Town of Mashpee
Blue Ribbon Comprehensive Committee
October 27, 2005
The Town of Mashpee Blue Ribbon Comprehensive Meeting was called to order in Conference Room #2, Mashpee Town Hall, 16 Great Neck Road North, Mashpee, Massachusetts at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday October 27, 2005. The Chairman, Don Myers, presided.
Blue Ribbon Comprehensive Committee members present: Zella Elizenberry; Chuckie Green; Lee Gurney; Beverly Kane; Glenn Santos; Bob Sherman and Douglas Storrs
Also present: Tom Fudala
A quorum being present, the Chairman called the Meeting to order.
Approval of Minutes
Minutes still being typed up and edited from the last two meetings so we anticipate we should have both copies of both minutes prior to next week.
Board Items
Water Resources/Water & Wastewater Facilities/Coastal Resources
The Chairman discussed high priority areas from the last meeting. He stated that the first area was water resources, water and waste facilities, coastal resources; the second area land use and growth management; the third area transportation and the fourth was economic development. He said that three members of the committee present would discuss what the comprehensive planning outright in those areas would be.
The Chairman stated that the three members of the committee have looked at comprehensive guidelines. He said those individuals would put forth their thoughts, based on their readings. Hopefully we will have outlined these areas, getting an action plan on growth, said the Chairman. Getting down to some of the specifics of what we want to do. Other resources we may pull in towards the end of this evening. The Chairman commented that an action plan in each area specifically might not be answered tonight.
The Chairman said that he was through with rehashing what has or hasn’t been done; he stated the group needed to get to the next step. He stated the committee was a working action committee. “What are the problems that we can proceed with?” he said
Chuckie Green spoke first. His subject to research was water resources. One reason he brought a map with him, was because he had some suggestions and some thoughts, he said. Chuckie stated that he would like to add to the agenda-a new member and shift to that agenda. Motion to add to the agenda.
The Chairman said all in favor say ”Aye.”
All commenced to say “Aye.”
The Chairman added that the committee had a new member in the ad hoc committee. John Miller-at-large representing the Conservation Commission. The Chairman asked if Lee Gurney or Beverly Kane had any points and both of them said “No.”
The Chairman stated that without further ado then, they would really get started on their first topic, which was water resources, wastewater facilities and coastal resources. He opened it up to whoever wanted to state their particular ideas and thoughts regarding that.
Chuckie Green stated that the number one problem in coastal resources was the nitrogen load. He brought a map showing all the neighborhoods. His first thought was the possibility of satellite sewer systems. The reason was because the Town of Mashpee has some specific regions that have large populations and are not in treatment for nitrogen at all. Some close to the water, some close to contributing factors to the water. He named specific areas and showed them on the map. The Santuit Pond area direct feeds into the Santuit River, which feeds Shoestring Bay and Popponesset Bay, Pirates Cove, which feeds directly into Popponesset Bay. We have some areas of large contribution; he stated He said that he thought the best bang for our buck is satellite sewers. He said that he was not talking about new
construction; but existing situations. High populations. He mentioned areas of high nitrogen levels. The travel time was short. He said that Pirates Cove was essentially the same idea, currently updated Title 5’s. South Mashpee, Popponesstt flushing the ocean. He saw key areas that are high areas, thinking of ways we could put these things under tertiary treatment. That’s what we need to look at, and Tom, you can step up whenever you want, he added
The Chairman said “That’s the point of building- we actually did this scenario. One of the things you’ve got to recognize is that they did this scenario. Anything that goes directly into the bay- over half of the town-all of it is nitrogen. Currently 50% nitrogen. The ponds reduce nitrogen. In the northern part of town, there are no freshwater treatment facilities. You’re focusing on high-density areas. You mention satellite facilities. Great idea satellite facilities! Said the Chairman.
The Chairman spoke and said I think that what maybe what I should do Tom, either now or up in my office a map which shows the recharge and the consistency is going to the base. How much of the town’s go to the base? After the subrecharge areas which ones are going directly to the base and which ones and those that are further out? the Chairman asked.
