Dear Wayland Voter,

This newsletter rounds up topics ranging from bonds to awards to environmental
concerns.

NEW BONDS TOTAL $2.5 MILLION

Wayland issued $2.5 million in bonds to the market in late January for items
approved at previous town meetings. The bonds had an expected coupon of 2%.

Most ($2.23 million) of Wayland's newest bonds expire by 2017. They include:

$400,000 authorized for the wastewater treatment facility, of which $200,000
will be financed, leaving $200,000 authorized but unissued.

$765,000 for various DPW equipment including the long-promised vacuum truck,
whose delayed arrival is expected imminently.

$350,000 for school technology.

$250,000 for design of a new DPW facility.

$245,000 for outdoor recreational facility improvement and $75,000 for field
analysis.

$200,000 for drainage.

$100,000 for school remodeling.

$100,000 for pump station upgrades.


SERVICE AWARD NOMINATIONS OPEN

Nominations are open for the annual Lydia Maria Child award for outstanding
citizenship exemplified by such things as contributions to Wayland's governance,
the community's quality of life or the needs of residents.

The award is named for a historically important 19th-century abolitionist,
women's rights advocate, journalist and novelist who lived in Wayland during a
significant part of her career.

The Wayland Public Ceremonies Committee invites nominations, which must be
received by March 1. Contact Committee Chairman, Richard Turner: 7 Nob Hill
Road, Wayland, or rickypt@...


NEW WEBSITE ON WAYLAND WELLS

When the Wayland Wellhead Protection Committee completed exhaustive research on
protecting the town's drinking water, the town disbanded the committee. 
Supplying clean and safe drinking water is just one of the functions overseen by
the Department of Public Works, and sometimes conflicts with other
responsibilities.

Now the members of the defunct committee have launched an independent website
with the aim of creating a permanent and up to date repository of information
for residents as well as suggestions to encourage public stewardship and the
sustainability of the town's vital  resource.  On the site you'll find hundreds
of documents, maps and pictures ranging from basic to extremely detailed,
including the Wellhead Protection Plan published last June and approved by the
Department of Environmental Protection in December.

www.WaylandWells.com


MORE TIME BEFORE BRIDGE CLOSING

A new schedule calls for the Pelham Island Road bridge to remain open longer
than previously anticipated.

Town officials worked with Massachusetts Department of Transportation project
managers and recently announced the new schedule. Detour signs will be posted on
Feb. 21 and the road will be closed on Feb. 27. Crews will build a small
temporary bridge needed to relocate water and gas lines. When that is finished,
around March 16, the road will reopen until about May 1, when work on the
permanent replacement for the decades-old failing bridge begins. November 2012
remains the target completion date.

The earlier schedule called for closure from about mid-February until
completion.

Town officials met with concerned residents before the new schedule was
announced.


WAYCAM AWARDS PRIZE, PLANS OPEN HOUSE

WayCAM, the town's local access cable channel, completed its viewer survey and
awarded a Panasonic LCD TV set to  a randomly selected respondent.

Details at:
http://www.waycam.tv/2012/01/30/and-the-winner-is/

WayCAM has moved to its new quarters at the high school and plans a community
open house in the spring. In addition to broadcasting government and community
events, WayCAM offers training in video production and says it is creating a
state-of-the-art media center for the town.

Programs are available online:
  www.waycam.tv


RAYTHEON  DEMOLITION REPORT

The environmental firm overseeing the demolition, excavation and grading at the
former Raytheon property to make way for the Town Center mixed-use project has
filed its first status report.

Vertex, working for the developer, Twenty Wayland LLC, held a public meeting in
Town Building last Sept. 1 to explain its proposed Release Abatement Measure
(RAM) plan for ensuring environmental protection during the redevelopment now
under way.

Those interested in learning what occurred and what was found during demolition
can see the Release Abatement Measure Status Report posted on Raytheon's
extranet:
www.ermne.com

To log in: username  raytheon, password wayland, all lower case.  Then click on
New Documents and a list of links appears for Vertex's work as well as a link to
the new AUL (Activities and Use Limitation) filed on Dec. 21, 2011.  Click on
the latest link, Jan. 19, 2012 to access Status Report No. 1.

The report begins with some history of the environmental cleanup.  Then about
ten pages describe recent demolition activities and at the very end the filing
of new use restrictions. Also documented: excavation, evaluation and removal of
underground storage tanks and concrete basins; other findings under the former
research building;  testing required by Raytheon's Licensed Site Professional.


FAREWELL TO  SGT. MANLEY

Wayland Police Sgt. Richard Manley retires this week after 34 years of service
to the town.

Manley grew up in Wayland and graduated from Wayland High School and
Northeastern University. He was promoted to his present rank in 1987.


-- WVN Staff

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Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

Here are two ways to cut your property tax bill if you are eligible. Also in
this newsletter:

-- The School Committee gets legal advice on what to do about a lot of money
resulting from overcharges for services.

-- Wayland begins a year-long celebration of its 375th anniversary in June 2013.
It's not too early  to get involved.

EXEMPTIONS

Various types of tax breaks and payment reductions are available to Wayland
residents. Some have restrictions according to age, income, assets, value of
home or various combinations. It is worth investigating the exemptions, because
you may find you qualify.  And Wayland is the only town in the state that
matches, dollar for dollar, the state Circuit Breaker tax reduction. The take
can be up to $1,960.

Deadlines vary. The assessors' office handles all the applications for
exemptions. Information is at 
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Assessor/pers

WVN outlines two of the offerings below: the CPA exemption, which has no age
restriction and relatively generous income criteria, and the Circuit Breaker for
households with at least one person over 65 years of age.

Community Preservation Exemption

The requirements are less stringent for exemption from the Community
Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge, which is 1.5% calculated on each resident's
property tax. The fund is designated for three purposes: open space, historic
preservation, and affordable housing.  The state matches to a declining degree
the amount raised by each town through the CPA.

The CPA exemption filing deadline is Friday, March 30 at 12:30 p.m. (Town Hall
closes early on Fridays.)

To qualify for an exemption:

No age or asset limitations.
The income limit varies for seniors and non-seniors
For households owned by seniors (age 60 and above) the household size and annual
income limits are:

1, $67,550;
2, $77,200;
3, $86,850;
4, $96,500.
It scales up to 8 people, $127,380.

  For households owned by non-seniors: the household size and annual income
limits are:

1, $54,040;
2, $61,760;
3, $69,480;
4, $77,200;
5, $83,376.
It scales up to 8 people, $101,904.

For the CPA exemption, a senior is 60 or older.  A copy of a signed and dated
2010 Federal Income Tax form must accompany the exemption application. If no
Federal form was filed, include a signed and dated copy of your 2010
Massachusetts Income Tax form. If no taxes were filed, one may complete an
affidavit form and include it with the application.

Circuit Breaker

The Council on Aging recently hosted a well attended session featuring a speaker
from the Department of Revenue outlining a large tax credit, the Circuit
Breaker.

Wayland residents who qualify can receive up to $980 from the state, and a
matching amount from the town. Wayland is the only town that matches the state.

Basic criteria:
Your principal residence is assessed at $729,000 or less.  Residents of
subsidized housing are not eligible for the circuit breaker.
In one year if the total paid for property tax and half of your water payment
exceeds 10% of your total income or if 25% of annual rent exceeds 10% of total
income.
There are limits on the total income noted on your Massachusetts return. The
limits are: single, $52,000; head of household, $65,000; married and filing
jointly, $78,000. Those married and filing separately are not eligible for the
credit.
The property tax is calculated on the building(s) and the first acre.
The age criterion begins when someone turns 65 anytime during the year, and only
one spouse needs to be 65.

  To qualify, residents must file Massachusetts tax returns, even if they owe
nothing, along with the Schedule CB.  The Council on Aging
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_COA/index
will make appointments with AARP volunteers to help residents fill out forms for
both taxes and the circuit breaker. To apply for the local match, submit a copy
of your Masschusetts tax form and the CB application to the Assessors' office
before the end of the year.

Eligible seniors receive from the state a dollar credit on Massachusetts  taxes
for every dollar that the total of their property tax, and half the water bill
and sewer bills, exceed 10% of their income, up to the $980 maximum.

The DOR speaker noted that if a person's Circuit Breaker credit is larger than
what is owed to the state, the state issues a check to the recipient.

Those who missed filing circuit breaker applications in the past may file
retroactively to 2008 with the state, but you would need to file by April 15 of
this year with the state.  However, the town's match is paid for the current
year only.

Last year, more than 130 residents received the town's Circuit Breaker match,
down from more than 150 residents in fiscal 2010.

At the session, attended by state Rep. Tom Conroy and Sen. Richard Ross, there
was discussion of the interest rate charged for property tax payment deferral,
which is now 3.5%. Conroy said he had filed a bill that would enable those
deferring their taxes to also receive the Circuit Breaker.

DOR information sessions this month include one in Natick on February 22:
http://www.mass.gov/dor/utility/senior-circuit-breaker-credit-information-sessio\
ns.html

Additional information about this tax break is posted on the state's website:
http://revenue.blog.state.ma.us/blog/2011/09/value-of-senior-circuit-breaker-inc\
reases-to-980-for-2011-.html

--Molly Upton

SCHOOL COMMITTEE STRUGGLES WITH FUNDS

"The law is a ass."  That line from "Oliver Twist" must have occurred to many at
Monday night's School Committee meeting.

The subject was revolving funds for a number of school programs with large
surpluses. Such funds come in two flavors: those for fee-supported programs,
like high school athletics and parking, are meant to partially pay the costs of
services which are otherwise taxpayer-funded. Other funds support fee-based
programs, like Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) and BASE (Before and After School
Extension), which are paid for entirely by fees with no taxpayer support.

Fee-supported program accounts have built up surpluses because of improper
accounting, an issue identified in 2011 by the Abrahams Group consultants. The
fees were never actually taken out of the accounts to support the programs, so
the programs were paid for out of the taxpayer funded general budget and the
revolving accounts simply grew. Abrahams recommended, and many citizens
commenting Monday night supported, simply returning the excess money to the
town's Free Cash account. That would effectively return it to the taxpayer.

Fee-based program accounts have built up in part because of overestimation of
the costs of the programs, and consequent excessively high fees. When Full Day
Kindergarten  was established, for example, costs were deliberately
conservatively estimated to avoid any risk of not having enough money to run the
program. After two years of experience it became obvious that the original
estimates were much too conservative and amounted to overcharging for the
service. Most people seem to agree that the fair resolution for those accounts
would be to simply refund the excess charges to the parents who paid them. The
School Committee and Superintendent Paul Stein think so, and some refunds have
already been made.

But the law isn't necessarily about what's fair, or reasonable, or
commonsensical.

Attorney Jim Toomey, who specializes in municipal law especially as it pertains
to schools, told the School Committee Monday night that there are very special
rules for revolving accounts. Fees must be spent for activities beyond legally
required basic services. They must be for a specific program, and the fee must
relate to the cost of the service. The Department of Revenue (DOR) says fees can
cover both direct and indirect costs. (Whether indirect costs were properly
accounted for is one of the substantive issues complicating the situation.)

Nothing in the law regulates surpluses in revolving accounts.  Nothing in the
law allows returning surpluses to the General Fund, and in many other statutes
there are specific provisions that provide for that. DOR says monies can't be
returned to the General Fund, and they must be spent for the purposes of the
fund. Monies also can't be returned to parents, because accounts are closed at
the end of each Fiscal Year and Fiscal Year boundaries can't be crossed.

One option that is clearly open is to use surpluses to provide increased support
for the program in the future. So a greater portion of parking costs in the
future , for example, could come out of the Parking Fee Revolving Account rather
than out of the general budget. Effectively that returns money to the taxpayer.
But that doesn't address the parents who overpaid in fee-based programs, who,
nearly everyone agrees, deserve individual refunds.

But there are no specific cases on point, Toomey said. Other school districts
don't seem to have the problem of having excess money, so no one has brought
this precise issue to court.  At the Dec. 21, 2011 meeting of the Operational
Review Committee (available on WayCAM's Video on Demand archive), the Abrahams
Group recommended returning the surplus to the General Fund in order to avoid
potential litigation from aggrieved taxpayers.  But again, Toomey believes that
this is simply not legal.


In response to pushing from the School Committee, Toomey agreed to explore the
question of rebates further.  But in response to a direct question pointing out
a discrepancy between his opinion and that of Town Counsel Mark Lanza, who
opined that money could indeed be returned to the general fund, Toomey was
direct: he disagreed.

It remains to be seen what solutions will emerge to adequately respond to those
who have been asking town officials to please "do the right thing" by returning
to taxpayers the almost $700,000 surplus found during the Fiscal 2011
restatement.  That report is posted on the town website:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_BComm/Finance/RestatementReport.pdf

Abrahams reported the total balance in the school revolving accounts at the
close of FY11 was over $3 million (see page 121).

As a result of the questionable FY11 practices found by the Abrahams Group,
including journal entry irregularities and illegal bank accounts, there is now a
petitioners' resolution filed for the April 2012 annual town meeting supporting
a state audit of Wayland's school fee-based programs since FY2007 if a majority
of the School Committee votes to request it.

Superintendent Stein said he very much supports such audits because these issues
are tearing the community apart and need to be resolved.

-- Tom Sciacca

375TH ANNIVERSARY HELP NEEDED

Wayland will celebrate an important anniversary over the course of a year,
beginning in June 2013. There are many ways to contribute.  To learn more and to
stay abreast of progress, see:

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_TownNews/018444BD-000F8513

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Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

Two important meetings this week will give voters the chance to learn about and
possibly influence measures that will be decided at the April Town Meeting.

The Finance Committee has decided against asking for a ballot question to raise
additional taxes. Still, it is discussing a budget increase estimated at between
3% and 4.75%, to be partly financed through free cash.

BUDGET PRESENTATION MONDAY

On Monday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. the Finance Committee will present its draft Fiscal
2013 budget to the public in the Large Hearing Room.  This is a good opportunity
for taxpayers to hear explanations of what is proposed and perhaps influence the
final numbers prior to the April 9 Annual Town Meeting.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_TownNews/0183DA6C-000F8513

Figures were still in flux at the FinCom's previous meeting, but WVN has heard
the budget increase might be between 3% and 4.75%.

The finance director qualified some of the numbers on his Feb. 6 budget
worksheet as estimates.  The FinCom had already decided there will be no ballot
question for either operational or capital spending.   Had there been one, the
FY13 budget would have to be in more final form to meet the state's deadline for
receiving the selectmen vote to place such a question on the April 3 ballot.

The budget apparently is still a work in progress, possibly until the Town
Meeting warrant is sent to the printer in early March.  The FinCom plans to meet
weekly to finalize the FY13 budget and to review warrant articles.

Rather than specify a limit on spending, other than directing departments to
plan on the same amounts as the budgets for FY 12, plus salary and utility
increases, the FinCom proposes to subsidize the budget with free cash.  As of
last Monday's meeting the FinCom contemplates applying $3 million from free cash
toward the FY13 budget, with a target of 7.5% of budget to be left in free cash.
The evening began with applying $3.7 million from free cash, but FinCom member
Paul Grasso (also current chair of the Operational Review Committee) arrived
from the School Committee meeting to report  that its attorney finds no legal
basis for returning the surplus $700,000  FY11 school revolving funds to free
cash, despite the December suggestion of the Abrahams Group consultants to do
so.  Grasso reported that "the issue is not closed by any means."

Similar to last year, the FinCom has scrutinized and trimmed various department
requests, again asking some departments to provide more information, not all of
which has been received.  There are some Department of Public Works large ticket
items apparently still under consideration, based on documents posted in several
places on the town website, including $700,000 for wireless meter reading
equipment (rejected by 2010 Town Meeting voters) and several "placeholder"
warrant articles for a new $13+ million DPW storage and maintenance facility.  
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_WebDocs/DPW

A $975,000 capital proposal by the Recreation Commission to design and construct
three new 60-foot softball diamonds at the Loker Recreation Area received
positive comment  from the Community Preservation Committee, which asked to see
a more developed proposal before voting to support an appropriation.  Two
private organizations reportedly have informally expressed interest in the
project.  The recreation commissioners are now focused on getting more advanced
schematic designs done "in house," to move the project forward, more likely at a
subsequent town meeting.

Examples of the capital budget still in flux include the FinCom's latest
trimming of the DPW field renovations from $125,000 to $75,000, in part because
of the DPW director's recent history of spending some of the monies for items
never proposed.   The FinCom then received an email from the town administrator
lobbying for restoration of the full $125,000 request.  A $200,000 DPW proposal
towards developing 1,300 new grave sites at the Old North Cemetery on Route 27
was under further technical review because that unused portion of the cemetery
happens to lie in the "capture zone" for the Baldwin drinking water wells.  
While bacteria can be removed by the town's water treatment plant, the eventual
fate of chemicals used to treat end-of-life diseases and conditions is unclear.

The FinCom also heard last Monday from the lead petitioner of a warrant article
for the April town meeting proposing to virtually eliminate the Community 
Preservation Act tax.  Revised language has been prepared by the petitioners
calling for the tax to drop from 1.5% to .1% instead of complete revocation. 
Wayland voters adopted the state's CPA legislation in 2001 and established a
local Community Preservation Committee to manage those monies. 
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_BComm/Community/index

Petitioners of another financially related warrant article plan to meet with the
FinCom after Monday's budget presentation to discuss their revised language.

The process for developing next year's budget began at the end of September 2011
when the FinCom set the guidelines in a memo sent by the finance director to all
departments.  Capital and operating proposals were submitted in October and
November.

Meanwhile, voters at the publicly petitioned November Special Town Meeting sent
a clear message to Town Hall that voters expect them to sharpen their pencils
and propose budgets based on actual rather than budgeted figures.  On Nov. 17
voters applied $4 million of surplus free cash to the FY12 budget, still leaving
a very healthy and growing reserve.

The FinCom began posting department proposals on the town website in January as
they held weekly meetings to discuss them with proponents.  Some FY12 budget
actuals were recently added to the town website.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_TownNews/0183F7E0-000F8513

In preparation for next Monday's budget presentation, residents can find other
pertinent budget documents posted on the Finance department website:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Finance/index

Among the FinCom's tasks Monday night might be  to explain in lay terms how
taxes can increase as much as they propose without exceeding the limits under
Proposition 2 ½.

-- WVN Staff

PROPOSED ZONING CHANGES

On Thursday Feb. 16 the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on three
warrant articles proposing  changes to  zoning regulations that citizens will
vote on at Town Meeting on April 9. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.  Here is the
agenda with the proposed new language:

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S01821310-01821316.0/Agenda\
planningbd02162012.pdf

One article calls for changes to the Refuse Disposal District to accommodate a
possible new DPW facility.  Another article establishes an advisory Design
Review Board.  A petitioners article seeks to amend the zoning bylaw regulating
product sales at auto service stations.

--WVN Staff

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neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
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Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

Some town officials have expressed sympathy for a developer's request to help
him build a project in Framingham that would produce costly problems and risks
for Wayland with few obvious benefits. Voters may ask why.

Also in this newsletter: Some contested races will be on the April town ballot.

DEVELOPER WANTS CUT IN MITIGATION

Years ago Wayland opposed a 665-unit housing development just over the town line
in Framingham and won an agreement to as much as $1.45 million to mitigate
traffic, safety and environmental impacts. Now a different developer, a Wayland
resident, is asking Wayland to set much of the deal aside.

The mitigation would be paid at specified points in the approvals and
construction process in exchange for building a smaller housing project just
over the town line in Framingham.  Developer Roy MacDowell Sr. proposes that the
town forgo mitigation money in return for an agreement to a smaller project --
perhaps 350 units.

Most of the current Wayland officials and senior staff being asked to give up
that detailed settlement package were not serving in town government when their
predecessors and technical consultants spent more than a year studying what it
would take to protect Wayland roads and water supply should a large housing
project be built at the former New England Sand & Gravel site on River Path, 170
acres just off Old Connecticut Path, not far from Wayland's intersection with
West Plain Street.

Could giving up the mitigation package prove unwise, risky and costly to Wayland
taxpayers? There appears to be no guarantee in a stalled economy that MacDowell,
the third developer, will be more likely build the housing project than the
previous two.  It is also not clear what kind of housing may be built. A 2003
plan called for condos.

Here's the background:

Almost a decade ago, the Framingham Planning Board held a public hearing for a
special permit for the Villages at Danforth Farm, proposed under a 1989 Planned
Unit Development agreement.

Various Wayland officials, including the police chief, attended sessions of that
hearing, concerned about the obvious impacts the development of up to 700
housing units in that area would have on Wayland's public safety.  Of immediate
concern were traffic and pedestrian safety at the intersections of Old Conn Path
and West Plain Street, Stonebridge Road, and the high school.

Environmental Concerns

Part of the property also has been undergoing a hazardous waste cleanup under
Department of Environmental Protection Public Involvement Plan regulations after
the property owners allowed the U.S. military to experiment with building
instant runways (simulating desert soil conditions), resulting in the 1986
accidental release of contaminants into soil and groundwater.   The plume of
identified solvents has been attenuating over time, while migrating towards the
Sudbury River. But concentrations still exceed allowable limits.  The status of
the cleanup has been a Class C RAO Response Action Outcome since 2003, not yet
sufficient to permit housing under DEP regulations.


Part of the protective Zone II for Wayland's Meadowview and Happy Hollow
drinking water wells extends into Framingham.  Monitoring to ensure that the
plume and project construction activities don't degrade Wayland's water supply
is essential.

Framingham officials also seek to reopen three inactive Birch Road drinking
water wells which abut the NESG property in order to reduce dependency on MWRA
water.  Their proposal is to withdraw over 3 million gallons of water per day
from the same aquifer from which Wayland withdraws water for the Happy Hollow
wells.

That proposal was vetted through the state environmental process, but in 2009
the Final Environmental Impact Report failed to comply with state standards for
approval, and a supplemental report is required, as it was not clear whether use
of the wells would dry up the river. (See www.waylandwells.com "Other Resources"
section)

Engineering studies have tried to better assess the impacts of withdrawing such
a large volume of water from an already stressed river basin.  Impairment of
water quality and quantity in the nearby Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge,
Sudbury River, Lake Cochituate and Dudley Pond are among the concerns.

Not only does much of the NESG property consist of porous sands and gravel, the
property is transected by major transmission power lines and the replacement
MWRA aqueduct running 300-400 feet below ground.  It also abuts the Oxbow
portion of the Sudbury River, a designated protected Wild and Scenic River.  And
on the east are the Pod Meadow wetlands where increased passive recreation from
the project would have impacts.

Strong Wayland Response

The 2003 Wayland Town Meeting voters, with the full support of the Finance
Committee, sent a strong message approving petitioners articles calling for
filing a legal appeal if  the Framingham Planning Board issued a special permit
to National Development (Newton).  Framingham issued the permit approving the
construction of 665 housing units in April 2003, and Wayland appealed it.

Wayland officials and consultants then spent more than a year working to
quantify the protections needed to mitigate project impacts.  A legal settlement
announced in January 2005 called for developer National Development to provide
$1.45 million in mitigation for a smaller project (525 housing units).   The
estimated allocation  was signed off by the Wayland Board of Selectmen on Feb.
7, 2005.

The 2005 Town Meeting voters sent another strong message, approving petitioners
articles calling for all documents related to that negotiated settlement to be
publicly disclosed and that mitigation monies be deposited in designated
accounts to be spent as planned.

The MetroWest Daily News reported that National Development sold the 170 acres
to Pulte Homes in December 2005 for over $18 million.  Site plan hearings
continued, but the Framingham Planning Board was not enthusiastic about Pulte's
design plans for a renamed Danforth Green.  Pulte proposed large, multistory,
monolithic buildings often seen in other suburban U.S. locations but devoid of
New England design or character.  Progress slowed and then halted with the
housing market collapse.  The News then reported that the property was sold at a
foreclosure auction in March 2009 for $11 million to an Orlando bank.

Renewed Interest in 2011

The property reportedly is now owned by a Virginia bank.  Wayland developer
MacDowell (Baystone Development, formerly Boulder Construction, in Weston) first
expressed interest in reviving the project last spring.  The $1.45 million
mitigation package has been a deterrent, according to MacDowell's statements at
the Wayland Selectmen's Jan. 17, 2012 meeting.  Last spring the Boston Business
Journal reported on MacDowell's own financial challenges.
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/print-edition/2011/06/10/roy-macdowell-jr-vers\
ion-20.html?page=all

On Jan. 30, the selectmen invited several concerned residents to meet with
current officials and the developer.  MacDowell proposed to reduce the number of
housing units to about 350 and to leave areas near the river and Pod Meadow
undeveloped - - if the project could be made more financially feasible.  He also
mentioned protecting about 67 acres near the river with a conservation
restriction.  Wayland's conservation administrator said that the nearby wildlife
refuge would likely be interested in such efforts.

The Framingham Conservation Commission was unable to issue permits when the bank
did not submit adequate information, despite clear direction from the Commission
and hearing continuances.  The denial of the Order of Conditions in 2010 was
appealed by the bank, and the ConCom prevailed in Superior Court in a December
2011 decision.  The bank announced last month that it has appealed that
decision.  The ConCom has yet to be able to review the project's impact on the
acres along the river and the wetlands.  The direction of that process could
improve if a new developer planned to protect rather than develop near those
sensitive areas.

