Wayland Board of Public Works Votes to Rewrite MWRA Warrant Article Before Town Meeting

WAYLAND — February 23, 2023 — Wayland's Board of Public Works voted unanimously to challenge the Finance Committee's approved warrant commentary on the proposed Massachusetts Water Resources Authority connection, authorizing a subgroup to draft a revised version and present it to the Finance Committee before April Town Meeting. Chair Clifford Lewis convened the board's first in-person meeting in roughly three years, reporting that a morning conversation with the Finance Committee member who authored the commentary — referred to as Brian — had yielded little willingness to revise language board members called misleading. Staff warned that the write-up's suggestion of an independent peer review, if left in, could push a decision back a full year and cost the town its place in the MWRA queue: "The town of Wayland had this opportunity eight years ago — the costs have probably doubled or tripled." Select Board member Carol Martin attended and shared Town Counsel language confirming the article seeks only authorization to pursue MWRA admission, not capital appropriation — a distinction she said the Finance Committee commentary had blurred. The board also set a public forum targeting April 10, with presentations from consultant Kleinfelder and an MWRA representative, to be recorded by WayCAM; a separate outreach effort targeting seniors through the Council on Aging is planned. The project's design costs total approximately $2.2 million, with $1 million funded through ARPA funds.