Category Archives: Downtown

Holiday Stroll this Friday, 4-9 PM

Posted on November 27, 2017 | Comments Off on Holiday Stroll this Friday, 4-9 PM

 

CAM Holiday Stroll Postcard-2017

 

Medfield’s Third Annual Holiday Art and Craft Stroll: Friday, December 1, 2017

(Medfield, MA): The Cultural Alliance of Medfield (CAM) announces its third annual Holiday Stroll on Dec. 1, 2017 from 4:00–9:00 pm. This is a festive family event that takes place at 14 venues along Main Street (Route 109) and the Dwight Derby House on Frairy Street. The Holiday Stroll includes cookie decorating, an outdoor ice sculpture, 40 juried artisans, carolers and M.E.M.O.’s outdoor tree lighting ceremony. All events are within walking distance, free parking nearby and FREE admission. For complete details and a list of artisans, visit www.MedfieldCulture.org

 

ARTIST’S SITES
United Church of Christ: 496 Main Street

  • 4:00–9:00 pm. Artisan’s work for sale
  • 7:30 pm. Community carol sing
  • 4:00–9:00. Kids craft station

Medfield Library: 468 Main Street

  • 4:00–9:00 pm. Artisan’s work for sale
  • 4:30 pm, Children’s performer Sarah Gardner; Warm Winter Sing-a-longs
  • 4:00–9:00 pm. Kids craft station hosted by MAP (Medfield Afterschool Program)
  • Visit the new Friends Bookstore for books, CDs, DVDs and audiobooks

 

Zullo Gallery: 456 Main Street

  • 4:00–9:00 pm. Artisan’s work for sale

 

FOOD AND DRINK:

The Hot Dog Wagon: 478 Main Street (Bank of America Lot)

  • 5:00–9:00 pm. Nathan’s All Beef Hot Dogs with condiments; chips and drinks also available

Blazing Hearth Pizza: 503 Main Street. (Just Ervin’s Barber Salon Lot)

  • 5:00–9:00 pm fresh gourmet pizza from their wood-fired oven

 

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Baxter Park: Corner of Main and Spring Street

  • 6:30–8:00 pm. MEMO Holiday Tree Lighting and Joy to the World Singing

Dwight Derby House: 7 Frairy Street

  • 6:30–9:30 pm. FREE PHOTOSwith Santa by photographers Theresa Knapp
  • 6:30–9:30 pm.  Hand-crafted items and paintings available for purchase.

In the Gazebo next to the library: 468 Main Street

  • 7:15 pm. Ice sculpture carving demonstration outside the Town Hall by Eyes4Ice

Brothers Marketplace: 446 Main Street

  • 4:00–5:30 pm. Caroling by Middle and High School chorus members
    4:00–9:00 Holiday cookie decorating

LOCAL TALENT

Be Charmed: 70 North Street

  • 4:00–9:00 pm. Locally-made jewelry, custom-sewn “ditty bags” using specialty fabrics.

Butterfly Tree  Boutique: 505 Main Street

  • 4:00–9:00 pm. FREE holiday-themed temporary tattoos.

Capsule Lifestyles, Inc: 70 North Street

  • 4:00–9:00 pm. Pearl jewelry and designer purses, organizers and accessories.

 Juice on Main: 479 Main Street

  • 4:00–9:00 pm. FREE tastings of organic, raw, cold-pressed juices and special holiday drink.

Larkin’s Wine & Spirits:  20 North Street

  • 6:00–8:00 pm. Sample beer from Medfield’s own 7th Wave Brewing and sip award-winning concoctions from Medfield’s AstraLuna Brands

 

FREE PARKING behind the Medfield Town Hall at 459 Main Street and at the Montrose School lot at 29 North Street (enter on Brook Street).

 

 

This program is supported in part by a grant from the MEDFIELD CULTURAL COUNCIL, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Thank you to our sponsors: 7TH WAVE BREWING; A & D APPLIANCE; ACMEWARE INC.; ASTRALUNA BRANDS; ALISON BROWN/COLDWELL BANKER; DOHERTY, CIECHANOWSKI, DUGAN & CANNON; LARKIN’S WINE & SPIRITS; MASS CULTURAL COUNCIL; MEDFIELD ORTHOPEDIC & SPORTS THERAPY, LLC; NEEDHAM BANK; NOSH & GROG PROVISIONS; MAP (Medfield Afterschool Program); M.E.M.O. (Medfield Employers & Merchants Organization); PARK STREET BOOKS; and STIRLING TECHNOLOGIES.

 

The Cultural Alliance of Medfield is a 501-c-3 organization established in 2015 to nurture, support and promote culture in Medfield.

