Seeking wind-power support

Town officials are asking residents to make a donation to the New England Wind Fund, a Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance program dedicated to financing electricity-generation projects using wind turbines. The donations would support clean-energy efforts across the region, according to Needham officials. Under the nonprofit group's program, if 150 town residents make a one-time contribution of $100 or agree to a monthly donation of $5, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative will supply Needham with a 2-kilowatt solar array for a public building. Residents must make the donations by April 30 to qualify for the incentive program. - Laura M. Colarusso

LAKE AVENUE VOTE POSTPONED - The Board of Aldermen last week put off making a decision on whether to purchase a property at 230 Lake Ave. for $1.95 million. The board is expected to take up the matter Feb. 19. Postponing the decision is expected to allow proponents of the purchase to address the board's concerns, which include the cost to the city and whether to demolish the house on the property. Proponents say the property, adjacent to a city-owned parcel on Rogers Street and the city's Gil Bathhouse, would increase the recreation area's public beachfront and park. The board's Finance Committee voted against the proposal, which calls for spending $1.4 million from Newton's Community Preservation Act funds and the remaining $550,000 from the city's bond debt. - Rachana Rathi

NEW PHILHARMONIC DIRECTOR - Peyman Farzinpour has been named as the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra's music director and conductor. He is replacing Patrick Botti, who held the position for just a few months before leaving in December over differences with the board on what direction the orchestra should take, according to publicity coordinator Karen Walz. Farzinpour, who is also music director at the Concord Academy, held a variety of posts before moving to the state late last summer. He was most recently director of new music programs for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and before that was artistic director of the Los Angeles-based Erato Philharmonia, where his repertoire included avant-garde and multimedia works. Farzinpour has also worked with orchestras in Russia, Canada, Italy, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic. He holds bachelor's degrees in English literature from Johns Hopkins University and in classical guitar from the Baltimore school's Peabody Conservatory, and a master's degree in composition from the University of California at Davis. Farzinpour is also a composer, and his works have been performed by ensembles around the world. His Waltham debut will be at 3:30 p.m. March 8, when he leads the philharmonic in its "Music is Fun" concert at McDevitt Middle School, 75 Church St. The program includes music from Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and Symphony No. 29, as well as Violin Concerto No. 5 in A, featuring Youth Concerto Competition winner Daisy Joo. - Stephanie V. Siek

DETAILS ON APARTMENT PROPOSAL - The town Planning Board will get its first official look Wednesday evening at plans for a luxury apartment complex proposed for a once-industrial lot near Mount Auburn Cemetery. The Hanover Co., a Texas-based developer, is eyeing 3 acres on Grove Street, formerly owned by Aggregate Industries, to build 174 apartments with underground parking. The developer met informally with the town planning staff and held a neighborhood meeting last month, said Gregory Watson, Watertown's planning director. District A Councilor Angeline Kounelis said while the project looks attractive on paper, she and others are concerned about how increased traffic in the area might affect Grove Street's already busy intersections at Coolidge Hill Road and Greenough Boulevard. Watson said he expects Hanover will explain how it intends to mitigate traffic problems; the options include paying for a new traffic signal at Grove and Coolidge Hill. The public hearing will start at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. - Christina Pazzanese

THE YOGA FIELDS - A task force working on a solution for sealing the long-closed landfill under Sprague Elementary School's playing fields has decided to recommend a "high quality" infill capped by synthetic turf. The infill is known as thermal plastic elastomer, a composition often used to make yoga mats. Christopher Guiffre, chairman of the Sprague Field Task Force, acknowledged that TPE is more expensive than some options, but said it would resolve concerns raised over a plan to use rubber "crumbs," made from recycled tires, as the fill material. At last spring's annual Town Meeting, members defeated a proposal to use synthetic turf on the fields based on the potential toxicity of the "crumbs" that would be used underneath the turf. And while the task force initially tried to stay out of a dispute over whether to use the Sprague fields for varsity high school football games while the high school undergoes renovation, Guiffre said last week that it is now recommending that the Sprague fields not be used for that purpose. "We listened carefully to the neighbors' concerns about the intensity of use for varsity football," said Guiffre, "and we reversed our opinion." The task force has prepared three proposals for addressing the Sprague field remediation, in hopes Town Meeting will approve one next month. - Lisa Keen