The Jan. 30 Wayland selectmen's discussion ran longer than planned, with
residents urging the board to hold onto the protections that took more than a
year to negotiate.  Those concerns are no less valid today than a decade ago,
they said.  While the proposed smaller project could generate less traffic, the
signalization at West Plain Street was already designed via a public hearing
process using $50,000 in mitigation funds, and it still warrants construction. 
MacDowell is offering to build it.

There have been pedestrian fatalities on Old Conn Path and West Plain Street
since the settlement was reached in 2005.  The signal at Wayland High School is
already built, but the overall cost of other roadway mitigation is now higher.

Any developer picking up this project also faces traffic mitigation and other
infrastructure commitments in Framingham.  Residents want a signal at School
Street and Old Conn Path in Framingham.  Meanwhile, several Wayland selectmen
said that evening that they would not reduce the mitigation intended to protect
Wayland's drinking water.

At the Jan. 19 Framingham Planning Board hearing, the town planner described the
degraded condition of the property.  It is wide open, not secured, with urban
construction debris in various locations including wetland resource areas.  He
described dumped barrels, vehicles, tires, asphalt, and other materials while
characterizing the property's condition as "absurd" and "unacceptable."  He
indicated this is not new, and that the owner should do something about
restoring the property to a natural state.  A technical consultant concurred
with the presence of inappropriate materials on site that "need to go" given the
Birch Road Zone I, the river and wetlands.  That public hearing was continued to
April 12.

MacDowell agreed the property is an eyesore that begs to be cleaned up and said
he is willing to reconsider redeveloping it (disclosing he has it under purchase
agreement) if something can be done about the cost of the mitigation package. 
He is also talking about relocating the project's River Path main entrance and
making it more attractive.

Last Thursday, the Framingham Danforth project was a discussed agenda item at
the Wayland Planning Board, without MacDowell present.  Given the history of the
property, and the uncertainties that lie ahead, Wayland officials have been
advised by residents who worked on the 2005 settlement not to give up the
underlying public safety protections set in place by their predecessors.

At their Feb. 13 meeting the Wayland selectmen discussed Roy MacDowell's Feb. 9
email essentially asking the town to forgo the cost of the remaining mitigation,
except for the construction of the West Plain Street intersection.

MacDowell's proposal omits numerous line items, including the following, spelled
out in the February 2005 mitigation allocation document: "National agrees to
grant an easement for Wayland to install and maintain a monitoring well on
National property until such time as both Wayland and National's LSPs (Licensed
Site Professionals) jointly advise there's not any material risk to water
quality in Zone IIs of Wayland's public water supply.  Until the easement is
terminated National will refrain from installing an irrigation well in an area
of concern to Wayland."

Also missing from MacDowell's proposal is funding for public safety improvements
at impacted Stonebridge Rd. and Main St/East/West Plain St. intersections, Pod
Meadow conservation area management and protection, on-site LSP during project
construction, monitoring well installation, and initial groundwater sampling.

Town Administrator Fred Turkington and Selectman Joe Nolan encouraged the Board
to provide financial relief to MacDowell, with Turkington contending that some
of the January 2005 mitigation package was fluff (Turkington did not begin
working in Wayland until September 2005).  The Board indicated a willingness to
negotiate with MacDowell based on getting new information, including a new
traffic study.

In this unstable real estate market, one thing is certain.  No matter what gets
built at the NESG property, it will present impacts and risks to Wayland.  From
2003 to 2005, the selectmen negotiated and then signed the Danforth settlement
agreement.  It appears they have the authority to amend the mitigation package. 
Right now the Town of Wayland has $1.45 million in hard-fought legal protections
in place based on empirical data.

The selectmen's Policies and Procedures guidance manual posted on the town
website includes the following basic principle:  "Overall, the Board has broad
responsibility for the safety and well-being of the town."

Voters may ask the selectmen:  Why should Wayland assist a developer whose
project would still present a variety of costly problems to town taxpayers and
give up the already negotiated protections?


-- Linda Segal

CONTESTED TOWN ELECTION RACES

On election day, April 3, Wayland voters will be asked to choose candidates on
three boards: Board of Selectmen, Recreation Commission, and Housing Authority.

The candidates for selectman are: Susan Pope, incumbent; Douglas Leard, former
selectman; Christopher Brown, current chair of the Board of Public Works; and Ed
Collins, a former member of the Planning Board.

The Recreation Commission sees two incumbents being challenged. Brud Wright and
Stas Gayshan, current commissioners, are facing Mark Lucier and Gary Carvalho.

A single, one-year position on the Housing Authority is being sought by Jackie
Ducharme and Laurie Hojlo.

New faces to fill vacant slots are Cynthia Hill for Board of Health, and Bob
Goldsmith for Board of Public Works.  Goldsmith was previously a member of the
Conservation Commission and serves on the Surface Water Quality Committee.

-- WVN Staff

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==================================================
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==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
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Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

CORRECTED DATE FOR BOARD MEETING

The Board of Public Works will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday Feb. 21.
Monday Feb. 27 was incorrectly posted on the town website meeting calendar.

The agenda includes a Town Meeting article that would significantly change
Wayland's Community Preservation Act program, sodium levels at the Happy Hollow
wells, cemetery expansion, wireless water meter readers and an Open Meeting Law
complaint.

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0184DE65-0184DE69?formid=1\
61

WIRELESS WATER METER READERS

A public hearing on proposed wireless water meter readers at Town Building will
be held on Monday, March 5, 2012 at 7:00 pm.  This is a $700,000 FY13 Department
of Public Works capital request.

This topic will also be discussed at the Board of Health meeting on Wednesday
Feb. 22:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0184F7E7-0184F7F6?formid=1\
61

PROPOSED ZONING BYLAW CHANGES

The Wayland Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Feb. 28 for several
proposed changes to the zoning bylaws including its proposals for the refuse
disposal district and a design review board.  A citizen's petition will also be
discussed that would enable service stations to sell various products often
found in convenience stores upon receipt of a special permit.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0184F9CB-0184F9D0.0/PBAgen\
da02282012.pdf

Dear Wayland Voter,

Last fall the Finance Committee opposed citizens' successful petitioning to use
$4 million in free cash to reduce taxes. Now the FinCom proposes to use nearly
$6 million from reserves to avoid a tax override while increasing spending by 3
percent. The plan could raise taxes by an estimated 5.6 percent.

Also in this newsletter: A traffic light in the Historic District is becoming
fully operational ahead of schedule because of hazards that might have been
prevented if the project had been handled according to permit conditions. And:
Alerts from WayCAM and Wayland Democrats.

NO OVERRIDE,  5.6% TAX INCREASE POSSIBLE

Wayland's Finance Committee discussed its draft budget for Fiscal Year 2013 on
Feb. 13 and entertained several comments from citizens essentially pleading for
more circumspection on spending.

One of the FinCom's stated budget challenges was to be "respectful of pressure
not to increase tax rate while maintaining level services."  However, the FinCom
cites an expected 5.6% tax increase despite its proposed use of nearly $6
million in free cash.

The proposed general fund budget rises 3.02% to $69.28 million compared with the
FY 12 budget. The school line item is set to rise 4.4% over the FY 12 budget.

There will be no property tax override, but the operating budget shows a $3.68
million deficit. To solve this, FinCom proposes pulling $3.2 million from free
cash, along with $360,000 from ambulance receipts and  $120,000 the town
receives this year from the high school bond. This is basically a reduction in
interest payments.  Other free cash would be used for capital spending.

Largely because of borrowing for the new high school, the town's debt  is around
$70 million. It will be about $74.4 million at the end of FY 12 and plans for FY
13 call for about $68 million.

Remember FinCom's Fall warning?

Voters may recall the FinCom's drastic warning to petitioners at Special Town
Meeting last fall that raiding free cash was not prudent and would only elevate
tax increases in future years. No such mention is being made with this budget
other than the observation that similar amounts of free cash are unlikely to be
available in the future. In this instance, the free cash is being used to
balance the expanded budget.

FinCom proposes to use $5.91 million of free cash. Currently the town holds $6.3
million -- 8.5% of the budget. The FinCom is estimating $4.99 million might be
added to free cash prior to the end of June. This figure does not include the
$700,000 sitting in school revolving funds at the end of FY11, as there is a
legal question of how to handle those funds. The rest of the free cash is slated
for use for the capital budget, $1.7 million, and another $1.01 million to fund
articles that may be passed at Town Meeting in April.

The November 2011 Special Town Meeting called by petitioners used $4 million and
reduced Wayland's tax rate to $19.01 per $1,000 of valuation from an estimated
$20.71, over the objections of town officials. Recently released state figures
show that for FY12 (the current Fiscal Year) Sharon has the highest tax rate in
the state at $20.11, meaning Wayland would have had the highest tax rate in the
state if not for the petitioners' actions. The Finance Committee and Board of
Selectmen did not express concern at the time about the potential of having the
state's highest tax rate – by far – and did not call the Special Town Meeting to
avert this.

FinCom's stated target for free cash is 7.5% of the budget, which is in the
midrange of its preference, but well above the 3-5% recommended by the state.
The FinCom presentation estimated the cash balance at the end of June 2012 could
range from 3.2% to 7.7%, or $2.2 million to $5.4 million.

General Fund Budget

The general fund budget, which excludes current and potential future enterprise
funds (septage, wastewater, and water), shows total expenses in FY 13 are
projected to rise 3.02% to $69.28 million from $67.26 million budgeted for Fy
12. The increase from FY 11's actual expenditures of  $61.76 million is 10.9%,
largely because of high school debt,  FinCom members explained.

Omnibus Budget

Including the departments with current and potential future enterprise funds,
the town's FY 13 omnibus budget rises 3.08% to $73.45 million from FY 12's
appropriated $71.26 million.

The FinCom said it had eliminated more than $2 million of requested items from
the omnibus budget prior to the meeting.

Schools

The school line item for FY 13 amounts to $32.526 million, a 4.4% rise over FY
12's budget.  However, that's not the full cost to the town. The $9.972 million
town side line item of `unclassified' includes insurance expenses, much of which
is attributed to the schools. The high school debt represents a large portion of
the increase in debt service since FY 11.

Debt

Debt service for FY 13 is projected to be $7.666 million, or 10.44% of the
omnibus budget.
The debt service figure is down $110,495 from the budget of last year, but up
35% from FY 2011's figure of $5.011 million, largely reflecting the high school
debt.

The FinCom apparently has heard citizens' cries and decided to not replace all
the expiring exempt debt with new debt, as has been its past practice. The
proposed payment for nonexempt debt is less than last year, totaling $1.605
million, the FinCom said.

Prepayment

The FinCom proposes to make a prepayment of  $1 million for the town's unfunded
retirement liability. As with mortgages, prepayment reduces the overall carrying
costs. Some may question the timing of this proposal.

Capital

Could the budget be lower? Proposals for capital expenditures in the general
fund budget amount to $3.84 million, and for the omnibus budget, which includes
septage, water and wastewater, the total is $5.4 million, of which $825,000 is
for rolling stock.

No analysis has been shown to the public of advantages of owning vs. leasing
trucks and other gear.

The borrowing includes projects such as Claypit Hill school floor tiles (the
second portion) and paving Claypit parking lot, totaling $190,000, and a
"placeholder" for $350,000 for Happy Hollow modules." This is for potentially
moving, installing, and retrofitting the modulars at the High School to Happy
Hollow. The school committee is awaiting the results of a space utilization
study of the elementary schools before making a decision on this item.

The school committee is also asking to spend $70,000 for a school bus.

The budget documents are at
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Finance/docs
The FinCom slide show is at
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Finance/FY13budpres.pdf

Citizen Comments

Citizens asked many questions at the meeting, which can be viewed at:
http://waycamtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=29340cd1133cf3b048428bd953938c73

One surprise to some in the audience was the omission of any benefit from the
Town Center project, now under way, which continues to be touted by selectmen
and others as critical to the town's financial health. In response to a
question, FinCom Chair Cherry Karlson said there will be no financial benefit to
the town from Phase 1 of the Town Center construction. The situation will be
reassessed if and when a Phase 2 is started.

"So at least at the moment the project will not do us any good?"

"Not on a tax revenue basis," Karlson replied.

Another question involved the School Department's plan to hire an electrician,
noting apparently the town lacks control regarding how much overhead and
benefits can be added to the town budget without the town's consent. The
suggestion was to hire services rather than add personnel to the payroll.

Another resident recommended keeping spending down, in particular trying to hold
the line on employee compensation.

Wayland's teacher salary schedule is on pages 30 and 31 of
http://www.wayland.k12.ma.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_1036352/File/District%20Mi\
gration/2010-2013WTAAGREEMENTforpdf_002.pdf

The suggestion came as FinCom Chair Karlson asked how the resident would keep
spending down given that much of the town's budget is consumed by personnel
costs.

A further suggestion was for the town to educate its personnel, and citizens, on
the total benefit costs for employees.

FinCom member Richard Stack commented that costs from FY 11 actual results and
FY 13 budget were nearly flat, up only 0.7%. But this figure excludes schools
and all debt.

-- Molly Upton

NEW TRAFFIC LIGHT FULLY OPERATIONAL --  HAZARD CITED

Police Chief Bob Irving says the new traffic light at the intersection of Routes
27 and 126, in the heart of Wayland's Historic District between the Depot,
Grout-Heard House, and the Library, will be fully operational on Friday Feb. 24.
The signal was deemed necessary to make the roads safer, but the way the project
was handled created even more dangerous conditions.

Normally a new light is left flashing for two weeks to a month to get the public
used to having a light where it never was before. But the schedule is being
moved up because of the hazardous conditions, he said.

Road changes including the  signal were declared necessary because of
anticipated Town Center traffic. The developer was able to bypass conditions set
by the Wayland Historic District Commission because the selectmen declared the
intersection hazardous.  Then work started in the fall before meeting the
conditions of a Board of Public Works permit that could have prevented a newly
created hazard.

The permit conditions would have delayed construction until arrangements had
been made to move the utility pole in the middle of the intersection. So the
pole remained in place into the winter, creating a greater  hazard than existed
before.

The pole was removed recently and the lights were installed. But it turned out
that new sight lines mean that drivers turning south from 126  may not be able
to see northbound cars in the center lane. At least one near-wipeout was
reported. Replacing blinking with fully operational lights is expected to help.

Why was the project handled this way?  Public Works Director Don Ouellette told
the Board of Public Works on Tuesday night that he had issued a "verbal waiver"
to allow the developer to start the roadway work. But under the permit only the
Board, not the DPW Director, has the authority to issue a waiver.

-- Tom Sciacca

For more background see
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/message/561


WAYCAM REMINDER

WayCam, the town's public access cable channel, reminds Comcast customers that
after March 19 analog TV sets won't receive a signal without a digital
converter.

Customers  using a higher level of service than Limited Basic already have at
least one converter. Comcast will supply up to three converters without charge.
If you have questions, please contact Comcast:

"http://www.Comcast.com/digitalnow" www.Comcast.com/digitalnow  or
1-877-634-4434.

WAYLAND DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS

Wayland Democrats will meet on Saturday Feb. 25 to elect delegates to the
Massachusetts Democratic Party's 2012 nominating convention.

The caucus begins at 1 p.m. at the Wayland Public Safety Building. All Wayland
residents registered as Democrats as of Dec. 31, 2011, are eligible to take
part.

Contact: Michael Gilbreath, Caucus chair, at 508-942-8095 with any questions.

--------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/
==================================================
To be sure you continue to receive WVN newsletters optimally and in your inbox
(instead of bulk or junk folders) it may help to add to your address book or
safe sender list:
waylandvoters@...
waylandvoters1@... .
==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
sending a blank email to:
waylandvotersnetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

For many years residents took the town's water service for granted.  Turn the
tap and you got excellent water at a negligible price.

Recently the price has skyrocketed as quality problems increased. In 2008 Town
Meeting voters approved a plan to fold the water department into a new
Department of Public Works with the aim of saving money. Still,  a typical
user's bill has increased by more than a factor of five since 2006.

At the 2012 Town Meeting beginning on April 9 voters may have the chance to
consider a major change in accounting for water reserves that now amount to more
than $3 million.

Also in this newsletter:

-- WayCAM is once again  broadcasting live.

-- Wayland's first Habitat for Humanity project goes before Town Meeting voters.

SURPLUS WATER FUNDS UP FOR VOTE

Town Meeting voters may be asked whether to make water reserves an enterprise
fund, which would operate as a kind of stand-alone business rather than be
merged with other town money. A water enterprise fund would support only water
services. In the past, water reserves have been used for such things as
lessening the size of tax overrides.

On Jan. 17 the Board of Public Works reported a balance of $3.3 million in water
reserves.

The Department of Public Works justifies the large amount in part by saying a
consultant recommends holding in cash the cost of its most expensive asset. 
Chris Brown, Board of Public Works chairman and a candidate for selectman, 
reported the department plans to spend $1.4 million of that surplus in Fiscal
2013, leaving $1.9 million in reserve, a bit less than the replacement cost of
the Reeves Hill water supply tank.

Best Management Practices?

The town commissioned Abrahams Group consultants to study town finances and
recommend best management practices.

The Abrahams January 2011 water rate study report is posted on the town website:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Water/waterreportuse.pdf

On page 3 the Fund Balance section shows Abrahams recommending best practices
for operating and capital reserves.  The report called for a best practices
operating reserve of 25% of budget (it was over 100% at close of FY11) and a
capital reserve at $400,000, for "the most costly capital asset that might be
replaced on an emergency basis ($400,000 for a well replacement)."

At the Jan. 3, 2012 joint meeting of the selectmen and Board of Public Works,
officials  discussed the unusually high water reserves. 
http://waycamtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=4165be413ac18d909ba8a4e71caecef6

Both BOPW chairman  Brown and DPW Director Don Ouellette apparently interpreted
Abrahams' best management practice recommendation from a year earlier to claim
that a higher $2 to $2.5 million be held in reserve.  That dollar amount is five
to six times higher.

Brown suggested holding the larger $2 million as the cost of replacing the
town's "largest capital item," identifying that as the Reeves Hill water storage
tank.  In reality the $10.5 million Baldwin water treatment plant is the town's
most valuable water asset.  If that is now the DPW's justification for holding
onto high water surplus dollars, then why not stockpile $10.5 million in
reserve?   That does not seem to be what Abrahams intended by the recommended
$400,000 capital reserve.

"Going Too Far" With Reserves?

A year ago, at a Feb. 8 water rate hearing, former water commissioner Joel
Goodmonson provided opening remarks to give pre-DPW context to retained
earnings.  Regarding the notion of holding $2.5 million in capital reserve, he
cautioned against "going too far with that."
http://waycamtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=22934d3414fcb9585e162e4bfe2fe5e6

At the Jan. 3, 2012 meeting with selectmen, DPW Director Ouellette reported that
despite last summer's watering ban, the department also unexpectedly took in
$900,000 more in water revenue than the year before.  He attributed that to
residents not obeying watering restrictions.

Ouellette also cited 2011 Town Meeting voters' use of $500,000 from free cash
from  a gasoline additive contamination legal settlement to pay for Cochituate
water main improvements.

Ouellette repeated his preference to have $2 -2.5 million on hand in water
capital reserve.

A Way to Lower Rates?

Both Ouellette and commissioner Mike Lowery alluded to the option of using the
surplus to lower customer water rates at some point, but Ouellette also said
they still don't know the full cost of operating the new Baldwin treatment
plant.  The plant came on line officially, per DEP approval, in February 2010,
but Ouellette told selectmen it was not fully operational until July 2011.

He didn't publicly disclose until more recently that the Baldwin plant has been
plagued by technical difficulties from iron-eating bacteria, which explains the
heavier use of chlorine at Baldwin Well #3 and at the plant.  It also seems to
explain why the Baldwin Plant is shut down more often, why more residents can
smell or taste increased chlorine use, why there are cost overruns for plant
chemicals, and why the Happy Hollow Wells are still heavily relied upon for our
water supply.

Both Town Administrator Fred Turkington and Ouellette alluded to possibly
building a second water treatment plant in the future, for which Ouellette
suggested money could be set aside in the Enterprise Fund.

Ouellette admitted the cash balance is too high.  Then Chris Brown disclosed
plans to use excess cash reserves to purchase wireless meter reading equipment
and other capital items, but no second $10 million water treatment plant.

Ouellette reported the Finance Committee recommends spending water surplus
dollars to fund his proposal for wireless water meter reading equipment costing
$700,000, pending a cost analysis from consultant Mark Abrahams. The same
equipment was previously rejected by May 2010 Town Meeting voters.

At its Feb. 27 meeting, the FinCom finally received from DPW Director Ouellette
a communication from the Abrahams Group which he said explained the cost
savings.
On Oct. 3, 2011 the BoPW had authorized Ouellette to proceed with getting a
Return on Investment (ROI) analysis from Abrahams.  Abrahams submitted his
proposal on Dec. 30, 2011, and mindful of Wayland's capital budget schedule,
indicated he would begin work within a week of receiving authorization from the
Town.

By Feb.  7, with Ouellette on vacation and the BoPW unaware of what progress had
been made, the Board asked Abrahams if he had been engaged to do the work and,
if so, to please provide an update.  Abrahams replied with his ROI analysis on
Feb. 14.

At the Feb. 27 meeting, FinCom member Tom Greenaway made a motion to remove the
water meter reading equipment from the capital budget, based on the DPW having
had a year to make its case for the large expenditure.  With the eleventh hour
receipt of a cost analysis, there were some unresolved questions (e.g. security,
privacy, abatements, new billing software, etc.), and there did not seem to be
agreement on how long it might take for a return on the investment (perhaps up
to 9 years).  The FinCom ultimately voted to keep the request in the FY13
capital budget.

The FinCom voted, however, that same evening to remove the DPW's $200,000
requested North Cemetery expansion proposal from the FY13 capital budget.  In
recent weeks, memos were submitted to the FinCom and BoPW by members of the
former Wellhead Protection Committee (now Waylandwells.com) expressing concerns
about the groundwater transport of pathogens, toxic chemicals and
pharmaceuticals from 1,300 proposed new gravesites.

The North Cemetery expansion area is in the capture zone of the nearby Baldwin
drinking water wells.  The Waylandwells.com group recommended a capture zone
study be done, as proposed years earlier after a study was  completed for the
Happy Hollow wells.   The FinCom agreed and voted to fund such a study from
Water Cash Capital.

In addition, the Historical Commission also requested that an archaeological
survey of this historically significant area be done prior to any preparation of
this site for use as a cemetery.  The FinCom agreed and voted to fund such a
study from Free Cash.

Other Water Expense Items in FY13

As proposed, the water reserves are also slated to pay for the next $500,000
installment of water pipe replacement. The town approved spending $500,000 last
year to upgrade the water flow to the center of Cochituate.

Water capital is also listed as paying for the next round of DEP-recommended
upgrades to well pumps, $100,000.  Also on the list to be paid by water cash is
heavy equipment that might be used exclusively by the water department or shared
with DPW: $120,000 for two trucks with snow packages, and $140,000 for a
backhoe. Some voters may ask whether the water fees should be used for equipment
that may be shared.

The DPW itself is asking for $565,000 for two trucks with snow packages, a
utility body with snow package, refurbishing a vehicle to a swap loader, and a
front end loader and trackless sidewalk plow. $295,000 is slated to be borrowed.

Some might say that after the fall Town Meeting, where voters appropriated
surplus free cash towards the FY12 operating budget (essentially taking back
overtaxed dollars), the fear of a similar action by voters this spring may
explain the sudden desire by the selectmen, DPW and Finance Committee to
establish a Water Enterprise Fund, which they repeatedly opposed in years past,
in order to lock up all existing water surplus monies.

Selectman Joe Nolan has recommended using clear visuals to make their case
simply to April Town Meeting voters.

The Board of Public Works has advertised a public forum for 7:05 p.m. Monday,
March 5 to explain its wireless meter reading equipment proposal.

-- Linda Segal

WAYCAM BROADCASTING LIVE AGAIN

WayCAM, the town's public access cable channel, is once again broadcasting live
after a complicated move to new quarters at the new high school.

Live programming includes Board of Selectmen and School Committee meetings (both
at 7 p.m. on Mondays) plus Sports Update, Wayland Weekly and Ask the Rep.

WayCAM broadcasts on Comcast channels 8,9 and 99 and Verizon channels 37, 38 and
39.

Residents may also view any taped programs at their leisure online  at
www.waycam.tv (click on WayCAM Video on Demand archive)..

You can also sign up for updates and other information at:   www.waycam.tv

For information on classes and training, contact station manager Jim Mullane
(jim@...).

To request recording services, contact production assistant Nick Cosky:
nick@...


HABITAT PROJECT VOTE AT TM

Wayland's first affordable housing project under the aegis of Habitat for
Humanity seeks the approval of April Town Meeting voters.

Wayland's Community Preservation Committee voted to provide $356,000 with the
proviso that project volunteers raise $206,000 toward the 4-unit development on
Stonebridge Road.  Town Meeting voters must approve the plan.

