Wayland ARPA subcommittee narrows recommendations for $4.1 million federal allocation

WAYLAND — November 9, 2022 — Wayland ARPA subcommittee narrows $4.1 million spending list, weighs dam project. Members Tom Fay and Carol Martin, meeting with Finance Director Brian Keveney and Town Administrator John Bugbee, have already designated about $1.7 million — including $1.4 million for an emergency MWRA connection — leaving roughly $2.4 million to allocate. The subcommittee raised placeholder figures for the new Council on Aging building, lifting fiber optics from $40,000 to $50,000 and audio-visual upgrades from $50,000 to $200,000 to wire additional rooms for WayCAM. The biggest open question is the Snake Brook Dam: Town Meeting appropriated $900,000 when the project was pegged at $1.5 million, but consultant Pare now estimates $2.2 million. "We'd hate to have a situation where we authorized $900,000 by levy debt and then have to authorize another $1.6 by excluded debt," Keveney said. Electric vehicle chargers and a $40,000 sustainability post were reclassified as operating expenses.