Finance Committee backs $2 million high school wastewater fix as excluded debt

WAYLAND — February 18, 2026 — Wayland Finance Committee unanimously backs $2 million high school wastewater repair as excluded debt. The 7-0 vote sends the article to the Select Board on Monday and clears it for the 2026 Annual Town Meeting warrant, but the committee declined to act on a companion $2.5 million baseball and grass-fields rebuild, citing the lack of a detailed cost breakdown. DPW Director Tom Holder said the failed pump station has cost the town roughly $120,000 a year to truck wastewater, and town engineer Abby Charest's soil-absorption design replaces an earlier $5.5 million treatment-plant concept. Athletic Director Heath Rollins and baseball coach Chris Fay called the field "a topic of frustration" for a decade. Member Carl Barnes warned against pursuing levy debt with the hope of converting later, calling it "a shell game." The committee also endorsed the $38.6 million long-term water supply article 7-0.