One fund-raising effort by the Wayland Habitat for Humanity Community is selling
600 building blocks that will be used for the project. Pay for insulated
concrete forms ($75, or two for $125) and you'll have the chance to set them in
place during construction.

More information: Mary Antes (508-358-2571) or Dan Sharry (508-358-3524 or
dan.sharry@...).

More volunteer help is needed.

Donations can be made online at
http://www.habitatmwgw.org/donate/
or by mail to Habitat for Humanity/MetroWest/ Greater Worcester, 111 Park
Avenue, Worcester, MA, 01609. Write "Wayland  Project" in the memo line.

-------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/
==================================================
To be sure you continue to receive WVN newsletters optimally and in your inbox
(instead of bulk or junk folders) it may help to add to your address book or
safe sender list:
waylandvoters@...
waylandvoters1@... .
==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
sending a blank email to:
waylandvotersnetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

Forums on Monday evening will give voters the chance to learn about and comment
on two significant Town Meeting initiatives.

WIRELESS WATER METER READING SYSTEM

The Board of Public Works and Wayland's public works director will hold a
discussion on the FY13 capital budget request for wireless water meter reading
equipment at 7 p.m. on March 5 in the Large Hearing Room of the Town Building.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0185FDAC-0185FDEB?formid=1\
61

Mark Abrahams, whose firm consults on Wayland financial matters, will explain
the anticipated return on investment. A physicist will discuss radio
transmission energy.

Some concerns have been expressed that the wireless signal could harm health.
Others ask whether hackers could intercept the signal to identify residences
that might be unoccupied and thus burglary targets.


The BoPW touts the proposed $700,000 system as an effective way to detect
residential water leaks and provide better customer service.   Voters rejected
an earlier proposal at the November 2008 Special Town Meeting.  Voters rejected
the DPW's proposal at the May 2010 Annual Town Meeting by deleting it from the
FY11 capital budget.  The FinCom removed the FY12 proposal from the 2011 annual
town meeting warrant.


DESIGN REVIEW BOARD

When a new commercial building goes up in town, you may have heard somebody say,
"Did it have to be so ugly? Why doesn't it fit in with the neighborhood?" You
may have said it yourself.

The Wayland Planning Board will introduce an article at the April 9 Town Meeting
to create a design review board. The concept is already in place in 48
Massachusetts municipalities.

The idea is for a volunteer board to consult with business people considering
new commercial building in Wayland. The hope is to encourage and then help
businesses to follow Wayland's design guidelines, which are now being drafted.

The board, with power only to advise, would coordinate with the Planning Board
and the relatively new Economic Development Committee.

MONDAY MARCH 5 , 7:30 p.m., Wayland High School Lecture Hall
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0185C7D4-0185C7F1.0/Agenda\
planningbd03052012.pdf

OTHER MEETINGS

Among those who won't be at one of the two Monday public forums are the Finance
Committee and the Board of Selectmen. Their separate meetings are scheduled for
the same evening.

The Finance Committee will discuss Town Meeting articles and possibly vote to
take positions on them.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0185FE0A-0185FE16.0/Fincom\
-Agenda-Mar_5_2012.pdf

And the Board of Selectmen will "hold substantive discussions  on specific
articles." The process will continue on March 12 and 19. Sponsoring departments,
and petitioners, have been invited. On March 5 the agenda includes discussion of
articles to elect the Finance Committee, establish an audit review committee and
slash the Community Preservation Act tax from 1.5% of property tax bills to .1%.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S01860E6A-01860FA8.0/BOSAge\
nda03052012.pdf

Board of Selectmen meetings are broadcast live on WayCAM and can be viewed later
at
www.waycam.tv

The Board of Assessors will also meet on Monday evening.  Included in their
agenda is a discussion of two warrant articles amending the Town Code regarding
BoA procedures.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0185ED26-0185ED4E.0/BOA%20\
MEETING%20NOTICE%20-%20AGENDA%20030512.pdf

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

The Massachusetts presidential primary is Tuesday, March 6
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_TownNews/01861F42-000F8513

Dear Wayland Voter,

Town Meeting voters will decide on a capital budget proposal of record size.

In the mean time, here's where to go for background on the election as well as
Town Meeting.

A sample ballot for the April 3 town election is at:

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Clerk/Sampleballot2012.pdf

The warrant for the April 9 Town Meeting will be mailed to voters. You can read
it at:

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/Warrant2012.pdf

Also in this newsletter: Information on solar technology savings and an award
for protecting our Wild and Scenic Rivers.

LARGEST CAPITAL BUDGET PROPOSED

The $4.92 million capital budget request for Fiscal 2013 represents the largest
capital budget and also the first in recent memory that will require approval
solely by Town Meeting, which begins the Monday after Easter.  Since FY 08, the
capital budget has included debt exemptions, which were approved previously by
voters at the polls.

The Finance Committee axed $480,000 from the proposed capital budget to reach
$4.92 million.

The requested capital budget in FY 12  was $3.995 million and in FY 11  $4.515
million. In prior years FY 10-FY 08, the highest requested figure was $2.7
million in FY 08.

The FinCom reductions shrank proposed borrowing from $1.605 million to $1.055
million.
http://waylandma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/WaylandMA_Finance/FY13%20Capital%20Bu\
dget-final.pdf

Last year, the Finance Committee proposed borrowing $1.685 million, excluding
wastewater, with payments starting in FY 13.

The $4.92 million figure includes $1.5 million to replace the roof at the Middle
School. Some residents at hearings said they prefer the town first ascertain
whether the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will provide aid. The
roof was repaired in 1991 and 2000. A statement of interest has been filed with
the MSBA.
http://info.massschoolbuildings.org/SOI_List/ShowSOI.aspx?y=2012

Another large chunk, $1.61 million, comes from the Board of Public Works
including water  requests. This includes $700,000 for wireless water meter
transponders.  A roughly similar proposal was vetoed at Town Meeting in 2010.

The dollar amount does not include the cost of water meter replacements. 
According to the DPW Director, nineteen of Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns
use some kind of wireless system, none of those Aaa bond-rated or identified as
peer towns, except Brookline.

Trucks and More Trucks

The capital budget also includes requests totaling $825,000 for the Department
of Public Works and water vehicles and equipment. This is the highest figure for
such equipment in a budget.

The items on the FinCom's cutting room floor are $350,000 to move temporary
modular buildings from the High School to Happy Hollow School, and $200,000 for
expansion of the North Cemetery in preparation for 1,300 new gravesites.

Using the High School modulars at Happy Hollow would have triggered another
approximately $300,000 to add sprinklers to the building, in addition to charges
for moving, storing, demolishing the interiors currently fitted out as science
labs,  rebuilding the interiors, and installing the units at Happy Hollow. The
cost would have far exceeded any remaining value in what architects described as
low quality shells, so the School Committee decided against salvaging  them.

In place of the cemetery expansion, the FinCom added $20,000 from free cash for
an archaeological study of the property and $50,000 from water cash to study
whether groundwater from the cemetery would affect the town's Baldwin drinking
water wells . The former Wellhead Protection Committee recommended the water
study years ago.

Several groups have pointed out that the proposed cemetery expansion lacked
various permits. While DPW Director Don Ouellette tried to tell the FinCom that
he would spend the amount only if approvals were granted, FinCom member Tom
Greenaway nixed that idea, commenting that if approvals were not granted, the
town would be tying up $200,000 in taxpayer dollars.

There is an estimated three years of capacity remaining in the town cemeteries,
so FinCom decided it wanted approvals in place before recommending the funding.

On the positive side of the ledger, the School Committee is returning to free
cash $218,174 remaining from the prior allocation for high school repairs. This
was money approved by Town Meeting
  several years ago to do any emergency repairs to the old high school as it
reached end of life, requested by the School Committee after a large chunk of
concrete fell off one of the building walkway overhangs. To everyone's relief no
such event occurred again, and the new school is now open with the old school
intentionally demolished.

-- Molly Upton (The author is a member of the Wayland Board of Assessors. Views
expressed here are her own.)

SOLAR PANEL SURVEY

Because Wayland is a Green Community, the town has a chance to be part of
Solarize Massachusetts, a program sponsored by the Massachusetts Clean Energy
Center, that will allow residents, businesses and faith organizations to
purchase photovoltaic (electricity producing) solar panels and their
installation, as well as solar power, at reduced prices.

If accepted into the Solarize program, the town would select the installer and
contract for the whole of Wayland, cutting costs of equipment and installation.
It would also streamline the permitting process and make information about the
entire process accessible through community outreach.

Two Wayland organizations, the Energy Initiatives Advisory Committee and
Transition Wayland, ask for your help by  taking an online Survey: it takes 3
minutes to answer 5 simple questions. The deadline is March 18. The Survey is
available at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QYNKM9B or via the Transition Wayland website at
http://www.transitionwayland.org.

The groups ask that you forward this invitation to all Wayland residents,
businesses and organizations that you think should take the survey as well.

More information on  potential cost savings:
http://masscec.com/masscec/file/HarvardSolar201Combined.pdf / the Solarize
website is at http://www.masscec.com/index.cfm/cdid/12093/pid/11159)

Or contact  Kaat Vander Straeten (kaat@...) or Anne Harris
(arharris29@...).

RIVER STEWARD AWARDS

The League of Women Voters and the Wild and Scenic River Stewardship Council are
soliciting nominations for the tenth Annual River Stewardship Award.  Send
nominations by April 9 to Betsy Sluder, 63 Coppermine Road, Concord, MA  01742. 
Nomination forms are available at the Concord Town House, the Concord Natural
Resources Commission office, both Concord libraries, or online at the
Concord-Carlisle LWV website  http://lwvcc.org.  Call Betsy Sluder, LWVCC River
Awards Co-Chair, 978-369-1851, or Mary Antes, mantes2@... with any
questions.

Twenty-nine miles of the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers have been federally
designated as Wild and Scenic Rivers because of their "outstandingly remarkable
resources including ecology, recreation, scenery, history and literature." The
River Steward Award honors unsung heroes within the river communities who are
doing their part to promote, preserve and protect the Sudbury, Assabet and
Concord Wild and Scenic Rivers today, and for future generations.

2011 Award winners included the Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland for
its use of permeable paving for its parking lot, providing a model for
responsible pavement design in Wayland.

Other past winners in Wayland include:  the Wayland Conservation  Commission,
the Sudbury Valley Nature Photographers, Chris Devany and Cliff Kolovson, Brian
Donahue, Ken Moon, George Lewis, Sally Newbury, and Lew Russell.

-------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/
==================================================
To be sure you continue to receive WVN newsletters optimally and in your inbox
(instead of bulk or junk folders) it may help to add to your address book or
safe sender list:
waylandvoters@...
waylandvoters1@... .
==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
sending a blank email to:
waylandvotersnetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

It's a busy week, with events involving history, health, the April election and
important questions about building proposals. The 2012 Annual Town Meeting
warrant is scheduled to arrive in the mail this week.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY PROGRAM

Sunday March 18, 2 p.m.,  First Parish Church

Seven Ministers Who Served the Whole Town

Edmund Browne was among the founders of Sudbury and the first minister of the
town church. He was succeeded by six other men who were the ministers of the
town (which  paid their salaries) before the congregation split in 1828 and the
separation of church and state finally came to Massachusetts in 1833. These
seven served for almost two centuries and colorful stories are told about all.
Ken Sawyer, 29th minister of the congregation, will recall some of them.

Refreshments will be served. See
http://wayhistsoc.home.comcast.net/~wayhistsoc/whs/index.htm


WAYLAND WELLNESS SUMMIT

Sunday March 18, 1 p.m., Wayland High School

The first Wellness Summit is being held for all adults and middle and high
school students in the Wayland community. A variety of topics will be presented
including nutrition, concussion, sexuality, managing stress, preparing teens for
college life, alcohol and marijuana, social host laws and marijuana legislation,
in control driving, toxins in personal products, among others.

Complete details are posted on WaylandCares' website,
www.waylandcares.org.
This program is sponsored by WaylandCares and the Friends of Wayland Youth and
Family Services.


BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS

Monday March 19, 7 p.m., Town Building
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S01871504-01871516?formid=1\
61

Meeting agenda includes discussion with River Road neighbors affected by
proposed DPW facility, DPW facility scope & price, Economic Development
Committee's proposed Route 20 housing project, water budget and policy, water
fund surplus, Town Meeting warrant articles, recreation issues.

WAYLAND HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE

Wednesday March 21,  7-9 p.m.. Tours, demonstrations, displays.

http://whs.wayland.k12.ma.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=1036623&pageId=1036639&contex\
tId.76331=1062636&parentId.76331=1062637&returnTo=1062637&objectId.76331=2171779\
¤tDate=2012-03-21&view=dailylist


WAYCAM OPEN HOUSE

Tour the new cable TV studio at the high school, 6-7 p.m. March 21, just before
the campus open house. Tours, refreshments. State Rep. Tom Conroy will be in the
studio. Information: Jim Mullane 508-358-5006.


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Wednesday March 21, 7 p.m.,  Town Building.  Agenda includes a public hearing
for proposed senior housing on Route 20 and other senior housing issues.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S01860999-018609BF.0/Agenda\
%20EDC%20120321%20Warrant%20Public%20Hearing.pdf


CANDIDATES NIGHT

Thursday March 22,  7:15-9 p.m., Town Building, sponsored by the League of Women
Voters. Hear, meet and question candidates on the April 3 ballot.  Refreshments.


DPW GARAGE OPEN HOUSE AND PUBLIC HEARING

Saturday March 24, 9-11 a.m., 195 Main St., (at the entrance to the Middle
School). Tour the current facility, which officials want to replace at a cost of
about $13 million. Q&A. Coffee and doughnuts

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_WebDocs/DPW
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0186CBC1-0186D1AC.1/Agenda\
%203-24.pdf

Dear Wayland Voter,

To meet public requests, the Economic Development Committee will start its
Wednesday meeting at 6:30 p.m. instead of 7.  This allows residents to attend a
discussion at the Town Building on  the Committee's plans for rental housing on
Route 20 and still have time to enjoy the high school and WayCAM open house.

The time change is incorporated below in a repeat of remaining events from the
Saturday alert.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Wednesday March 21, 6:30  p.m., Town Building. Agenda includes a public hearing
for proposed senior housing on Route 20 and other senior housing issues.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S01860999-018609BF.0/Agenda\
%20EDC%20120321%20Warrant%20Public%20Hearing.pdf

WAYLAND HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE

Wednesday March 21, 7-9 p.m.. Tours, demonstrations, displays.

http://whs.wayland.k12.ma.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=1036623&pageId=1036639&contex\
tId.76331=1062636&parentId.76331=1062637&returnTo=1062637&objectId.76331=2171779\
¤tDate=2012-03-21&view=dailylist

WAYCAM OPEN HOUSE

Tour the new cable TV studio at the high school, 6 p.m. March 21, beginning 
before the campus open house and continuing. Tours, refreshments. State Rep. Tom
Conroy will be in the studio. Information: Jim Mullane 508-358-5006.


CANDIDATES NIGHT

Thursday March 22, 7:15-9 p.m., Town Building, sponsored by the League of Women
Voters. Hear, meet and question candidates on the April 3 ballot. Refreshments.

DPW GARAGE OPEN HOUSE AND PUBLIC HEARING

Saturday March 24, 9-11 a.m., 195 Main St., (at the entrance to the Middle
School). Tour the current facility, which officials want to replace at a cost of
about $13 million. Q&A. Coffee and doughnuts

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_WebDocs/DPW
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0186CBC1-0186D1AC.1/Agenda\
%203-24.pdf

Dear Wayland Voter,

The state attorney general has found Wayland's Public Safety Building Advisory
Committee in violation of the Open Meeting Law.

The violation occurred at a meeting of the Wayland Historic District Commission
on April 28, 2011, where a quorum of the Committee discussed the PSBAC's
application for modifications to a structure at 38 Cochituate Road.

The decision issued this week said the Committee should have posted notice of
its deliberations 48 hours in advance as required by law.  It rejected an
argument from the town that notice wasn't required because Committee members
were attending a posted meeting of the Commission, which had sole authority over
the application.

"A quorum of the PSBAC was present at the meeting of the HDC, and the quorum
engaged in deliberation because the discussion of the enclosure for the waste
disposal dumpster pad fell within the Charge of the PSBAC," the March 20
decision by Assistant Attorney General  Jonathan Sclarsic said. "We order
immediate and future compliance with the Open Meeting Law, and offer this letter
as guidance for future conduct.

A number of Open Meeting Law complaints have been filed in Wayland in recent
years, often by former selectmen. Not all complaints have been upheld.

In most cases, instead of resolving the matter locally, town officials have
challenged the complaints, whether the matter is large or small, resulting in
adjudication months later.  A potential exception was an agreement on a case
involving the Board of Selectmen worked out earlier this year between Selectmen
Chairman Tom Fay and the complainant, former Selectman George Harris, both of
whom are lawyers. Other selectmen, however, rejected the agreement and the case
went to the attorney general, where it remains.  Fay's term expires this year
and he is not running for re-election.

Two days after the PSBAC decision, Town Administrator Fred Turkington told the
Wayland Town Crier that the AG failed to acknowledge several town arguments
against the complaint. Turkington is a non-voting ex officio member of the PSBAC
and was at the meeting last April.  Turkington typically prepares the
committee's agendas and minutes.  He said he had asked the state for an advisory
opinion on whether a public body must file a meeting notice when it appears
before an adjudicatory body.

"Although my request of June 14, 2011 predates the filing of the complaint with
the AG," Turkington wrote, "the AG refuses to issue an advisory opinion arising
from the same set of facts when a complaint is pending."

The first step in the OML  process is to file the state's complaint locally.
That was done on May 27, 2011, more than two weeks before Turkington tried to
seek an advisory opinion.

One of the most widely reported Meeting Law violations since the AG took over
enforcement from district attorneys in 2010 involved Wayland selectmen Fay, Sue
Pope, John Bladon and Steve Correia.  They were unknowingly televised outside of
a meeting discussing appointment decisions they had previously discussed in
secret.  The violation occurred on July 8, 2010; the state's decision was issued
on June 20, 2011.

When Wayland was fined, the offending selectmen wrote personal checks to the
Commonwealth.

-- Michael Short


DPW HEARING AND TOUR

Saturday March 24, 9-11 a.m., 195 Main St., (at the entrance to the Middle
School). Tour the current facility, which officials want to replace at a cost of
about $13 million. Q&A. Coffee and doughnuts

  N.B. This will be preceded by a meeting at 7 a.m. at the River Road salt shed.
River Road has been proposed for a new DPW facility; neighbors have expressed
concern.

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_WebDocs/DPW
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S0186CBC1-0186D1AC.1/Agenda\
\
%203-24.pdf

FOURTH ANNUAL CIVICS BEE

Sunday March 25, 2 p.m., Wayland Middle School. Teams in three age groups from
Wayland, Weston and Sudbury will compete for a trophy, which each school has won
once.


CANDIDATE CALL-IN

Tuesday March 27, 6-8 p.m. Live on WayCAM. Phone your questions to former
Wayland Moderator at 508-358-3742. Candidates in contested races will respond on
air.

The program will be rebroadcast and will be available online at
www.waycam.tv


CANDIDATE DEBATE

Thursday March 29, Wayland High School Theater, 7:30 p.m. The four candidates
for selectman will debate and answer questions about Town Meeting warrant
articles. Livestreaming on WayCAM.

Questions must be received by the Wayland Student Press Network by March 26:
debate@...  or tweet @WSPN

AID FOR TORNADO VICTIMS

Wayland residents, including the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, are collecting
basic supplies to be flown to tornado victims in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

The group looks for buckets (new or used) filled with items  ranging from
toothpaste and towels to pet food, pancake mix and first aid supplies. 
Donations can be dropped off at Wayland public schools from April  9-13. They'll
be flown to Indiana on April 15.

More information, including the list of needed items : Sheila Carel
508-647-6225.
sheila_carel@...

-------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/
==================================================
To be sure you continue to receive WVN newsletters optimally and in your inbox
(instead of bulk or junk folders) it may help to add to your address book or
safe sender list:
waylandvoters@...
waylandvoters1@... .
==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
sending a blank email to:
waylandvotersnetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

When the Planning Board meets at the Town Building on Tuesday March 27, it will
hear plans from Stop & Shop to install five wind turbines when it builds a
supermarket at the Town Center on Route 20.

The architects are on the agenda for 7:30 p.m. There is likely to be
considerable interest.

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S018798CE-018798DC.0/PBAgen\
da03272012.pdf

Stop & Shop, which seeks LEED certification for eco-friendly design, is also
interested in solar panels, electric car charging stations and other
initiatives.

A Wayland Energy Initiatives Advisory  Committee study recently indicated that
the entire town is an unpromising site for wind-generated power. Turbines large
enough to produce significant amounts of electricity would almost certainly be
intolerable for residents and customers. The projected location of five turbines
is not far from the Wayland Commons condos west of Route 27.

One source of information about turbine payback times is at:
http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/54865.pdf

Other events this week:

CANDIDATE CALL-IN
Tuesday March 27, 6-8 p.m. Live on WayCAM. Phone your questions to former
Wayland Moderator Peter Gossels at 508-358-3742. Candidates in contested races
will respond on air.

The program will be rebroadcast and will be available online at
www.waycam.tv

WayCAM PUBLIC HEARING

The Board of Selectmen will hold its annual hearing on Wayland's public access
TV channel at 7 p.m. on Wednesday March 28 at the Town Building.

Members of WayCAMs' board of directors will be on hand to answer questions from
residents as well as the selectmen, who each year hold an advisory session on
WayCAM operations and finances.

More information:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_TownNews/0187C081-000F8513

CANDIDATE DEBATE

Thursday March 29, Wayland High School Theater, 7:30 p.m. The four candidates
for selectman will debate and answer questions about Town Meeting warrant
articles. Livestreaming on WayCAM. Election day is Tuesday April 3.

Questions must be received by the Wayland Student Press Network by March 26:
debate@... or tweet @WSPN

Dear Wayland Voter,

Here is a roundup on the contested races in the April 3 town election. At the
end are links to more information.

DIVERSITY OR "ONE TOWN -- ONE TEAM"?

"One Town -- One Team" was the campaign slogan of a recent candidate for
selectman in a neighboring town. Though not used in Wayland, the term provides a
perspective on the April 3 election in which four candidates compete for two
seats on the Board of Selectmen.

Incumbent Sue Pope is paired in campaign events, and often on yard signs, with
Chris Brown, the chairman of the Board of Public Works who hopes to take the
seat being vacated by  Selectman Tom Fay. They take nearly identical positions
on issues.

The two are endorsed by current selectmen, former office holders and other
members of the political establishment.

The five present selectmen vote unanimously on almost all important issues. In
recent years citizens appointed by the selectmen to the Finance Committee later
ran successfully for selectman.  Three current selectmen served on the FinCom,
which can be viewed as a kind of farm team for those seeking elected office.

Also running for selectman are Doug Leard, a former selectman, and Ed Collins, a
former member of the Planning Board. Though they don't campaign together, both
call attention to Wayland needs and seek better ways of doing the town's
business, including more respect and collaboration among boards.

Pope tells voters that Wayland is "well run and fiscally sound," a town in which
residents have come together to accomplish things. She says she advocates for
fiscal accountability and listens to residents.

She and Brown point to the new high school and the Town Center mixed-use project
now under way. When it is completed the Town Center will increase tax revenue,
she says. (The FinCom says it doesn`t expect  higher revenue from the phase
being built now.)

Brown says, "There are wonderful things going on in Wayland right now." He calls
for a long-term approach to fiscal matters, avoiding short-term decisions that
could cause shortfalls in the future.

Leard says he's positive about the town's future but hears from  "dissatisfied"
residents including those who tell him that high taxes are driving them out of
town. He calls for budget efficiencies and rewarding department heads who come
in under budget.  Collins says he is "very concerned about the way things have
been going" recently. Those who are labeled as "dissenters" can be "treated very
badly," he said, citing the citizens who "were essentially laughed out of the
room" when they petitioned for tax relief for property owners.

Last fall those petitioners won. Special Town Meeting voters allocated $4
million in tax relief from excess free cash despite firm opposition from the
selectmen and Finance Committee. If not for the petitioners' effort, Wayland
would have the highest tax rate in Massachusetts. Leard and Collins applauded
the outcome.

Leard and Collins say the town still has plenty of free cash, and they point to
a $3.4 million water department surplus as another resource to be considered
carefully.

Since adjusting water rates last summer, the Board of Public Works is still
considering what to do about water revenues, the size of the surplus, water
abatements data, and how much to hold in retained earnings.  At the end of its
March 5 meeting, members voted 4-0-1 (Brown abstaining) to open a water rate
setting hearing soon after Town Meeting.   All four selectman candidates agreed
in principle on using some of the water surplus to reduce water rates.

Three candidates agreed on opposing Town Meeting Article 6, which would cut
taxpayers' contributions to the Community Preservation Act fund to nearly
nothing. The measure would save the owner of a property valued at $600,000 about
$130 annually. Collins said he needed more study on the matter  but joined the
others in supporting the goal of preserving open space.

