Historical Commission authorizes up to $260,000 CPC ask for cemetery repairs

WAYLAND — November 7, 2022 — Wayland Historical Commission authorizes up to $260,000 CPC ask covering all three cemeteries. The commission voted 6-1 Monday to seek funding for repair and cleaning of more than 1,400 gravestones in North, South and Lakeview cemeteries, based on a new EPOCH Preservation assessment that flagged priority 1 stones as a safety threat. Member Ann Gordon, drafting the Dec. 1 application, said priorities 1 and 2 alone total about $81,000, with cleaning of 418 additional stones adding roughly $45,000. "I hate to put stones off until they're urgent," Gordon said. The commission also unanimously backed a $6,500 library request to conserve and digitize the town's 1850 First Record Book, begun by the Rev. John Wright, but deferred endorsement of a separate library proposal to digitize the Wayland-Weston Town Crier until vendor, cost and public-access questions are resolved. Architect Bill Sterling briefed members on a Sudbury River trail concept tied to the community center project, now 50 percent through construction drawings.