Wayland CPC funds $17,500 study of historic Grout-Heard House

WAYLAND -- June 1, 2023, Wayland CPC unanimously funds $17,500 structural and architectural study of the Grout-Heard House. Former chair Gretchen Schuller, now a Wayland Historical Society employee, told the Community Preservation Committee on Thursday that the 18th-century building shows floor bowing under the weight of archives and file cabinets, and that drawings and a structural analysis sit "at the top of the list" of 61 prior recommendations. The Historical Society will pay half regardless and has also applied for a roughly $19,800 Massachusetts Historical Commission grant, decision expected June 15. Chair Susan Weinstein said the committee is using administrative funds, currently around $68,000, on town counsel's advice that studies bypass the warrant process. Schuller recused; the roll-call vote carried with no opposition. The committee also flagged a forthcoming article to rescind remaining Lunsford Way debt and a $2,800 reimbursement tied to 89 Oxbow.