Wayland Select Board sets April 7 town meeting, opens path to 212 Cochituate demolition

WAYLAND — August 26, 2024 — Wayland Select Board sets April 7 town meeting and clears demolition at 212 Cochituate Road. The board voted 3-0 Monday to schedule the annual election for April 1, 2025, and open town meeting April 7, with April 8 and 9 reserved as continuation nights; Town Manager Michael McCall said the moderator had a May scheduling conflict and Finance Committee Chair Carol Roman has been told articles will need to be "complete when they get submitted in January." Member Carol B. Martin flagged sequencing problems in a draft calendar prepared by Assistant Town Manager Kelsi Power-Spirlet and will revise it before Sept. 9. On 212 Cochituate Road, the board reached consensus to demolish the abandoned structure after counsel advised the state's new equity-theft law does not apply; McCall estimated the cost "in the $40,000 plus or minus range," drawn from just under $200,000 in the town manager's office budget. Member Thomas J. Fay said the board's intent is to see a single-family home and a group home built on the parcel.