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First, Special Town Meeting (STM) Monday October 27 Results here
What is the “Quad Board” Meeting?
The Select Board has periodically invited the School, Capital Planning and Finance committees to meet together to have deeper collaborative discussions and proactively plan together. They recently met on November 12th.
From the October publication of the Maynard Voice, according to Select Board Chair David Gavin “One of our primary goals for this Fiscal Year and beyond is to focus on the consistent and better utilization of long term forecasting models to assist in the development of our budget as we move forward .
“Our meeting is intended to give all of us involved in the development of our budget insight into the challenges we face and to provide an opportunity to discuss how we move ahead to meet those challenges “
“Our challenges extend to a number of capital initiatives that are looming on the horizon. We have learned from the past that a lack of preparation to address our pressing needs often leads to decisions that are not made with any long term vision in place. I’m confident that we are going in the right direction towards a sustainable future that is consistent with our vision for the future“.
Coupled to these Capital planning initiatives covering buildings, equipment and vehicle assets, there is an updated longer term forecast to develop our water capacity and improve its quality. So first, a look at Water resources…
Newly released Water Supply and Treatment Master Plan
The Department of Public Works (DPW) Water and Sewer Division is responsible for ensuring that the town’s water supply meets or exceeds all EPA and DEP guidelines for safe drinking water and that all wastewater is collected and delivered to the wastewater treatment plant.
You may have heard that our town’s most urgent priority is protecting and increasing our water quality and capacity to support increasing demand. The recently released long range master plan, in collaboration with our Engineering Consultant Stantec, outlines the reasons for this. Furthermore, development opportunities to support our revenue generation for necessary services and financial sustainability remain vulnerable to current limitations. The Town continues to embark on a proactive approach to overcoming these limitations with local, state and federal initiatives to protect and improve our water resources.
The full new Master Plan and summary information and guidance are available on the town website here.
Excerpts from the Town DPW website and the Water Master Plan
The Road Ahead
The Master Plan sets a phased strategy that evolves with population growth, technology, and funding opportunities. It prioritizes near-term upgrades (2025–2030) while laying the groundwork for long-term investments (2045–2075). The plan is designed to be adaptive—reviewed and updated regularly as conditions change.
Water supply increases needed (from the Master Plan Sections 8 and 9 Recommended Alternative and Road Map):
“Increasing water supply for the town is urgent. Finding and placing new wells into service in the vicinity of existing Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) has comparatively lower cost and a quicker implementation timeline than the infrastructure upgrades needed to solve the Town’s long-term water quantity and quality issues. The Town should proceed with pump testing at the test wells advanced at Rockland Avenue to determine how much additional water can be produced at the site. Additionally, the Town should commence the permitting process for TW (Test Well) 2-21 and TW3-21 to place them into service ahead of Old Marlboro Road (OMR) WTP upgrades that will enable the WTP to handle higher concentrations of iron and manganese.”
Key Takeaways
The Town of Maynard is taking a proactive, science-based approach to protect our most essential resource—clean drinking water. Through careful planning, investment, and transparency, we’re ensuring that Maynard’s water remains safe, sustainable, and affordable for generations to come
One of the main goals of the Master Plan is to provide a framework for proactive planning rather than reactive response. This means prioritizing work based on regulatory compliance deadlines and likely near-term water quality violations while also bundling together important upgrades (and infrastructure maintenance) to future-proof the system.
Immediate Action is Necessary
- Develop new well sources at Rockland Avenue and Old Marlboro Road (OMR).
- Evaluate distribution system storage, water usage, and water quality.
- Implement PFAS treatment for all water sources.
- Add essential pre-treatment so PFAS systems run efficiently and address contaminants contributing to current or future non-compliance.
Water Supply and Treatment Master Plan Recommended Alternatives
To meet the long-term (2075) water capacity needs of the Town, the two alternatives considered are:
Alternative 9: Combining the Green Meadow and OMR well sources as an upsized WTP and maintaining the upgraded Rockland Avenue WTP through 2075 alongside an MWRA interconnect (whenever it can be established), and Alternative 10: Combining the Green Meadow and OMR wells for treatment at a single WTP at the OMR site and decommissioning the upgraded Rockland Avenue WTP once an MWRA interconnect is established.
In order to make a final recommendation, the following information is required from the MetroWest MWRA Feasibility Study:
• What will Maynard’s initial capital investment be in the overall interconnect extension?
• What is the cost per gallon of MWRA water purchased from Sudbury?
• Will there be annual costs separate from the cost of purchased water to MWRA (or Sudbury) associated with maintenance and replacement of the MWRA-owned assets?
• Will MWRA require a minimum quantity of water to be purchased on an annual basis, either for economic viability or water age concerns?
Once these questions are answered, a cost comparison can be developed for the two alternatives. Regardless of the status of the forthcoming MWRA Feasibility Study, both alternatives assume the following major system improvements in the short-term:
• Implementation of potassium permanganate instead of chlorine as a pre-oxidant at Green Meadow to reduce DBP formation potential;
• Address inadequacies in the backwash recycling system at Green Meadow;
• Optimization of operations at OMR and Green Meadow to reduce risk of iron and manganese breakthrough; • Distribution system master planning and water quality study, including the development of a unidirectional flushing program (UDF);
• Increase well capacity at both OMR and Rockland Avenue and complete the associated WMA permitting;
• Add PFAS treatment at Rockland Avenue and complete necessary upgrades identified in the condition assessment; • Combine OMR and Green Meadow well sources for treatment at a new WTP at the OMR site to address organics, iron, manganese, and PFAS.
Operating and Capital Budget Updates at Quad board meeting
A Brief overview of early FY2027 Operating Budget balancing status can be found here:
Revenue and expense early estimates for FY 27
And from the Mass. Municipal Association (MMA), read a very enlightening overview of the squeeze most Massachusetts towns are seeing on revenue from the state and other sources needed to meet needed expense increases: https://go.boarddocs.com/ma/tom/Board.nsf/files/DMMGW345BA8A/$file/MMA_APerfectStorm.pdf
Longer term Capital Planning
Over the past year, The Capital Planning Committee (CAPCOM) completed a comprehensive inventory of all town assets, assessing their condition and estimating points of failure (and estimated timing of needed replacements). The results, along with a detailed equipment and vehicle analysis, are outlined in this document, CAPCOM’s 5-Year Capital Plan and on ClearGov.
Ben Zauski of the CAPCOM presented a summary of capital improvement requests as documented in their supporting software on ClearGov, as well as some debt scheduling impacts and debt payment retirement schedules. The presentation can be found here.
CAPCOM Goals:
• Forecast expected major capital expenses.
• Provide a complete, strategic view of town assets to inform better decision making and understand the impact of project delays.
• Improve public understanding of capital planning and project priorities.
• Build a centralized database of all capital projects in ClearGov for transparent tracking and organization.
FinCom view on tax bill impacts:
Nathan Wigfield of the Finance Committee (FinCom) also presented graphs showing tax bill impacts of various upcoming major capital initiatives and a ten year history of tax bill % increases. These tax bill impacts only factor in some of the near term projects being considered for debt borrowing. This type of analysis can be used to help stakeholders decide priority based on available funding and spreading the debt over time to minimize tax increases:
According to Town Administrator (TA) Gregory Johnson “The Select Board is now considering the appointment of a Building Committee to advise the Select Board and Capital Planning Committee (CapCom) on facility-specific capital planning and execution”.
November 04, 2025 Town Administrator Gregory Johnson’s Monthly Report here.
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