'History has been made.' Mashpee voters take $96.1M stand on more sewers, connections

MASHPEE — During the special and annual town meetings on Monday , voters overwhelmingly chose to pass clean water and wastewater initiatives.

About 464 voters trickled into Mashpee Middle-High School , each being assigned to an electronic voting device for the first time.

Town Moderator John Miller waited for most voters to be seated, and kicked the meeting off at about 7:15 p.m. with "Pat Costello Day." Town Counsel Pat Costello was honored for his roughly "30 years of dedicated and professional service" said Select Board Chair John Cotton. Costello will retire, according to Miller.

Discussion was especially lengthy on Article 4, which pertained to $96.1 million needed to construct Phase 2 of the town's comprehensive nitrogen and wastewater management, treatment and disposal improvement plans , including expansion of the Water Resource Recovery Facility adjacent to the town's solid waste Transfer Station. Costs also related to property easements.

Voters also piped up surrounding Open Space purchases - another article considered a clean water initiative, according to the warrant.

Voters want to conserve open space

Leading up to the special town meeting, Community Preservation Committee Chair Arden Russell Cadrin told the Times she wasn't sure if voters would want to spend $100,000 on an updated open space plan, in Article 8, and $2.8 million on a 17-acre open space purchase in Article 10.

Article 8 passed unanimously with a voice vote. But when Article 10 came before voters, there was discussion between the Finance Committee and several speakers about the millions required to purchase the 17 acres of land on Mashpee Wakeby Pond. The Finance Committee said it wasn't in favor of Article 10 because members hadn't had a chance to vet the sale price prior to town meeting.

The money would come from existing town Community Preservation Act funds, argued Save Mashpee Wakeby Pond Alliance Member Susan Dangel .

Russell Cadrin said the purchase price for the 17-acre parcel wasn't included in the warrant description because it wasn't available by the time the warrant was printed.

"This is a really important purchase for the town. This is a clean water initiative," said Russell Cadrin.

Dangel said Mashpee ponds are in bad shape. As she stood at the microphone, she held up a photo on a sign that showed a yellowish-green color that she said represented the color of the waters of Mashpee Wakeby Pond in summer of 2023.

"One of the things we did when our alliance formed three years ago was put protecting undeveloped land as one of our critical charter initiatives," said Dangel. "The people that want to sell the (parcels) want to conserve the land."

Article 10 passed 301 to 114 votes.

Wastewater initiatives move ahead in 'historic vote'

Before a vote was taken for the annual town meeting's Article 4, which asked voters to authorize $96.1 million to implement and construct Phase 2 of the town’s comprehensive wastewater management, treatment, and disposal improvement plan , Cotton read a statement as a Mashpee resident.

"All committee boards and commissions in Mashpee are working together to ensure that we are doing the right thing. Restoring the waters of Popponesset are not only legally required, it is the right thing to do," he said. "Our waters have gotten worse than many have expected."

With Phase 1 underway, an affirmative vote for Phase 2, said Cotton, will make a significant dent in nitrogen removal.

"Phases 1 and Phase 2 of the sewer give the town a state of the art treatment plant with the capacity to sewer as many as 3,000 homes," he said. "The two phases combined build the plant and connect homes."

When voters asked if the the wastewater treatment plan will guarantee cleaner waters, Select Board member David Weeden pointed to annual testing conducted jointly by the town, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and Umass Dartmouth , he said. As Phase 2 initiatives move forward, data will continue to be collected, he said.

Superintendent of Wastewater Management Jared Meader said, for now, numbers are based off projections. It will take years, he said, to see results throughout Mashpee waterways. "The one thing we do know, is that with sewering, we are removing nitrogen," he said.

"The intention is to give Mother Nature a hand. She is in such bad health right now," said Meader. "We are just trying to take care of her."

Article 4 passed 358 to 27 votes.

"History has been made tonight," said Miller.

Money for a police station design approved

Voters discussed the roughly $2.7 million sought to pay for the design of a police department building on Frank E. Hicks Drive. For some, there was confusion over whether the design would be for renovations or for a brand new building.

Department of Public Works Director Catherine Laurent said the town did a feasibility study to look at whether the town should pay for renovations of the police department building or for a new building.

"The decision was to move forward with a new building," said Laurent. The motion carried with 252 votes.

The sole article to fail: water discharging fees

The annual town meeting Article 27 asked voters to consider the prohibition of discharged water from properties onto streets, sidewalks, court, lanes or public roadway. Violations and enforcement would require residents to pay a $300 fee.

Discussion during Town Meeting noted the vagueness of Article 27, and a lack of guidelines, according to one town resident.

Laurent explained that intensive rain storms are creating isolated areas of flooding, and the town isn't able to accommodate all required improvements.

"This will just give us the resources that if an abutter is contributing to a problem, that we can have them, contribute to the solution," said Laurent.

Discretion, Laurent said, will apply.

"The intent of the bylaw is not to go after a property owner who may be discharging a small amount of water," said Laurent. "This is intended for larger properties, and larger parking lots where they do not have adequate stormwater infrastructure on their own property."

With town residents leery of the details, the bylaw failed 168 to 105 votes.

Special town meeting results

Mashpee town meeting results

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com . Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: 'History has been made.' Mashpee voters take $96.1M stand on more sewers, connections