Leard and Collins favor Article 4, to elect rather than appoint the Finance
Committee, which has been under fire for "hoarding" free cash until it became a
larger proportion of the budget than in almost any other municipality.  Pope and
Brown are opposed, though they say they are open to further study.

Pope, a former FinCom member, says the committee's work is exacting and would be
harmed by election-caused turnover. Leard and Collins say that election is the
best way to achieve diversity and needn't prevent continuity.

Brown cited a table in the Town Meeting warrant which he said showed that 87
percent of Massachusetts cities and towns don`t elect such committees. Collins
called the table "very deceiving" because it fails to note that in a great many
towns committees are appointed by the town moderator, not the selectmen.  A few
days later, at the Selectmen's warrant hearing on March 28, inaccuracies in the
table's information were disclosed.

Open Meeting Law violations figured in joint candidate appearances on March 22
and 27.  Pope was one of four selectmen found by the attorney general to have
violated the law in 2010 by discussing, while out of session, previous decisions
made in secret about appointments to a commission. "We admitted our error," Pope
said at the League of Women Voters Candidates Night. The four selectmen split
the cost of the fine assessed against the town.

In fact there is no record that Pope has ever admitted the essence of the
attorney general's finding, based on video evidence: knowingly violating the
requirement to discuss appointments as a quorum only in public.

Though Pope said that "nearly all the (OML) challenges have been proved to be
baseless," the score since the beginning of 2011 is AG 5, Wayland 0.

The other candidates didn't confront Pope on the issue, though Collins referred
to the violation as "not trivial."

The video showing Pope and others in violation of the Open Meeting Law is at
http://vimeo.com/14079354


WAYLAND HOUSING AUTHORITY

Two candidates who haven't held elective office before are running for a single
one-year position to the WHA, which deals with federally run affordable rental
housing in town, including Bent Park. Under Massachusetts law, communities are
required to strive for 10% of housing to be offered at prices determined to be
affordable by state standards.

Laurie Hojlo (pronounced "hoy-low") stumbled through an appearance at Candidates
Night, where she was unable to come up with answers to questions about
housing-related Town Meeting articles. The following Tuesday, on the Ask the
Candidates WayCAM telecast, she was better prepared and in response to a
question offered an enthusiastic description of a proposed 216-unit apartment
development on Route 20 near the Sudbury line. Twenty-five percent of the units
would be rented to those who qualify for affordable rates.

The other candidate, Jackie Ducharme, also strongly supported the Route 20
proposal, saying that in addition to progressing on housing goals, the town
gains steady additional tax revenue and a large chunk of cash (estimates range
to $5 million) by selling the land to the developer.

Ducharme contrasts with Hojlo in calling for Wayland to change the way it deals
with housing. More openness and collaboration are needed to end divisiveness,
she said.

Ducharme quotes a housing advocate as saying "they (the authority) will take any
land and see if housing sticks."

"The authority needs to begin to have a real discourse with community residents,
boards and committees to discuss how to best meet the state's...requirement,"
she says.

Both candidates offer their background as preparation for the work of the WHA.
Ducharme, a social worker, has been active in the Wayland Neighbors for
Responsible Land Use,  which has contributed to the evaluation of Dudley Woods
(her neighborhood) for various purposes  including housing. Hojlo is a nurse and
a board member of Parmenter Community Health Care.

RECREATION COMMISSION

Two incumbents and two newcomers are vying for two seats on the Commission,
which was created out of the Park and Rec Commission when the new Department of
Public Works combined several town functions in 2009.  Incumbents Brud Wright
and Stas Gayshan acknowledge that the transition hasn't been free of bumps in
the road. They take some of the credit for making the new commission work and
would like to continue to improve the working relationship between the Rec and
DPW.

Gayshan, the only attorney among the candidates or commission members, said the
commission successfully slashed costs to keep the old town pool operating long
enough for a public-private partnership to build a new pool with ten rather than
five lanes.

Wright cites the "tricky and difficult" process of the transition to the new
commission as duties and responsibilities changed. The Board of Public Works
hasn't been at fault, he said.

Gary Carvalho and Mark Lucier are newcomers to candidacy but not to Wayland
recreation affairs. Both are parents who have been active in rec activities for
years.

They present no agenda but talk about working collaboratively.

-- Michael Short

MORE INFORMATION

The Wayland Town Crier publishes candidate statements, columns and letters on
candidates.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/wayland/

Wayland eNews links to a variety of candidate information
http://waylandenews.com/wordpress/elections-2012/candidates/

But it does not link to the website of selectman candidate Ed Collins
www.CollinsSelectman.com

Wayland Patch has coverage of candidate events and other material
http://wayland.patch.com/

For archived broadcasts of candidate forums:
www.waycam.tv


TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE FOR SENIORS

Seniors who need a ride to the polls to vote in the annual town election on
Tuesday, April 3 should call the Council on Aging to make a reservation. 
508-358-2990.   Seniors can also reserve round trip transportation to the Annual
Town Meeting beginning on Monday evening, April 9, by calling the same number.


HANNAH WILLIAMS PLAYGROUND OPENING

Saturday, March 31,  10 a.m., Hannah Williams Playground,  Main Street (Route
27).  Refreshments.

Information:  DPW Director Don Ouellette (508) 358-3672. 
douellette@... .

  -------------------------------------------------------
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neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
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Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

When April 9 Town Meeting voters decide Article 6, they will be making a
judgment on the complicated history of the Community Preservation Act. The
petitioners' article wouldn't make irreparable changes but for now would all but
end taxpayers' contributions to a fund that supports historic preservation, land
acquisition, recreation and affordable housing.

The petitioners say the fund balance of $7.4 million is too large. Opponents
argue that the town needs a large fund to be able to take advantage of chances
to acquire open land, which they say is good for property values and Wayland's
semi-rural ambience.

In 11 years the fund has supported such things as affordable housing at the
former Nike site, artificial turf at the High School, weed management on ponds
and rehabilitation of historic buildings and assets.

Once-generous state support of the fund has declined in recent years from 100%
to about 26%.The number of communities adopting the CPA has risen while the
economy has declined, reducing the amount the State trust fund can contribute. A
bill now in the House Ways and Means Committee would stabilize the state match
at 75%.

Though it has no support from selectmen and selectmen candidates, or from
various civic groups, Article 6 could be vigorously debated.  Since the 2001
town meeting voted to adopt the CPA, there has not been a follow-up public
dialogue, analysis or pulse-taking regarding this surcharge on  property taxes.

Here is a look at the history of the Community Preservation Act and a summary of
arguments for and against the article.

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

The original inspiration for the state Community Preservation Act (CPA) was a
conservation program on Nantucket. A Land Bank was established there in the
1980s to preserve open space through a special act of the state legislature.
Fees collected through a real estate transfer tax on the sale price of a
property were used to acquire, hold, and manage properties as public
conservation land.

In the 1990s land conservationists joined forces with supporters of affordable
housing to promote early versions of the CPA. Historic preservation was later
added to the equation to appeal to urban area revitalization efforts. When the
funding mechanism changed from a real estate transfer tax to a local property
tax surcharge, and was sweetened with state matching funds as financial
incentives, the legislature finally passed the CPA, Massachusetts General Law
Chapter 44B.

The CPA was signed into law in September 2000. It allows communities, if they
vote to do so, to raise taxes to create a dedicated fund for open space
protection, outdoor passive and active recreation, historic preservation, and
affordable housing development.

Communities that vote to adopt the CPA may levy a property tax surcharge up to
3% and become eligible to receive state matching funds from the Community
Preservation Trust Fund. The underpinning for the fund is a surcharge on
Registry of Deeds filings, primarily deeds and mortgages. Communities can choose
several exemptions to the property tax surcharge. The city or town sets up a
Community Preservation Committee  to manage the accounts and recommend projects
for approval by the municipality's legislative body.

The Department of Revenue (DOR) annually distributes monies from the trust fund
in mid-October to participating CPA cities and towns.  The DOR follows a formula
in the CPA law that calls for up to three rounds of trust fund distributions
depending on the authorized tax surcharge. Since 2000 the statewide trust fund
has distributed $387.1 million to 148 CPA communities.

During the first six years of the CPA (2002 through 2007), the trust fund
provided a 100% dollar for dollar match on the first round. But the combination
of an increased number of towns adopting the CPA and a decrease in real estate
activity depleted the trust fund. First round recipients received a 67.6% match
in 2008. This fell to 34.8% in 2009, 27.2% in 2010, and 26.6% in 2011.
Communities with the maximum 3% tax surcharge were entitled to additional
revenue in 2011 during the second and third distribution rounds.

Since the beginning of the trust fund year in September 2011, the fund has
received, on average, 11% less each month.  An uptick in the housing market
could help to mitigate this trend.

WAYLAND'S EXPERIENCE

Municipalities have different approaches toward the preservation issues embodied
in the CPA. Weston, Lincoln and Sudbury approved the maximum 3% rate. Residents
in Essex and Marion have the lowest surcharge, 0.5%. Dover and Sherborn don't
tax residents separately for these purposes.

Wayland voted in April 2001 to adopt the CPA and set a 1.5% surcharge on
property taxes for the purposes of open space (including land for recreational
use), preservation of historic resources, and affordable housing. Exemptions
from the CPA tax were granted for the first $100,000 of residential property
value and to residents with qualifying income limitations. Information on the
exclusion, which is based solely on income, is at
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Assessor/CPAExempt.pdf.

Through FY11, Wayland has accumulated over $9.5 million in CPA revenue,
including the amount raised by the CPA surcharge, state matching funds and
interest. Total expenditures through June 30, 2011, were around $2.1 million,
leaving a balance of about $7.4 million in the town fund.  Of that $7.4 million,
about $2 million is reserved for acquiring open space and $4.3 million is
available for any CPA purpose. Much smaller amounts have been set aside for
historic resources and community housing.

The Wayland Community Preservation Committee consists of nine members, one each
from the Planning Board, Historical Commission, Recreation Commission,
Conservation Commission, Housing Authority, Board of Public Works, and three
members appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Each fiscal year the CPC proposes
setting funds aside for future spending as required by law. Once those
allocations are met, the CPC recommends the division of the remaining revenues
among the designated CPA purposes. Town Meeting makes the final decisions on all
spending.

Town Meeting has approved all of the projects thus far recommended by the CPC,
with the largest appropriations going toward affordable housing at the former
Nike site.  A table in Appendix J on page 143 of the 2012 Annual Town Meeting
warrant lists 23 projects, the amounts appropriated and the funds left unspent
for completed projects.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/Warrant2012.pdf.


WARRANT ARTICLE

Resident Jay Sherry's Article 6 on page 40 of the warrant would roll back the
CPA tax surcharge from 1.5% to 0.1%. He calculates his proposal would reduce the
CPA taxes from $143 to less than $10 on a $600,000 property assessment.

Sherry argues that the town could restore the higher rate when the need for
funding arises and if state matching funds increase. A majority vote at town
meeting followed by a majority vote at the polls at the next election would be
required. But since there is a large surplus on hand, the town has sufficient
funding for worthy projects for many years to come, he says.

Wayland's Community Preservation Committee says that if article 6 passes,
ongoing negotiations for a conservation restriction for Mainstone Farms, one of
the main motivations for Wayland's entry into the Act, would be in jeopardy.

An oft-stated rationale for keeping a large CPA reserve fund is to be prepared
for a future large expenditure such as securing a conservation restriction on
Mainstone Farm. Its estimated value of not less than $10 million would deplete
the open space and uncommitted reserves. According to CPC Chairman Jerry Heller,
the town also needs funds in reserve for debt service to support underwriting
such a large expenditure. The CPC cautions that a landowner may not wait around
for the town to reinstate the surcharge to a sustainable level.

Numerous other projects are also being considered by the CPC, such as acquiring
part of the Route 20 Lee Farm property for community agriculture and installing
three softball fields at the Route 30 Loker Conservation and Recreation Area
(formerly owned by Dow Chemical).  Appropriating funds for affordable housing
developments on Stonebridge Road and Route 20 will be voted at the upcoming town
meeting.

FUTURE OF CPA

A bill now in the House Ways and Means Committee would stabilize the state match
at 75%. HB 765, An Act to Sustain Community Preservation, would also make it
easier to use CPA funds for certain projects and make it more attractive to
established cities.  If the bill becomes law, CPA funds could be used to
rehabilitate existing parks and athletic fields. The Act now strictly limits
those types of projects.

This was a controversial issue at the November 2006 special town meeting when
Wayland voted to appropriate $300,000 toward the artificial turf field at the
high school. Town counsel advised that this funding was permitted since the
artificial turf would both "create" a new athletic field on top of the old and
"preserve" open space by providing a protective barrier against damage to the
topsoil. Artificial turf fields are specifically prohibited in the proposed HB
765.

A subsequent court case in another town proved Wayland  town counsel's opinion
to be incorrect, but the law provided no remedy to reimburse the CPA fund for
the misappropriation.

-- WVN Staff

ELECTION REMINDER

Town election, Tuesday April 3. Polls open 7 a.m-8 p.m.

Information: Town Clerk:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Clerk/election

Seniors who need a ride to the polls should call the Council on Aging to make a
reservation. 508-358-2990. Seniors can also reserve round trip transportation to
the Annual Town Meeting beginning on Monday evening, April 9, by calling the
same number.

  WVN's election roundup is at
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/message/588


ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION PLANNERS SEEK HELP, DONATIONS

Residents have been at work for nearly a year to plan celebrations of Wayland's
375th anniversary in 2013 and 2014.

You can help with ideas,  time and money.

A 12-member Wayland 375th Anniversary Celebration Finance Subcommittee is
raising funds from residents and businesses. Some event costs will be covered by
attendees, but such things as fireworks and a parade will be free and open to
all.

The Wayland  budget to be voted at Town Meeting beginning April 9 includes
$30,000 in seed money. One fund-raising goal is to reimburse the town.

The 375th  Committee meets monthly. For more information see
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_BComm/375/index

-------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
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==================================================
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safe sender list:
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==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
sending a blank email to:
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Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

TWO NEW SELECTMEN

Choosing change over the status quo, Wayland voters denied incumbent Sue Pope
another term Tuesday and elected Ed Collins and Doug Leard to the Board of
Selectmen.

Leard is a veteran of two earlier terms who left the Board in 2009. Collins, a
lawyer and former college professor, served on the Planning Board years ago.

Leard led the four candidates with 1048 votes, trailed by Collins (931), Pope
(885) and Chris Brown (782). Brown is chairman of the Board of Public Works.
Pope is a former state representative.

Leard and Collins had campaigned for greater transparency, respect and
collaboration in town government.

There were two selectmen races because Tom Fay chose not to run for another
term.

Jackie Ducharme, another candidate who called for more inclusive practices, was
elected to the Wayland Housing Authority, defeating Laurie Hojlo, 868 to 678.

Two incumbents were returned to the Recreation Commission. They sought the
chance to continue working on adaptation that began in 2009 when the Commission
was split off from the newly-created Board of Public Works. The totals:

Brud Wright  953
Stas Gayshan  777
Mark Lucier 652
Gary Carvalho  530

Voter turnout was 21.6% of 9008 eligible voters. Complete unofficial results:

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Clerk/ATE040312results.pdf


BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING

The selectmen will meet at 8 a.m. on Thursday April 5

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S01888AA3-01888AAB.0/BOSAge\
nda04052012.pdf


CORRECTED LINKS

Two links in WVN #446 concerning a Town Meeting article on the Community
Preservation Act were incorrect. They are corrected below.

On exemptions to the CPA tax surcharge:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Assessor/CPAExempt.pdf


On CPA projects and funds:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/Warrant2012.pdf

Dear Wayland Voter,

Usually the Wayland printed warrant booklet provides the budget total that
voters  discuss and then vote on, give or take a few typographical errors and
minor changes. Not this year.

In two steps the Finance Committee has sliced millions from the Fiscal 2013
budget it planned to recommend at the Annual Town Meeting beginning on Monday
April 9. As a result of the changes, the FinCom website estimates the resulting
tax rate for FY 13 will be $18.15. The current rate is $19.01.
  http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_TownNews/0188F5F9-000F8513

The first step came at a meeting on March 28, hours after the FinCom received an
email from some of the petitioners who had led a successful effort for a special
Town Meeting in November that resulted in $4 million in property tax relief. The
FinCom made some of the cuts recommended in the email.

Then, two days after the April 3 town election that showed voters favoring
change, cooperation  and transparency over defenders of the status quo, the
FinCom met again. Some of those petitioners were on hand. The audience
outnumbered the committee. By the end of the meeting, the budget recommendation
was even smaller.

"Wayland has once again generated an inordinate amount of free cash through
overtaxation," the lead petitioners of the November Special Town Meeting
asserted in a letter in the April 5 Town Crier. Donna Bouchard, Tony Boschetto
and  Kent George were joined in the letter by Shawn Kinney, a member of the
School Committee, speaking only for himself. The letter, like their earlier
email, outlines how the town could save taxpayers approximately $5 million 
without cutting services.

Cuts suggested by citizens include $700,000 for a wireless water meter reading
system and some of the $825,000 in Public Works equipment.  Some of the
DPW-requested items were never on its five-year capital plan and are proposed to
be funded by surplus water reserves (cash).  The writers also proposed borrowing
$1.5 million to repair the Middle School roof instead of using free cash. The
largest item is deleting $2.2 million from an obscure category called
Unclassified Insurance 32B, about which citizens had serious accounting 
questions.

A widely distributed green flyer containing some of that information encouraged
residents to attend Town Meeting and vote to "save over $1,000 on F13 property
tax (based on $600,000 house value) without cutting services."

After the Thursday night cuts the Fiscal 2013 budget request is now $59.95
million to be raised by taxation instead of the $65.5 million in the warrant.
The total budget request will be $71.12 million rather than $73.45 million. The
FinCom warned that this could mean tax increases in the future.

The FinCom's action can be viewed as collaborating with citizens who present
persuasive information. It can also be viewed as reading the handwriting on the
wall and trying to avoid a stormy debate at Town Meeting, where voters make the
final decision.

The last-minute cuts don't necessarily mean that citizens won't ask for more
when the budget article, No. 8, is introduced.

Reserve Cash Would Lower FY 2013 Taxes

The new budget relies on $4.8 million from unreserved fund balance (free cash)
and $1.72 million transfer from overlay surplus to balance the budget. The
assessors voted on April 2 to declare $1.348 million as overlay surplus (money
set aside for such things as tax abatements).

The use of free cash highlights the reality that expenses are larger than
revenues.  That such large amounts of reserve cash keep accumulating reflects
the petitioners' accusation of a "free cash generating machine."

In the past, the town has used free cash to balance budgets. The largest past
amounts were $4.5 million in Fiscal 2012,  $1.1 million in FY 10, $1.87 million
in FY 05 and $2.4 million in FY 04 (see Table 5 in warrant).
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/Warrant2012.pdf

The FinCom states in the warrant that it supports "using judicious amounts of
free cash to balance the operating budget with the understanding that as we
tighten revenue and expense estimates, additions to free cash will decrease
leaving future budgets without the same source of free cash."

FinCom members agreed on a target for free cash of about 7.5% of the budget.
However, they remarked several times that agreeing to citizen demands for use of
free cash this year would lead to larger increases in tax rates in coming years,
with the rate going over $20  per $1,000 of assessed valuation for FY14 and
FY15. They estimated a ten percent increase in taxes for FY14 over FY13.


  The FinCom and selectmen have boasted that since 2008 they have managed to
avoid seeking operational overrides. However, in each of the prior five years
voters were asked to approve new debt beyond statutory limits.

The FinCom defends holding more free cash than in many towns, and making larger
or earlier payments for future retirement benefits, as conservative and prudent.
On the other side are those who call the result "overtaxation."

That Mysterious "Unclassified" Category

Donna Bouchard questioned the FinCom about apparent discrepancies in the line
item on page 53 of the warrant, Insurance 32B. This is the bulk of the
"unclassified" category. One concern is the cost to fund OPEB, Other
Post-Employment Benefits (not pensions) for town employees. Bouchard said it was
unclear how the fund grew so quickly. The FinCom agreed to provide more
information.

Under Article 10 at the November 2008 Special Town Meeting, voters approved
contributing to OPEB under the supervision and management of the town
administrator and finance director.  The town treasurer is custodian of the OPEB
Trust Fund.

Wayland is among the minority of Massachusetts towns that make such
contributions.  Weston votes its OPEB funding in a town meeting warrant article.
Wellesley presents the information to voters as a debt exclusion.  In Wayland,
it's embedded in Unclassified, in the health insurance for current employees
line item.

The FinCom told the town in FY09 that it planned to make $1 million annual
contributions, but somehow the balance is now nearly $10 million.

The Unclassified section represents more than 10% of the total proposed budget,
yet it is not well understood by voters.  Requests by the public in recent years
for the warrant to show greater specificity for Unclassified have gone
unanswered.  Until the FY2007 budget, there were more published line items.

Meanwhile, the Roof Leaks

After public comment at the Thursday FinCom meeting, most of the discussion
concerned how to pay for repairing the roof at the Middle School, which was
renovated and expanded a decade ago.  The FinCom voted 3-2 to borrow rather than
use free cash. The $1.5 million in free cash could then be used to further
reduce FY13 residential taxes. All five FinCom members present agreed that the
leaking roof should be repaired as soon as possible.  FinCom Chair Cherry
Karlson said this would have consequences later, as debt service would be added
to the budget for several more years.

Proponents of borrowing argue that the cost of something with a life of many
years should be spread over a long period rather than burdening taxpayers in one
year. Furthermore, they say, it isn't known yet whether the state will
contribute to the cost.

If voters eventually approve a new Public Works building, that debt will
contribute to tax increases. (Article 12 asks voters to approve money to begin
designing the project.) If there is little free cash, residential taxes will
have to pay for a greater part of the debt service for a project estimated to
cost $13 million, the FinCom said.The tentative plan is to ask voters in FY 14
or FY 15 to approve new debt.

-- WVN Staff

-------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/
==================================================
To be sure you continue to receive WVN newsletters optimally and in your inbox
(instead of bulk or junk folders) it may help to add to your address book or
safe sender list:
waylandvoters@...
waylandvoters1@... .
==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
sending a blank email to:
waylandvotersnetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

ANNUAL TOWN MEETING MONDAY APRIL 9, 7:30 P.M., MIDDLE SCHOOL. DOORS OPEN AT 6 
P.M. SENIORS CAN ARRANGE A RIDE BY CALLING (508) 358-2990

Dear Wayland Voter,

The election of two new members to the Board of Selectmen and last-minute
budget-cutting by the Finance Committee may indicate the mood of voters
convening  for annual Town Meeting on Monday, April 9.

On April 3 incumbent Selectman Sue Pope lost her bid for re-election.  Voters
chose Doug Leard and Ed Collins for two vacancies on the five-member Board.
(Incumbent Tom Fay declined to run for another term.)

All five establishment-linked candidates in contested races were defeated.

On top of that, after receiving suggestions from citizens the FinCom will now
present a recommended budget adopted on April 5 that would lower the tax rate.
See WVN # 447:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/message/591

Before the election, Leard and Collins expressed approval of the petitioners who
prevailed over selectmen and Finance Committee opposition last fall and gave
voters the opportunity to provide $4 million in property tax relief by
reallocating free cash towards the current budget.

Despite establishment predictions of dire consequences, the free cash total has
grown, giving citizens ammunition to argue for further trimming now. The town's
FY13 budget comes up as Article 8.

Leard and Collins also endorsed Town Meeting petitioners' Article 4 to select
Finance Committee members by election rather than appointment by the selectmen. 
The candidates they defeated oppose the article, as does the FinCom. Proponents
complained about misleading figures in the warrant. DETAILS ARE IN A SEPARATE
STORY BELOW.

Will Town Meeting voters follow the lead of the new selectmen? And will they
look favorably on these other articles submitted by petitioners and opposed by
the FinCom?

-- Article 5 would establish an audit and review committee aimed at enhancing
financial transparency and oversight. Town and school accounting has drawn
criticism from citizens and consultants.

-- Article 9 would authorize $16,000 to study teacher compensation. Petitioners
say that "a smart compensation plan is key to a superior educational program."
Another argument is that the "steady climb of the average Wayland teacher's
salary has exceeded those of its peer districts without sufficient explanation."

-- Article 28 would authorize an audit of school fee-based programs since Fiscal
Year 2007. (Cost unknown.) Consultants have pointed to practices indicating that
fee-paying parents and possibly taxpayers were overcharged.

Other articles may result in spirited debate:

-- Article 6 gives voters the chance to discuss the merits of the 11-year old
Community Preservation Act fund which supports open space, historic preservation
and affordable housing . See WVN #446: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/message/589

-- Article 7 would create a Water Enterprise Fund, separating water fees and
expenses from the general budget. After years of opposing the idea, the
selectmen and FinCom now propose it. Opponents say the move is premature because
the language lacks necessary oversight of the fund. They also note that as water
rates have skyrocketed in recent years, reserve funds have burgeoned.  The
article proposes to lock up all surplus funds before any needed water rate
adjustments are made.

