices, and living quarters. Specific attention was given to the four drive-through apparatus bays and five auxiliary bays. Feedback from Needham firefighters on operating in the current facility was discussed, noting the need for additional lockers in the decontamination zone.