The Chairman said it is probably longer than a ten-minute discussion there is a lot of valuable information. It’s a facilities discussion. But I think it would be reasonable thing to restore and refocus and obviously plan ahead related to give a presentation to us regarding what the Sewer Commission in regard openly addressing some of your questions.
Tom Fudala said, “I‘d actually start with the MVP reports. In a study, that mapped out what the problem is. I would talk to where the recharge areas so you could see them. If it was possible. That would be a good place to start. The Sewer Commission as you know, we started up our progress reports we were told to by the State to wait until the MVP project is done. I can tell you what the concept is, we don’t have the results in.”
The Chairman said: “Do we have a timetable at this point?”
Tom Fudala spoke: “We’ve always had a timetable. We started about four months into the project and we just stopped it. Theoretically. We have four to eight months left to go.”
The Chairman said “But from concept into actually something happening. Can you form results so people can see in these affected areas tangible results in these areas that you address?”
Tom Fudala spoke “The tangible results are that it is up to the townspeople to vote their money. Put into the capital facilities plan. At this point we’re developing plans cost associated with it. You may have seen the town of Chatham spent 210 millions dollars for necessary facilities in the town of Chatham by the years 2054.” “We have looked at different scenarios on how to charge this; we will have to do this sort of thing. They’re developing something in phases, he added
The Chairman said that his concern was that the 50 years probably would have been so damaging to us that there is nothing left to save, period.
Chuckie Green stated “How about bang for a buck, the areas closest to the base, we are endowed with current technology, with current septic system practices?”
Tom Fudala said “Understand the situation, this is just the stuff right along the shores. Like I said, the whole town will eventually get to the bay, except the New Seabury Country Club. Parts of Some of these are getting continuing a long way. Sandwich is getting to the bay eventually, but they are getting 85% reduction to the pond and to the river.”
Chuckie Green commented” Travel times, closest to the rivers, short travel times further away from the rivers, your getting longer travel times. So it is in time.”
Tom Fudala said “If you look at the distance there may be cases where you get high density near the bays. That makes sense. But also I want people to look at all along, we have eight private treatment plants that have sewer systems. Mashpee Commons, Willowbend. If we’re looking at bang for the buck, we have to look at cost there, too. That’s the kind of balancing act we’ve got the do on the facilities plan in the next year or so, he said.
Tom Fudala said “That’s what I‘ve been saying in town meeting all along what we’re going to to come up with a plan that’s the most efficient bang for the buck. And there’s other things they are doing besides wastewater treatment. Taking old cranberry bogs may be more cost effective. Certainly looking at neighborhoods situation I’ve seen the cost of these sewer pipes are $250.00 to $300.00 a foot. It’s most efficient for a larger treatment plan rather than a small one. Right now we are not too impressed with the results. Compared to what we had expected. We don’t have a magic bullet. Balancing the cost of all that verses effectiveness.”
Tom Fudala added: “Let me ask this in regard to if we were to sewer these areas, obviously we had to have septic plans. Changes. We have the land to make sure and we need to make sure the land is appropriated quickly. Two of the projects we have completed were county funded, not town, one is them a grant used to develop an example of an example of a sewage collection system for the Popponesset watershed. To show the sources of the Popponesset marsh ended up with seventy miles of pipes and twenty pump stations. The pump station sites were located at sites that I mentioned, we have town land. That was reasonable. We identified chunks of town land plus a discharge area as places of what would happen to that water most of it going into Foster River and Mashpee River. Two levels of discharge at that
site. Have looked at sewer areas-will be presenting a town report in November and we can get the report in two days. We have been doing those things, but it is scary looking at the land you have available close to discharge.”
The Chairman said “ It’s all been real frustrating for me. Now we can get started next year-we’ve got information from the state. I don’t have the answers for you now.”
