Historical Commission approves three Dudley Pond signs, sends Sherman Bridge letter

WAYLAND -- April 1, 2026, Wayland Historical Commission approves three Dudley Pond signs and dispatches a formal Sherman Bridge protest letter. Meeting April 1 under Interim Chair Bradford Carver, the commission unanimously approved final art for signs at the Castle Gate pillars, Dudley Pond and Dudley Woods after member Katherine Gardner-Westcott resolved conflicting records by fixing Evangeline Marrs Simpson's birth year at 1853. Member Amanda Ciaccio's letter to DPW project manager Paul Patioli, flagging conduit, kiosk and streetlight additions and clarifying that steel guardrails are being removed while beams are encased, was approved on commission letterhead. A Pelham Island Road resident told the board the originally $1.1 million project has already cost DPW "over $50,000" in consultants. Commissioners also authorized up to $700 for archaeology lab supplies and tabled a proposed gravestone-care program by terminated contractors, which Ciaccio called "rewarding a child for bad behavior."