Ayer Select Board Approves $899,000 in Water and Drainage Contracts at May Meeting

AYER — May 5, 2026 — Ayer Select Board approves nearly $899,000 in water and drainage contracts and hears warning about Sandy Pond Beach staffing. The board voted unanimously on three DPW contract items: a $528,360 agreement with low bidder CHP for 2026 water main and drainage work on Grove, Church, Elm, and Forest streets; an $18,232 change order for the nearly complete Mill Street Drainage Improvements project; and a $352,319.57 change order for PFAS treatment upgrades at the Grove Pond Water Treatment Plant, partly funded by an Army grant. Town Manager Robert Pontbriand disclosed that Parks Director resigned April 16, leaving no full-time parks presence during the busiest time of year, and that Sandy Pond Beach has only three of the 11 minimum certified lifeguards needed to open on its new June 23 start date. "If things stay at three lifeguards, we're not going to be able to open the beach," Pontbriand said. DPW Director Dan Shaw also reported that Ayer's Main Street reconstruction project has been proposed for deferral in the draft regional TIP from federal fiscal year 2029 to a split across 2030 and 2031, with bidding now unlikely before October 2029, as nine of ten regional projects face similar delays due to roughly 50 percent cost increases from inflation and tariffs.