Wayland BPW Sets Tiered FY24 Water Rate Increases, Approves Loker Field Irrigation Conditionally

WAYLAND -- June 20, 2023, Wayland sets tiered FY24 water rate increases and conditionally approves Loker Field irrigation in a nearly three-hour Zoom meeting. The Board of Public Works voted unanimously to raise water rates by 1 percent for the lowest consumption tier, 2 percent for tier two, and 3 percent for tiers three and four, leaving the PFAS surcharge unchanged at 6.21 percent of user charges, a vote that came after more than two hours of live financial modeling with consultant Matt, whose revised projections place end-of-year FY24 retained earnings near $739,000, short of the board's informal $800,000 target but expected to climb after a $139,000 MassDEP reimbursement returns to the fund. On Loker Field, the board voted 3-0 with two abstentions to approve an irrigation permit for a 76,035-square-foot natural grass athletic field conditionally, requiring board member Ed Chaius to conduct a site visit and Weston and Sampson to produce a hydrogeological memorandum confirming that a well is impractical before the approval takes effect. DPW Director Tom Holder reported the MWRA emergency connection pump station is under contract for a fall 2023 installation, and that the MWRA may designate Shaft L, Wayland's preferred connection point, as a regional hub, a development Holder called potentially "awesome" for the town's permanent connection timeline.