Wayland water project loses 0 percent loan; town will appeal before Town Meeting

WAYLAND -- March 10, 2026, Wayland loses 0 percent state loan for water project, sets April appeal and public forum. The Board of Public Works learned this month that the Clean Water Trust ranked Wayland's long-term water supply application at 200 points rather than the predicted 500, denying the town a 0 percent interest loan central to financing the roughly $36 million project. DPW Director Tom Holder will testify at a March 24 appeal hearing, with a decision expected in April; missing the schedule would forfeit a $7 million MWRA entrance-fee waiver expiring December 2027. Chair George Uveges and Finance Director Brian Keveny said the town lacks the cash to make the first debt payment under any scenario Hilltop Securities modeled, calling it "an unsolved problem." The board also clashed with the Select Board over $200,000 in water retained earnings stripped from Article E, and confirmed an April 7 public forum at the Council on Aging. Snow and ice ran $700,000 over the $525,000 budget across 18 events.