Wayland Select Board commits $16,000 to second annual music festival

WAYLAND -- April 3, 2023, Wayland Select Board allocates $16,000 from Town Center gift fund for May 20 music festival. The 5-0 vote, on a motion by member Carol B. Martin, covers this year's event plus roughly $3,800 in reimbursements for 2022 costs paid out of pocket by organizer Chris Reynolds, who is also planning a June 22 follow-on concert at the Town Green. The fund holds about $606,000, with $500,000 already reserved for the Council on Aging Community Center project. Member Dave Watkins pressed for more outside fundraising, asking "what's the permanency behind what we're doing?" while member Adam Gutbezahl argued the festival "brings everybody from every socioeconomic, racial, cultural gap together." The board deferred Reynolds' separate pitch to seed a $100,000 cultural trust until after this year's event, and asked staff to return April 24 with options for a tax-deductible donation vehicle. The board also appointed Jim Grumbach to the Housing Partnership and signaled deep reservations about Mill Creek Residential's proposed 172-unit development at the Whole Foods plaza.