Select Board
At the June 29, 2026 Wayland Select Board meeting, the board voted to pursue the most comprehensive investigation option of three offered for the PFAS investigation at 195 Main St., estimated at about $55,000 over two fiscal years.
Ben Gould, the town’s licensed site professional, reported updated monitoring data from the site. PFAS-6 levels of 417 parts per trillion have been found at monitoring well MW-21, compared with the state standard of 20 parts per trillion. He said the working hypothesis is that contamination may be coming from the Wayland Middle School septic leach fields, pooling near the 195 Main St. site and moving toward Dudley Pond, a public water supply source to the Happy Hollow wells.
The approved option includes new monitoring wells in public rights of way, full sampling of all wells, hydraulic conductivity testing, and filing a delay notice with the DEP to move the Phase Two report deadline from November 2026 to November 2027. Gould still needs to delineate the edges of the PFAS contamination to meet MassDEP Massachusetts Contingency Plan regulations.
Year-end transfers
The Select Board and Finance Committee, in a joint session, voted to approve $681,221 in FY26 year-end transfers to close the FY26 budget. The funding will come in turnbacks from 18 departments that would normally show up in FY27 free cash budget.
Most of the current year transfer covers DPW’s Snow and Ice budget deficit of $620,000, broken out as personal services (overtime, payroll): $104,151; and expenses (contractors, repairs, salt/sand, fuel): $515,849. The rest of the deficit comes from $11,221 for vocational education transportation and from $70,000 in the unclassified budget for school energy. The school budget will absorb $20,000 and a town side transfer of approximately $46,000 from Salary Reserves and $3,400 from health insurance (32B) surplus will make up the difference.
Town counsel interviews
The board interviewed four law firms competing to serve as town counsel. For a quick comparative snapshot:
KP Law — Incumbent with 10-year, Wayland-specific history, big bench; standard retainer and carve-outs; high institutional knowledge.
Norris, Murray & Peloquin — Labor/employment specialists only; plug-in option if you separate town counsel from labor counsel.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane — current incumbent school counsel. Full-service municipal firm; structured three-lead approach; retainer with carve-outs; 10 free transition hours.
Mead, Talerman & Costa — Full-service municipal as in-house counsel; strong on flat-fee, all-in, preventive model; office hours, early involvement, and active policy advocacy.
During public comment before the interviews, Dave Bernstein, chair of the Electronic Voting Implementation Subcommittee (ELVIS), criticized KP Law’s responsiveness on the town’s remote participation home rule petition. During KP Law’s interview, managing partner Lauren Goldberg said she was sorry to hear his characterization and said she would be willing to meet with him and town officials about the issue.
Because of the late hour, the board deferred detailed discussion and a decision on the town counsel proposals. Members said they wanted the town counsel review to be a principal item at the next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, July 7, at the Public Safety Building, rather than a side discussion. They will review current KP Law costs and scope, review a side‑by‑side comparison of all proposals (scope, fee model, labor handling). From that data, the Board will discuss which model/firm best fits the town’s needs and possibly make a decision.
Dog park status
At a proposed site location on the triangular Town Center Parcel B, west of the Wayland Commons condominiums, a resident group has been meeting with new Town Center owner Jesse Baerkahn. The group is pushing for an off-leash dog park somewhere on the site as an interim use.
Baerkahn explained that their insurance carrier has concerns about the liability structure if they contract directly with a volunteer resident group to run the dog park. He suggested that a workable approach might be as a landlord, Town Center could sign a nominal lease (e.g., $1/year) with the town through the Recreation Department who works with the resident group to manage the park. The concept is not yet ready for action.
At the close of the meeting, Select Board member Tom Fay recommended a different operating structure where the town issued an RFP for a nonprofit to operate the dog park. That approach would keep ongoing operations and maintenance off DPW’s plate and ensure cleanliness and accountability. If the nonprofit failed to perform, the park would be shut down. Fay thought that formal operator accountability is critical because dog parks can “get dirty real fast.”