-- Article 11 is a resolution designating a River Road site for a new Public
Works facility to replace the aging DPW garage near the Middle School.  There
has been opposition from neighbors of the site and others with environmental
concerns.  An attempt to negotiate compromise language with the River Road
neighbors to limit vehicular access to Route 20 except in certain emergencies
was inconclusive as of the April 5 Board of Selectmen's meeting.  The selectmen
are willing to consider exceptions for police, fire and  medical emergencies. 
At the April 2 Board of Public Works meeting, it was clear the DPW also wants
River Road access during snow emergencies.  At the selectmen's meeting, a
resident of Sudbury's new Villages condos on River Road spoke during public
comment expressing concerns about adding more heavy truck traffic to that scenic
road near the river.

-- Article 12 would appropriate $725,000 for design of and bidding on that DPW
maintenance and storage facility. This would be the first step toward taking on
debt estimated  at $13 million.

-- Article 19, submitted by petitioners, would require a public hearing before
setting the tax rate. The rate became a hot topic last year during debate about
tax relief. The FinCom's projected tax rate would have been the highest in
Massachusetts if not for the $4 million in relief voted last November. 
Proponents of Article 19 are looking for more transparency and taxpayer
scrutiny. The Finance Committee supports this article.

-- Article 25 would redefine service stations to allow  them to sell items
typically found in  convenience stores. Rather than seek a variance, the
petitioner proposes to change the zoning bylaw. Some citizens have said that the
article would open the town to national chain stores, discouraging  local
business opportunities, and could also reduce the number of car mechanics
available in town.

Also worth noting:

-- Article 31, the last one, is a resolution to support funding for electronic
voting through June 30, 2015. Voters may wonder why the selectmen placed this
last, when many voters may have departed.

-- The capital budget, part of Article 8, contains some items that may prove
controversial, such as a repeated request for water meter transmitters
($700,000), and a larger than normal request for DPW/water vehicles and
equipment ($825,000).

-- WVN Staff

MISLEADING FIGURES ON ARTICLE 4

It's no surprise that the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee oppose
Article 4, which would take away the selectmen's power to appoint the committee.

But Town Meeting voters might be surprised at the wrangling over misleading
figures used to argue against the article.

Supporters of Article 4 demanded corrections after they compared their own
research with material the Finance Committee published in the warrant booklet.

Town Administrator Fred Turkington tried to reconcile the printed errors and
proponents' figures into one errata sheet to be posted online and distributed at
Town Meeting. Article supporters called the effort useless. So when the Town
Building shut down on Friday for the weekend it appeared that voters would be
working with a rewritten statement of the article and two versions of errata.

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/ErrataArt42012.pdf

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/Errata2012.pdf

http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/HearingResponse.pdf


Many voters, though, may decide based on the larger issues involved rather than 
precise comparisons of the way Massachusetts towns choose their finance
committees.  Article 4 would give voters the power to choose the Finance
Committee.

The FinCom's presentation of the article in the warrant contains a graph and
figures saying that in 87 percent of Massachusetts towns finance committees are
appointed rather than elected. That figure, which was quoted in selectmen
candidate debates, prompted the proponents' accusations of misleading
statistics.

Citizens did their own research and discovered many errors in the FinCom's work.
For example, 42 (not 31) towns elect the committees. The citizen study also
shows a more complicated picture. Many towns choose the committee by
appointment, but not necessarily by the selectmen alone.

One town, for example, has 15 committee members: 5 elected, 5 appointed by the
moderator, 5 appointed by the selectmen. Some towns elect the committee at their
town meeting.  Giving the moderator at least some appointive power is frequent.

The research shows that towns have over the years come up with many ways of
constituting a finance committee. There is no one "best" way to do it.

The Wayland petitioners argue that electing the Finance Committee would ensure
that  members represent all the people. Thus it would end accusations that the
FinCom is the tool of the selectmen and a stepping stone to elective office.
(Three former FinCom members are now selectmen; one was defeated in a
re-election bid on April 3.)

Opponents of the article say that election would rob the committee of continuity
needed for its exacting and far-reaching work. Proponents counter that election
wouldn't necessarily prevent continuity: qualified people who enjoy the work,
are good at it and want no other town post could be elected time and time again.

The FinCom argues that it is accountable to Town Meeting, not to the selectmen,
and that an elected committee would make short-term decisions resulting  in
long-range problems.

Proponents argue that an election is the best way to ensure that the committee
is accountable to all residents.

In recent years the selectmen have almost always voted unanimously on major
issues. Though there are diverse views on the seven-member FinCom, the majority
is usually in step with the selectmen. The selectmen and the FinCom advanced
different responses to petitioners' efforts that resulted in $4 million in tax
relief last November, but both bodies opposed the specific measure.

The warrant itself demonstrates the importance of the FinCom and its role as
adviser to Town Meeting. The FinCom gave the proponents 11 lines (beginning on
Page 31) for "Petitioners' Comments." That was followed by nearly three pages of
"Finance Committee Comments" including the misleading figures and graph.

Similarly, the FinCom allows four lines for "Arguments in Favor" followed by 26
for "Arguments Against."

-- Michael Short

COMMENT



...AND A MISLEADING FLYER

An anonymous flyer has appeared at residences urging "school and town services
supporters" to attend Town Meeting and oppose attempts to reduce the budget.

The message was essentially repeated in emails. Among those involved in email
forwarding was Cynthia Lavenson, a leader in the Save Our Services political
action group which has campaigned on behalf  of schools.

The flyer makes false or misleading assertions including:

-- Taxes cannot be reduced without cutting services. (The tax relief voted last
November had no effect on services. Some publicly aired tax-saving suggestions
for Fiscal 2013 have been adopted by the Finance Committee and will be presented
to voters this week as having no effect on present services. Other citizen
suggestions would have no effect on the operational budget. There are legitimate
policy arguments to be made  about  future effects of present tax reduction; the
flyer makes none.)

-- Some voters want to delay repairing the Middle School roof. (The FinCom has
voted to borrow for the work. The only known suggestion for delay was from
citizens who want to wait until it's known whether the state will share the
cost. If you hear of anybody who wants to stand up and say "Let the roof leak,"
please let us know.)

-- "They're going after the school budget, including the 1:1 computer
initiative. They're going after teacher compensation too..." (One of the
citizens who suggested reductions that have no effect on current services is a
member of the School Committee. There is, though,  a Town Meeting article that
would authorize a study of teacher compensation, which is among the highest in
Massachusetts.)

If "they" are going after school computers and roof repairs, "they" have been
awfully quiet about it.

PolitiFact, one of the organizations that analyze the truth and falsity of
national political discourse, would most likely consign the flyer's claims to
its "Pants on Fire" category.

-- Michael Short


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Michael Short, Editor

REMINDER: ANNUAL TOWN MEETING CONCLUDES TONIGHT. SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES REMAIN.


Dear Wayland Voter,

Town Meeting voters rejected structural changes on the first night but continued
to nip spending, and at the end of the second session Tuesday night approved a
budget that noticeably lowers the tax rate.

The Finance Committee had anticipated resistance to its original proposal. It
met on April 5  and made about $5.5 million in cuts recommended by citizens.
That lowered the estimated tax rate from the current $19.01 per thousand of
assessed value to about $18.15. See:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/message/591

Tuesday night voters lopped another $1.3 million from the operating budget and
$700,000 from the capital budget for Fiscal 2013, which begins on July 1. The
operating budget adopted during a four-hour budget-only session is $69,805,252.

Finance Director Mike DiPietro estimated the new FY13 rate at $17.70. The final
rate set later in the year will depend on the total town valuation as well as
the budget.

Finance Committee member Tom Greenaway warned voters that this "one-time return"
of money to the taxpayers will mean a big increase in the next fiscal year.

That FinCom message wasn't new. When citizens called for a Special Town Meeting
last November resulting in $4 million in free cash being returned to taxpayers
in the form of lower rates, the FinCom said the surplus beyond the normal free
cash total was a rare occurrence.

Some are still skeptical of such predictions because free cash continues to grow
as the FinCom approves spending large amounts of it (funding to design a new
public works  facility, for example) to keep holdings down to about 7.5% of
budget. .

Some citizens say the town has created a "free-cash generating machine" that
overtaxes to achieve surpluses.  They pointed to consultants' findings about
accounting practices and before Town Meeting identified another $5 million that
they said would be cut without affecting present services.

The case was bolstered Tuesday night by the disclosure that during the worst
economic downturn since the Great Depression Wayland had socked away under
unusual circumstances nearly $6 million in an irrevocable trust for future
retiree benefits. The FinCom was apparently unaware of this, and the
transactions were made by town officials with no authorizing signatures,
according to citizen Margo Melnicove, who asked voters to remove $1.3 million in
the budget earmarked for that trust.

State Rep. Tom Conroy, a Wayland resident who grapples with this and other
unfunded mandates in the Legislature, told Town Meeting voters the FinCom should
be commended for thinking ahead and saving money in the long run.

Tony Boschetto, one of the petitioners for the November tax relief, disagreed.
It would be commendable, he said, if Wayland had  followed the example of Weston
and explained everything in a transparent way and asked for voter approval
instead of making decisions outside of public view.

Voters deleted the FY13 payment into the trust, which now stands at nearly $10
million, though only $4 million has been deposited in ways voters  authorized.

That is part of the background for petitioners' Town Meeting Articles 4 and 5,
which sought significant changes in the way Wayland operates. Accounting
practices have been under scrutiny for more than a year and several changes have
been made. Some residents were upset when the FinCom initially contemplated  a 
budget recommendation that would have made Wayland's tax rate the highest in the
state.

Article 4 would have mandated election of the seven-member Finance Committee
rather than the current practice of appointment by the selectmen. It was
defeated  by a 417-283 vote. Though some voters aren't entirely happy with
current officials, the petitioners' idea proved unpersuasive.

Opponents, as opponents often do, called for further study. They noted that many
elected finance committees are in very small towns, and that sometimes a
write-in candidate is elected to that important body. Distracting pre-meeting
wrangling between petitioners and officials over statewide statistics on
committee selection didn't help.

The aim of the petitioners was to foster diversity and democratic choice. This
has been done in a variety of ways in other towns. In many, more than one body
selects the committee, and the town moderator often has a significant voice

Article 5 would have created an audit and review committee. Even when some of
the teeth in the article were extracted by an amendment, voters turned it down,
390-283. Selectmen argued that their own committee, whose mission  the board
approved in January, will do the same job.  So far nobody has been appointed to
that committee.

Other highlights of the first two days:

-- COMMUNITY PRESERVATION ACT SURCHARGE

As frugal as voters showed themselves to be in other ways, they turned down a
petitioner's bid to cut the surcharge on tax bills from 1.5% to .1%. The vote
was 403-213. The preservation fund surplus of $7.4 million is large enough to
meet the needs it is intended for, said petitioner Jay Sherry: open space,
affordable housing and historic preservation.  In its 11 years the fund has
spent only $2.1 million.

Opponents argued that a large fund (which is augmented by state money) is needed
to be able to acquire large tracts of open space. Wayland Community Preservation
Committee Chairman Jerry Heller said that at the owner's request the committee
is discussing 200+ acres of Mainstone farmland.

-- WATER ENTERPRISE FUND. With a 164-119 vote voters approved the creation of a
Water Enterprise Fund, which will be separate from the rest of town operations,
supported entirely by water fees. They rejected a motion to amend the article by
delaying transferring money to the enterprise fund. Citizens had expressed
concern about losing an opportunity to receive relief from skyrocketing water
rates.

Anette Lewis, a lawyer and former member of the Road Commission, asked who will
run the enterprise fund. The answer: The town administrator and the public works
director. As regulations stand, she said, the elected Board of Public Works has
no veto power.

-- WIRELESS WATER METER READERS. For the third time, Town Meeting voters said no
to this controversial  $700,000 capital budget proposal.

DPW Director Don Ouellette said that the new transmitting equipment would pay
for itself in a few years while improving service and providing timely ways of
tracking usage. He cited a Return on Investment analysis performed by the
Abrahams Group, which has been employed on a variety of town consulting projects
in recent years.

A number of citizens spoke for and against the motion to delete the network
transmitting equipment from the budget. Each side had a physicist arguing about
possible health risks from the small transmitters. Some expressed concern about
hacking and other security issues while others offered assurances of adequate
encryption.

Mike Lowery of the Board of Public Works got only three minutes into a slide
show arguing for the proposal, which was defeated in 2008 and 2010, before being
stopped by Moderator Dennis Berry. Because this was a line item in the capital
budget and not a main motion under a separate article, Lowery didn`t get the 10
minutes he had planned for.

The motion to delete the equipment passed 157-155, which brings us to...

-- ELECTRONIC VOTING. Moderator Berry welcomed visiting moderators from other
towns who came to see how Wayland's new system worked. It's the first one in the
region.

Those who have been to a few town meetings can imagine the time that would have
been consumed by voice and standing votes on a decision as close as the water
meter proposal.

The only complaints about the system of hand-held wireless devices came after a
question about a vote to abstain. There was some confusion and a moderator's
call for a teller audit (a sampling of results, not a standing count of all
voters). When resorting  to voice votes was suggested in case of a disputed
electronic vote, the level of audience noise suggested a protest about to begin.
Some voters walked out.

It was a false alarm. The audit showed that the system had worked perfectly.
Voters now know that to abstain you push the third button on the handset. So, to
abstain, you must vote to abstain. If you do nothing, there is no record. But
maybe you guessed that already.

Article 31, last on the warrant, is a resolution calling for funding electronic
voting through June 30, 2015.

-- SCHOOL SERVICES. Save Our Services, the local political action group that
supports schools and has email access to many parents, was linked to a flyer and
email campaign alleging that "They're going after the school budget, including
the 1:1 computer initiative"  and would try to delay repairing the Middle School
roof. Referring vaguely to "a small group" behind the effort, the flyer urged
parents to attend Town Meeting and defend the schools.

On Tuesday night nobody questioned the capital request for computers. And when
the $1.5 million roof repair came up, citizens voted 210-19 for an amendment by
the School Committee approving funding the repairs while keeping Wayland
eligible for MSBA approval.  Voters handily rejected another amendment by the
School Committee that could delay the process. Citizens who spoke delivered the
message: "The roof is leaking. Fix it."

-- WVN Staff


WVN WILL REPORT THE LAST TWO NIGHTS OF TOWN MEETING IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER

-------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
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==================================================
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safe sender list:
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waylandvoters1@... .
==================================================
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neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
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Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

The collapse of a town official attending the fourth session of Annual Town
Meeting on Thursday night led to an abrupt adjournment. The meeting will resume
at 7:30 p.m. on Monday April 23 at the Middle School.

Steve Allen, 85, chairman of the Cable Advisory Committee, collapsed about 10:30
p.m. and was declared dead after being taken to Framingham Union Hospital. While
an ambulance was on the way, Allen was immediately attended to and given CPR by
Fire Chief Vincent Smith, Selectman-Elect Doug Leard and Ronnie Bodkin, a nurse.
Leard is a former fireman and chairman of Wayland's  Emergency Planning
Committee.

The more than 200 citizens present had voted to continue the meeting past the
scheduled adjournment time of 10:30 and finish the five articles remaining.

"Steve will be remembered as a tireless advocate for accountability by cable
franchise providers, as well as a supporter of public access cable programming,"
Town Administrator Fred Turkington said in a statement today.

MEETINGS AND HAPPENINGS

  --TOWN MEETING FOLLOW-UP. Wednesday April 25, Senior Center, Town Building.
Moderator Dennis Berry will preside at a discussion on rules, procedures,
electronic voting, effectiveness and efficiency. What do you think think went
well and not so well? Citizens who can't attend can share comments with the
moderator by writing to    selectmen@....
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_TownNews/01895DF9-000F8513

  --  Board of Public Works WATER RATE HEARING, Monday April 30, 8 p.m., Town
Building. Residents are encouraged to attend and comment.


  -- FULL LIST AND MEASURE RESUMES. Phase two of assessors' effort to ensure
accurate property evaluation continues in April in North Wayland.

"We would like to urge residents who may receive a letter to promptly schedule
appointments at their convenience," a news release from the Board of Assessors
said. "Appraisers from Vision Appraisal, our contractor, will be available some
evenings and weekends in an effort to accommodate residents' schedules."


-- WAYLAND'S 375th
The next planning meeting of the 375th Anniversary Committee will focus on the
arts. Wednesday, May 2, Town Building. Groups and individuals in arts of any
kind are encouraged to attend. Planners envision concerts, art shows, plays,
dances, films -- virtually anything you can think of. Contact Mary Antes
508-358-2571 or mantes2@...

Dear Wayland Voter,

"It's the most important need we have as a town," Selectman Joe Nolan told Town
Meeting voters during some 75 minutes of discussion on April 11 about building a
new public works facility.

When it was over, voters had approved Articles 11 and 12, choosing the site and
providing $725,000 to get started on designing a replacement for the dilapidated
highway garage that Wayland has used since the 1930s.

The new DPW facility would be about 45,000 square feet (the existing garage is
13,000) and cost in the neighborhood of $13 million. The new building will be in
roughly the same functional style as the 42,000-square-foot public works
building on Route 20 in Weston. But Wayland's building will cost less, according
to members of the Board of Public Works, who responded in detail to many varied
questions from voters.

The recommended site on River Road was chosen over two alternatives the Board
considered: 1) the existing garage on Main Street near the Middle School and 2)
the decommissioned septage treatment facility on Route 20 near the Sudbury line.
The first offers little room and sits atop an aquifer. The second would meet the
need well but is considered potentially a good site to develop for housing that
could produce considerable tax revenue. Later in Town Meeting, voters approved
first steps toward that housing project. (Details below.)

Residents who live near the River Road site spoke in favor of the DPW plan,
saying they had reached a satisfactory compromise on their concerns. Normal
access would be from Route 20, while an emergency entrance on River Road would
be limited to police, fire and medical emergency vehicles.

Access and Flood Questions

Speakers raised several questions about the Route 20 entrance, the road now
leading to the former landfill/present waste transfer station.  Under a 1978
Town Meeting vote the wetlands through which the road passes were supposed to be
conveyed to conservation once the landfill reached capacity and closed.

In 1978, officials were closing the first dump on the opposite side of Route 20
and purchasing a parcel to use as a new dump and to access the sand hill.  Pages
69-71 of the 1978 town meeting warrant described the thinking of officials and
voters at the time.

Page 69: "Conditions will be placed on the ultimate use of the land and its
restoration to its original condition after the need for the road has been
concluded.  The Article contemplates that when the Town no longer needs to use
this access to the dump approximately 24 acres (Lot B on the map) will be
transferred to the Conservation Commission."

Pages 70-71: "To summarize, the acquisition of the 28 acres for a price of
$160,000 will solve two of the Town's major problems, access to the new dump and
a source of sand and gravel.  It will also result in the acquisition of
additional conservation land which is of importance in maintaining the wetlands
adjacent to the Sudbury River."

A member of the Conservation Commission, speaking on his own behalf, confirmed
that improving and widening the road to serve the DPW site would require ConCom
approval.   Discussion of the conservation restriction left some voters
wondering. One speaker said she had been looking forward to cheering the
compromise on the access road but now wonders what will happen if the transfer
station closes in five or 10 years.

Others raised questions about access to the DPW when Route 20 is flooded, as it
was twice in 2010. Selectman Nolan responded that the salt shed at the proposed
site remained accessible during the flooding.  Road salt probably was not needed
when the governor deployed the National Guard on March 30, 2010, the Sudbury
River crested at record high levels on April 2, and Wayland roads were flooded
out in various locations.  Selectman-elect Doug Leard cautioned voters that the
salt shed sits in a bowl on the property, invoking a comparison to the
flood-damaged Public Safety Building.

Voters approved the site 184-70 and the design funding 150-97. The language of
the motion was changed when Article 12 was introduced, substituting free cash
rather than borrowing as the source of money.  By avoiding borrowing, only a
majority vote, rather than two-thirds, was required for passage. The margin
Wednesday was 60%.

POSSIBLE TWOFER FROM ROUTE 20 HOUSING

The Economic Development Committee sold voters on the idea of spending $360,000
to determine  whether the former Wayland-Sudbury septage treatment facility
property can be turned into attractive and lucrative rental housing. If built as
envisioned, it would prevent state interference in affordable housing while
bringing revenue from taxes and the sale or lease of the land.

Rebecca Stanizzi, chair of the Committee, acknowledged that the site looks
unpromising: weeds, dirt piles and a concrete building that seems to welcome
demolition.  But on closer inspection, she said, one finds a slope leading to
views of green grass over the decommissioned Sudbury and Wayland landfills, and
a view of the Sudbury River.

The Committee envisions up to 216 units spread over 7.5 town-owned acres,
perhaps resembling Traditions of Wayland near  Route 27-126. The exact number is
subject to change, but the goal is to adopt over-55  age restrictions and rent
25% of the units at affordable prices. If it works out that way, the town will
be able to claim affordable-housing credit for all 216, making Wayland immune to
intervention from the state. Stanizzi noted that projects forced on towns by
developers under the 40B law can be ugly and inappropriate for the neighborhood.

As with the discussion on a new DPW building, questions were detailed and
Committee was ready for most of them. Voters adopted an amendment to Article 21
designed to ensure that environmental issues are addressed before further costs
are incurred. Committee members said that they had planned to do it that way in
the first place.

Accommodating the development might require relocating a cellphone tower and the
police shooting range.

Voters passed the article 191-56 on Thursday night, providing $360,000 from free
cash and the Community Preservation fund. The Committee hopes to offer a
detailed plan to the 2013 annual Town Meeting.

Other highlights of the April 11-12 sessions:

-- UPDATED ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS. The Board of Assessors introduced Article 18
with a summary of undeniable progress in recent years: Applications for
abatements down 84%, improved procedures and standards, a full list and measure
as one more step toward producing demonstrably fair and equitable assessments.

The article was intended to bring decades-old bylaws up to date. The assessors
had discussed this several times during regular meetings. In the warrant the
Finance Committee argued against approval, saying residents hadn't adequately
examined and understood the changes.

Ultimately Town Meeting voted 104-92 to pass over the article, a judgment
something like setting it aside without prejudice rather than rejecting it
outright. The implied message is, "We like what you're doing, but this isn't
ready for prime time yet."  Public hearings usually precede a proposal to 
change a bylaw.

-- HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HOUSING. Voters passed Article 22 by a 205-50 margin,
providing  $356,000 under a complicated formula involving Community Preservation
funds and donations. With volunteer work, the Metro-West/Worcester branch of
Habitat will construct four units of affordable housing on town-owned land on
Stonebridge Road. It's Wayland's first collaboration with Habitat. Residents
will help to build the units and then pay a price based on their income rather
than market value.

One of several speakers favoring the project, Jay Sherry, said it would be good
for a town with more than its share of one-percenters to create economic
diversity as an example to young people.

-- GAS STATION MERCHANDISING. Speakers argued vigorously against a petitioners' 
zoning proposal that they said would hurt local business and lead to fewer
mechanics in a town containing 13,000 cars. The proposed new provisions would
encourage investment and modernization at seven of the town's eight stations,
the petitioners argued.

Brian Levey, a Wayland resident and lawyer representing Drake Oil Co., showed a
slide of an attractive station in Connecticut that could be imitated in Wayland
under Article 25. Furthermore, he said, mechanics are disappearing because of
more reliable cars, not necessarily other factors.  Levey's presentation
emphasized pictures of unattractive features of current stations and promised
better-looking new stations that could increase tax revenue.

But opposing speakers said the article would allow national chains to operate
stations with many snacks for sale, many gas pumps but perhaps only a single
employee: Such stations are for commuters who need a fill-up or a snack, not for
residents who rely on other automotive services and in some cases someone to
pump gas for them.  One amendment to prohibit the sale of tobacco products
passed handily.  Another amendment adding requirements intended to protect the
needs of the handicapped did not pass.  One resident pointed out that there was
no language about beautification in the proposed zoning legislation.

Levey served on the zoning board in the 1990's and has since represented various
Wayland business and residential applicants seeking zoning relief, among them
Route 20 CVS pharmacy, Route 20 T.D. Bank, Cochituate T.D. Bank, and a 52-unit
rental 40B affordable housing project under construction at the former Kathryn
Barton Nursing Home on Route 30.

The article failed, 55-181. The implied message: We don't need a lot of pumps
and a lot of junk food; we need service.

-- TAX RATE HEARING. Though voters were skeptical of earlier Town Meeting
articles that would change procedures, they readily adopted Article 19, which
will require a public hearing before the town's tax rate is certified. Offered
by petitioners as simply one more opportunity for transparency and access to
public process, the motion with minor editing met with no objection from the
selectmen, Finance Committee or Board of Assessors. The vote: 130-46.

-- TEACHER COMPENSATION STUDY. Article 9 offered the School Committee $16,000
for a consultant to study teacher compensation in towns including some not
normally considered Wayland peers, such as Belmont, Harvard, Lexington, Sharon
and Dover-Sherborn.

Proponents said the study was to provide an inexpensive and possibly useful
tool; no strings attached.  "The consultant could suggest  steps to make
Wayland's compensation more competitive with certain districts," the petitioners
said.

Though it was supported by one member of the School Committee, Shawn Kinney
(speaking for himself), it drew scathing attacks by present and former members
of the School Committee. "We pay a lot to get a lot" was one description of the
School Committee policy.

