Select Board Approves New Casella Waste Contract

Select Board · Meeting of June 23, 2026

Wenham Select Board locks in a five-year, costlier trash contract and swears in two new officers. The board voted 5-0 to authorize the town administrator to sign a five-year waste contract with Casella Waste Services, accepting a 20 percent year-one increase with 4 percent annual escalators, well below the 60 percent hike once feared. Recycling totes shrink to a single 96-gallon bin, with an optional second tote for $75; member Benjamin Tymann called the change "a little disappointed" but workable.

The board also swore in Menardson Dumas and Matthew Kincaid as full-time officers under Police Chief Napoli, accepted a Perkins Fund donation for department wellness screenings, approved a $17,500 Affordable Housing Trust grant to Habitat for Humanity for 7 and 9 Maple Street, and signed off on construction easements clearing the way for the long-pending Route 1A traffic safety project, first requested by the town in 2007. Gary Cheeseman returned to the board after winning reelection.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,789 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of June 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.