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.

Question 1 Passed!

Important measure for the health of the Popponesset Bay passed yesterday in the town election

Yesterday, in a resounding 75% vote of approval, the citizens of Mashpee approved a debt override of $2.4 million that will fund the planning process for a wastewater treatment plant on the northeast side of town. This plant will remove significant amounts of the nitrogen that is damaging the ecosystem and water quality in the Mashpee River and Popponesset Bay.

The vote came on the heels of a close vote at Town Meeting last week on the same measure. This is a significant step forward but just part of the journey to ensuring clean waters and a healthy town.

Special thanks to our supporters who vote in Mashpee!

It Truly Takes a Village

Thanks to the hardworking efforts of our young community, the Spit is staying clean of unwanted trash and litter.

With so many people visiting and enjoying the Spit these past few weeks there is a great amount of trash being left behind. We are finding that visitors are not taking care of our special respite. The need for volunteers is huge.

While most of us are sleeping, Ella Szymanski, a Newton South high school sophomore and her friend, are on their kayaks heading to the Spit for an early morning clean-up. They enjoy the quiet of the Spit and are able to do a thorough clean-up since not many people are out at that time. Ella also visits the Spit at other times during the day to make sure that trash is not evident.

Sixth grade twins from Newton, Jonathan and Jessica Slopak join their mom Julia several times a week to help out. They stroll the beach with bags in hand and always find some trash to clean-up and drag home.

Part of SPB’s mission is to keep the waterways in and around Popponesset Bay safe and navigable and to protect the wildlife reserve on the Popponesset Spit and ensure water quality for generations to come. Today, it is the future generations who are truly making a difference Thanks to the help of our young neighbors, the Spit and surrounding waterways have a better chance of staying clean.

If you would like to lend a hand and volunteer, please contact Kathy Cramer – kccramer@comcast.net.