The opponents called the article "misconceived," unnecessary and a plot to lower
teacher salaries: The School Committee already has access to such material,
which is public, they said. But some also argued that the information could harm
union negotiations. How public information could do this wasn't explained.

One speaker favoring the article said that beginning Wayland teachers' salaries
should be higher, not lower.

The article failed, 93-134.

UNEXPECTED ADJOURNMENT

As WVN reported on April 13, citizens voted to adjourn the fourth session on
Thursday night at around 10:40 p.m. after an 84-year-old citizen, Steve Allen, 
collapsed, was immediately given CPR and taken to a hospital where he was
pronounced dead.

Voters, who had expressed determination to finish the 31-article warrant that
night by handily rejecting a motion to adjourn about a half hour earlier, were
beginning Article 27. Selectman Sue Pope presented what seemed a routine
measure, authorizing the sale of two tiny, contiguous parcels of land totaling
3,600 square feet to the owner of the property next door. The neighboring
property owner wants the land for an updated septic system. The Recreation
Commission controls one parcel, the selectmen the other. Both bodies had agreed
to make the land available for sale.

Just before the medical emergency, voters heard the selectmen say they had
discovered only that evening that the Rec Commission had rescinded its decision
to declare the land surplus.

What is this mystery all about? To find out, attend the last session of Town
Meeting on Monday April 23, 7:30 p.m. at the Middle School auditorium.

Video of all four sessions of last week's Town Meeting are at the WayCAM Video
on Demand archive:
http://waycamtv.pegcentral.com/index.php

-- WVN Staff

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Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

Voters will act on the five remaining articles in the 2012 Annual Town Meeting
warrant just after school vacation on Monday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the
Middle School auditorium.

Important articles remain for the last in a marathon-like string of five
evenings.  Voters will have had a week off to prepare for the last leg. One or
two articles are likely to attract debate.

Article 28 petitioners seek an independent audit of fee-based school programs
that may have overcharged parents and perhaps taxpayers.  This would continue a
process that began in 2010. The proposed five-year review is recommended by the
Abrahams Group, financial consultants who found inappropriate accounting
practices in its restatement of FY11 school fee-based accounts.  That resulted
in more than a half million dollars of collected but unspent fees returned to
free cash.

School Superintendent Paul Stein favors an audit, according to the Feb. 6 School
Committee meeting minutes posted on the town website:

"Paul Stein commented on the requests and discussions that were made with regard
to auditing the revolving and the closed checking accounts. He concluded that he
fully supports these audits because there is an issue of trust in this
community, and until that trust is re-established, it will be difficult to move
on with teaching and learning in the schools. Thus, he feels this audit should
take place as soon as possible. He further stated that guidance and clarity is
needed in order to make decisions about what to do with these accounts in terms
of where the funds should go and how they should be distributed."
http://www.wayland.k12.ma.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_1036352/File/SchoolCommitt\
ee/Minutes/2012_2_6_min.pdf

Article 31 is a resolution to continue paying for electronic voting through June
2015.  When electronic voting made its debut on April 9, with observers from
others towns watching its first application in the region, it was
enthusiastically received. The rented equipment was returned after the last
scheduled session on April 12, so citizens who want to ensure that it will be
around in the future will have to vote for it now the old-fashioned way.

The large crowd in one session that loudly expressed dismay at the mere mention
of a voice vote in case of an electronic glitch isn't necessarily evidence of a
slam-dunk for Article 31. There could be a different set of voters attending on
Monday, and some citizens have opposed electronic voting from the beginning
because they want to see how others vote.  Some object to wireless devices on
health grounds.

The feedback to the Electronic Voting Implementation Subcommittee after last
year's trial use was positive.  Not only do advocates prefer having the same
voter privacy that one has at the polls, the ELVIS committee was able to
demonstrate how e-voting is more efficient and probably shortened town meeting
by at least one night.  The use of the handsets removes the spectator sport
ambiance of shouting one's vote and replaces it with speedy and accurate counts
and a sense of calm that town meeting attendees across all demographics reported
was a welcomed change.

The selectmen paid for this town meeting's use of the equipment out of their
budget and on March 28 voted 4-0 to support Article 31. The Finance Committee
voted 7-0 to recommend approval with the understanding that appropriations "are
subject to the annual budget process."

The lead petitioner of Article 31, Dave Bernstein, published in the April 19
Town Crier an analysis of electronic voting's  use during last week's town
meeting.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/wayland/topstories/x596770149/Guest-columnist-Recap-o\
f-electronic-voting-at-Town-Meeting#axzz1rW9vqfpW

Articles 29 (Hear Reports) and 30 (Choose Town Officers), are routine and may be
voted on speedily. The town officers are people appointed without opposition to
such posts as surveyor of lumber and fence viewer.

Sometimes it is the apparently uncontroversial articles that stir debate.
Article 27, on the sale of two tiny pieces of Lakeshore Drive property (about
1800 square feet  each), was under way when a medical emergency led to an abrupt
adjournment that makes the postponed session necessary. For background on the
article leading off  Monday evening, see the separate story below.

-- WVN Staff

STEVE ALLEN, DEVOTED CITIZEN, VOLUNTEER

Steve Allen, a longtime Wayland resident and chairman of the town's Cable TV
Advisory Committee, was known to a number of Town Meeting voters and officials
who witnessed his sudden collapse late in the fourth session on April 12.
Despite immediate attempts to revive him by trained emergency personnel, Allen
was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. In an appreciation published in
the Wayland Town Crier, Allen's widow recalled his fondness for Town Meeting.

Ken Isaacson of WayCAM  recalled Allen, 84,  as "an engineer by training and a
stickler for perfection (who) transformed that committee into a proactive
advocate for resident cable subscribers."

http://www.wickedlocal.com/wayland/news/x1963536015/Man-who-died-at-Wayland-Town\
-Meeting-had-a-life-of-adventure#axzz1rW9vqfpW

TOWN MEETING FOLLOW-UP MEETING

Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., Senior Center. Moderator  Dennis Berry will
conduct a discussion while memories are fresh. If you have suggestions and can't
attend, you can email Berry at selectmen@...
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_TownNews/01895DF9-000F8513

CORRECTION

WVN Newsletter #450  erroneously reported that the motion delivered at Town
Meeting on paying for first steps toward a DPW facility differed from the
written warrant article. In fact the warrant specifies various methods of
funding, including the free cash option chosen.

TANGLED WEB OF ARTICLE 27

When Town Meeting adjourned after 10:30 p.m. on April 12, voters had heard from
the article presenter, Selectman Sue Pope, that she had learned only that
evening that the Recreation Commission had rescinded a decision to give up one
of the two parcels named in the article; the selectmen control the other. The
article would permit the town to sell the land to an abutter who wants to
install an improved septic system. Now we know the picture is even more unusual.

The proposal to sell two tiny lots on Dudley Pond heard on April 12  is not new.
At the 2011 Annual Town Meeting, the sale of parcels at 24 and 26 Lake Shore
Drive failed to get the required ⅔ majority support.

Issues with Article 27 as printed in the warrant include: Is the price of
$24,000 (which avoids competitive bidding -- in apparent violation of the town
code) reasonable for the town, what restrictions will the Board of Selectmen
place on use of the property as terms of the sale to protect the close
neighborhood, and might the abutter gain use of the land through an easement
instead of purchasing?

The Recreation Commission, when it discovered the article was in the warrant
again this year, voted at an April 10 meeting to rescind its year-ago
declaration of the land as excess, thereby preventing the sale.  Rec Commission
member Brud Wright said he notified Town Administrator Fred Turkington and
Selectman Joe Nolan of this decision before the April 12 Town Meeting session.

Anticipating the board might rescind its declaration of the land as surplus,
Wright said, he had asked Town Administrator Fred Turkington on Monday April 9
to convene a meeting with the abutter, town counsel, and a Rec Commission
representative to try to arrive at a solution agreeable to all.

Turkington did not pursue the matter, saying that he was not sure it was legal
to give an easement, Wright explained to recreation meeting attendees on April
18 including Pope.

At the April 18 meeting the Recreation Commission unanimously approved for the
town's consideration a new motion under Article 27 prepared by town counsel. The
motion calls for the two boards to exchange their parcels. The Rec Commission
would retain control of its (new) parcel at 24 Lake Shore Drive and the right
but not the obligation to grant an easement.


The April 18 meeting was attended by the Board of Health Director Julia
Junghanns, who observed that the preferable location for a septic system was
between the home at 30 Lake Shore Drive and the road, subject to soil testing,
which had not been done. Some residents pointed out the town parcels lend
themselves to the use of an advanced technology septic system that satisfies
Title V and also reduces the phosphorus leaching into the pond. Invasive pond
weeds thrive on phosphorus. This could serve as a model for residents near water
bodies, they suggested.

Although the abutter wants to buy both parcels, in examining the location of
homes in the area, the Recreation Commission decided to preserve the option of
granting an easement, noting there is another home in the area on a tiny lot
that lacks room for a septic system.

Thus, with the new motion, the Rec Commission accommodated the neighbor by
swapping parcels with the Board of Selectmen, and held out the option of further
protecting Dudley Pond by keeping the door open to granting a future easement if
needed, without specifying a particular applicant.

The recreation commissioners commented that parcels they control do not need to
be formally developed into fields for them to be valued as recreational.  Their
view is that recreational uses are enjoyed by townspeople on open spaces all
over Wayland, regardless of which board or other entity happens to have care and
custody of the parcels.

Resident Kim Cook noted that the selectmen's procedures spelled out in their
2010 Policies and Procedures Manual posted on their website had not been
followed. The "Disposal of Town Owned Land" calls for meetings with various
stakeholder boards such as health, conservation, the custodial board, seeking an
appraisal of the value of the parcel, holding a public hearing, and publishing
bid documents before Town Meeting's consideration of the article.   
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/SelectmenManual2010.pdf

-- WVN Staff

-------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/
==================================================
To be sure you continue to receive WVN newsletters optimally and in your inbox
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==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
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waylandvotersnetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

TOWN MEETING FOLLOW-UP

Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., Senior Center, Town Building. Moderator Dennis
Berry will lead discussion of the marathon five-night meeting concluded on April
23. Bring your comments and ideas or email Berry at selectmen@....

THE RIGHT TO VOTE

Wednesday April 25, 7:30 p.m., Wayland High School Lecture Room. "The Right to
Vote — Then and Now: Access to the Polls from the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to
the Elections of 2012." Speaker: Gordon A. Martin, Jr. , former associate
justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court and trial attorney, Civil Rights
Division, U.S. Department of Justice. Sponsored by the Leagues of Women Voters,
Wayland, Weston, Sudbury.

Dear Wayland Voter,

Citizens finished five nights of Town Meeting with strong support for continuing
efforts to deal with years of mismanagement of school department funds.

By the end of a 2-1/2-hour session on Monday, voters had also overwhelmingly
endorsed electronic Town Meeting voting and shown sympathy for a family that
says it needs a small piece of land for a new septic system.

This newsletter summarizes the April 23 session and concludes with comment.

With five articles remaining, 344 voters showed up, many of them to support or
oppose Article 28, which authorizes the town to ask the state auditor to study
the accounts of fee-based school services dating back to 2007. Parents may have
been overcharged for special services such as all-day kindergarten while
taxpayers may have unwittingly subsidized the services, the article petitioners
maintained.

The selectmen and the Finance Committee opposed the article. Selectman John
Bladon and former School Committee member Louis Jurist told the meeting that a
local audit now under way is all that is needed. Spending up to $30,000 would be
wasteful and duplicative, "solving problems that don't exist," as Jurist put it.
The schools have already returned more than $500,000 and expect in time to deal
with more than $1 million more.

Speaking as individuals, School Committee members Shawn Kinney (who introduced
the article) and Ellen Grieco argued that past problems still need to be
thoroughly addressed. The five-member School Committee took no voted position on
the article.

Speaking from the floor, Brenda Sharton, a school parent and lawyer with
experience in such matters, defended the article, calling it "the next logical
step -- a no-brainer."  She invited voters to recall then-Superintendent Gary
Burton in recent years declaring a fiscal "crisis" that could result in the
"dismantlement of the schools" unless difficult changes were made. While Loker
School was closed and Happy Hollow became overcrowded, she said, the schools had
millions of dollars in the fee-based revolving accounts that never should have
held a surplus.

Many parents are still angry about the Loker closing. And the School Committee
and administration have suffered a loss in taxpayer confidence as a result of
disclosures since the 2010 Town meeting authorized a study by the Abrahams Group
financial consultants.

During the Monday debate, new Superintendent Paul Stein was asked for his
opinion on the article. Stein, who is nearing the end of his first year on the
job, replied that he was convinced that financial matters must be audited as a
matter of restoring trust. He said genially he could live with that being
accomplished with or without the article.

The article consumed more than an hour of discussion because it was incomplete
as introduced. When Finance Committee Chair Cherry Karlson pointed out that no
source of funding was specified, Kinney and Grieco  separately introduced
changes that worked at cross purposes.

As Moderator Dennis Berry had warned, Town Meeting floor is not a good place for
this sort of tinkering.

Karlson rose again to point out a contradiction: One paragraph of the motion
called for school department funding while the second called for free cash from
the town's general fund. By this time, under the rules further debate or change
was impossible.

Several citizens, obviously intent on achieving passage, offered suggestions.
Moderator Berry ultimately ruled that a new main motion could be introduced that
deleted the reference to school funding. And that's what happened.

Had the petitioners done their (shall we say it?) homework, voters would have
been spared a lot of parliamentary maneuvering. But it would not have changed
the final result. Voters rejected officials' argument that "we're doing just
fine; let us stick with it."  They chose to trust outsiders to do the audit.

STRONG SUPPORT FOR ELECTRONIC VOTING

By the time the final article, No. 31, came up, many voters had gone home. But
there were undoubtedly some who had sat through the meeting to be able to
endorse voting by hand-held wireless devices.

As one voter told a WVN reader by phone as she prepared to dash out the door
specifically to be there for Article 31, "I'll never go to Town Meeting again if
we don't have electronic voting."

Lead petitioner Alan Reiss laid out the argument: speed, accuracy, privacy. He
asserted that using the devices for the 63 votes on first four nights of Town
Meeting saved  time equivalent to a full night of deliberations. On those
nights, he said, the "stadium atmosphere" was gone and people enjoyed the calm
mood.

Speaking against the article, which endorses providing funding for Town Meeting
through 2015, Jack Langsdorf said the cost was too high to justify the results.
Standing uncounted votes are quick, he said, and colored hand-held  paddles
could be used to speed counting when needed.

Lead petitioner Dave Bernstein responded that the cost (about $47,000 for the
four nights beginning April 9) is justified because it benefits all of the more
than 13,000 residents whether they attend or not.

"Standing, screaming, we do not make great decisions," Bernstein said.

Less than a half hour before that, a citizen had questioned the uncounted vote
on the school audit article.  She had waited too long to voice her objection.
But if she had spoken earlier, and been supported by seven voters, there would
have been a standing count.

LAND FOR SEPTIC SYSTEM

Voters approved Article 27, which was changed from the motion introduced at the
April 12 session just before a medical emergency led to adjournment. The 11-day
break gave officials time to confer and plan, and may have saved voters some
time.

The article was reintroduced Monday with significant changes: The selectmen and
the Recreation Commission had swapped the two tiny parcels they control at 24
and 26 Lakeshore Drive. Rather than sell both parcels to the Hanlon family at 30
Lakeshore, the new plan allows the family or the high bidder to buy the
immediately abutting 26 Lakeshore, now controlled by the selectmen for septic
use. Through an amendment, Rec may consider an easement on its land for septic
use by either 30 or 22 Lakeshore Drive.

The town parcels are about 1,800 square feet each, tapering severely from
Lakeshore Drive to a tiny frontage on Dudley Pond.

David Hanlon says he bought his childhood home last year and moved in with his
wife and three children. He's caring for his mother, who has lived in the house
for almost 50 years and suffers from cancer.

At Town Meeting he and his wife, Pam, said the septic system has been declared
failing and must be pumped at considerable expense every four to five weeks.
Speakers cited the lack of any attempt to discern if a system could fit at 30
Lakeshore. The Board of Health director's report dated April 18 stated, "The
property at 30 Lakeshore Drive appears to be able to locate a new septic system
that would be farther away from the pond than if they tried to locate a system
on one of the two  town-owned properties that are for sale."

The selectmen, who proposed the article, say the parcels have little value and
are of no use to anybody except an abutter. Furthermore, supporters said, the
house on the other side of the parcels, No. 22, might be able to use the
easement to replace an aging system. Hanlon argued that if he is allowed to buy
land, he'll contribute to the town by paying higher property taxes.

Discussion lasted nearly 40 minutes and raised many questions. Will the
environmentally vulnerable pond be protected? One resident recommended use of a
system that emits less nutrients than one that simply satisfies Title V.  Could
a number of households use the parcels for septic treatment?  (Answer: Probably
not.) Should we pass over the article and wait for a complete engineering plan?
What is the land really worth?

The selectmen had proposed a sale at less than $25,000, a price that would
trigger the need for open bidding. Town Administrator Fred Turkington said the
parcel would be appraised, and if the valuation calls for it, it will be put out
to bid.

The Board of Selectmen's Policies and Procedures calls for appraisal of town
land offered for sale that has more than nominal value.  Waterfront residents
pay a premium for their assessed land valuations.
  http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Selectmen/SelectmenManual2010.pdf

Voters stood to verify the two-thirds majority required to pass the article.

-- WVN Staff

COMMENT
TWO YEARS OF CHANGE

Article 29 -- Hear Reports -- is a Town meeting formality. In short order voters
agree to accept the reports of boards, committees and other town groups or
agents. They generally don't hear any reports.

On Monday night Chairman Richard Turner claimed a brief  opportunity to call
attention to the report of the Public Ceremonies Committee naming the four
citizens who successfully petitioned for $4 million in tax relief in November as
winners of the 2012 Lydia Maria Child Award for Outstanding Public Service.
Child was a prominent 19th-century Wayland resident who was often scorned for
her early anti-slavery views.

"This extraordinary group of residents brought extensive and substantial tax
reduction to each and every property owner in town, both homeowners and
businesses," the citation read.

"These citizens exemplify the best kind of public service in taking initiative
to identify a situation (why are our taxes so high), finding the underlying
cause (retaining unspent monies to the point of exceeding a very conservative
reserves policy), and convincing the majority of Town Meeting attendees (many of
whom they rallied) to change these practices. In doing so, they demonstrated the
most fundamental benefit of our open town meeting – we can and do govern
ourselves! No other form of municipal government can compare. So we salute and
thank these, our fellow citizens, who have shown us that it is possible to
`fight city hall' and win..."

The four, Donna Bouchard, Tony Boschetto, Kent George and Kim Cook, later
identified further opportunities for tax relief which voters approved at Town
meeting on April 10.

One can trace the current spirit of citizen initiative to annual Town Meeting in
2010, where voters approved a petitioners' article to spend a modest amount of
money for consultants to look into apparent irregularities in town and school
accounting. Since that time the Abrahams Group has become well known to those
who follow local government, pointing out many practices that should be changed.

The town created an Operational Review Committee to oversee and evaluate the
consultants' work.  It still hasn't issued a final report. During the April 23
Town Meeting session a supporter of further school fund auditing cited a
Committee report indicating support of the audit. A selectman disagreed.

Whether because of disclosures of financial mismanagement, bumbling, whatever
you may call it, or simply alarm at the prospect of the state's highest tax
rate, November special Town Meeting voters eagerly heard the petitioners' tax
relief message. The selectmen and Finance Committee first fought, then
compromised, then ultimately lost to petitioners.

On April 3 voters chose two newcomers to join the Board of Selectmen. Ten days
later, voters approved additional tax relief and said no to a $700,000 plan to
install wireless water meter readers. See:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/message/593

The selectmen, initially skeptical of electronic voting, ultimately supported
petitioners who showed the way.

All of this is a significant change from previous years, when the Board of
Selectmen, Finance Committee and School Committee worked in smooth harmony and
voters could be assembled to pack Town Meeting and  support their positions.

Voters have seen evidence that they can make their voices heard. It remains to
be seen whether lasting change lies ahead.

One thing hasn't changed. The town remains divided, as you can see by reading
anonymous blog posts attached to the Wayland Town Crier story on the four
petitioners. The Child Award winners are either heroes or arch-villains. For
this set of voters, there is no middle ground.

-- Michael Short

-------------------------------------------------------
You can read all previous WVN newsletters at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waylandvotersnetwork/
==================================================
To be sure you continue to receive WVN newsletters optimally and in your inbox
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safe sender list:
waylandvoters@...
waylandvoters1@... .
==================================================
Thank you for reading this WVN newsletter. Please forward it to your friends and
neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
email to
waylandvoters@... .
and they will be signed up for the listserv. Or, they can sign themselves up by
sending a blank email to:
waylandvotersnetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

Wayland schools are reorganizing fiscal operations and expanding the use of
financial software. And the superintendent is introducing something new for
School Committee meetings: regular presentations on what's new in classrooms and
the administration.

Also in this newsletter: New board chairs and another chance for water customers
to comment on proposed new  rates.

SCHOOL SOFTWARE DEPLOYED

The Wayland Schools business office has deployed Munis accounting software to
most areas of the schools as part of its goal to increase financial
accountability and transparency.  Principals, secretaries, and the athletic
directors are now using Munis, and training for others will continue through
May.

Paper vouchers have been eliminated, replaced by purchase orders that are
approved by the appropriate authorities who can see what funds remain in their
budgets. While this may sound elementary, this capability previously was not
broadly available.

As part of Superintendent Paul Stein's efforts to update the School Committee,
meetings now regularly feature a glimpse into new efforts in the classrooms as
well as in the administration. All presentations follow the outline of
"strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats."

A recent meeting featured two dynamic math specialists who explained their roles
aiding elementary teachers in successful teaching techniques and helping to make
math fun and interesting.

Reorganizing Fiscal Operations

At the May 1 meeting, Business Manager Geoff MacDonald explained efforts to
restructure fiscal operations to promote efficiency, transparency, and
accountability. Chris Hinckley, accounting manager, demonstrated the Munis
system that has been rolled out to the schools. MacDonald said transfers are now
tied to Munis, offsets are no longer in line items, and full time equivalency
(FTE) is in the personnel budget document to facilitate  more FTE analysis in
the future. This is all part of the drive to correlate the budget with system
goals.

In line with Stein's memo of Feb. 6,  these efforts will lay the foundation for
examining student-faculty ratios, having separate budgets for transportation,
technology and a new initiative on impact analysis that takes into account
benefit costs on the town side of the ledger. As part of the effort, personnel
are now identified with a budget account, and there is a strengthened procedure
for documenting overtime.

Looking to the remaining Munis work to be done, in Fiscal 2013, which begins on
July 1,  there will be new capabilities on budget control, and position control
in FY 14, MacDonald said. The student activity aspect "still needs work" on
training in record keeping, he said.

Bus and Food Services

In ancillary operations, FY 12 saw a new three-year bus contract that saves
money by enabling First Student (the bus contractor) to realize federal tax
credits from fuel purchases, MacDonald said. The office needs to work on
optimizing the use of the bus routing software, and MacDonald contracted someone
to educate the office on better use of the software. Abrahams Group consultants
had recommended that First Student do the routing. The food service is self
sufficient and covers all benefit costs, and is moving to implement healthier
meals that will be required next year, he said. Facilities is moving to be a
stand-alone department and Stein expects further benefits as a result.

The only authorized checking accounts are for student activities; the other nine
have  been closed, MacDonald said.

School Committee member Malcolm Astley urged that the supervisory ratio be
considered in staffing plans. Stein said that in some school districts high
school department chairs have more of a supervisory role. This topic was tagged
for further discussion.

The Committee debated at length what was and was not permitted by the Open
Meeting Law.

Support an Audit?

Another lengthy discussion involved whether the committee would endorse the Town
Meeting's adoption of Article 28 calling for the state to perform an audit, and
what to do if the state auditor declines (referred to as Plan B).  This ranged
from asking for the money to conduct an independent review/audit to having the
Board of Selectmen's new audit committee conduct the effort. Another issue was
whether the SC should assist in scoping the project.

Committee member Ellen Grieco proposed that the committee endorse the effort
prior to an invitation to the state auditor by the selectmen.  Chair Barb
Fletcher agreed to relay this information to the Board of Selectmen. Fletcher
repeatedly referred to a review of accounts instead of a full audit.

Astley noted that such issues should be thoroughly considered before Town
Meeting.

Grieco provided the Committee with a draft review of the Operational Review
Committee (ORC) findings based on the Abrahams Group consultants' report.
Fletcher said the Committee needs to address findings on food, transportation
and facilities and to explain improvements on cost savings.

In public comment, former committee member/chair Louis Jurist told the committee
there is no need for an audit if the state declines to do one. He dismissed a
resident's earlier comment about inequities resulting from his child not being
able to participate in full day kindergarten because of space considerations by
noting there was really no pilot or study of the effect of full-day
kindergarten, so one couldn't conclude there are inequities.

Superintendent Evaluation

It's time for the annual  evaluation of the superintendent, which was being
prepared by Astley and member Beth Butler. They recognize that much of Stein's
first year has been spent establishing guidelines. There was the usual
discussion of whether the report would be a public document, and Stein said he
thought a review by a public body is a public record, whereas a review by one
employee of another employee is not.

