Needham Select Board advances MBTA quiet zone deal, pulls rain garden article

NEEDHAM -- April 28, 2026, Needham Select Board advances MBTA quiet zone agreement and revises spring town meeting warrant. Director of Public Works Karis Lustig reported that the MBTA accepted the town's core demand in a cooperation agreement for a quiet zone at five grade crossings, committing in writing to maintain upgraded crossing assets to the compliance standard needed to sustain the zone, a commitment Lustig called the crux of the agreement. Deputy Town Manager Dave Davidson presented an updated 346-page debt financing report projecting the $336 million Pollard Middle School renovation would push total debt service above the town's 10 percent policy ceiling for three years, fiscal 2032 through 2034, and impose a peak additional annual tax of $2,366 on the average Needham single-family home in fiscal 2034. The board voted to withdraw a $120,000 rain garden pilot program (Article 7) from the warrant and redirect those funds to reduce borrowing for the high school HVAC project. The board voted 4-1 to support a $804,000 CPA appropriation for roof replacement and solar at Seabeds Way affordable housing (Article 22), and voted 3-1-1 to recommend a citizens petition calling for a four-lane configuration on Great Plain Avenue, with Chair Heidi Siller and members Kathy Driscoll and Bill Gustus in favor, Josh Levy opposed, and Kevin Hennessey abstaining pending the Envision committee's final presentation.