Glenn Santos spoke to the Chairman: “Tom I have a quick question-last week attended the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Cape Commission—wastewater. To me it sounds like a no-brainer, all the towns should agree on it. The Cape Cod Commission is going to be funding the bill so to speak to do all these studies, for instance like the walkway estuary, part of it’s Mashpee, part of it’s Falmouth. A lot of the recharge comes out in Sandwich from what I was told in that meeting. The different bayments. Barnstable has a problem with Barnstable and Yarmouth. It’s not just one town. And they figured a doing more reasonable approach with no cost to the individual towns. I guess they are having a vote on the 17th.”
Tom Fudala said “There’s no county funding for doing these studies trying to coordinate the whole concept of the collaborative is to use the power unity to seek funding from state and federal sources. To try to help out all the towns.”
Glenn Santos spoke “The point I’m trying to make is what we’re doing I know that we already been in this for a number of years What I’m trying ask Tom, what the clerk 's trying to do is that basically duplicating efforts for what we are already doing.”
Tom Fudala spoke: “It’s sort of a vague concept, but it’s all about coordinating different towns. “We’ve been talking to the towns before. They have excess funds at the end of the year. It’s a formal way towns gather and get federal funding-that’s where any extra money will come from.”
Tom Fudala said, “It’s a great first step-absolutely appropriate step as is funds we could get funding. If the Everglades got a hundred million dollars. I feel very strongly about a toilet tax that needs to be levied on everyone on Cape Cod. Everybody flushes the toilet. 90% of the people don’t believe that it costs anything to them. There needs to be a tax every time we flush the toilet. It costs money every time we flush the toilet.
I don’t want to say what might happen but will happen. Building in Zone 2. We overestimated the maximum flows in Mashpee. Centerville uses 80 thousand gallons a day. People are going to have to pay for that and that’s the bottom line. We’ve got to pay to solve the problem, where it’s a toilet tax.
Tom Fudala added, “ At the public information campaign, nobody realized they were the problems they’re going into major public information. If you have a septic system you are part of the problem.”
Beverly Kane spoke: “I have a different take on this. This is an 18-month group it’s all good to have all this background information. But I think we have to be careful in setting goals for this committee. To develop action plans that is going to help the problem.”
Beverly Kane also added: “#1 We’ve identified and described the resources and the uses of our estuaries. We know, simply put, there’s too much nitrogen. I think we have to try not to duplicate other committee’s work. I see the whole sewer system, which is the biggest contributor for nitrogen, is septic systems. I don’t see this committee being able to construct any action items that would go along with the Sewer Commission. They’re doing the work. To me, that portion of lets, say 66% of the total nitrogen.”
Beverly Kane continued, “What I think we should do we should concentrate on a town wide education program and concentrate on fertilizing, storm water discharge, and run-off. Those areas where we can come up with bi-laws or regulations whether it be by the planning board, the board of health or the conservation commission. At least have an impact on making twelve to 14% in terms of those areas that contribute to the nitrogen problem. And the other question I have in my mind, I don’t know where along the way we became wedded to the big flush toilet.”
“We flush away our human waste. Does the Board of Health in Mashpee permit a composting toilet? Say I want to put a composting toilet in my home. Why do we have to have flush toilets anyway? It’s a waste. We don’t have any other permanent way to get rid of our wastes,” she said.
Glenn Santos said “You’re right Beverly. To make a perfect example, 70% of the sewers, the clean effluent in Florida what they use it for is irrigation, for golf courses, town islands, ball fields everything. Of course they need irrigation out of the year, up here we need it maybe three. If we got an effluent going at a million gallons only for two to three months of the year, that’s the kind of problem we have, also.”
Beverly Kane said, “That’s just an idea. In terms of people fertilizing their lawns, we have to understand we have a responsibility to the earth. That’s part of the problem. They’re many innovative ways to garden, for example. Is to take your roof run-off and run it through your vegetative area. So that it gets the treatment it needs. As opposed to Running down the driveway, running down the street, running to the drain system. Which is to me where this committee should make a difference. I don’t think we should what the Sewer Commission does; they’re already working on it. I think we ought to be careful not to take what other committees work on and imitate them. We’re fairly limited on our time frame and we should focus on the areas we can produce
bylaws or regulations that will make a difference.”
