Wayland Finance Committee files placeholder enterprise fund article to preserve options

WAYLAND — January 13, 2025 — Wayland Finance Committee files placeholder enterprise fund article amid MWRA water push. Members voted 7-0 Monday to authorize Chair Michael Hoyle to submit a draft fiscal 2026 enterprise fund article before the Wednesday deadline, after town counsel advised that three years of folding enterprise fund capital into the omnibus capital article failed to comply with state Department of Revenue rules. DPW Director Tom Holder told the committee the planned "dual source" water approach — drawing primarily from Happy Hollow with about 15 percent MWRA supplement — carries a roughly $34 million capital cost, against $22 million for full MWRA, with consultant Kleinfelder citing a $34 million to $45 million range. Holder pressed the urgency of "hard deadlines," including a $7 million MWRA entrance-fee waiver expiring end of 2028 and federal PFAS limits of 4 parts per trillion due Dec. 31, 2028. Other fiscal 2026 asks included $1.3 million to upsize a Reeves Hill redundant water tank to 750,000 gallons, $1.23 million in additional MWRA design funds and $250,000 for Route 20 rehabilitation design.