Wakefield Town Council Notes - July 20, 2026

The Town Council met on Monday, July 20 at 7:00 PM. Here's a summary of what we covered:

• The Council approved a change of hours for the liquor license held by Life Love Cheese on Water Street.

• Affordable Housing Trust Chair Gail Severt and Senior Planner Marissa Meaney presented an update on the Trust's activities. Having spent $200,000 in allocated federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) on the Wakefield Rental Assistance Program (WRAP) over the last two years, the Trust is now turning its attention to promoting more affordable housing development in Wakefield with the $760,000 in funds currently in hand. Upcoming initiatives include potential revisions to Wakefield's inclusionary zoning bylaw and development of the Town-owned parcel off Butler Avenue.

• The Town Council renewed its Intermunicipal Agreement with Melrose and Stoneham for our regional Health and Human Services department. The agreement will remain in place through 2029.

• We approved the installation of an accessible picnic table at Colonel Connelly Park, adjacent to the playground.

• The Council approved a new policy governing the review and approval of resident requests for new street lights. We also began discussions on potential revisions to Wakefield's Complete Streets policy, which was approved in 2017.We will continue these discussions at a future meeting, and asked the Town Administrator to provide additional historic context on how the policy was initiated.

• The Town Council approved the warrant for the state primary election on Tuesday, September 1. Please note that unlike in prior years, this year's state primary takes place before Labor Day. Polls will be open at the Glavin Middle School from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with early voting and mail-in voting also available.

• We appointed a new member, Lily Smith, to the Wakefield Human Rights Commission, and nine Wakefield Memorial High School students to the Wakefield Youth Council. We also appointed Jenna MacMillan as our new Animal Control Officer.

• Vice Chair Stacey Constas discussed the process for the Town Council to complete the Town Administrator's annual performance review. Each Councilor will draft an individual review, which will be aggregated into a collective review for delivery and discussion at the Council's meeting in late September. We also reviewed the goals and priorities set by the Council at our retreat earlier this month. Once finalized, these goals will be posted on the Town website.

• Town Administrator Denise Casey introduced Jennifer Breaker, Wakefield's new Assistant Town Administrator for Human Resources and Constituent Services. Jen comes to Wakefield from the Town of Danvers, where she served in a similar role.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, August 17th, at Wakefield Community Access Television and on Zoom. In the meantime, please enjoy all that summer in Wakefield has to offer -- the Wakefield Farmers Market, Movies by the Lake, Plaza Jazz, and so much more!