The Chairman said, “Beverly, I don’t disagree. I would add one of things that we can do is to get the message out. To get a message to reemphasize to the community. Also to the extent we support the actions, we would need additional support by the town. One of the things we can put forth expected to be put out by this committee articles. There’s nothing stopping this committee this is the situation this is what we think will help you in this process or your not going to see the results of it for a period of time down the road, but this is a reclamation to provide the resources that are necessary.
The Chairman added: “I believe we have a short-term phase; there are some longer-term things that will clearly outlive this committee. But if we’re able to help to move those forward then I think it’s clearly an option to do them.”
Chuckie Green said, “I agree Mr. Chairman that we want to do that and I also agree Beverly that we want to educate the public. I need to know how we do this. Educating the public is one thing, but as far as fertilizing a lawn we use that as a quick example or as to go by a certain standard. Do we have to bi-law certain applications? Let’s do it! How we do it?”
Zella Elizenberry said, “I think there are some things we can go forward with. Newer homes in town don’t have run-offs. They maybe called drywalls. (Interjection from The Chairman: “That violates the zoning!”) One of the things this committee is to stay focused and meeting and our charter is to come forth for going in. One or two good ones can be fine.”
Tom Fudala added, ”There’s a list of suggestions I just want to interject. The sewer plan taking part. How are you going to pay for it? Have people put money into escrow now, letting them get by, saving money to get listed for a sewer system. That’s one of the things we can talk about. Right now, what we’ve got on the ground is more than the bays can handle. You still have to look at what’s coming as adding to that problem. Every new thing we build will add to that problem. There is some way to help people. We have more land to be developed, how much added to the problem. Demonstrated by that survey everybody is concerned about water quality, but nobody realizes that they are the problem.” “We have to have some way to tell people that we
can’t have that much nitrogen,” he said.
That is what the guys are going to tell them. We actually have the same p.r. firm that the county has hired as part of our subcontractor to do public education as part of our project. We have the same people; hopefully not duplicate the same pamphlets. So there are two educational campaigns that are at work here.”
Beverly Kane said, “Cape Codders do not understand nitrogen. Reviewing what other towns have done, what I think we need to do and get it in the hands of every single resident in the town of Mashpee. Mail it or somehow. Because that’s what we have to do first. We have to have people understand what it is that we’re trying to do, what the problem is and the prospects of being involved.”
The Chairman said “Maybe we could take some steps at working with our school system. Teaching the children if you learn it to conserve up front when you’re young, then it becomes ingrained in your actions when you get old.”
Beverly Kane said “Look at recycling, they’re doing it in the schools.”
Tom Fudala stated “Educating the young people, so it becomes ingrained, educating the people that are here, anyone that moves into Mashpee and buys a house; they should be given informational packages. So that they really know that the Town cares about its’ environment.”
Beverly Kane said, “That’s a great idea.”
Tom Fudala said, “I’ll give you an example, drive by Town Hall all the lights are on, all the time.”
Zella Elizenberry said: “What I was saying earlier, you’re not going to have to police the guy next door who is putting fertilizer on his lawn. What I was suggesting was that the people who do things professionally like have professional limitation on the type of chemicals that they use on our town. It’s fine to come fix up Joe Blow’s yard, but here are the kinds of things you can use and here are the kinds of things you cannot use.”
Tom Fudala asked, “Does it require a license to be one of those professionals who are applying those chemicals?”
Glenn Santos answered: A landscaper, but you can go down to the hardware store and get weed killer and whatever.”
Zella Elizenberry said, “We have had a brain session to capture a lot of new ideas that we can format and take home to the public. Talking about education is all year long-what can we suggest-a working season to get things done.”
The Chairman said, “That was the purpose of tonight. Which is what it is we throw up on the board to stick. Make sense and what we can actually do something with. It’s a very, very complicated issue, how can you regulate the individual homeowners. We may be able to regulate commercial suppliers from some sort of licensing or regulation from that standpoint. But the average person who can run down to the hardware store and put fertilizer out every other week so that they can have the brightest green lawn in the neighborhood.”
