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For $18,750, Let's Finish What We Started

In 2022, Town Meeting voters spoke clearly: 76% (417-129) voted to study preservation options for the historic Weston Depot at 55 Church Street. The town approved $30,000 but only spent about $12,000 due to access issues with the building's then-owner.

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Now there's a path forward. New owner John Corcoran plans to donate the 144-year-old depot to the Friends of the Weston Depot, a newly formed nonprofit made up of long-term and public minded volunteers. We want to complete the structural analysis and soil testing voters already approved—and aim to transform the building into a community asset serving the Mass Central Rail Trail.

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The ask? The remaining $18,750. That's it. Not $1.5 million for restoration. Not a long-term commitment. Just finishing the studies voters already said yes to in 2022.

Yes, the Select Board voiced concerns about future costs and complications with the MBTA land lease. Those are valid. But this petition isn't asking the town to restore the building or take on long-term liability. It's asking to complete feasibility work that's already been authorized. The Friends of the Depot will spearhead the project, working with the Town Manager.

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The basic question is simple: should the town allow these studies to be completed as originally intended?  For less than $19,000, we can honor that mandate and give this grassroots preservation effort the information it needs to move forward—or not.

Please stay to the end of Town Meeting to vote “yes” on Article 8. Thank you.  

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ALICIA PRIMER,

President, Friends of the Weston Depot Corporation