economic development

Fans of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) like Lord of the Rings Online™ will be excited to learn that Westwood company Turbine, Inc. has been acquired by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. Turbine, Inc., located behind the Mercedes dealership on Glacier Dr. in Westwood, is the largest privately-held online gaming studio in North America and employees over 300.

Two petitioner articles will be included at town meeting to deal with the unforeseen complication that resulted when it was discovered that Lambert's Market is in a residentially-zoned neighborhood. Part of the great compromise of 2008--to allow a future Wegmans in Westwood Station to obtain a beer and wine license--was to grant additional licenses so that Roche Brothers and potentially Lambert's and High Street Market could also apply for licenses someday. Only problem is Lamberts, being in an "Single Residence A" district, cannot actually get a license...because...well...MOST communities don't plan for liquor stores being THAT integrated into the community.

If you don't believe me about the zoning, check out the town zoning map. That's right, the little strip mall on Route 1 containing the dollar store, Jade Chinese restaurant, and The Dog House, is all zoned dark green residential, although Google maps indicates the area being "O'Toole."

If anyone has more specific information, feel free to post it here or send it to me. I don't have the text of the articles--my information on this is just from talking to several people familiar with the process.

Last night, I attended Dedham Civic Connections--a community networking event that drew over 100 Dedhamites (and me) for an informal get together of town employees, elected officials, business owners and a wide range of creative, civicly-engaged people. I think this is an idea Westwood could learn from...

Selectman Paul Reynolds noted that there are probably a couple hundred people in Dedham who serve on the committees, volunteer/organize in community organizations and otherwise serve the town. You could call that the "Dedham 200." But the goal is to make it the Dedham 23,000--events like this are a start.

Westwood has no shortage of volunteers and community organizations. Check the list of town commissions and appointments by the Selectmen and you will quickly find a list of people and committees that are already very engaged in the quiet work of the town. Try to schedule a meeting--like our monthly Pedestrian and Bike Safety Committee meetings (3rd Thursday)--and you'll quickly find there are many conflicts because many people are busy at many meetings.

I have been able to find less in terms of business organization...I'm thinking of joining the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce--but I also think we need something local to Westwood. I'm working out some business offerings as part of Dave Atkins Media to set up local businesses with simple web sites and I also believe WestwoodBlog can play a supporting role in all of this...

That is the kind of mix I think an organization like what Dedham has started could facilitate in Westwood. Perhaps a quarterly meeting with food and drinks--not an agenda--could provide a way for residents, business owners, town officials and activists to meet and strengthen their connections and develop new ones. For business owners, it is an opportunity to network. For people interested in issues, it's a chance to meet people on the various committees informally and get a better sense of the personal element behind so much of what goes on in town...so "The Town" is not some detached bureaucracy.

I think a big part of strengthening a community can be described as making individuals and businesses aware of opportunities to invest. "Invest" doesn't just mean money--it can be volunteer time or even just influence--to pass along the idea to others or to help build consensus around strategic action that can make a difference. But community and business are not separate--the "bottom line," literally, is that we all need to work to make money and pay our taxes--and the town needs revenue from somewhere to do the things that people would like to see done. Connecting these things will make everyone better off and enable us to look forward with optimism and possibility even in difficult economic times.

I've been making a few updates to the page here listing Westwood Web Sites:

http://westwoodblog.org/weblinks

including the site I set up for Larkin Insurance and the other, pre-existing web sites for my other office neighbors: Pratt and Son and Precious Metals Reclaiming Service. No web site yet for Cafe Diva or Islington Barber...

If you would like me to include links to any businesses or organizations in Westwood, please send me the links.

There are no shortage of potential topics to discuss in this town. Ideally, each one would start as its own post, but I just wanted to list out some of the things I'm wondering about that are not being covered by the press extensively and/or are not in a finalized state where the town would have published anything.

Last night, the Economic Development Advisory Board met after being completely re-organized. Regardless of what is going on or not going on with Westwood Station, what is the purpose of that? What is the town doing to promote business development--both small and large? A few years ago, an economic development director was hired; then she left and went to Needham. Is there any kind of association of Westwood small business owners I could join? Or start?

The Pedestran and Bicycle Safety Committee is meeting tonight. I posted it officially at town hall as required by law and on the town website, but haven't even posted it here on my blog. We have a lot going on and I'm happy to respond to questions.

The Dunkin Donuts on Route 1 was robbed at gunpoint last Tuesday. Yes, there was a story in the Westwood Press but it would be good to learn more.

FinComm met on Tuesday night. Was that about the Library...or the budget in general...or prep for discussing the warrants for the town meetings coming up? There is a lot of specualtion but I would suspect the majority of residents are not paying attention yet--until the override campaigns start. There is a blog about the Library project and plenty of information and meetings going on, but it would be great to hear what people are thinking and start the discussion earlier before it turns into a campaign.

The challenge of municipal finance in general is a complex topic that could stand some reasonable discussion that is not framed in crisis. It sounds like the dire circumstances predicted at the last Board of Selectmen meeting I attended are less dire now, but I don't know.

The meeting warrants are open for two Town meetings. Last year I was criticized for observing that the warrant had closed in January and so no one could get anything on the agenda for the May meeting.  So if you have anything for next year...you have a few weeks now to either convince the Selectmen to include it or gather petition signatures. I'm not looking to re-open a debate on the process of Town Meeting, but now is the time to prepare so if you have something, it can be proposed, discussed, etc.