Glenn Santos spoke “The brown lawn is the new green. Seriously. Sea fescue. We have to change the sort of mentality that a bright green lawn is actually a negative.
We should have one contractor. Water District didn’t make a lot of sense, that’s why we shift in to the community. We went to the Water District, which did not want to address the issue at that time when the charter committee was created, we actually had the same meeting with the chairman of the water commission to address that issue. Some day, maybe.”
Zella Elizenberry added: “Either way, the taxpayers of the town are going to be paying for it though.”
The Chairman said: “Other towns what I have seen is you as a homeowner pay for the water going into your house under the assumption if I put 1500 gallons in, I have 1500 coming out somewhere on the other end.”
The Chairman added “And it’s all combined together and it truly came down to, whatever your usage was coming in, really dictated what you would pay.”
Glenn Santos said: “That’s how operating costs are paid for in any sewage system. Whether it’s through the water district or a separate bill, you still have operating costs, you still have the capital costs you’ve paid for betterments and you pay through your taxes.”
Zella Elizenberry spoke: “Well if it isn’t rocket science. Then let’s get it started. How we do it, that’s the first step.”
Douglas Storrs said: “We sit down with the water commissioner and say ‘Why not?’ What do you intend to do? Bring the selectman en mass and have them say, here’s the model. Why not? Why don’t you want to do this? What is the water districts anxiety over taking our control and let’s solve this anxiety.”
The Chairman said: “I think we raised an excellent question which we probably don’t have all the answers. We don’t have all the answers to make an informed decision. Not that we don’t have a good idea, I think we need more information.”
Zella Elizenberry said, “I don’t want the idea to lose attention.”
The Chairman said: “The answer is what would that entail and what can it be done. Yes we think it’s a great idea, go back to the selectmen and say we think you should go with this.”
The Chairman added “ The whole purpose of tonight and the next several sessions is that we are going to start bubbling out ideas, really start working ideas down and saying what is reasonable, what makes sense, that sounds like a really good idea, we need to have some more information to see if it’s workable. This is the type of thing this group is supposed to come up with. Action plans.” “Right now we’re talking about ideas to reduce nitrogen,” he said.
Tom Fudala said: “Education is first, we should figure out what others are doing about it already, like Gatekeepers.com. What is currently happening and what can we do in addition to what’s currently happening?”
The Chairman said: “The number of people who know about them can be counted on one hand.”
Zella Elizenberry said:” We need ongoing activities.”
The Chairman replied “And that’s why I made the suggestion about getting involved with the schools. Because the school can set up a program as part of their curriculum, to make sure that we are bringing the message to the children in elementary school grades, junior high and high school.”
The Chairman spoke: “Lee you raised the point to make a natural lawn. Is there a natural lawn versus and unnatural lawn?”
The Chairman stated: “I believe that there are other places that already do that. If you have a green lawn, you’re paying more than the people who have a brown lawn next to you.”
He added “Grey water irrigation let me put that on the board.”
Glenn Santos stated “If I could say a few things we’re talking about school, we’re talking about education, there’s already a system in place if the town takes advantage of it and that’s the DPW.”
He added: “Last year I spent a lot of time at the Horace Mann School in Marstons Mills, it’s part of my job in Barnstable. Fifth grade class they were tough. They threw questions at me that I had to go to the office and call the DEP for answers. And on the DEP Website, they have programs for all grade levels of school. It’s basically a competition. They got an award because they were the top five in the state. The kids were in the scoring, it was a big, advertised thing, the kids felt very good about themselves, the parents got the point, as far as the education and they started a recycling program there in the building. That’s something the DEP offers. The contract we have with SEAMASS, the waste energy plant, anytime I needed anything from them and Mashpee’s the same
thing.”
Tom Fudala spoke: “DEP is a resource, that’s what we’re saying.”
