Selection Approve Entertainment License for Paradise Cafe

Officials also hear from police chief about Dedham's National Night Out events, and recognize town administrator's son.

  The Board of Selectmen Thursday night granted Paradise Café an entertainment license. Café owner Ali Koushan told selectmen many of his customers have asked if they could have soft music, like jazz, playing in the background. They’re thinking of having it a couple nights each week, probably Friday and one day during the week. Selectmen also received a letter of support from neighbors of the establishment.  “It’s a proven model to have this type of music in bistros and cafes,” Selectman Paul Reynolds said. He also added that something like this is great for Dedham Square. Dedham Chief of Police Michael D’Entremont attended the selectmen’s meeting to tell everyone about National Night Out, an event that began in Texas in the mid-1980s and …

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Town Meeting 2012 By The Numbers

Town Meeting approved an operating budget of more than $85 million.

  Dedham Town Meeting members voted Monday to apporve a Fiscal Year 2013 operating budget of $85,060,161, an increase of about $2.5 million from this year's budget. Members also supported a $6.2 million capital campaign. The operating budget vote came after Town Meeting member Russ Poole said budget-makers were out of touch with the "real world" that's still feeling the Great Recession. "This sort of spending is not sustainable. We are partly to blame because of our consistent approval," said Poole, who also blamed the Finance Committee for their approvals and the school and town administrator for their treatment of the budget like a "blank check." Since Fiscal Year 2006, the town's operating budget has grown by 21.1 million, Poole said …

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Town Meeting Gives Selectmen Authority to Lease Old Avery

The Board of Selectmen now will draft a request for proposal.

  After more than 30 minutes of debate, Dedham Town Meeting members voted by voice vote to give authority to the Board of Selectmen to enter into a lease agreement for the former Avery Elementary School. Selectmen now will look to draft a request for proposal, likely for an arts and community center. The non-profit group Mother Brook Arts and Community Center is the only entity to show interest. Proponents of the article, seen by some Town Meeting members as a referendum on an arts center, said it filled a desire in the town, worked to revitalize East Dedham and would re-occupy the vacant school building quicker than any other project. "This is a great position to be in because this body, a few years ago, voted to believe and reinvest in …

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Neighbors Call for Other Options for New Police Station

Town officials and neighbors agreed the department needs a new home, but the trouble is where to put it.

  Dozens of residents near St. Mary's Church voiced opposition Wednesday night to the town building a new police station on town-owned land located at what's called the former St. Mary's parking lot. One by one, seniors from O'Neil Drive, current residents around the site, and soon-to-be neighbors of the proposed station agreed that the department needed to move out of its outdated building in Dedham Square, but disagreed that the High Street location was the best one in Dedham. "I know this police department needs a police station. They needed it when they built that building they have now," said neighbor Dominic DeVirgilio. "It was a dilapidated building when they built it." Members of the Building, Planning and Construction Committee …

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VIDEO: 'Cornerstone' of East Dedham Opens

Officials praised the opening of the new Avery Elementary School, and students will move after April vacation.

  Principal Clare Sullivan - a 30-year Avery School stalwart - planned to hold a closing ceremony Friday for the current and about to be "old" Avery Elementary School. She'll take down the Avery Pride banners that line the gymnasium and watch as schoolchildren play on a grass-less playground for the final time. In less than 18 months, Avery students went from digging the first dirt to welcoming parents and state officials to their new $21 million school Thursday morning. "I can remember a few short months ago when we gathered at what is now the 50-yard line of the new athletic field to celebrate the setting of a ceremonial beam on this new magnificent structure. At that time the discussion focused on a vision we had for the new Avery …

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Study: Keep Endicott Management In-House

A town-funded study concluded Dedham should look to increase marketing and tracking of events at the Endicott Estate.

  Following nearly a year of discussion, town officials look to have a way forward on how to manage the Endicott Estate. A study by Open the Door, Inc., concluded that the town needed to focus on bookkeeping and increase marketing in order to drive revenue, while still providing a civic purpose. The study recommends against outsourcing management of the Estate to a private company. "A private company would look towards reducing [no-charge civic events] and increasing the number of paid events in order to generate revenue for their business, as well as the Town of Dedham," the study reads. Town Administrator William Keegan pitched the idea of turning management over to a private firm in his 2011 Budget Message, but the idea received push …

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Dedham, Unions Reach Health Care Deal

Following new state legislation, the town looks to save $1.7 million, officials say.

  The Town of Dedham and town employees reached a new deal on health benefits that officials say will save the town $1.7 million. The state’s Health Insurance Reform Act, passed in 2011, opened the door for towns to work with unions to cut back health care costs. “People recognize that it’s a nice step in controlling something that became uncontrollable,” said selectman Michael Butler. Under the new insurance plans, employees will pay lower monthly premiums, but require higher co-pays. Approximately $484,000 of the first year savings will be devoted to a Health Reimbursement Account established to fund some of the increases in employees’ out-of-pocket costs in the initial years of the new program, according to a statement released by the …

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Dedham Selectmen Want to See Utility Cost Savings

With a new facilities director, the Board of Selectmen are pressing for utility cost updates.

  The Siemens project to revamp and update several of Dedham's buildings with more energy efficient equipment was pitched to Town Meeting in 2010 as a project that will pay for itself. But as selectmen evaluate the fiscal year 2013 budget, they're still waiting to see the cost savings. "Debt service for that project was going to be funded from reduction in line items," board chairman Jim MacDonald said. Selectmen are asking facilities staff to provided a breakdown of utility use for each building in order to track savings. "I don't have it," said selectman Michael Butler at Thursday's meeting. "I don't know what's happening. I need it. It's sort of counterintuitive to see heat going up in next year's budget versus down." The town's …

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After Sightings, Keegan Warns of Coyotes

Residents in the Oakdale neighborhood have reported sightings of two coyotes.

  Following a report of two coyotes in the Oakdale neighborhood last weekend, Dedham Town Administrator issued this memo on the Town of Dedham's website Tuesday: There have been some sightings of coyotes in Dedham in recent weeks. The Town has been monitoring the animal sightings and is providing the following web site links for information pertaining to coyote habitats. Generally speaking, coyotes do not like to be around humans but they have been known to prey upon small household animals from time to time. The coyote mating season occurs between February and April, so you may see them more often during this time of year. They can be easily spooked by simply turning on lights or by causing some noise. If any resident of Dedham sees a …

Keegan Signs Letter Calling Out Questionable Jobless Claims

The letter was penned by Lynnfield Town Administrator William Gustus and signed by several officials from other towns.