PANEL IN NEED OF AN ARCHITECT - The Board of Selectmen is looking for an architect - again. The selectmen have been trying to fill a vacancy on the Weston Historical Commission since July. The selectmen and the commission interviewed two candidates last fall, but they decided to reopen the application process to find someone with more experience reading building plans and familiarity with different styles of architecture. The board has extended the submission deadline to Feb. 22. Interested residents should send a letter to selectmen at PO Box 378, Weston, MA 02493, by e-mail to selectmen@westonmass.org, or by fax to 781-891-3697. More information about the Historical Commission is available at its website, westhistcomm.org. - Stephanie V. Siek

AROUND THE REGION

SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH COMMITTEE - The School Committee is expected to appoint the members of a panel to lead the search for a new superintendent during its Tuesday meeting, according to chairman Michael O'Herron. At a special meeting Jan. 30, the School Committee determined that the search committee should have nine members: two parents, a town government official, a representative from both the Bellingham Teachers Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a school administrator, a School Committee member, a senior citizen, and an at-large community member. The committee is also considering using an outside firm to speed up the search process. Superintendent T.C. "Chris" Mattocks announced in late December that he will retire at the end of this school year, two years before his contract was set to expire. - Rachel Lebeaux

TRAILS WANTED - Town Planner Gino Carlucci is drafting a proposal for Dover's first sidewalk guideline policy. The policy would aim to encourage developers to establish trails instead of sidewalks. Its emphasis on connecting off-road trails is consistent with Planning Board regulations prohibiting sidewalks in new subdivisions. Carlucci said he expects a discussion at tomorrow's Planning Board meeting about whether the proposal would require approval by Town Meeting or selectmen. - Anna Fiorentino

BIDS FOR POLICE STATION - Officials should have a clear idea by March 15 whether bids for constructing a new police station are low enough to proceed, Town Administrator Paul LeBeau said. Voters in 2006 approved spending $6.6 million for an 18,000-square-foot facility, but bids for the project came in too high last fall. Officials then trimmed about 3,000 square feet from the design and requested a new set of bids. - Calvin Hennick

SEMINAR ON MEMOIR WRITING - The Council on Aging is sponsoring a six-week seminar on how to write a memoir. Kathleen Lundgren will lead discussions aimed at teaching seniors to put their thoughts and experiences on paper. Starting on Feb. 20, the classes will be held Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon at Bemis Hall. The seminar costs $50. For more information, call the council at 781-259-8811. - John M. Guilfoil

LOCAL STUDENT AT GRAMMYS - Milford High junior Gregory Chaplin will perform tonight with the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Combo as part of the 50th annual Grammy Awards celebration in Los Angeles. The aftershow gathering for Grammy nominees will also feature performances by Natasha Bedingfield, Cyndi Lauper, DJ Chris Cox, and Fourplay. Chaplin, a bass player, and the other students in the combo spent last week in LA performing and taking part in workshops and other events, including a public concert Friday with Grammy-nominated jazz trumpeter Christian Scott. One of 30 students across North America chosen to be part of the event, Chaplin will graduate from Milford High this spring, a year early, and plans to attend Berklee College of Music in the fall on a full scholarship. - Anna Fiorentino.