Villa Restaurant liquor license
The board voted to approve a liquor license transfer for Villa Restaurant, 120 East Plain St., as owner Alex Tamargo transfers the license to a new LLC while buying out his business partner. He said management, staff and live music programming would remain unchanged.
Appointments
The board also approved appointments including Hailey Fuqua to the Cultural Council, Ine Maureen Kavanaugh to the Community Preservation Committee, and Ian Gordon to the Design Review Advisory Board.
Board of Public Works
The Board of Public Works on June 23 approved new FY27 water rates, including tiered usage rates, a higher annual base fee and a PFAS remediation surcharge.
The approved rates are $8 per unit for tier one, $11.50 for tier two, $14 for tier three and $22 for tier four. The annual base fee will increase from $60 to $80. The PFAS remediation surcharge remains 7.5%. The rates took effect July 1.
Financial consultant Matt Abrahams of the Abrahams Group walked the board through the rate-setting model. Director of Public Works Tom Holder said the water enterprise fund is projected to underspend its FY26 operating budget by about $110,000, not including a $252,000 contingency line expected to be fully spent.
Select Board liaison Carol Martin said Moody’s expects AAA-rated communities to maintain enterprise fund reserves of 25% to 40%. The board kept the target at 20%, rather than moving it up to 25%, with members noting that actual retained earnings have exceeded that level in recent years.
Members also discussed whether municipal accounts should be charged at tier two instead of tier one rates, but did not make that change for FY27. Holder said town departments had already set their budgets.
Finance Committee Appointing Board
The Finance Committee Appointing Board appointed four members to the committee on June 25, filling most vacancies ahead of the next budget cycle.
The board appointed Carl Barnes and Brian O’Herlihy to one-year terms ending June 30, 2027, and Iris Hoxha and Satish Raj to three-year terms ending June 30, 2029. Barnes and Hoxha were reappointed. O’Herlihy is a returning former Finance Committee member, and his appointment was made effective immediately.
Members emphasized the need for “strength and depth” and institutional knowledge after a difficult year marked by vacancies and process changes. Barnes said he had nearly decided not to seek reappointment but reconsidered after learning that the seven-member committee still needs four members for a quorum, even when seats are vacant.
Hoxha cited a capital budget discrepancy from the prior cycle, saying the Capital Improvement Planning Committee had recommended about $8.5 million in capital spending, while the figure later presented to the Finance Committee exceeded $13 million.
One three-year Finance Committee seat remains open.
Personnel Board
The Personnel Board on June 24 heard Fire Chief Neil McPherson present findings from a 104-page study completed in March by Municipal Resources, Inc. The study, funded by 2024 Town Meeting, made 35 recommendations and concluded that the Fire Department is operating near the limits of its current staffing and deployment model.
McPherson said 30% of EMS call volume comes from assisted living facilities, a demand that has grown over 25 years without a corresponding increase in staffing. He said the department generates about $800,000 annually in ambulance revenue, but Medicare, Medicaid and MassHealth reimbursements are often far below the cost of transport.
McPherson said the department operates with five personnel rather than a full complement of seven about 73% of the time. When an ambulance is on transport, only three personnel may remain in town, creating challenges for structure-fire response and OSHA’s two-in, two-out safety standard.
The Select Board has agreed to form a working group to prioritize the study’s recommendations.
The board also revised Policy #N4-1.1, the annual leave policy for non-union employees. Human Resources Director Kate Ryan said the town is returning its administration of non-union annual leave to monthly accrual after having front-loaded vacation time in recent years to mirror an AFSCME contract change. The revised policy includes a six-month transition, with monthly accrual fully in place Jan. 1, 2027.
School Committee
The School Committee on June 24 approved a $400,345.34 purchase of the CKLA Caminos third edition elementary literacy curriculum.
The curriculum will be funded through an FY26 PRISM grant, which expired June 30, and a $350,000 FY27 capital appropriation approved at Town Meeting. Director of Finance and Operations Kirsteen Patterson said a little more than $235,000 of the capital funds will be used in the first year, leaving the remainder for future consumables and related purchases.
