Board opens warrant, approves waste pact, backs Eversource fix

Select Board · Meeting of August 11, 2026

NEEDHAM — The Needham Select Board heard that a draft regional sewer overflow plan would cost the town about $28 million through 2072, rising to $85 million under a stricter alternative. Massachusetts Water Resources Authority officials said the pricier option still would not make the Charles River reliably swimmable after storms, since untreated stormwater, not just sewage overflow, drives pollution. The board also weighed a 10-unit 193 Garden Street 40B proposal, with member Kevin calling it "too dense" and neighbor Bill Looney asking the board not to endorse it as proposed.

Separately, the board voted 5-0 to approve an intermunicipal agreement with Walpole to begin negotiating a new solid waste contract ahead of a 2028 deadline, and approved three traffic regulation changes on Grove Street, Central Avenue and Greendale Avenue. Needham Baseball and Softball's Corey Wilk told the board "this is an urgent need" for Memorial Field renovation funding as Warner Field faces a 12-to-24-month closure for the Pollard Middle School project.

In the full story:

• Public Comment: Downtown Bank Saturation
• Public Comment: Memorial Field Baseball Renovation
• International Overdose Awareness Day Proclamation
• Eversource Grant of Location, 77 Wellesley Avenue
• Steven Palmer Building Jurisdiction MOA
• MWRA Needham Dewatering Drain Line
• MWRA Combined Sewer Overflow Control Plan
• Consent Agenda
• 193 Garden Street LIP (Gardner's Nest Condominiums)
• Accidental Artist Public Mural, 1299 Highland Avenue
• National Community Survey and Communications Report
• Town Seal and Flag
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,969 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of August 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.