During my first term, I helped establish the Select Board Code of Conduct and championed the new and very successful Select Board monthly office hours. They started small, but now there’s a line in the hallway of people eager to bring concerns forward. Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) was an important issue when I first ran in 2021, and I want to keep it on the front burner. It is gratifying to report that the Town has taken deliberate steps to raise awareness in all departments. The Select Board has been making intentional efforts to diversify the candidate pool for Town Boards and Committees. We have broadened our outreach for advertising committee vacancies and now conduct panel interviews of candidates to ensure a variety of perspectives. And finally, as 2023 drew to a close, the Select Board is proud to have unanimously voted to change the observance of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Housing is a big issue, and it’s complicated. And affordable housing is even more complicated.

Seniors want to downsize into one-floor living, but can’t find options in town. Starter homes are torn down before young families have a chance to bid on them. The Needham Housing Authority complex on Linden and Chambers Streets is far past its useful life and need to be re-built, and Needham is working to respond creatively to the state’s new Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA communities.

Needham, like many towns in eastern Massachusetts is working to comply with this state law. But Needham is extraordinarily lucky; we can make the law work for us. Blessed with commuter rail stations that run through our commercial and downtown spine, we are uniquely positioned to embrace the state’s requirements and improve the lively street scene that will reinvigorate our own downtown areas while respecting the quiet residential quality of our neighborhoods.

I have consistently supported a Quiet Zone. Combining engineering, safety, health, budgetary, and equity issues, the Quiet Zone has it all; but it’s well worth doing.

At the May Town Meeting, the Select Board will request funding for a review Needham’s public train crossings and a design for Quiet Zone upgrades at four of those crossings. I fully support the work of the Quiet Zone Working Group (QZWG), which focused on to find solutions to reducing train horns while maintaining safety at train crossings.

Combating climate change is a major concern, so it’s with a sense of relief and pride that Needham has catapulted itself into an environmental leader in the Commonwealth.

I supported the creation of the Climate Action Plan Committee (CAPC), served on it, advocated for funding to conduct a greenhouse gas study and to create a roadmap for solutions. I’m pleased that municipal electrical aggregation (MuniAgg), the Opt-in Building Code, and the hiring of a Sustainability Coordinator have all been accomplished.

Dove-tailing with this is the issue of Stormwater Management. The August 8th rain event (the most expensive 90 minutes in Needham history) shows the risks Needham faces because of climate change. Needham needs to focus on resiliency issues to protect ourselves.

To do this there are two big projects: the newly-created Stormwater Bylaw Working Group and the Stormwater Master Plan Study. The Bylaw Working Group will revise the building code to harden new construction and to design and engineer for topography and water flow. The Stormwater Master Plan will assess the hydrology of water moving (and flooding) across Town during a high-intensity rain event and recommend a variety of projects to manage stormwater quality and capacity.

To inform these two studied that DPW has held 22 neighborhood meetings (I’ve attended 20 of them) to hear accounts from residents and to understand the topography of their neighborhoods. These meetings have been very helpful to understand the intricacy of the problem.

Needham needs to preserve, maintain and increase its green spaces. I will continue to push for increased opportunities for passive outdoor recreation such as creating mountain bike paths along Greendale, continued improvement of boat launches along the Charles River, and working on solutions for the rail trail.