The School Committee now has two websites but is attempting to move relevant
information over to the one that is on the town's servers; the link from the
town web site will be changed to that site rather than the privately run site
set up by prior school committees.

  -- Molly Upton

  NEW BOARD OFFICERS

Several town boards have elected new leaders. Boards and committees generally
rotate chairs annually.

John Bladon is the new chair of the Board of Selectmen; Steve Correia is
vice-chair/clerk.

Kent Greenawalt is the new chair of the Planning Board.  Colleen Sheehan is
vice-chair.

Mike Lowery is the new chair of the Board of Public Works.  Tom Abdella is
vice-chair.

Bruce Cummings is now chair of the Board of Assessors; Susan Rufo is vice-chair.

WATER RATE HEARINGS CONTINUE

The Board of Public Works will hold another hearing on Monday May 7 to gather
public opinion before setting rates for water service. The meeting begins at 7
p.m. at Town Building with public comment. The hearing begins at 7:30 and
conservation incentives are a listed topic.

At a hearing on April 30 some residents who use little water complained about
administrative charges that result in excessive and disproportionate charges.
They asked for conservation incentives.

Responding to concerns expressed by board members that high rates could persuade
customers to dig their own wells, two residents recommended regulating those
wells, which draw on the public aquifer.

Rates have risen sharply in recent years,  partly to pay for the new $10.5
million Baldwin treatment plant and for replacement water meters.  New rates are
expected to be in effect by September.

-------------------------------------------------------
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Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

PANCAKES!

Boy Scout Troop 1 will hold  its annual pancake breakfast at St. Zepherin's Hall
Monday, Memorial Day, May 28, between 7:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tickets are $5 per
person, $20 per family. Fuel up before the parade. Optional toppings include
whipped cream and chocolate sauce. In the past, various selectmen could be
spotted in the kitchen.

MEMORIAL DAY COMMEMORATION SCHEDULE

The Public Ceremonies Committee invites the public to  events planned for
Monday, May 28, including the annual parade organizing at the Middle School
around 10:30 a.m. heading to the Lakeview Cemetery for a ceremony starting
around 11:30 a.m.

The full program is posted on the committee's website:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_BComm/Ceremonies/MemEvents


SODIUM IN WAYLAND WATER DISCUSSION TUESDAY, MAY 29

The Board of Health will be meeting with public works Director Don Ouellette
Tuesday, May 29 at 7:55 p.m. to discuss sodium levels in Wayland's drinking
water.http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S018CE8BD-018CE8D7?fo\
rmid=161

Routine testing shows that sodium concentrations have been increasing,
particularly at the Happy Hollow wells which provide up to 50% of our drinking
water.  The Health Department has posted an advisory about this issue on its
website:  http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_HealthNews/01870DB5-000F8513

For more detailed information about sodium in Wayland water:
http://www.waylandwells.com/WaylandWells/Get_Involved.html
Scroll down to "salt usage."


WAYLAND'S DPW ADOPTS SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING

Beginning Saturday, May 26, Waylanders using the transfer station no longer need
to sort recyclables.

The "single stream " program accepts in one place paper, metal cans, aluminum
foil, glass and plastic bottles, as well as assorted plastics that have a little
bit of bend in them such as kitty litter buckets.

The new plan should reduce the time people spend sorting and throwing
discardables into the proper places at the transfer station.  Basic information
about the concept of single stream recycling is available online:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-stream_recycling

The Board of Public Works was notified of this  major change to Wayland's
transfer station operations at its May 21 meeting by DPW Director Don Ouellette.
The topic was not mentioned on its posted meeting notice:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S018C5515-018C5519?formid=1\
61

It's not clear whether there was a formal bidding process or how the vendor was
selected.   There is no related bid information posted on the town website or at
the state's Central Register.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Facilities/index

The vendor, Casella, has a video at www.zerosort.com if you want to learn how
the company is "making the most of your recycling."

The measure of how "green" single stream recycling is includes the extent to
which the disposed solid waste leaving our transfer station does not end up in
landfills or incinerators.  How much more of Wayland's trash will end up being
recycled?

Framingham and Grafton also offer single stream recycling.  Their vendor is E.L.
Harvey, based in Westborough.  http://www.elharvey.com/?s=single+stream

Other vendors include single stream recycling on their websites:
Waste Management:
http://www.thinkgreen.com/video-recycling-single-stream
Orifice:  
http://www.orificewasterecycling.com/recycling-and-waste-pickup-services-metro-w\
est-massachusetts/single-stream-recycling.html

An online background search shows years of environmental controversy surrounding
Casella.     The following story appeared recently in the Bangor Daily News:
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/04/05/news/bangor/dep-backed-juniper-ridge-landf\
ill-expansion-faces-counterattacks-on-two-fronts/

One citizens' group posted Casella's track record on a website:
http://concernedcitizens.homestead.com/casella.html

Wayland's transfer station customers will not notice much of an impact from
single stream recycling on the price of new stickers.   The Board of Public
Works voted to set FY13 fees effective July 1, 2012:

Orange "pay as you throw" bags - no cost change
One-time disposal fee - same $40

Sticker fees:
- down $5 for main sticker to $150
- down $5 for additional vehicle sticker to $35
- recycling - same $25

41-C status customers: $50

Items that still must be deposited in designated places are: plastic bags,
stretch wrap, styrofoam, light bulbs, batteries.   Ceramics, window glass,
mirrors, dishes, brittle plastic such as keyboards and some toys are not
recyclable.


DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT TO STATE AUDITOR

At its May 21 meeting, the Wayland School Committee voted to send a letter to
the State Auditor expressing its support as a follow-up to the passage of
Article 28 at the 2012 Annual Town Meeting April 23 session.  Voters directed
the Board of Selectmen, on behalf of town meeting, to make a formal written
request of the Department of the State Auditor to conduct an audit of all
fee-based accounts and programs, included all associated checking accounts, of
the Wayland School District for fiscal years 2007 through 2012.

After receiving public comment urging the committee to go on record endorsing
that request, and after a lengthy discussion to achieve consensus, the committee
members voted 5-0 in favor of the following approximate wording:

"The School Committee has voted to support the implementation of Article 28
pursuant to the vote of the April 2012 annual town meeting and to send a letter
to the State Auditor signed by the Wayland School Committee."

The Selectmen's Office had already issued a press release announcing the
opportunity for the public to also weigh in with their views on the request for
the state audit.  The petitioners hope supporters of Article 28 will submit
their own letters urging the state to perform the audit.

It was only recently noted that a typographical error (transposed numerals) in
the address used in the town administrator's press release could result in
misdirected letters.  A follow-up press release was issued on May 26 including a
suggested deadline extension to May 30, 2012.

Anyone who already mailed in a comment letter who is unsure if the address used
was correct or complete may want to re-send the letter.  The following full
addresses have been recommended:

Laura M. Marlin
First Deputy Auditor
Office of the State Auditor
One Ashburton Place, Room 1819
Boston, MA 02108
Laura.marlin@...
617-727-6200 x 130

William Keefe
Director of Audit Planning and Review
Office of the State Auditor
One Ashburton Place, Room 1819
Boston, MA  02108
William.Keefe@...


To courtesy copy the State Auditor:

The Honorable Suzanne M. Bump
Auditor of the Commonwealth
Office of the State Auditor, Executive Office
Room 230
State House
Boston, MA 02133


WayCAM has posted all five sessions of the April 2012 Annual Town Meeting on its
Video on Demand archive:  http://waycamtv.pegcentral.com/index.php
To watch the town meeting presentation, debate and vote of Article 28:
http://waycamtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=90454ad59ff7ba8980a2e5cd635de584


CLARIFICATION

In Newsletter #453  WVN reported  that former School Committee Chair Lou Jurist
told the School Committee there is no need for an audit if the state declines to
do one. Jurist in fact said the School Committee should not feel obligated by
article 28 to do what is not in article 28, i.e., there was no need for the
School Committee to conduct an audit. Most members of the School Committee,
however, have already voiced their intention to support a "Plan B" audit if the
state declines the town's request. The details of a "Plan B" are to be discussed
at the June 4 meeting.


-- WVN Staff

To correct a flawed link, below is a repeat of one item in WVN #454 posted on
May 26.

SODIUM IN WAYLAND WATER DISCUSSION TUESDAY, MAY 29

The Board of Health will be meeting with public works Director Don Ouellette
Tuesday, May 29 at 7:55 p.m. to discuss sodium levels in Wayland's drinking
water.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S018CE8BD-018CE8D7?formid=1\
61

Routine testing shows that sodium concentrations have been increasing,
particularly at the Happy Hollow wells which provide up to 50% of our drinking
water. The Health Department has posted an advisory about this issue on its
website: http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_HealthNews/01870DB5-000F8513

For more detailed information about sodium in Wayland water:
http://www.waylandwells.com/WaylandWells/Get_Involved.html
Scroll down to "salt usage."

Dear Wayland Voter,

The Board of Health and other officials are concerned about the increasing
amount of sodium in Wayland's water, which is above recommended levels.

Also in this newsletter: NStar tree-cutting complaints, aqueduct trails,
Community Preservation Act changes and other briefs.

CONCERN OVER SODIUM LEVELS

In March, the Wayland Board of Health wrote to public works Director Don
Ouellette and water Superintendent Mike Hatch, saying it believed elevated
sodium levels at the two Happy Hollow wells represented a public health concern.
Since town water from all seven active wells is blended at times, sodium levels
could affect all water users.

This advisory was also posted on a bulletin board outside the Board of Health
offices and on the town website, reported in WVN newsletter #454: 
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_HealthNews/01870DB5-000F8513, but most
residents may have been unaware of it.

In February the Wayland Wells group (www.waylandwells.com), the people who
served on the now-disbanded Wayland Wellhead Protection Committee and created
the official Wayland Wellhead Protection Plan, wrote to the Board of Health
pointing out that there has been a pattern of increasing levels of sodium at
these wells.

Data from 1994 show sodium levels ranging from 17 to 23 milligrams per liter. 
Recent levels were reported as high as 76.4 mg/l, far above the Department of
Environmental Protection(DEP) drinking water guideline of 20 mg/l.

The Wayland Wells group noted that preliminary water quality analyses reported
in DEP  correspondence in October 2011 for the three proposed Happy Hollow
replacement wells also show elevated readings ranging from 46.4 to 76.4 mg/l.
The Wayland Department of Public Works is working to move the existing wells to
higher ground to pull them out of the Sudbury River floodplain. March 2010
floodwaters came within inches of the wells.

The Wellhead Protection Committee had also suggested that the DPW Water Division
use the existing tri-level groundwater monitoring wells at the Happy Hollow site
to try to determine whether the sodium concentrations are occurring in the
aquifer or resulting from runoff from surface sources.

Quarterly Testing For Sodium

Because of citizen concerns the Water Division had previously agreed to
quarterly testing of all town wells for sodium.

According to the 2011 Consumer Confidence Report mailed out recently to Wayland
households, sodium is considered an unregulated contaminant.  The DPW is
required to report elevated sodium levels to the local Board of Health as well
as to the DEP and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

A May 21 email from the water superintendent showed that the seven active town
wells have sodium concentrations over the 20 mg/l guideline, with the Feb. 7,
2012 data showing 63 and 72 mg/l at the Happy Hollow Wells.  The DPW reported
that water drawn from the five wells in north Wayland - Chamberlain, Campbell
and the three at Baldwin Pond- contained from 23 to 32 mg/l of sodium.

In April the DPW found 39 mg/l of sodium in the town's water in the Reeves Hill
water storage tank.  The blending of town water in the distribution system can
vary significantly depending on time of day, time of year, extent of water usage
and which of the wells are actually pumping.

Wayland's Baldwin water treatment plant uses an ultrafiltration process that
essentially relies on ozone and sodium hypochlorite to purify the town's
drinking water.  The plant is not designed to remove sodium and only treats
water from the three Baldwin wells.

During summer high peak water demand and whenever the Baldwin treatment plant is
shut down for maintenance or repairs, there is greater reliance on the Happy
Hollow wells.  Residents living in southern Wayland are likely to be exposed to
the higher sodium concentrations whenever the Happy Hollow wells are running, as
their high capacity would overwhelm any flow from the north.

Sodium and Health

Those who need to restrict sodium in their diets for medical reasons include the
elderly, whose blood pressure can increase with age.  Most of the town's senior
housing is located south of Reeves Hill.

The Board of Health met with DPW Director Ouellette for about a half hour at its
May 29 meeting to discuss increasing sodium concentrations.  Board members asked
questions about the sodium data, what progress has been made towards mitigating
elevated sodium concentrations, and complaints about the unpleasant taste and
smell of chlorine.  The Board also welcomed questions and comments from the
audience.

The discussion elicited the fact that water bottling companies rely on reverse
osmosis to remove sodium from the water they purchase from municipalities.  One
resident on a salt-restricted diet for medical reasons reported that he relies
on bottled water purchased at a supermarket for his drinking water.  The
manufacturer (Acadia) informed him that its bottled water contains 6 mg/l of
sodium.

Water filters used by homes and businesses can remove the unpleasant smell and
taste of chlorine in the water, but not sodium.  Those who have installed a
water softening system may not realize they may actually be adding small amounts
of sodium to their drinking water from the operation of the system.

While acknowledging the importance of informing those on salt-restricted diets,
the DPW director did not appear to share the level of concern of the Board or
the audience.   Ouellette's explanations for why he was not surprised by the
sodium data included 1) New England was once under the ocean and 2) about 25-30
years ago the Highway Department used to mix salt and sand for roadway
application at the sand pit abutting the Happy Hollow wells.

But New England has not been submerged for millions of years, and the Wayland
salt issue is less than 20 years old. And the town's 2011 Wellhead Protection
Plan notes that the Highway Department ceased operations at the sand pit at
least forty years ago, and cites a 30-year-old document noting a decline in salt
levels by 1979.

The aquifer under Happy Hollow is considered one of the best around, with almost
no iron or manganese in the pumped water to require filtration.  Iron and
manganese are serious problems at most other town wells.

When BoH member Michael Bean asked if all the Happy Hollow water is commingled,
Ouellette responded that it was and that all the water goes to the Reeves Hill
water storage tank.But Ouellette did not explain that the nature of hydraulic
flow would expose users living near a pumping well primarily or exclusively to
water drawn from that well. The wells all pump into the common piping of the
distribution system; they are not connected by separate pipes to the storage
tank.

Bean also asked if the water division has conferred with other towns about
increasing sodium levels.  The answer was "no."

BoH member Cynthia Hill asked about the chlorine she notices in her water and
wanted to know how much sodium is added during water treatment.  A resident in
the audience calculated that the sodium hypochlorite used to purify the water at
all the wellheads contains about 40% sodium.   Sodium fluoride is also added to
help prevent tooth decay.

Ouellette described steps taken to try to address sodium levels:  the design of
the new high school essentially swapped the location of buildings and parking
areas so that parking is as far from the wells as possible; road salt is no
longer used at the high school; a 50/50 mixture of salt/sand is used on Wayland
roadways. According to Ouellette, moving the Happy Hollow wells up-gradient
would move them away from Dudley Brook, sand pit and roads. But that would only
be relevant if the sodium source were nearby, and not entering the aquifer from
up-gradient sources.  Ouellette acknowledged that preliminary tests at the
proposed replacement wells locations are producing similar elevated sodium
results.

Dudley Brook, the surface outlet of Dudley Pond, flows right by the Happy Hollow
wells, and one can readily observe the brook drying up as it passes the wells
and the brook water is drawn down into the aquifer. The brook carries water from
the Pond along with road runoff all along its roughly one mile course. The
location of the proposed replacement wells would still leave the brook well
within the "capture zone" of the wells as determined by a Wellhead Protection
Committee study, meaning that all of the water would be drawn into the new wells
just as readily as it is drawn into the current wells.

Question About Road Salt, Chlorine

Ouellette reported that liquified calcium chloride is used as well as the
sand/sodium chloride mixture.  It was reported that runoff tested at the catch
basin near the Route 27 highway garage showed sodium chloride, not calcium
chloride.  Ouellette said that calcium chloride is 10 times more expensive than
sodium chloride and requires special equipment to apply it, but added that he
will look into it.

Regarding complaints about chlorine, Ouellette said several times that the
residual chlorine coming out of the Baldwin plant has not changed in at least 14
months.  But not everyone's drinking water comes primarily from the plant.

Some residents may recall the notice dated October 18, 2011 mailed to all water
customers reporting three positive findings of coliform bacteria in Wayland
water samples taken in August 2011. 
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Water/Coliform.pdf   Coliforms are
naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other,
potentially harmful, bacteria may be present.

The notice said that the chlorine dosage at all treatment points had been
increased and new chlorine injection pumps had been installed.

Ouellette did not explain that the design of the Baldwin plant was meant to
minimize or eliminate the use of chlorine entirely, using ozone as the
disinfectant instead.  But after the plant was opened in February 2010, it
encountered a major problem with "iron-eating" bacteria in the Baldwin wells
clogging the delicate plant filters. The primary strategy ultimately used to
deal with the bacteria was heavy doses of chlorine, obviating one of the major
advantages of the ozonation process.

Next Steps?

As the discussion with the DPW Director drew to a close, the Board of Health
concurred that it will post the sodium data on the town website and will have
hard copies available at the office.  It also will post the sodium advisory more
prominently on its website.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Health/index

Ouellette commented that the DPW is doing what it can, given its limited control
of the water chemistry, and Wayland "may be at 70 (mg/l) for a while and then it
may drop off."  When asked about following up with the Board of Health,
Ouellette said he would continue to send data to the BoH, but he could not
promise that he'll show up again.

Absent a more thorough understanding of the source of the sodium problem from a
study such as was recommended by the Wellhead Protection Committee, it is
impossible to predict whether the actions taken to date by the DPW will be
effective.

-- WVN Staff



NSTAR OFFICIALS TO MEET WITH WAYLAND SELECTMEN

Wayland selectmen plan to meet with NStar officials at 2 p.m. Monday, June 4, in
the selectmen's meeting room to discuss "vegetation maintenance near
transmission lines."  The meeting is open but no public comment time is listed
on the agenda.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S018D7E3E-018D7E42.0/BOSAge\
nda06042012.pdf

Among the issues is the impact on residential neighborhoods of clear cutting
trees and other vegetation within utility easements for major transmission lines
running through Framingham, Wayland and Sudbury.  Affected residents in all
three towns have mobilized and protested against the extent of deforestation. 
In Wayland the high-tension lines run through the Stonebridge Road neighborhood,
e.g. Oak Hill Road and Meadowview.

At their May 30 meeting, Framingham selectmen agreed to seek a moratorium on
this activity after receiving many complaints from constituents.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/lifestyle/health/x1347549674/Framingham-offici\
al-compares-NStar-tree-cutting-to-an-invading-army

State legislators from the MetroWest area sent a detailed letter on May 31 to
NStar's CEO also calling for a moratorium until better communications can be
established with the public and appropriate accommodations can be planned.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/wayland/news/x464985211/Legislators-contact-NStar-CEO\
-about-tree-cutting#axzz1vqwO50ff  (See link on top right)


OTHER MEETINGS
The following boards all plan to meet on Monday evening, June 4:  Assessors,
School Committee, Health, Recreation and Public Works.
See  http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/index  for posted meeting agendas.


Click on the June 4 date in the meeting calendar, then click on the name of the
board/committee to access the proposed agenda.  The Board of Public Works agenda
includes "set water rates."

On Tuesday, June 5, the Planning Board will hold a 7:35 p.m. public hearing
concerning the Town Center project, including a Stop & Shop proposal to install
six 35-foot wind turbines:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_MeetingsCal/S018D6F04-018D6F18.0/Agenda\
planningbd0652012.pdf


LIBRARY SURVEY

The Wayland Library is working on a five-year plan and asks residents to take a
brief survey. You can make your views known at:  www.waylandlibrary.org
or
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9TSG2SV


PELHAM ISLAND BRIDGE STILL OPEN

The Pelham Island Road bridge over the Sudbury River is now scheduled to remain
open until June 18. The contractor says the replacement bridge will still open
sometime in November.

The road was expected to be closed for the duration weeks earlier.

The contractor says that if bad weather or other problems delay completion, the
new bridge will be made passable for the winter and then finished in the spring.

FATHER'S DAY GIFT SUGGESTION

Habitat for Humanity in Wayland suggests a gift for father's day. A foundation
block can be purchased online or at Russells for $75 each or $125 for two. 
These blocks can be decorated or contain a message when laid in the foundation
of the two duplexes to be built on Stonebridge Road.

To purchase blocks online, go to
http://www.habitatmwgw.org/donate/donate-online/  fill out the form, and direct
your donation to the Wayland Build.

SOME AQUEDUCTS OPEN FOR WALKING

The MWRA announced it has opened some inactive aqueducts to trail use. These
include the Cochituate, Sudbury, Weston and Wachusett aqueducts. Host
communities will be allowed to develop and manage trails, while keeping care and
control with the MWRA.  Guidelines for use are at
http://www.mwra.com/01news/2012/052212-aqueductaccess/mwra-aqueduct-policy.pdf

In Wayland, the Weston aqueduct runs from the Sudbury Dam, through Nobscot, near
Five Paths Wayland, to south of Chestnut Street in
Weston.http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=6791
The Weston aqueduct has been routinely used by walkers for decades, despite the
illegality. It is also occasionally used by horse riders and off-road vehicles.

The Cochituate aqueduct runs from Lake Cochituate to the Brookline reservoir,
passing through  Natick, Wellesley, Newton, and Brookline.

The Sudbury aqueduct runs from Farm Pond on Waverly Street in Framingham through
Sherborn, Natick, Wellesley, Needham and Newton.

The Wachusett aqueduct runs from the Wachusett Reservoir in Clinton, through
Berlin and Northborough, to a treatment plant  in Marlborough.

The Hultman aqueduct, which passes by Dudley Pond in Wayland and extends near
School Street, is being repaired and is not on the list. The Hultman, formerly
the main water supply to Boston, will become the primary backup supply conduit
to the new Metrowest Tunnel when the Hultman again becomes operational.


CPA CHANGES BREWING IN STATE LEGISLATURE

Both the House and Senate have approved changes in the Community Preservation
Act that broaden communities' abilities to use funds for land not previously
acquired with CPA funds. Both endorse an increase in state funding, but the
amount has to be resolved. They agree on all other aspects of the bill.
http://www.communitypreservation.org/content/advocacy

While the House bill calls for an increase of $25 million dedicated to the CPA,
the Senate bill calls for $5 million to boost state matching funds for the 148
communities, including Wayland, who participate by levying a fee on top of
taxes.

The bill states: "With respect to land for recreational use, rehabilitation
shall include the replacement of playground equipment and other capital
improvements to the land or the facilities thereon which make the land or the
related facilities more functional for the related recreational use."

Among the changes in the bill: prohibition of use of CPA funds for acquisition
of artificial turf, and recommendation that housing expenditures be used for
existing buildings or construction on previously developed sites.  See part of
Section 5 below:

"2) The community preservation committee shall make recommendations periodically
throughout the year, or as a single yearly recommendation to the legislative
body for the acquisition, creation and preservation of open space; for the
acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation and restoration of historic resources;
for the acquisition, creation, preservation, rehabilitation and restoration of
land for recreational use; for the acquisition, creation, preservation and
support of community housing; and for the rehabilitation or restoration of open
space and community housing that is acquired or created as provided in this
section. With respect to community housing, the community preservation committee
shall recommend, wherever possible, the reuse of existing buildings or
construction of new buildings on previously developed sites. With respect to
recreational use, the acquisition of artificial turf for athletic fields shall
be prohibited."

http://www.communitypreservation.org/2011%20An%20Act%20to%20Sustain%20Community%\
20Preservation.pdf


VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR NEW DESIGN REVIEW BOARD

2012 annual town meeting voters approved establishing a Design Review Board to
review building designs, site plan approval, special permits, signs and variance
applications for all non-residential uses involving new commercial construction.
The draft review guidelines are posted on the Town website: 
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Planning

The Design Review Board will consist of five members appointed by the Planning
Board, including, where possible; an architect, a landscape architect, Planning
Board member or designee, a resident who owns a Wayland business, and a graphic
designer.  Members will serve for three-year terms.

The Planning Board will accept applications from Wayland residents until June
15.  Please send resumes and statement of interest to: Sarkis Sarkisian, Town
Planner, 41 Cochituate Road, Wayland, MA 01778 or email:
ssarkisian@...


WAYLAND MRC RECEIVES 2011 BRANCH OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Wayland Health Department recently announced that the Wayland Medical
Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers received the 2011 Branch of the Year Award. 
Volunteer Cynthia Hill received the Outstanding Flu Clinic Volunteer Award. 
These awards were presented during the Region 4A Conference held in Stow on May
5.

Medical Reserve Corps volunteers are a specialized component of Citizen Corps, a
national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security through
local health, safety and preparedness.  Various programs and activities have
included the annual flu vaccine clinics and sheltering needs during the October
2011 Snow Storm.

