Recreation Department Adds Floating Beach Wheelchair at Morses Pond
WELLESLEY — Wellesley's Recreation Department this week introduced a floating beach wheelchair at Morses Pond, a donation secured through a grant from the nonprofit SMILE Mass that is intended to make the town's swimming area easier to reach for residents with disabilities, even as a scam warning about fraudulent town permit-payment emails also began circulating this week.
TOWN HALL The Recreation Department announced Tuesday that a new floating beach wheelchair is now available at Morses Pond, donated through a grant the department secured from the nonprofit SMILE Mass. The equipment is designed to let people with disabilities get into the water at the town's public swimming area, addressing a long-standing access gap at the pond.
COMMUNITY & ARTS The Wellesley Free Library says the Main Library will close early, at 5 p.m., on July 21 while its parking lot undergoes construction; the lot and the book drop will be off-limits during that closure. Separately, the library reminds patrons that under its summer schedule it will remain closed on Sundays through September 13.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS "SCAM WARNING: Fraudulent Permit Payment Emails" — The town has again flagged phishing attempts tied to local permitting and licensing, warning residents to be wary of emails requesting permit payments, according to a notice posted on the town's website and relayed through a Google Alert (read it at https://www.wellesleyma.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/2897).
"The state has a new housing tracker: Here are Wellesley's numbers" — Massachusetts has launched a new tool tracking progress toward a statewide goal of adding 222,000 homes by 2035, and Wellesley's local figures are now included, The Swellesley Report reports (read it at https://theswellesleyreport.com/2026/07/the-state-has-a-new-housing-tracker-here-are-wellesleys-numbers/).
"Serve on the Wetlands Protection Committee" — The town's Natural Resources Commission is recruiting residents to join its Wetlands Protection Committee, with interested applicants asked to send a letter or resume, according to a notice posted on the town's website (read it at https://wellesleyma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2894).
"Overnight Tree Work on Washington Street" — Crews are cutting down diseased trees in tree pits around Wellesley Square, work the town says is being scheduled overnight, according to a notice posted on the town's website (read it at https://wellesleyma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2895).
COMING UP The town's July Jubilation shop-local event runs Saturday, July 18, with live music returning to Morses Pond on Sunday, July 19. At the library's Main branch, Friday Flowers runs Friday, July 17, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., followed by a Crepe Paper Flowers program Saturday, July 18, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. On Monday, July 20, the library hosts its Y.A.L.L. teen leadership group from 4 to 5 p.m. and a Sci-Fi Book Club for adults from 7 to 8 p.m.