Wellesley NRC OKs Morse's Pond Beach Funding Request, 4-0

Natural Resources Commission · Meeting of September 1, 2026

Wellesley Natural Resources Commission backs Morse's Pond construction funding request, presses Select Board on North 40 fire station plan. The commission voted 4-0 to send a final Capital Planning Committee application for the Morse's Pond Beach and Bathhouse project toward a 2027 Town Meeting construction-funding request, with the building footprint trimmed from 3,300 to roughly 2,200 square feet over successive design reviews. Commissioners Tom Hammond and Melinda Arias-Voci both objected to a proposed fire station on the town's North 40 parcel, with Arias-Voci saying it "will just so completely destroy the environment there." A separate speaker urged the board to back a citizen petition funding town counsel to resolve title questions over the privately preserved White Pond, calling the pond's ecological assessment "an important and logical first step." The Select Board will hold a charrette on North 40's future October 1 at Hunnewell School.

The board also approved its August 10 minutes 4-0.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
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• The complete report — 2,837 words

Source: the Natural Resources Commission meeting of September 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.