TALK OF SAVING FARMLAND - Selectmen are slated to meet with a representative from the Trustees of Reservations tomorrow to discuss a plan to ensure that a local farm is preserved. Town Administrator Charles Aspinwall said the group is working to obtain a state grant that would allow it to purchase a conservation restriction for the farm, off of Norfolk Road. The town could support the plan by putting community preservation funds toward the conservation restriction or by adopting a "right-to-farm" bylaw, Aspinwall said. - Calvin Hennick

AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD - Residents have until Feb. 21 to submit letters of interest to serve on the board for the town's new Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Town Meeting voters in the fall established the organization, which would help create and preserve housing for low- and moderate-income households. The state's Chapter 40B law calls for at least 10 percent of a community's residential stock to meet its standards as affordable housing. Money in the trust fund could be used to help a resident make a down payment on a home with a deed restriction that keeps it affordable. Or, it could be used to extend an expiring restriction. The nine-member panel will include one member of the Board of Selectmen; a Planning Board representative; a senior-level banking official with experience in the affordable housing market; representatives from the real estate, construction, and legal communities; and three residents from the community at large who have a strong interest in the creation and preservation of affordable housing. Appointments are expected to be made at the Feb. 25 selectmen's meeting. Send letters of interest to the Board of Selectmen, 13 East Central St., Natick 01760 or fax to 508-647-6401. - Michelle Morgan Bolton

OFFICER FINED IN ACCIDENT - A judge in Fitchburg District Court on Feb. 1 found Northborough Police Officer James Scesny not guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and not responsible for a marked lanes violation. But the judge placed Scesny on probation until March 4 and fined him $250 for a negligent driving charge, a court clerk said. In May, Scesny was arrested and charged by Clinton police after his vehicle hit a telephone pole near the middle of town. Police Chief Mark Leahy did not return a call for comment on the findings for Scesny, a 15-year veteran of the Northborough force. - John Dyer

DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE - One potential Town Meeting agenda item from the Planning Board would establish a Design Review Committee. The purpose of such a committee would be to advise developers on specifics of new proposals such as scale, landscaping, and building appearance. The committee would work with multifamily building developments that require a special permit as well as commercial developments. - Anna Fiorentino

MEMORIES OF '78 - On Feb. 27, Michael Tougias, the author of "The Blizzard of '78," will share his collection of photographs to retell what happened before, during, and after the famous storm hit New England three decades ago, according to an announcement by the event's host, the Shrewsbury Historical Society. Tougias will also discuss the lighter side of the storm, including neighborhood parties and cross-country skiing on area highways, according to the announcement. The free talk starts at 7 p.m. at the society's 1830 Schoolhouse on the Common. - Lisa Kocian

WARNING ON MAIL FRAUD - Postal inspectors Daniel Bonda and Jim Griffin will be at the Sudbury Senior Center at 1 p.m. tomorrow to educate residents on mail fraud - often in the form of fake sweepstakes, prizes, and products - and to offer advice on how to avoid becoming a victim. Anyone who has a piece of mail that they think is suspicious should bring it with them. The inspectors will help determine whether the mailing is legitimate. The talk is free, but space is limited, so call 978-443-3055 to reserve a seat. - John M. Guilfoil

AVOID SPREADING GERMS - Health officials at the town's Pompositticut and Center schools are urging parents to keep ill children home from school, following a spate of contagious diseases, such as colds, flu and strep throat, being spread among students and teachers over the last month. Children should be free of symptoms for at least 24 hours before returning to school. - Matt Gunderson

SAFETY FOR CHILDREN - The Upton Town Library will screen a DVD called "Stranger Safety" on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Memorial Elementary School. The film shows children how to get out of potentially dangerous situations. A representative from the Police Department will be on hand to answer questions. - Calvin Hennick

FIRE CHIEF FINALISTS - Town Administrator Jack McFeeley said he is pleased with the field of applicants for fire chief. The three finalists, who will go in front of the Board of Selectmen for interviews Feb. 19, are the town's interim fire chief, Jay McMorrow, who stepped up from his deputy chief position when Robert Morrill retired last year; Steven Garon, deputy chief in the Bellingham Fire Department; and Mark Pare, assistant chief of administration for the Providence Fire Department. - Calvin Hennick