Wayland Select Board accepts $175,000 gift for Cochituate Field dugouts

WAYLAND -- April 24, 2023, Wayland Select Board accepts $175,000 gift for new dugouts at Cochituate Field. The board voted 5-0 Monday night to accept the donation from the Eliza Juliet Norton Foundation to build four covered dugouts, an on-deck batting area and safety fencing, with unspent funds returning to the foundation. Town Manager Michael McCall called the donation "extreme generosity," and member Adam, who volunteered as project liaison, called it "exhibit A" that "government works." In a separate vote, the board authorized using town center gift funds for an outstanding BETA Group invoice for Route 20 master plan work, with roughly $27,000 left in the account against a potential $55,000 in remaining contract costs. The meeting was outgoing Chair Cherry Karlson's last before stepping down after nine years; annual town meeting opens May 1 at the high school field house with a projected $17.64 tax rate, up 5.93 percent.