Wayland Historical Commission approves May brush clearing, presses for open rail trail meetings

WAYLAND -- March 3, 2025, Wayland Historical Commission approves May brush clearing as rail trail planning sparks transparency fight. Chair Bradford Carver's commission voted unanimously Monday to hold a volunteer clearing of the archaeological interpretive site on May 3 and 4, with George Eckert coordinating Boy Scout participation. But members spent much of the meeting objecting that a Feb. 26 Zoom meeting on rail trail interpretive signs, organized by resident Tom Fay with DCR staff and graphic designer Carol Fultz, excluded most of the commission and the Historical Society. Members said Fay had separately approached the Select Board about redirecting town center gift money the commission had reserved for engine house excavations. "It needs to be discussed in open form," one member said. Tonya Largy reported Police Chief Edward Burnham supports drafting a town bylaw restricting metal detector use on public land, modeled on Acton's. The commission also paid vendor Alkota $475 in December for signal cabinet measurements and adhesion tests with no clear path forward.