Wayland panel hears Melmark pitch as Cochituate Road report takes shape

WAYLAND -- January 8, 2026, Wayland's 212 Cochituate Road Advisory Committee heard from high-acuity disability provider Melmark as it races toward a Feb. 15 report. President and CEO Rita Gardner and Bill O'Hearn described their Tewksbury intentional community, four five-bedroom homes, a 20,000-square-foot day program, coffee shop and greenhouse on three and a half acres, funded through a $1 million endowment transfer, a $6 million campaign already at $4.5 million, and a no-interest CEDAC-style loan. Gardner said the co-located model required federal "heightened scrutiny" review and warned Wayland that DDS regional directors, not towns, control placement priorities. Chair Tom Fay then led a page-by-page edit of member Jean Milburn's draft, with Bill Adams and Bill Whitney pushing the report toward smaller, multi-home scenarios over a single large structure. The committee meets next Jan. 29.