When residents of Jefferson Shores walked past the sewage pumping station in their neighborhood, they didn't like what they saw.

Broken siding, peeling paint, weeds overtaking the building - it was apparent that the place needed some work.

It's no secret that the town of Wareham isn't exactly flush with cash at the moment, so the homeowners association decided to take matters into its own hands.

"[Harvey Brooks] asked if he could tackle it," said Director of the Wastewater Pollution Control Facility Guy Campinha.

The newly beautified pumping station was unveiled Friday, October 4.

Brooks is the president of the Jefferson Shores Homeowners Association, and he credits Campinha and other town officials with allowing the group to take on the project without delay.

"There could have been a lot of red tape, but there wasn't," Brooks said, noting that the cooperation between the association and public officials was key to getting this done.

"That's unusual from a municipal point of view," he said.

According to Brooks, association members chipped in with carpentry skills, painting skills, time and money.

The project cost less than $500 in total.

"We hit a point where as we walked by it just looked so unattended to," said Brooks. "The sewer department was doing all the stuff they were supposed to do on the inside," but with numerous pumping stations in town to take care of, the aesthetics of the exterior generally come second to the functionality of the pumping station.

Campinha said he basically just stepped aside and let the association take the reins.

"You guys have taken care of everything," said Campinha. "you let me buy some paint," he said noting that the association was determined to do the project themselves.

Selectmen Peter Teitelbaum and Judy Whiteside came out for the event.

"This is great stuff," said Selectmen Chair Peter Teitelbaum. "I'm a neighbor to a pump station," he said. "The pump station has been operational for a couple of years , and we haven't gotten past the discussion phase," with regard to sprucing up the exterior of the building.

While there's no building at that pumping site, the fence around it could use a paint job.

Whiteside praised the efforts of the association and offered to donate some flowers to plant around the building.

"I think that'd look a lot nicer," she said.

Campinha gave all the credit to the residents of Jefferson Shores for taking pride in their neighborhood, and getting their hands dirty to make it better.

"This is purely community service," said Campinha. "We hope that it continues on here, and everyone decides to do something."