The committee also heard an update on the Loker elementary scheduling pilot, which would reduce instrumental music lesson time while preserving 45 minutes for music instruction in a revised format. Loker Principal Brian Jones said the school is short 160 minutes per week relative to state curriculum recommendations and said 72% of teachers believe the current schedule limits their ability to meet student needs.
Districtwide Director of Health and Wellness Scott Parsegian presented updates on a new elective-based physical education model at the high school, a unified wellness class pairing general education mentors with special education students, a planned replacement Project Adventure ropes course and a redesign of the high school fitness room.
School staff warned that the district is likely to need an FY28 operating override to avoid significant staff reductions. Patterson said the district has already left positions unfilled, relocated The Children’s Way preschool program and cut staff. The committee asked administrators to model the full-time equivalent reductions that would be required without an override.
Capital Improvement Planning Committee
The Capital Improvement Planning Committee on June 24 appointed Bradford Carver as acting chair and John Kliem as acting vice chair, effective at the committee’s next meeting.
The leadership change comes as Chair Kelly Lappin is not seeking reappointment and Brian O’Herlihy, appointed June 25 to a one-year Finance Committee seat, said he would likely need to leave CIPC by mid-fall, though he hoped to remain through completion of the capital report.
Much of the meeting focused on revisions to the capital project submission form. The committee settled on a structure that allows multi-year costs to be shown on one form filled out by department heads, while requiring numerical rankings only for the current fiscal year’s appropriation requests.
O’Herlihy urged CIPC to involve the town’s finance director earlier in department head interviews, saying the prior budget cycle ended with the finance director’s separate workbook, rather than the committee’s report, becoming the working document used by the town manager and Finance Committee.
Trust Fund Commission
The Trust Fund Commission on June 23 approved $140 from the library’s small funds for the books and materials portion of the annual Ingraham Library Services bill, $6,300 to repair four panes of cut-glass windows from the original 1900 library building, and up to $3,650 by Dec. 31 if library trustees proceed with repairs to the remaining two panes.
The commission also approved $300 from the Draper Fund for English for speakers of other languages tutor training and funding for the library’s Conversations for Change series with Dr. Eden-Reneé Hayes, including $300 from the Gossels Human Dignity Fund and $1,450 from the Draper Fund.
The Department of Public Works requested $70,000 from the Perpetual Care Fund for cemetery maintenance. Commissioners approved $68,056, matching the fund’s 3.5% disbursement guidance amount. The commission also considered a Cultural Council request for up to $4,160 from the Greaves Fund for Mass Capoeira performances. Commissioners approved $2,450, equal to 3% of the fund’s 20 trailing quarter value.
Adam Gutbezahl agreed to serve as chair for the upcoming year.
Surface Water Quality Committee
The Surface Water Quality Committee voted on June 30 to pursue a state-administered 604B planning grant in 2027 for a feasibility study of nutrient sources affecting Dudley Pond.
The proposed application would be written by the Healthy Dudley Pond Committee, a working group within the Dudley Pond Association, with the Surface Water Quality Committee serving as the municipal applicant. The committee noted that the 2026 application deadline had already passed.
Ann Drouilhet, chair of the Healthy Dudley Pond Committee, told the committee that Dudley Pond experienced an unusually early algae bloom in April. Chair Thomas Klem said Wendy Gendron of Applied Research Consultants, who completed a prior flora and fauna survey of the pond, had recommended a broader assessment of nutrient sources.
Kliem said the committee’s annual budget had been reduced from $50,000 to $30,000 and is already committed to Heard Pond operations and related Dudley Pond work. He also said the town holds about $21,000 in a Dudley Pond Association gift fund that could potentially be used with Select Board approval.
The committee also discussed Heard Pond water chestnut control. Member Tom Largy urged immediate action, saying the plants remained sporadic but would expand rapidly through July.
