Wenham Select Board Votes to Pursue Town-Wide 25 MPH Speed Limit

WENHAM -- April 14, 2025, Wenham Select Board unanimously approved a preliminary warrant for a June 9 special town meeting anchored by 3A MBTA zoning and a potential Cutler School re-vote, while directing Police Chief Kevin D'Napoli to draft a revised memo recommending a town-wide 25 miles per hour speed limit with school zones at 20 mph. The board voted 5-0 on the preliminary warrant list, which includes 3A as the lead article, six items carried over from annual town meeting planning, a policymaking-board service restriction proposal, a change to the Community Preservation Committee's composition, and acceptance of Spring Hill subdivision streets as public ways. Town Administrator Steve Bartha announced that a $500,000 Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Green Communities grant for Town Hall energy upgrades received final clearance Monday, unblocking contractor planning after weeks of paperwork delays. Board member Ben Simon publicly urged the school committee to pursue an amendment to the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District agreement's debt-authorization threshold, arguing that Mass General Laws Chapter 71, Section 16D requires only a majority vote, not the two-thirds threshold that caused the Cutler project to fall short despite approximately 63 percent approval at the April annual town meeting. The board confirmed a goals workshop for the morning of June 13 and set May 6 as the date to formally open and close the special town meeting warrant.