 

MCC_Logo_RGB_Tag

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Posted in Cultural, Cultural Alliance of Medfield, Downtown, Events

Office hours issues

Posted on November 17, 2017 | Comments Off on Office hours issues

office hours sign

Issues that came up this AM at my selectman office hours:

First, a Castle Avenue resident told me that there is a telephone pole that was in the middle of the cul-de-sac that broke off and needs replacement, and he is hoping it can be replaced 15-16′ to the West, out of the asphalt. It is a pole that hosts a guy wire to another pole, now leaning. Also, he abuts the rear of 93-95 North Street and he said that property floods after heavy rains and it takes 3-4 days to dry out at times.

Second, I had discussions with a resident about the town buying their land, how a price might get determined, timing, and their capital gain tax issues.

Third a resident wants to create a dog park in town where dogs can run off leash. I encouraged her to get in touch with the Animal Control Study Committee, and I put her in touch with them. She also had concerns over trucks parked on North Street in front of Nosh N Grog to make deliveries.  She also suggested parking meters – I told her how happy I was that we had a parking problem, because it means things are going on, and I mentioned that a parking study is coming soon, so we will have data from which to make decisions.  I also recounted how Wellesley was always tight on parking when I would commute home at night, until Blue Ginger closed, and now they have plenty of parking.  We now have a similar restaurant effect at night downtown.

Lastly, I discussed senior housing with another resident who hopes for sale price point of $350-500K (with deeded owner profit limitations), preferences for Medfield residents, and town staff assistance in writing a warrant article for the annual town meeting.

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Posted in Animals, Downtown, Select Board matters, Transportation

Disappearing crosswalk

Posted on November 13, 2017 | 1 comment

RR

Main St. crosswalk at RR tracks will return

Observant resident of the month, Marge Vasaturo, asked me at the Veterans Day Luminary event on Saturday whether the crosswalk on Main Street by the railroad crossing would return.  I had to ask Mike Sullivan if there had in fact been one there, and Mike recalled that there was one there, and in turn asked Maurice Goulet, Director of DPW if it was coming back – and yes it will be returning.

By an interesting quirk of town budgeting history, the Medfield Police Department actually paints the lines on the streets the DPW repair, and Moe reported to Mike that there were a few items that the Police Chief is arranging to get painted that were left out when Rte. 109 was repaved last summer.

And as your award Marge, here is a photo of the Vasaturo family luminaries –

vasaturo luminary

1 Comment

Posted in Downtown, DPW, Police Department

40B at 93-95 North Street

Posted on November 11, 2017 | 3 comments

40b

40B at 93-95 North Street

The Board of Selectmen was recently presented with a proposal for a fourteen unit rental 40B project at 93-95 North Street that the developer, David MacCready, was asking the town to approve as a friendly Local Initiative Program (LIP).  There is currently a two-family house and a small barn on the site, which is about 0.8 acres in size.  The proposal called for construction of a new ten or twelve unit apartment building at the back of the yard, and moving the barn behind the two-family structure, to perhaps house two units.  There seemed to be some continuing flux as to the actual planned configuration and whether the barn would house apartments or not.

I had been told by Mike Sullivan for months that he had been meeting with the developer about some proposals, but I had no report on, nor knew any of the details, until I first heard the proposal presented to the Board of Selectmen.  That meeting was well attended by the neighbors, who were uniformly opposed to the proposal per my poll at the meeting.  The neighbors were also critical of the developer for storing construction debris at the site and for failing to follow directions from the Building Commissioner.  I am not yet aware of the truth of those allegations.  The neighborhood is now also replete with signs protesting the project.

I have been thinking about the proper density for the downtown ever since serving on the Zoning Board of Appeals, but more so when this same developer built a row of about ten townhouses on Brook Street, that to my eye looked too dense and too tall.  However, that project was built as of right, based on the then zoning in the RU zone, the zoning district that encompasses the downtown.  From memory, at that time, the first unit required 12,000 sq. ft., but additional units could be added for each extra 6,000 sq. ft. of area.  Glover Place and Old Village Square were also built, as of right, based on that same density we then had in our RU zoning.  I think that former zoning allowed about 6-7 units per acre.

At our annual town meeting (ATM) last year we increased the RU district density requirements so that now for any multi-family building, the first three units require 30,000 sq. ft. of land and each additional unit requires another 8,000 sq. ft.  The zoning now would therefore only allow for about four units on the 93-95 North Street site, as of right, versus what might formerly have been 6-7 units.  We as a community have made a choice via our zoning requirements, that such levels of density in the downtown are what we want.