Glenn Santos added, “On the Web page, any teacher can go on-line, you want to come up with a program, you can get grants, and a lot of that education stuff is there. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. But SEAMASS they’re a source of revenue for paying for these programs. Every time I called them up and said listen I’m giving a speech for the third grade class. They give you all the paraphernalia as far as handouts at no cost and it’s at a third grade level. What I’m saying it’s already there, because that is part of the contract we have with SEAMASS, 50% out of every time that we pay, that we actually can get back for waste reduction mercury disposal, that’s a 100% reimbursement. This is what you get back from SEAMASS, all the towns. They will
come back with they have a representative that works for that to teach the resident and the kids about what items in your house have mercury in it, and mercury reduction and all that. That’s out there.”
The Chairman said: “Let me ask you this question-You’ve done this in Sandwich, Barnstable but you haven’t done it in Mashpee at all as part of in the school system?”
Lee Gurney stated: “One of our action items is have the town manager or board chairman contact the school superintendent and have it go.”
Glenn Santos said: “There’s information out there on the DEP Web page for the teachers and the principals. That’s education. Along with other lines, we’re talking about fertilizer and all that. I’ll try to send it out to everybody tomorrow, there’s a company out there, Agrisource, and they are basically the pioneers of composting and recycling of yard waste and materials. They’ve taken river dredging and done salt-water marsh restoration projects. The fields up in Danvers, it was deplorable, basically what they did was put organic layers on the fields. It’s something the town might say, listen we’re going to do this innovative new system, it’s all organic, you cut the fertilization down from six applications, down to like three or four a
year. In the fields they lowered their watering by 40%. Water conservation and a lot less fertilizer go on the ground. Because they were putting in organic. If you understand loam and compost, your organic count is two, it isn’t too good, but if it’s up around seven, then it’s really good. The grass and the plants and everything do a lot of that too, everybody's getting flyers sent to their house. Compost is recycling. Rather than going down the street to buy peat moss, you have a leaf pile in your back yard and you take that compost and that’s great for growing plants or whatever. There's a lot of stuff out there. In the school, that’s pretty much in place, that’s pretty much where it is and how they can use it. That’s something that I say, just for instance “The ball fields down here on Rte.130, they used organic and it came out beautiful. I’m going to do that.”
The Chairman said: “That’s true, leading by example is one of the best things we can do and as you pointed out, there’s a lot of material out there and we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Making the right recommendations giving the recommendation to the school, they have a program, that’s definitely the way to go. That’s something I think they would be very receptive to. These are the types of kind soft things that we can do to help move forward and addressing small ways. And if we have enough of all these small things, we can make an impact. And continue to get the picture out on the bigger things. We don’t have on our list there.”
Barbara Kane said: “I’d like to see what they do currently. I have no idea what they do.”
The Chairman spoke “One of my other hats is: What are our educational people doing in conservation and nitrogen.”
Zella Elizenberry spoke: “Being very clear, compile a list of recommendations to the Board of Selectmen.”
The Chairman stated: “ We are supposed to come up a plan that we can give to the constituents so that they can vote on something.”
The Chairman said: “In what we were talking about tonight, we were talking about nitrogen. I think we spent the last hour and a half really trying to come up with some of the issues, come up with things to give everyone in town an education. We also have some things that we need to be educated on.”
Tom Fudala said:”Do you want me to bring information from the estuaries? There is an executive summary on each report. The Popponesset report, the Quoshnet there’s a separate report for Quoshnet and Hamblin Pond. Also materials on nitrogen issues. Just so you know what’s gong on from the state. That’s one thing is we have to understand the scale of the problem and where it’s coming from.”
Douglas Storrs added: “I don’t think we have completed the core of our conference. We should continue it in out next meeting. It’s directly tied to land use and management. I think our zoning is a huge department problem. If we continue to allow our government to mandate sprawl.”
Tom said: “It doesn’t and it hasn’t for many years.”
