No Dogs, No Wake!

With Summer here we are seeing a lot of people enjoying the Spit. We would like to remind you that Dogs are NOT allowed on the spit until after Labor Day. We not only encourage SPB supporters to say something to people with dogs on the Spit, we are COUNTING on them to do so. Simply stating the rule and walking away is a huge help.

We would like to remind all boaters about the new no wake zones and to please be aware of this change. Also, a reminder that the channel dredging was impacted due to mechanical challenges and the Covid-19 delays and that there was a little less than half of the sand that was expected to be dredged out of the channel and deposited on the Spit this year. They dredged 4000 cubic yards of sand and we were hoping for 8000+. All boaters should be very careful at low tide in the outer channel. The town is working on a plan to improve the dredging process and results for next year.

We are in need of New Seabury Village Ambassadors. As an ambassador, you will attend your village’s annual meeting and events. Your primary goal will be to liaison between SPB and the community. Meet with other village ambassadors to determine the best way to get the community involved in our mission. Skills required: passion for SPB.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Save Popponesset Bay. Your commitment of financial support will allow us to preserve and improve the area we all love, our “happy place”. SPB is run by a Board of volunteer neighbors from the Popponesset Bay area, so 100% of funds go directly to protecting and maintaining the Spit and improving the safety, water quality, and navigation in Popponesset Bay. Please click on the link below to make a donation.

Mashpee Town Meeting

Mashpee Town Meeting voters approved a $2.48 million debt exclusion for the design of a wastewater treatment plant, a $60 million operating budget and the purchase of a bog near Santuit Pond on Monday, June 15.

The 265 voters in attendance turned out clad in masks to fill the Mashpee High School gymnasium, some overflowing into the cafeteria. All were seated six feet apart for the more than two hour meeting.

The design of the wastewater treatment plant, proposed for adjacent the transfer station, garnered much discussion before receiving the required two-thirds vote, 175 to 75. The debt exclusion still requires a majority vote at the ballot box on Tuesday, June 23.

“We’ve known that our bays and estuaries [have] declining water quality, we know the cause” said the chairman of the selectmen, Andrew R. Gottlieb, before the vote on the treatment plant. “We’re never going to fix our problem until and unless we begin to build the necessary treatment facility and the sewers.”

Those opposed to the treatment plant, many from the adjacent Asher’s Path community, raised concerns about the cost, the impact on property values, the plant’s proximity to a capped landfill and potential scents from the plant.

The Town Meeting approval of the design of the treatment plant marks the largest step toward implementing the town’s nitrogen management plan to date. The final draft of the plan, which aims to reduce nitrogen outputs and restore the water quality of the town’s waterways, was completed in 2015.

A unanimous vote passed a pair of articles meant to help fund the expensive sewering and wastewater projects to come. The articles created a wastewater infrastructure investment fund with a two percent real estate surcharge.