![Last Wednesday, the Wayland School Committee gathered to discuss a number of topics regarding the health curriculum and Innovation Career Pathway course. Another large topic of conversation was the ways to potentially mitigate distracting cell phone usage. "These [phones] are going to distract your learning and social relationships," Superintendent David Fleishman said. "That's concrete right there."](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-at-9.49.31 PM-1200x886.png)
![Troy Hoyt finishes the Boston Marathon, running for the Hoyt Foundation. T. Hoyt is the son of Hoyt Foundation CEO Russ Hoyt.
“[Running a marathon] might seem like a big thing, when it’s presented to you at first, but if you break it up and just keep telling yourself, “Yes, you can,” you can start chipping away at it. And before you know it, you’ll be running the whole 26 miles, and you won’t even think twice about it.” T. Hoyt said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/C36E8761-1CBB-452E-9DF2-543EF7B1095E_1_105_c.jpeg)
On June 5, the Town Select Board and the Council On Aging (COA) unveiled the new community and senior center: the Council On Aging Community Center (COACC). The event, which took place at the Wayland Town Center on 8 Andrews Ave, began with speeches before breaking out into games and food for the community to enjoy.
At around 4 p.m., speeches began to commence the opening ceremony, and town government officials spoke prior to the ribbon cutting. These speakers included, but were not limited to, Director of the COA Julie Secord, town manager Michael McCall and many members of the Town Select Board along with COA Friend’s Board. COA Friend’s Board is a group that partakes in COA events, but is not on the board itself.
After several speeches were given, two certificates were awarded to COA Board Vice Chair William (Bill) Sterling in honor of his generous support in the establishment of the new building, which included his repeated requests for funding from the state.
“[The opening of the COACC] has been a long time coming and it’s really wonderful to see,” COA Board Member Carol Glick said. “We owe a lot of this work to Bill Sterling.”
The actual building process was the least arduous part of this project. In fact, funding took many years and hard work to get approved and secured. The select board and COA worked together to put this project together, with the estimated cost of construction costs rounding up to about $12 million. The select board and COA received their building permit in Jan. 2024, and the construction team began their work in February of 2024.
While the COACC was initially supposed to be a senior center, they adapted the project to become a community center to reach all people in the community. Their mission for this new building was to reach all people in the town, including senior citizens, youth, veterans and anyone who may have good use for the recreational space.
“I like it in [the COACC] building a lot,” Wayland resident Pauline Hoagland said. “It’s very nice and modern and it is obvious that there was a lot of dedication to detail put into this place.”
At the opening ceremony, restaurants and food vendors in the town center came to sell food in booths. The Bagel Table came to sell some baked sweets as well as cool beverages, The Local served hot appetizers and snacks and Giacomo’s sold large cheese pizza slices. Finally, there was a Kona food truck with shaved ice cups and flavors to add into them, making for a cool treat on a hot day. Along with these food and beverage options, gift bags of courtesy were offered to all community members there to support the grand opening.
“We are very excited for this community center to be opening because it has been a long project and has been eagerly awaited for by many Wayland residents,” Wayland resident Deacon Hoagland said.
The Recreation Department also set up a series of games and activities for youth attending such as a bouncy house as well as other inflatable games. Kids could be seen playing on the inflatable structures. Furthermore, there consisted of a summer safety discussion with the Wayland Health department. To top it off, the DJ John Berry played music for the opening ceremony.
After the official ribbon cutting, the rest of the day consisted of a series of events within the cool air-conditioned building’s activity rooms and open spaces. The Sustainability Team gave presentations on how the new building achieved net-zero carbon emissions, and Land Manager of Wayland Conservation Brian Harris gave a presentation on the many bird species native to Wayland. Drop-in Children’s activities also took place in the activity rooms led by the Recreation Department. Events lasted until about 8 p.m., closing with a show by illusionist Lyn Dillies which required tickets to enter.
“The new center is very neat, clean and inviting, and I look forward to having a new place to go in town,” local senior Carolyn Drapkin said. “I love that it isn’t just for us seniors but for the whole community as well.”
