Select Board advances $2 million debt exclusion for Wayland High wastewater fix

WAYLAND — February 23, 2026 — Wayland Select Board advances $2 million debt exclusion for high school wastewater fix. The board on Feb. 23 took up a state-mandated replacement of the failed Wayland High School treatment facility after the Finance Committee, chaired by Phil Giudice, voted 7-0-0 to recommend funding through excluded debt rather than levy debt. Town Manager Michael McCall said the project — $1.4 million in construction, $490,000 contingency and $110,000 administration — replaces a system that has been pumped and hauled at $120,000 per year for over a decade, and avoids a $5.5 million full replacement designed by Town Engineer Abby Charest. Chair Carol B. Martin pressed for justification of the 35 percent contingency, calling for an updated levy chart, while member William Whitney questioned why the new Capital Improvement Planning Committee delivered only a one-year plan. The board voted 5-0 to withdraw two dog bylaw articles and rejected 0-5 inserting a pension bond article, while approving more than a dozen warrant articles for the May Annual Town Meeting.