I asked Mike Sullivan during a meeting if he had talked to the developer about the proposed density at 93-93 North Street, and Mike said that he had, but that the developer “had not followed his advice.”  As I have considered whether, as a selectmen, I would vote to support this proposal, I find that at this time I am not so inclined at its current density.  I would, however, reconsider if the density were closer to the as of right density.

Where this proposal is a 40B, it is exempt from our zoning.  However, where the town is currently in a 40B safe harbor (due to both having a Housing Production Plan approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development and having actually permitted 21 Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) units this year), the only way that this current proposal can proceed is as a friendly 40B (i.e., as a LIP with selectmen support), unless the town falls out of its safe harbor next spring.  And the Board of Selectmen and the Affordable Housing Trust Committee are working to make sure that does not happen.

The current expectation is that 93-95 North Street proposal will next be vetted by the Affordable Housing Trust Committee, and may then return to the Board of Selectmen for its consideration.

 

3 Comments

Posted in Affordable housing / 40B, Development, Downtown

Dwight-Derby House water issues

Posted on November 7, 2017 | Comments Off on Dwight-Derby House water issues

Dwight-Derby House-2

TOWN OF MEDFIELD
Medfield Public Schools
459MainStreet
MEDFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 02052
Director of Facilities
Gerard McCarty, Director
508-906-3068
MEMORANDUM

TO: Michael Sullivan
FROM: Jerry McCarty
DATE: November 2, 2017
RE: Dwight Derby House Funds

The Dwight Derby House Historical Committee has approximately $10,000 in funds for repairs for the Dwight Derby House (DDH). The two projects that the Committee want to address are the Gutters and the sump pump/drainage.

This memo is to address the sump pump/drainage issue. The DDH incurs an excessive amount of ground water during the wet season. If not addressed, ground water rises to a level that impacts the basement crawl space heating system which is suspended from the floor above.. Currently, the DDH has a sump pit on the west side of the house which discharged into the sewer line, which is not permitted. To address the excessive ground water, and correct a discharge violation, my office is installing a new exterior discharge and drainage bed system on the east side of the property. The materials cost will come out of the above mentioned fund.

In an effort to save cost, I propose using some of the fund to pay DPW employees overtime to perform this machine work in digging trenches and installing stone (estimated cost of labor is $1000). This effort will be cheaper than having to bid and outsource this work. With the good fall weather, the DPW has been concentrating its effort on doing road projects in preparation for winter. By doing the DDH work on overtime hours, this project will not tie up men or machine work of the DPW to do its core function of road preparation, and will be cheaper bidding and outsourcing work.

Please let me know how I should proceed with this project.

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Posted in Buildings, Downtown, History

Rte. 109 repaving starts tonight

Posted on August 16, 2017 | Comments Off on Rte. 109 repaving starts tonight

Repaving Starts Tonight

Per Mike Sullivan at the Board of Selectmen meeting last night, the repaving of Rte. 109 starts this evening, with all work running from 7PM to 6AM:

  • Wednesday – grinding from RR tracks to Brook Street
  • Thursday – grinding from RR tracks to Causeway Street
  • Sunday and Monday – paving

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Posted in Downtown, DPW

Route 109 repaving

Posted on August 9, 2017 | Comments Off on Route 109 repaving

Route 109 Repaving

Chief Meaney provided the explanation below to Colleen Sullivan in response to her query today about the details of the Rte. 109 road work that starts next week.  Look for Colleen’s more complete story on Patch.

=========================================

Colleen,

 

Maurice Goulet of the DPW is away this week but I will give you my understanding of the project. I attended a pre construction meeting on July 24 and these are the highlights:

 

The work is currently scheduled to begin next week as the signs indicate.

 

The area of Route 109 affected will be the center of Medfield as well as a short distance east of the intersection with South Street and west of the intersection with Route 27.

 

The work will involve grinding the surface of Route 109 down two inches. There may be some leveling of the roadway done at this point.

 

Any structures in the roadway that need to be leveled or repaired will also be done at this point.

 

The roadway will then be repaved to the same level.

 

The part of the project most disruptive to traffic (grinding and paving) will be done at night.

 

As part of the grinding process, the loop detectors, which assist in controlling the traffic lights during non-peak traffic times, will be replaced. This will mean that for a few days the traffic lights will be on an automatic cycle. You will likely only notice this late at night. Normally, when you approach the lights at night or during light traffic periods, the loop detector would realize there is a vehicle there and the lights will change to provide a green light to the motorist. While the lights are on the automatic cycle, this does not happen, so people will wait a short time longer during the overnights.

