Wayland Select Board backs community dialogue after swastika incidents

WAYLAND — June 30, 2025 — Wayland Select Board unanimously backs dialogue initiative after swastika incidents at pool and Rice Road. The 5-0 vote endorses Vice-Chair Doug Levine and resident Elizabeth Works's plan to engage Cambridge-based Essential Partners to facilitate conversations between Jewish and South Asian residents, with grant funding sought from the Sudbury Foundation. Works said dialogue "opens space for more understanding without that sort of zero-sum look at a problem." In a joint session with the Finance Committee and Board of Public Works, Finance Director Brian Keveny modeled a $35 million MWRA connection that would push water-rate increases to roughly 74 percent if funded entirely through rates, or 32 percent if shifted to taxes. The board also approved $255,590 in fiscal 2025 year-end transfers, including $95,000 for snow and ice and $75,000 for regional dispatch.