Wayland Select Board ratifies Lt. Sean Gibbons as interim police chief

WAYLAND -- November 23, 2020, Wayland Select Board unanimously ratifies Lt. Sean Gibbons as interim police chief. The 5-0 vote installs Gibbons effective Nov. 30, the last day of outgoing Chief Patrick Swanick, with Town Administrator Louise Miller estimating a four-to-five-month search for a permanent chief. Gibbons told the board "there is nobody that does more than I do" in leading the department when the chief is unavailable, citing command stints during Swanick's vacations and a two-week training trip to Israel. The board also learned the town has secured a $2.2 million MassWorks grant for River's Edge wastewater infrastructure, on top of an earlier $2.4 million award. School Committee members Ellen Grieco and Genie Downs pitched a 10-week pooled-PCR surveillance testing program starting Jan. 4 at roughly $175 per student, asking the board to establish a gift account to close an estimated $260,000 funding gap; a formal vote was deferred pending town counsel review.

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WAYLAND -- The Wayland Select Board voted unanimously Monday to ratify the appointment of Lt. Sean Gibbons as interim police chief, effective Nov. 30, the last day of outgoing Chief Patrick Swanick's tenure.

The 5-0 vote followed a recommendation from Town Administrator Louise Miller and capped a brief discussion in which board members said Gibbons's experience inside the department, including his accreditation work, made him the right choice to provide continuity during the search for a permanent chief. Miller estimated the hiring process would take four to five months.

"I've had the privilege of working with Sean over the last several years," said member Lee Anderson, citing the lieutenant's accreditation work and presence in town. Member Dave Watkins said he had done his "due diligence" and called the appointment "the best interim strategy."

Asked by member Tom Fay to clarify his command experience, Gibbons said he acted as chief whenever Swanick was unavailable, including during Swanick's five weeks of annual vacation and a roughly two-week training trip to Israel. "There is nobody that does more than I do with regards to leading the department or running the operations while the chief is out of the area," Gibbons said.

A swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for the start of the board's Nov. 30 meeting, ahead of the tax rate hearing.

In other business, co-chairs of the Energy and Climate Committee previewed two articles they intend to bring to the May annual town meeting: a renewed proposal to authorize Community Choice Aggregation, which failed at last year's town meeting, and a 20-year power purchase agreement for a roughly 329-kilowatt rooftop solar array on the Loker School. The committee estimated the solar contract could save the town between $625,000 and $670,000 over the contract term, with electricity priced at roughly 8 to 9 cents per kilowatt-hour versus the 14 cents the town currently pays. Miller cautioned that the bond council must review the structure because the town recently issued tax-exempt bonds for the Loker roof replacement.

Miller also announced the town has received a $2.2 million MassWorks grant to fund two pumping stations, upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, and the wastewater mains tied to the River's Edge development. Combined with an earlier $2.4 million MassWorks award, the grants total nearly $4.6 million for the project.

The board also heard a detailed presentation from School Committee members Ellen Grieco and Genie Downs on a proposed voluntary pooled-PCR surveillance testing program for the public schools. Grieco said a family survey returned an 85 percent positive response, with about 30 percent of families saying they would need financial assistance. The 10-week program would begin Jan. 4 and would test approximately 3,377 students and staff weekly at an estimated cost of roughly $175 per student. Grieco asked the board to establish a gift account under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, Section 53A to accept donations toward an estimated $260,000 funding gap for staff and families unable to pay the fee.

Miller said the bifurcated structure, fees collected through the school department and donations through a town gift account, raised legal questions that town counsel had not yet resolved. The board offered a sense of support but tabled a formal vote, with the item likely returning on consent Nov. 30 or Dec. 7.

The board unanimously approved appointments to the Economic Development Committee, Route 20 South Landfill Advisory Committee and Wayland Housing Partnership, and voted to authorize Fay to draft a letter of support for WayCAM in advance of its Dec. 3 license renewal hearing. The meeting then entered executive session at 8:49 p.m.