 

There will be some work done during the day but this will be less of a disruption to traffic.

 

Once started, the project should be done in a couple of weeks.

 

Mike Sullivan is also willing to discuss the project with you and Maurice Goulet will be back on Monday.

 

Hope this helps…..Bob

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Posted in Downtown, DPW

Meals tax revenue

Posted on July 13, 2017 | Comments Off on Meals tax revenue

meals tax

Medfield netted $135,123 for FY 16 (the last year for which we have the complete yearly figures) from our meals tax, which our annual town meeting (ATM) enacted a few years ago.  I think of the meals tax as the town’s chance to tax the residents of our surrounding towns for enjoying our excellent restaurants.   At the Tuesday meeting of the Board of Selectmen Mike Sullivan shared his historic record of our net since the ATM adopted the meals tax.  I especially like the trajectory and the rate of growth.  I also especially like seeing documentation that our restaurants are doing increasingly much more business year over year.

LOCAL MEALS TAX RECEIPTS FY15 - FY17 FISCAL YEAR SEPTEMBER DECEMBER MARCH JUNE TOTAL 15 16 17 $7,916 $33,405 $37,559 $30,743 $31,924 $36,886 $30,672 $29,462 $98,793 $36,886 $32,908 $135,123 $37,589

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Posted in Budgets, Downtown, Financial

Town clean up tomorrow

Posted on April 21, 2017 | Comments Off on Town clean up tomorrow

From Jonathan Chechile –

=========================================================

Looking forward to seeing everyone at God Loves Medfield! Come clean up the community, and then enjoy lunch from Cutlets.

God Loves Medfield |
Don’t forget your rake! We will be providing extra’s, but please bring a pair of gloves and a rake. We will be providing bags for trash collection.
godlovesmedfield.com

April 22, 2017

Community Celebration: 12 – 3:00 pm

Service Projects: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

 

Instructions and notes:

Don’t forget your rake! We will be providing extra’s, but please bring a pair of gloves and a rake. We will be providing bags for trash collection.

If you are planning on serving at a downtown location, please meet at Gazebo Park next to the Medfield Public Library: 468 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052 for a quick time of welcome and then Location Captains will be heading to Baxter park, Meetinghouse Pond, or the Dwight Derby house.

If you are planning on serving at the Charles River Cleanup, Kingsbury Pond, Medfield State Hospital, or Hinkley Park, please meet at the worksite. There will be a Location Captains there to greet you.

 

  • If you are planning on serving at the Charles River Cleanup, please do not bring kids under 10, as we will be working along West Street as it passes over the Charles, and along the banks.
  • Note for Scouts. Den Leaders will be communicating with the pack as the where you will be meeting, and what time to meet if other than 9.
  • Note on Community Service hours. For Scouts and any/all in need of community service hours, the Location Captain will have a form to give you confirming you served.

Community Celebration: 12 – 3:00 pm

Meet at Gazebo Park next to the Medfield Public Library: 468 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052.

Food will be served a little after 12 thanks to Cutlets, and Ice cream and drinks will be provided thanks to Brothers Marketplace.

After everyone is served, representatives of the Medfield Green, the Lowell Mason House, and other community partners and friends will give updates on projects they are working on, and then there will be games and fun for the whole family!

 

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Posted in Downtown, Volunteers

Jean Mineo, Medfield Foundation 2017 volunteer of the year

Posted on March 14, 2017 | Comments Off on Jean Mineo, Medfield Foundation 2017 volunteer of the year

Jean Mineo

Jean Mineo – 2017 Medfield Foundation Volunteer of the Year

Jean Mineo was selected as the 2017 Medfield Foundation volunteer of the year just last month by the judges.  Jean was nominated by both Chris McCue Potts and Minta Hissong, a first having the same person nominated more than once in one year.  Jean and all the remarkable eight other Medfield volunteers who were nominated this year will be celebrated at the reception next Sunday, March 19 at 3PM at The Center. The public is invited to attend.

Brothers Marketplace generously sponsored the 2017 Medfield Foundation volunteer awards and support was also received from the Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation.

Below in the order they were received are the nominations first by Chris McCue Potts, and then the one by Minta Hissong.

