Wayland Select Board inserts 19 warrant articles, swears in acting police chief
WAYLAND -- January 20, 2026, Wayland Select Board inserts 19 warrant articles and swears in an acting police chief. The board voted 3-0 to add Articles H, S, T, BB, CC, DD, FF, GG, HH, II, LL, MM, NN, OO, PP, QQ, RR and SS to the 2026 Annual Town Meeting warrant and to co-sponsor Article II, the Board of Public Works request for MWRA connection and Happy Hollow Wells funding. Chair Carol B. Martin said 52 articles have been submitted, including seven petitions still being certified. Town Manager Michael McCall introduced Lt. Mark Hebert, a 17-year department veteran, as acting chief, saying Hebert "has the skills necessary to run that department for the short term." Resident Andrew Carpenter urged the board to slow the roughly $200,000 Holiday Road appraisal under Article DD until the School Committee's willingness to release the parcel is clear. Surface Water Quality Chair Tom Klem said a 2025 Heard Pond herbicide trial cost $9,500 with mixed results; a larger 2026 application could run near $20,000 against a $30,000 committee budget.
The Full Article
WAYLAND -- The Wayland Select Board on Tuesday swore in Lt. Mark Hebert as acting police chief and voted to insert 19 articles into the warrant for the 2026 Annual Town Meeting, advancing a slate that will run from a fiscal 2027 budget to zoning changes for accessory dwelling units and ground-mounted solar.
Town Manager Michael McCall introduced Hebert, a 17-year veteran of the Wayland Police Department who started as a dispatcher and rose through the ranks to lieutenant, holds bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice and has completed the FBI's leadership trilogy. Assistant Town Clerk Terry Mansfield administered the oath. McCall said he wants Hebert to settle into the role before the town launches a formal assessment-center search for a permanent chief, the same process used when former Chief Edward Burman was hired.
"I do think acting Chief Hebert has the skills necessary to run that department for the short term," McCall told the board, describing positive feedback from residents who met Hebert at a recent senior center event.
Most of the meeting was consumed by preparation for the May town meeting. Vice-Chair Doug Levine, who drafted the liaison chart, said 52 warrant articles have been submitted, including seven citizen petitions still being certified by the town clerk. On a 3-0 vote, the board inserted Articles H, S, T, BB, CC, DD, FF, GG, HH, II, LL, MM, NN, OO, PP, QQ, RR and SS. Select Board members Christopher Reynolds and Thomas J. Fay were absent for the vote; Fay joined remotely at 8:28 p.m.
The board separately voted 3-0 to co-sponsor Article II, the Board of Public Works request for construction funding of the MWRA permanent connection and Happy Hollow Wells reconstruction project. Several articles were held back pending more information, including Article W on pension fund bond issuance, Article Y on Mass Central Rail Trail easements and Article AA on a fiscal 2026 budget transfer.
Article DD, which would appropriate roughly $200,000 for preliminary design, engineering and an appraisal at 25 Holiday Road, drew the meeting's sharpest public comment. Andrew Carpenter of 8 Orchard Lane urged the board to confirm the School Committee is willing to relinquish control of the parcel before spending money on a study, and to have town counsel review prior Supreme Judicial Court litigation affecting the land. "I'm just asking to slow it down and make sure that the ownership and the legal constraints related to it are clear before committing significant public funds," Carpenter said. Jennifer James Young of 36 Orchard Lane, an abutter, urged the board to weigh conservation and passive recreation as long-term uses, calling the parcel "one of the last remaining intact woodlands in our neighborhood." Hope Podell of 7 Jennison Road asked about the senior property assessment credit article; Chair Carol B. Martin said the Senior Tax Relief Committee submitted the article and the board would review it Feb. 2. Elizabeth Carter of 19 Sherman's Bridge Road asked that any redesign of the bridge be discussed at a public meeting with residents.
Surface Water Quality Committee Chair Tom Klem briefed the board on the panel's $30,000 budget, including roughly $5,000 for fall and spring water-chemistry testing on Dudley Pond and ongoing efforts to control water chestnuts on Heard Pond. A 2025 herbicide trial at Heard Pond cost about $9,500 but produced mixed results, Klem said; he estimated a larger treatment this season could run closer to $20,000.
Earlier, the board approved an Eversource grant of location for a new utility pole and anchor guy on Old Connecticut Path, about 70 feet southwest of Morgan Brook Road, and voted to release with redactions executive session minutes from February 2024 related to a firefighters union grievance. The board next meets Feb. 2, when the Capital Improvement Planning Committee and Community Preservation Committee are scheduled to appear.