Douglas Storrs added: “You can interrupt me. But right now, I’m saying I think our zoning is a huge part of the problem. You can disagree with me, that's fine. But if we continue to see this sprawl form of development occur, which has been dominant with us in the last 20 years, that’s directly tied to the waste water problem.”
Zella Elizenberry said: The point, Tom, is the grand fathering areas in town; we need to get rid of them. Look at this and see if we can make this change.”
Beverly Kane added “If we mandated septic tanks would that gives us any meaningful reduction in nitrogen. Would that have any impact at all?”
Glenn Santos said “Basically what that does, your routine pumping basically keeps your system from failure. It keeps the grease and the salts from backing up and getting into your leaching system, which will end up eventually plugging it up. As Tom was saying a Denite is a straight better than a straight Title 5. A Title 5 is better than a cesspool. The best system is the Anferdrome Sewage Treatment Plant System; it will get almost basically everything out.”
Beverly Kane said: “Don’t get the compost and the toilet.”
Glenn Santos said: “For the gray water irrigation. As far as pumping, Beverly, it’s not going to remove the nitrogen. What it does it keeps the solids from getting into your leaching system, which is going to make your have a failure. What we see with emergency failures, people own a house for fifteen twenty-five years never had a pump out, that’s why it failed.”
The Chairman added: “A lot of people do that, they let it go to that point and it’s still there.”
Zella Elizenberry said: “Can we mandate a town meeting.”
Glenn Santos said: “I don’t think that’s something being done by the town meeting, I think it’s something that has to be done by the Board of Health.” What the Title Five does, you get more of the phosphorous out and other contaminants out and the nitrogen nothing,” he stated.
Glenn Santos added: “That’s one of the problems that we as a Board of Health Chuckie had a very good point when we started this whole discussion. We don’t see the problem, we can’t correct the problem unless you sell the property and we find out that has to be inspected, and there’s been evidence of failure. In years past if your system is in failure we can’t force you, to denote the system even though it might be close to a well or close to a wetland. But we’ve been more proactive by requiring people to do that and also if it’s in failure and there’s town water available, we won’t want you on town water. That’s something we can do around the perimeters of Title 5. You have to come out and actually say all cesspools in town are illegal,
you have five years to that’s going to be a big think to chomp off, as far as trying to enforce. Like Chuckie’s point, unless you’re selling it or it’s in failure, we don’t know what the damage is happening or what kind of damage is in the ground,” he stated.
The Chairman said: “Can I interject at this point. I believe that this committee should not be afraid of making decisions that may not be as popular but we believe are necessary.”
Chuckie Green said: “Most of the decisions we make are unpopular anyway, that’s the nature of the beast. We may not be reelected. We are facing some tough choices, some bad situations those situations, no matter what, people are not going to like the fact that O.K.? You’re saying I’m responsible for making this problem now I have to be responsible to fix it. That’s not going to make a lot of people happy. O.K. But we have one of the two worst bays on the Cape. There is a reason and we are the reason. People are going to accept that and say fine, well, I’ll do my part, is not going to be an easy thing. We have to look at the whole picture, we have a beautiful community, we have beautiful beaches, beautiful bays, even though we are in tough shape, we’re
going to get worse, every day we put off doing something, we are degrading our community and degrading our town. And it will cost us. And each day will cost us more.”
The Chairman added “Given that the time, I have a couple of action items. One of them would be talking to the school board regarding nitrogen, conservation, and environment.
What are the pros and cons regarding of having the water district be also responsible for wastewater management?”
Chuckie Green said: “I would also approach the town manager about what her situation would be providing funding and resources to head up the educational program so that we can go forward with this.”
Adjournment
The Chairman said: “Those are three specific things we are going to take away tonight. I have a rather optimistic agenda, that this committee will make a significant difference on all these issues, they’re very big and I don’t think we can solve them all in one day. I would suggest at our next meeting, which would be in two weeks.”
(The October 27, 2005 Blue Ribbon Comprehensive Committee was thereupon dissolved at 7:45 p.m.)
Respectfully submitted,
Kimberly Hurd
Board Secretary
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