The Town of Wayne Select Board voted unanimously Sept. 2 to accept $75,000 in Community Action Grant funds to pay for a hydrology vulnerability assessment and to approve the committee's recommendation to contract with VHB (Vanasse Hangen Brustlin) to carry out the study.

Town staff said the town applied for the grant late last year and was awarded the funds in April. The Community Action Grant Committee developed an RFP for hydrology consultants and received three proposals. Committee members reviewed proposals against the RFP requirements and scored them using a standard evaluation template; one bidder omitted a required RFP item and was marked noncompliant.

Committee membership and process: the Select Board heard that the Community Action Grant Committee included Paula Narcissian (coordinator), Taylor Stevenson (fire chief), Deborah Emery (aging-at-home representative), Daryl Polling (hydraulics specialist, former practitioner) and a staff member. The committee reviewed proposals from Haley Ward, Stillwater Engineering and VHB; after scoring and checking conformity with the RFP, the committee unanimously recommended VHB as the best fit for scope, timeline and presentation.

Funding and scope: Shannon (town manager) told the board the $75,000 grant is already in the town's possession and is earmarked by contract for a hydrology vulnerability assessment. Firms' proposed budgets clustered just under the $75,000 award; one proposal was roughly $68,000. The contract is expected to require no town match beyond the award, and the committee emphasized the budget cap in recommending the consultant.

Timeline and methods: The committee expects field work and GIS analysis to begin in the October-November timeframe, with site walks and data review through the winter, and a draft assessment due in March or April 2026. Consultants will rely heavily on GIS mapping and existing dam and culvert data to model water flows as part of the vulnerability analysis.

Motions and votes: The board first moved to accept the Community Action Grant funds ($75,000) and then moved to approve the committee's choice of VHB to conduct the assessment; both motions passed unanimously (4-0).

Contract next steps: The committee coordinator and town staff will finalize contract terms and proceed to execution in accordance with the grant contract. Board members asked that the steering committee coordinate with town staff on schedule and deliverables and noted there should be no charges above the awarded amount without board approval.