There is an active Government and Charter Study Task force meeting twice a month to consider improvements to town governance. So, for those who felt their efforts last year went down in flames...it's worth a look to see the work that is actually being done now.

In December, the Town will hold an "ascertainment hearing" to hear from residents what their needs are vis-a-vs the Comcast and Verizon television contracts. The hearing will concern, among other things, the amount of operational budget available for community access tv programming. The nonprofit WestCAT was formed almost two years ago (I'm on the board) and we have now hired a person to build out a station here in Westwood...

I just contributed a short article to the Hometown Weekley about the concept of town centers and connecting the "villages" of Westwood. I've written several posts in the past on this topic and welcome any comments or thoughts...here are links to the earlier articles that will open in a separate window so you can come back here and comment on this more recent post.

• Developing Villages and Connecting the Town
• "Westwood Square"

Mainly, I'm curious what others are thinking about their needs and wants for Islington and High Street. What do businesses need to be more successful? What kinds of things would residents like to see?

My self-employment has led me to search for venues outside our busy home from which to work...and the past two weeks I've been spending a lot of time in Dedham Square--mainly at Cafe Video Paradiso where it is relatively quiet and there is free wifi. I'd work from Westwood if there were such a place, but I'm not aware of one. The Starbucks is about as close as it gets--I've been there a few times for coffee with people and then bumped into other folks, but there is not really enough room to work there and the wifi is not free. The Library has free internet access...but you can't talk or eat there.

But "hanging out" in Dedham Square has helped me appreciate more than just having some free office space...there is also huge value in just being in a place where other members of the community regularly frequent. I've gotten to know Paul and Peter Reynolds, and bumped into some other involved Dedham community members.

We need something like that in Westwood. The official town offices--Library, Town Hall, Police/Fire, etc., are strung along High Street, but there's no coffeeshops other than Starbucks...no "square" around which to congregate. The Senior Center is a great space--but it is essentially in a residential area along with the High School. The most geographically logical center of town is at First Parish Church; standing on the steps on that hill, one can imagine why the meeting house was situated there at the crossroads of Clapboardtree and Nahatan when the town was formed--but it is not an economic center.

I think Islington has the potential to be more of a town center for all of Westwood. Imagine if the MBTA station were moved out of the residential area at the end of Grafton Street and positioned over East Street. What if the area around the train tracks and Roche Brothers could be developed into a project encompassing shops, apartments, and office space? The center is already relatively accessible from residential areas all the way to Gay Street...and if the pedestrian access under the train tracks and over Route 1 were safer, would be equally accessible from the Downey School area. There are already some pieces in place...Cafe Diva is a great lunch and breakfast spot...the renovated School Street playground is a meeting place for parents and kids...and everyone drives to Roche Brothers for groceries. On the other side of the tracks, we have a few businesses...the Mercedes dealership, the Turbine company...and a couple of stores that are currently "land-locked between Route 1, Everett Street, and the train tracks...what if these commercial areas were accessible to pedestrian traffic and could be considered a part of an extended Islington Square?

I think there is great potential in how Islington could gradually develop over the next decade or more. I'm not saying we should be like Dedham or Norwood or anyone else. But I think we need more places where people can live and work in the community on a regular basis. Although something like moving the MBTA station would require huge external efforts, I think most of the changes would have to come from people and businesses in town--not from politics and not from an outside developer. Something like this would be built one coffeshop, one boutique, one deli, one storefront at a time...but I'm curious if anyone else thinks this is a future worth dreaming...

On my other blog this morning, I published a description of a writing topic I'd like to pursue in more detail than a blog can really cover. I will keep WestwoodBlog more a community resource here, but I plan to research and write more about the urban planning and economic development implications of Westwood Station on my other blog, and if my writing proposal is accepted, in other media.

This provocative article in the Globe today uses Medfield as an example of a town where the costs to the town of additional children (education services > property tax revenue share) are making for tough planning choices. While no one is seriously out to discourage families from moving to towns, some argue there are greater benefits to having older, childless residents buy property. Certainly the numbers add up in the short-term--adding kids to the schools costs more than the taxes their parents will likely pay. But in the long run, how the town is perceived affects its real estate marketability and economic development opportunities.

Consider Needham. Why do homes in Needham continue to hold their value? One reason is that the town is seen as the the ultimate family-friendly suburb. Parents desparately want to move there because they perceive the town has a great school system and it is a convenient location to get to jobs in the city.

A fundamental component of Westwood's brand is "excellent school system." But it is a tough balance...if too many kids come to town, the school will be unable to handle the load and expenses will rise, and ultimately quality will suffer. But if the town were to be seen as less family-friendly--I think all property values would drop like a stone. We could become an exclusive suburb for rich kids, I suppose, but I don't think we want to be that kind of town either.

Over at my other blog, DaveWrites, I comment on several news articles I've read recently about how high gas prices are making suburbia unaffordable. I don't think Westwood is true suburbia--we are a New England town--but I'd be curious if others share my sense that we have almost the best of both worlds living here. I think that as people realize living out past 495 is not tenable, they will want to move to towns like Westwood even more.