Historical Commission supports proposed grant for Wellington House improvements

The Historical Commission is supporting a Community Preservation Commission grant application to complete improvements to The William Wellington House on Trapelo Road.

The grant provides $296,062 for the restoration and protection of the exterior envelope and first floor of the house. When work is complete, the house will be used for large group gatherings and school field trips. The work was originally slated to take place in 2019 but was delayed due to the pandemic.

The Historical Commission at its Monday night meeting agreed to write a letter of support as part of the CPC’s grant application.

Also at its Monday night meeting, the commission heard an update of proposed cell tower antennae in the steeple of the historic New Light Korean Church at 730 Main St. from Garrett Conroy, director of site acquisition for Centerline Communication LLC. 

Commission chair Mort Isaacson expressed concern about plans to replace existing wooden louvers in the steeple with fiberglass louvers, which he said might give a different visual effect that isn’t historically accurate. 

Conroy explained that the louvers will be made to look like the existing wooden louvers and that the change to fiberglass was so that radio frequency could more easily move through the louvers. 

The commission approved a motion to authorize Isaacson to write a letter of approval for the project.

In other business, the commission

• Moved to approve a request for $1,200 for fall landscape clean-up at the Robert Treat Paine Estate.
• Moved to submit feedback on a proposed historic marker to be placed on St. Charles Borromeo Church at 51 Hall St. The commission said the sign as designed was too small and requested that it be made larger so that it could be easily read from the street.