 

It is no secret that Jean Mineo is the “chief cultural Officer” for the town of Medfield — past, present and future! Her past work includes making possible innovative and visually interesting community art, including a sculpture trail at MSH site, power boxes painted with historical or other images relative to Medfield, and outdoor pianos for all to enjoy. Additionally, Jean founded the Cultural Alliance of Medfield so that the town would have an active cultural projects/events/advocacy organization to supplement the grant-making role of the Medfield Cultural Council. Her current work involves a number of initiatives, from making the vision of the Straw Hat Park and Holiday Stroll both a reality — and highly successful ones indeed evidenced by Town Meeting support for park funding, and the enormous turnout and positive feedback on the 2nd annual Stroll!  For both endeavors, Jean had to oversee all aspects — from fundraising, volunteer and partner recruitment, political navigation, logistical details, publicity and so much more.  Through it all, Jean always does it thoughtfully, with a calm and focused demeanor, and in a way that inspires others to get involved. Rarely does Jean get frustrated when confronted with a hurdle or challenge (which is sure to happen) — she just focuses on what needs to get done to keep things moving forward.

A hugely beneficial initiative that Jean led was the town matching initiative for Medfield Cultural Council funding for local nonprofits. For very little money (but big impact), Jean successfully made the case for the match, rallied residents to turn out for the Town Meeting vote (and speak up), and then played a role in making sure residents knew what kind of impact the doubling of available funding could have on local cultural groups and projects, including Zullo Gallery, Gazebo Players, Medfield Music Association, Medfield Public Library, and others.

Jean’s current efforts serving on the Medfield State Hospital Master Planning Committee, have the potential to provide future payoff with expansion of the town’s cultural offerings. She has spent countless hours pulling together local cultural groups and representatives who have a shared vision for the huge impact cultural initiatives/a cultural focus could have at the MSH site. Her work has required endless meetings, bringing in unpaid expertise for a visioning session, rallying the community to support the hiring of a paid consultant to conduct and report back on a feasibility study, and building relationships and navigating all levels of town politics, and the work is ongoing. Jean even launched an artistic competition for the creative reuse of the old waterworks gears from the MSH site!

Jean’s commitment to Medfield’s cultural vitality and overall town character, and the impact her time and energy has made on our community, is nothing short of amazing.

In terms of impact and results, consider this:

1) The thousands of people who have visited and enjoyed the Straw Hat Park so far…including all of the attractions that were in place prior to the official ribbon-cutting in the fall of 2016. This includes piano players, sidewalk chalk art viewers, and so many others wanting to envision the possibilities!

2) The thousands of people who have taken part in the Holiday Stroll for the past two years – whether volunteers, residents, out of town visitors, or artisans selling their works or providing services. The Stroll helped deepen the sense of community that is so strong in Medfield, and helped to lift so many spirits. The community-wide event also helps to support the livelihood of many artists, and also showcase Medfield’s own
artistic talents, including visual and musical.

3) The thousands of people who drive or walk by and appreciate all of the various community art Jean has made possible through the Art in Public Places initiative (via Medfield Foundation).

4) The tens of thousands of people who will benefit if MSH redevelopment includes one or more cultural components – this would include residents, visitors and contributing artists.

As a testament to Jean’s work as former head of the Medfield Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Cultural Council awarded her with a Leadership Circle Award in 2015, and the town recognized her contributions with a special event at the Zullo Gallery. https://www.mass-culture.org/lca_honorees.aspx

In addition to all of Jean’s cultural work, she served on the MAP board (including president) and has also been actively volunteering with community projects sponsored by United Church of Christ in Medfield (prior to and separate from working there).

Jean Mineo is long overdue for the Volunteer of the Year Award. Let’s make 2017 her year!

 

 

I am nominating Jean Mineo for the volunteer of the year award. Jean serves on many boards, organizations, and donates hours of her time to our town. I will focus on one of her big accomplishments of 2016, the Straw Hat Park. This park would not have been created but for Jean’s vision, drive, patience, knowledge and fortitude. I was lucky enough to be on the Straw Hat Park committee with Jean from the beginning when we first started meeting in December of 2013! Jean worked tirelessly from the beginning when in the summer of 2013 she started gathering ideas for the park with public art in the space. From there the selectman gave her permission to gather a team and see what could be done with the pocket park. Jean spent hours and hours on administration, attending meetings, meeting with key players in town, surveys, PR, social media guru, fundraising, speaking at town meetings, and finally working with the tradesman to get the work done. It was her project and she kept plugging away when politics and obstacles got in the way. I watched her work from behind the scenes and her dedication to our town is second to none. She always had a way to make it work. The Straw Hat Park is a beautiful new space in our town that is already getting a lot of use. This creation of this space from dirt/grass to our new park is because of Jean’s work and she deserves to be formally recognized. Thank you for the consideration.
-Minta Hissong

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Posted in Art, Charity, Cultural, Cultural Alliance of Medfield, Downtown, Events, Medfield Foundation, People, Volunteers