Wayland residents interested in becoming an MRC Volunteer can call 508-358-3617
or visit the Region 4A MRC website at
www.region4a-mrc.org


SELECTMEN'S MEETING SCHEDULE

Wayland residents accustomed to watching Selectmen's meetings broadcast live by
WayCAM  on Monday nights will soon notice a program change. The following
tentative meeting schedule for the remainder of the 2012 calendar year was
adopted by the Board on May 21.  These 17 dates are subject to change, pending
unforeseen needs and events.  During the same period in 2011, the Board posted
to meet 24 times.

Monday, May 21
Monday, June 11
Monday, June 18
Monday, July 9
Wednesday, July 18
Wednesday, August 1
Monday, August 20
Monday, September 10
Monday, September 24
Thursday, October 4
Monday, October 22
Monday, October 29
Monday, November 5
Monday, November 19
Monday, December 3
Monday, December 10
Monday, December 17

-- WVN Staff



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neighbors in Wayland. If they want to receive their own copy, they can send an
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waylandvoters@... .
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Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

Officials and outraged residents are fighting NStar's devastating clearcutting
near power lines. Beyond aesthetic concerns there are questions of environmental
damage and effects on property values.

Also in this newsletter:  School superintendent disputes teen violence figures,
plus briefs and alerts.

WAYLAND, NEIGHBOR TOWNS FIGHT NSTAR ONSLAUGHT

NStar has adopted a clearcutting policy along its easements near some high
tension transmission wires in Framingham, Wayland, and Sudbury.

On Monday, June 4, Department of Public Utilities representative Nancy Stevens
announced at a Wayland selectmen's afternoon meeting that there would be a
week's delay in ongoing work. That was after clearcutting in Framingham got the
attention and action of area state legislators.  The intent was to give all
parties a "time-out" to improve communication regarding the utility's proposed
vegetation management plan.

Wayland Town Administrator Fred Turkington held a staff meeting with NStar on
Friday, June 8.  The clearcutting resumed in Wayland on Monday morning, June 11
without NStar keeping its word to provide the easement documents to Wayland
officials.

A Board of Selectmen meeting Monday, June 11 heard residents' complaints, and
selectmen viewed a picture of a drastically reconfigured, obliterated front yard
at the bottom of Oak Hill Road.
http://waycamtv.pegcen0tral.com/player.php?video=957629dfc85e697299940ff16fe07fc\
3
(elapsed time 01:26:00)  The town administrator told residents they should deal
individually with NStar to seek mitigation.

The board instructed the town administrator to send a letter to NStar and the
Department of Public Utilities seeking answers to questions, the easement
documents and a requested continuation of the "time out."  That letter and
NStar's response are posted in various online versions of local newspapers:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/wayland/news/x1222855802/Homeowners-still-raging-agai\
nst-NStar-tree-cutting-plan#axzz1x3wtwxhi

The board's efforts stopped short of trying to protect residents on Oak Hill and
Meadowview by legal action or negotiating with NStar for remediation, based on
their understanding that the utility has the right to conduct the work.  The
removal of shade trees located in both the town's right of way and NStar's
easement, however, is subject to a future shade tree hearing.  Those trees are
marked with dark blue ribbons and/or orange spots.

Robert Noa, a Meadowview Road resident, went the board one better by filing an
action in Middlesex Superior Court on Monday. When he made this legal action
known at the selectmen's meeting, the audience applauded. Noa's premise is that
there is no justifiable need to destroy all of the trees in the right-of-way,
contending there are places where a level of reasonableness and compromise would
still provide the long-term protection the utility requires. As the Wayland
letter notes, the federal guidelines are less stringent than absolute
clearcutting.

As the week passes and the clearcutting continues unabated, Noa's is the only
property on his side of the street with trees still standing in his backyard.
While Noa referenced the neighborhood in his pending legal appeal, it appears
that NStar interpreted the action to apply only to his property. A court hearing
originally set for June 14 was postponed, at the request of NStar's attorney.

Other aggrieved parties, including Sudbury residents who know they are next in
line, could file their own requests for a temporary restraining order.  Noa, an
attorney, is telling his neighbors that he will gladly share a generic template
of his court filing if contacted at rnoa@....

Remediation Available

Although individual Wayland residents were still being told as late as Tuesday
morning that there were no funds for remediation, on Tuesday night at the
Sudbury Board of Selectmen's meeting, NStar senior arborist Bill Hayes disclosed
that his company has engaged Weston Nurseries to provide some new, low shrubs
and trees that are considered compatible species.  Individual residents need to
request in writing specific remediation measures they want for their properties.

Hayes is at 781-441-3932 and william.hayes@....  NStar's community
relations representative is Annemarie Walsh.  She can be reached at 617-369-
6356 and Annemarie.Walsh@....  NStar says it will consider each property
individually.

State  Rep. Tom Conroy provided an update on his efforts to address
constituents' concerns.  During the Sudbury Selectmen's meeting on Tuesday
evening he made a new request of NStar during public comment based on his
professional experience as a risk manager.  He seeks further accommodations from
NStar, based on the fact that NStar cannot guarantee 100% service reliability no
matter how much is clearcut.  He favors a level of reasonableness: instead of
clearcutting 100% of the right of way, there could be a workable 80-20 solution
to preserve quality of life and property values without lowering utility
reliability.

NStar's new aggressive policies are not an isolated neighborhood issue.  When
the utility returns later this year for vegetation control along its
distribution lines along Wayland streets, property owners may want to pay close
attention to "doorhanger" notices because they may be the only advance warning
they get.  Notices NStar says it sent to Town Hall offices for this year's
proposed vegetation control activities apparently were never publicly posted or
questioned.

High tension transmission lines also run through other parts of Wayland, but the
current effort is focused on the Meadowview and Oak Hill area.  Homeowners near
such lines may want to check the fine print in any easement documents attached
to their deeds.

Assessors' maps posted on the town website show NStar's right of way in the Oak
Hill area:
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Assessor/Maps/ap36a-17%20X%2022.pdf
http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/WaylandMA_Assessor/Maps/ap36c-17%20X%2022.pdf

In contrast, when the utility was Boston Edison it planted many pine trees near
and beneath the wires after homes were built there in the 1960s and maintained
the trees for many years by topping them.  The area has had many yards with
trees providing shade and screening.

With NStar, the new policy is to cut everything that grows near the wires, save
for a few forsythia and other low shrubs specifically requested by residents.

NStar uses an impressive machine nicknamed the "`brontosaurus" which does the
work of many humans.  It removes tall trees by grasping them, cutting them in
seemingly one action, and picking them up and setting them down in a pile for
later removal or chipping.

No plan has been announced to reseed the barren area, now subject to erosion
given the steep slopes whose surface water runoff heads downhill towards
wetlands, the Meadowview wellfield and the Sudbury River.

Environmental Concerns

On Tuesday, Town Administrator Turkington said he had referred residents'
environmental concerns to special legal counsel.  By the end of the work day
forester Eric George, working with the tree crews, assured the public that the
workers  were done clearing whatever foliage they needed to remove inside the
gate area that eventually leads to the Meadowview well.  The relatively
low-level brush growth had been cut by workmen on foot using chain saws.

George reported that no heavy mechanized equipment would be used to clear cut
further because the (wetland) area was too wet, and they were done clearing
along the right of way down to the Sudbury River.  He said the only task
remaining was the use of the  Harvester to remove tall pines near the roadway.

But by the end of the work day Thursday, this is what had happened: All the
remaining low growth foliage to the left of the entrance gate was removed.  From
the house across the street one now sees through to the Water Division's
building labeled "Chemical Feed Station"  (which currently stores no chemicals).
Huge tire tracks in the mud are evidence that large equipment was in fact used
to clear cut, all the way down the path to the building.

The security gate has been left unlocked since Tuesday. reportedly at the
direction of the town administrator.  A pile of large tires sat just behind the
sign that says "Drinking Water Supply Area. Please Protect It!"  And four huge
vehicles used by NStar during the week were parked for the night in a drinking
water resource area.

Friday morning, George explained that the crew needed to remove some of the
lower foliage to make room for the Harvester to be in a safe position to remove
the tall pines.  When asked why the rest of the area down to the chemical feed
station building was also cleared out, he said it was a request of Wayland's
public works director, Don Ouellette. Ouellette was out of the office today and
could not be reached for comment.

So far NStar has been silent on the requests made for a mitigation plan for
impacts to the wetlands and water supply.  The drinking water resource area is
now completely open, unsecured and accessible from Meadowview Road.

The Wayland town website doesn't mention the NStar matter.  The Board of Public
Works will  discuss the issue of its legal rights regarding easements at its
Tuesday, June 19 meeting.

In response to a Sudbury audience question on Tuesday evening, NStar's William
Hayes reported that he expects the work in Wayland to wind down soon so
"brontosaurus" can resume its work in Sudbury.  The June 12 NStar meeting with
Sudbury selectmen is available at:
http://sudburytv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=421d8124965f3d9624570d2bd04122d\
1

NStar representatives will discuss the company's tree-clearing project at the
Natick selectmen's meeting on Monday, June 18, at 7:30 p.m., at the Natick Town
Hall, 13 East Central St.


-- Linda Segal

SUPERINTENDENT DISPUTES TEEN VIOLENCE FIGURES

Some may have been shocked at reports in Wayland Patch and the Town Crier that
the incidence of violence and teen dating violence among Wayland teens is
roughly twice as high as in surrounding towns. Wayland is being awarded nearly
$40,000 to address the problem, according to the reports.

But School Superintendent Paul Stein tells WVN that the reports are inaccurate.
He says that the compilers apparently misused the data. "The press release
appears to have added together the percentages of male and female respondents to
arrive at a total percentage, which statistically you cannot do because the "n"
is different for the two groups," he said. The actual Wayland numbers are in
line with area averages, he explained. He is trying to get the MetroWest Health
Foundation, the originator of the survey, to correct  the error.

"No matter how small or large the percentages, the issues raised by these
statistics are of concern, and it remains important that the schools and the
wider community continue their efforts in the area of health and wellness,"
Stein said.

School reconfiguration

In another matter, at the June 4 School Committee meeting, Stein announced that
he is forming an Elementary Building Use Task Force to "be charged with
identifying options, conducting a cost/benefit analysis for each option, and
recommending options that it feels should remain under consideration," according
to a memo he distributed to the School Committee.

His action stems from an architect's study of room reconfiguration options at
Happy Hollow, which in turn was in response to parental complaints of
overcrowding. The architects concluded that most of the problems could be fixed,
primarily by turning oversized kindergarten classrooms into a larger number of
normal sized regular elementary classrooms. But the modifications would cost
several hundred thousand dollars, and should not be undertaken without a long
term plan, he said. The problem is that the current elementary school population
fits perfectly into the currently assigned space, with virtually no room to
spare. If existing flat population projections are wrong and the elementary
school population increases, something will have to give. Kindergarten
enrollments this year, and already for next year, exceed projections.

Increased use of Loker is an obvious option. But, as an example of the
possibilities, there are several ways in which Loker use could be expanded.
Returning to the previous neighborhood K-5 configuration is one. But another
possibility is a grade level configuration, by, for example, making Loker the
townwide kindergarten and first grade school, Happy Hollow grades two and three,
and Claypit Hill four and five. The School Committee was told in past years that
such a grade level configuration was cheaper and educationally equivalent to a
neighborhood configuration. However, it might  be less popular with parents.

Stein plans to include six community members and three teachers on the task
force, along with the three elementary principals, a school committee member,
the Director of Student Services, the Assistant Superintendent, and himself.

The School Committee advised him to include extensive public interaction in the
committee processes.

-- Tom Sciacca


RIVERFEST IS COMING

The 11th annual RiverFest celebration will be held June 23-24.  Over 30
family-friendly events will take place on and along the Sudbury, Assabet and
Concord Wild and Scenic Rivers – in 11 towns. Local organizations host events
including bird watching, canoe trips, picnics, wild animal displays, boat tours,
art, music, history lectures and more.

All events are free and open to the public.  RiverFest is a celebration of the
nationally designated Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers which flow through our
communities.  Come to any Riverfest event and discover what makes these rivers
so special. Visit  www.sudbury-assabet-concord.org to view a full listing of
events, or call 978-369-3956. Or visit Facebook at Suasco RSC, Riverfest.

Wayland's event, the annual History Paddle, will be held at 9 am. on the 23rd.
Brandeis Professor Brian Donahue will lead a flotilla leaving from the new Route
20 boat ramp built by the state at the request of the River Stewardship Council.
You can paddle downstream to Sherman's Bridge while hearing about the
fascinating history of our river, the reason why Wayland exists. Bring your own
canoe or kayak, or call 508-358-2980 to make arrangements to boat-share.

  AFFORDABLE-RATE CONDOS AVAILABLE

Four new condominiums are for sale at Wayland Commons under the Massachusetts
affordable housing program at $159,000. The developer describes them as large,
with market-rate finishes, a deck and a two-car garage. See:
http://www.brendonhomes.com/wayland-commons.cfm

For information on the units and eligibility for the affordable rate, contact
Beth Rust, the agent, at 978-638-3388, or housing@...,

Beth Rust, Community Housing Coordinator, Town of Sudbury, 278 Old Sudbury Road,
Sudbury, MA 01776.  (v) 978-639-3388   (f) 978-443-0756

  TOWN BEACH OPENING DAY BEACH PARTY

The Opening Day Beach Party is scheduled for Saturday, June 16 from 11 a.m. to 2
p.m.

The Wayland Recreation Department welcomes all Wayland residents to join in on
the fun – free of charge for the day.  Check out the town's new beach house.
Enjoy live music from Wayland's first "all-dad band," the Wayland Daddios, who
will play a unique style of pop and rock music.

For children, the moon bounce, games, prizes and other activities. This will be
the first day for the snack bar, including grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and
other items for purchase.

ODD/EVEN WATER BAN

Effective July 2 odd/even outdoor watering restrictions will be in effect,
matching even and odd numbered days with the residence address.

Sprinklers are permitted between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. No time or day restrictions
on hand-held hoses.

The Board of Public Works asks residents to water no more than twice a week.

The DPW is at 508-358-3672.

Water conservation and lawn maintenance information and recommendations are
available at:
http://www.waylandwells.com/WaylandWells/Get_Involved.html


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Click reply and send after receiving an e-mail confirming the subscription.

Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor

Dear Wayland Voter,

Once again the Board of Public Works has found itself left in the dark about
important decisions it was supposed to take part in.

At their June 19 meeting with public works Director Don Ouellette, Board members
mentioned his performance evaluation because the director's three-year contract
was up for renewal. They were stunned when Ouellette said he already had a new
three-year deal he had negotiated with Town Administrator Fred Turkington. He
gave the Board no details.

Fifteen days earlier, Board members had told Turkington that they wanted to
offer their comments on the director, and Turkington said he'd welcome them. But
a source with knowledge of the contract, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said the contract was signed well before that meeting.

This was by no means the first time that the Board, which oversees several
departments combined in 2009, has been blindsided.

The latest incident tends to support the skepticism of some Town Meeting voters
who warned that adopting a Department of Public Works would be a power grab that
would deprive the town of valuable volunteer expertise and attention. Under the
new system the town administrator would take on more powers of a town manager,
they asserted.

At least one other elected board has been left in the dark about important
matters.

Also in this newsletter: Openings for finance, other committees.

BLINDSIDED AGAIN

When the April 2008 Town Meeting approved establishing the DPW, the statutory
language included this: "The Town Administrator, in consultation with the board,
shall appoint, fix the tenure, compensation and fringe benefits of, and may
enter into an employment agreement with a Director of Public Works, subject to
appropriation and the provisions of the town's by-laws and personnel by-laws and
wage and salary classification plan."

Though Ouellette became DPW director on July 1, 2009, Board members said on June
4 that they had never been consulted on his performance.

When the Board  asked on June 4 to weigh in on Ouellette's performance
evaluation, Turkington replied that a review was "ongoing" and he would need to
check the date on the contract.

At the June 19 meeting, which was preceded by emailed guidance from Turkington,
it became clear that there was a continuing disagreement with the town
administrator over roles and responsibilities.

The DPW was set up so that the DPW director reports to the town administrator. 
But oversight powers from the dissolved elected boards (road and water
commissions, for example) were transferred to the new BoPW.  A multi-page
handout at the 2008 town meeting prepared by town counsel enumerated those
powers.  Town Meeting's vote to create the DPW was based on that understanding.

Board Shocked

After Ouellette's disclosure about his new contract, Board members expressed
shock and frustration at one more end run around them.  This was yet another
example of others making decisions for them, they said, this has been going on
for years, their authority again has been taken away, and there is a concerted
strategic pattern to ignore them, which is very discouraging for volunteers in
town government.

Board Chairman Mike Lowery told his colleagues after the Ouellette  revelation
that the Board has the right to evaluate the director's performance, and there
has to be a legal mechanism for doing so.  Mike Wegerbauer, the only remaining
original BoPW commissioner when the DPW began three years ago, said that he had
participated in the original employment interview.

Board members may not be aware that when the selectmen negotiated a new
three-year contract with Turkington in May 2011, in addition to pay increases,
he received a new executive compensation package with benefits that could be
offered to other senior staff.
http://www.wayland.ma.us/pages/WaylandMA_SelectmenMin/Board%20of%20Selectmen%20M\
inutes%202011/BOSMinutes05162011.pdf   Scroll down to item A10 Executive Session
to see the details.

There was a majority Board consensus that the Ouellette deal was cause for
seeking independent legal advice.  Chairman Lowery planned to meet with
Turkington and town counsel Mark Lanza.  The Board authorized Lowery to discuss
these matters on their behalf at that meeting.

Ignored Time and Again

The BoPW being the last to know something important within its purview is
nothing new.  In late 2010 senior staff decided to try to consolidate the
Sudbury and Wayland transfer stations.  The BoPW was last to know, but that
experiment failed.   More recently, the BoPW was last to know that the transfer
station was changing to single-stream recycling with a new vendor, apparently
without following a public bidding process.

It is also reminiscent of the stunned reaction of another independently elected
board, the Recreation Commission, when it learned after the fact that, without
its knowledge or participation, a new Intermunicipal Agreement had been
negotiated by the town administrator with Sudbury expanding the sharing of staff
of Wayland's Recreation Department for the next 25 years.

The new agreement was approved by the selectmen and signed by Turkington last
November, before the Commission knew anything about it.  The Recreation
Commission is not a board under the selectmen's jurisdiction, and neither the
Commission nor Town Meeting authorized entering into such an agreement with
another town.

Section 8 of the 2008 applicable Special Act conveyed clear powers: "...the
Recreation Commission shall be responsible for the custody, management, control
and operation of all accounts, budgetary funds, other funds and staff formerly
under the jurisdiction of the Park and Recreation Commission and held or
employed for playground or recreation purposes."

Nevertheless, since the town administrator signed the Intermunicipal Agreement,
whose validity is still questioned by some town officials, the Recreation
Department office has been hurt by staff reduction as decisions were made by
senior staff, not the Commission; the changes were explained as stemming from
new sharing provisions with Sudbury.

DPW Savings?

At the April 10, 2008 Town Meeting, when voters approved forming a  DPW under
Article 5, the debate included how cost savings would be achieved.  Proponent
Bob Lentz, who served on the DPW Assessment Committee, denied that Article 5 was
a power grab.  Regarding financial incentives, he stated the new director's
salary would come from the then-unfilled water superintendent position.  He
reported that no personnel would lose their jobs, but rather savings would be
achieved by attrition.  Lentz told voters the cost-saving projections were based
on having three fewer employees, without any cuts to services.

Speaking in opposition, Recreation Commissioner Brud Wright (recently re-elected
in April's contested race) argued there was no need to turn Wayland's government
upside down by the proposed DPW reorganization.  The same cost savings from
attrition could be obtained without a DPW.   Fellow commissioner Stas Gayshan,
also recently re-elected in a contested race, reported to the 2008 Town Meeting
that there were no employees in the then-Parks and Recreation Department
contemplating retiring in the near future.

How much money the town has saved in the last three years with the DPW is often
asked at the same time as complaints are voiced about projects not being
finished on time (beach house), not authorized (horse paddock) or over budget
(Hannah Williams park). Voters have channeled their frustration by demanding
restitution for being overcharged for their drinking water, something the BoPW
has committed to addressing.

At the June 19 BoPW meeting, DPW Director Ouellette reported that he had to
order work to stop on the Pemberton Road water main replacement project because
he does not have enough employees to cover the various projects now under way. 
Instead he will have to contract the rest of the work out, which will cost more.

Sources of ongoing frustration were discussed at the Jan. 3 joint meeting of the
Board of Selectmen, Recreation Commission, Board of Public Works, their
department heads, and town counsel.
 
http://waycamtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=4165be413ac18d909ba8a4e71caecef6

Recreation Commissioner Gayshan, an attorney, sparred with town counsel when the
latter suggested a different interpretation of the special act language
regarding the authority of the Commission.  Gayshan contended that the language
clearly states that the Commission is responsible for its staff.

One recurring theme is dysfunction caused by a chronic lack of communication. 
Various members of the BoPW and Recreation Commission find themselves surprised
by what they view as senior staff exceeding their authority and acting without
the knowledge or consent of the elected board members.  Disagreements over the
2008 DPW legislation remain unresolved as town officials disagree with town
counsel's interpretations over who has what authority.  Town counsel's work is
overseen by Fred Turkington.

Background

For more information about Turkington, Ouellette, and the Board of Public Works,
see the following:

From WayCAM's recording of the live June 4 telecast, fast forward to elapsed
time 02:10:25:
http://waycamtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=b126029c43fe0a5697f9a85ddfcec745
Later in that meeting, the board resumed discussing the process for providing
input on the Director's review to the Town Administrator.  When they mentioned
they would conduct that review in open session, that prompted Don Ouellette to
firmly state that the board would be required to do so in executive session. 
Board members disagreed with Ouellette.

The board deferred trying to resolve that difference of opinion pending a check
with the Personnel Department.   Presumably they would be reminded that Wayland
lost a landmark Open Meeting Law case in the state's highest court regarding the
School Committee's evaluation of former school superintendent Gary Burton.  The
court ruled that public officials are required to conduct job performance
evaluations and deliberate publicly, while the resulting document is privileged
and ends up in the employee's personnel file.

At no time at the June 4 meeting did Ouellette indicate that his review and new
contract already had been completed.  Yet, two weeks later he disclosed he had a
new three-year contract.

In management theory, the structure set up in 2008 is known as Matrix
Management. About.com defines it:

"Definition: A style of management where an individual has two reporting
superiors (bosses) - one functional and one operational.

"This is commonly seen in project management where an engineer, for example,
reports to the chief engineer functionally, but reports to the project manager
on operational project issues......

"For a matrix management style of organization to be effective, the functional
and operational managers must have equal weight in controlling the individuals
in their matrix."

--- Linda Segal

VOLUNTEER VACANCIES

The following town government vacancies have been posted on the town website:

Finance Committee - One Vacancy
Wastewater Management District Commission - One Vacancy
Advanced Life Support Committee - One Vacancy
Economic Development Committee - One Vacancy
Cable Television Advisory Committee - Two Vacancies
Housing Partnership - One Vacancy
Wellhead Protection Advisory Committee - Two Vacancies

Letters of interest and background information should be submitted before July 3
to selectmen@... or Board of Selectmen, Town of Wayland, 41 Cochituate
Road, Wayland, MA 01778. Applicants should include a statement of interest and
resume with  education and experience (professional or volunteer) relevant to
the open position.

Applicants must be registered to vote in Wayland.  The Board of Selectmen is
expected to interview and consider appointments on Monday, July 9, Wednesday,
July 18, and Wednesday, August 1.

CAMERA VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

WayCAM, the town's public access cable channel, broadcasts many events and
public meetings  and wants to broadcast even more. More volunteers are needed to
meet the many requests for the station's services..

If you're interested in TV technology or informing the public about important
issues and if you can spare two to four hours per assignment, contact Jim
Mullane: jim@...; 508-358-5006.


WAYCAM PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIPS

WayCAM recently awarded its annual scholarships to Wayland High School seniors
Evan Barber and Riley Starr, who were cited for outstanding service in TV
production. Barber will attend Auburn University in the fall and Starr will
attend Quinnipiac University.

In addition to broadcasting Wayland meetings and other events, WayCAM trains
high school students. Over the years WayCAM has awarded nine college
scholarships, partly funded by dues of WayCAM members and contributions from
local businesses.


UPCOMING MEETINGS in Town Hall

Monday, June 25:

No selectmen's meeting
Operational Review Committee, 6:45 p.m.
Finance Committee, 7 p.m., discussion with Assessors, year-end reserves,
givebacks, etc. The FinCom must decide whether to increase contributions to a
fund for post-retirement employee benefits (OPEB) or let givebacks fall to free
cash. Free cash has been used in recent years to reduce the tax rate. At the
2012 annual Town Meeting, the voters declined to increase the 2013 scheduled
contribution to OPEB.

Board of Assessors, 7:30 p.m.
School Committee, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, June 26:

Board of Public Works, 7 p.m., Roles & Responsibilities & relationship with Town
Administrator
Planning Board, 7:35 p.m. continued public hearing, town center Stop & Shop wind
vanes

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Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor