Millions of people across the globe set resolutions every year to try something new, get back to something they love or make a change that will bring about a positive outcome for themselves or others.

Some resolutions are big, some are small and others may not even end up happening at all. 

However, through commitment and hard work, Wareham saw a number of its New Year’s resolutions come to fruition this year. 

For Wareham, 2023 was a year of renewal. 

For the first time in years, residents welcomed back the Division 4 State Championship basketball trophy, the Veterans Day Parade, a bookstore and new equipment for the sewer plant. 

They also experienced a number of firsts, including the opening of an animal hospital and a dog park as well as the celebrating of Pride Month in Onset and the development of a “first-of-its-kind” sewer project.

Wareham embraced both the old and new in 2023. Here’s a peek at what that looked like.

Sewer

The sewer system in Wareham got a few upgrades approved in 2023, though both of them came under the scrutiny of residents. 

The year started with Swifts Beach residents pushing back on a plan to handle a collapsed sewer line by installing "grinder pumps," which treat wastewater as it leaves people's houses, at 130 homes. After the project got canceled, businessman Danny Warren proposed a first-of-its-kind project to repair the damaged lines. Construction began in November. 

Meanwhile, the Sewer Commissioners went to Town Meeting requesting to borrow up to $36 million for a project to upgrade two of the sewer plant's pieces of machinery, its headworks and clarifiers. While a Special Town Meeting held in July did not approve the Sewer Commission's request, the Sewer Commission brought the project back to Fall Town Meeting with a more extensive presentation and got it approved. 

Neither project addresses the sewer system's lack of capacity — a problem that became ever more apparent this year due to new Title V regulations for Cape Cod — though the regulations do not apply to Wareham just yet. The Department of Environmental Protection also set new limits on how much nitrogen can enter the Wareham River watershed. 

Those new regulations may require the town to expand its sewer connections to bring people off of septic, but the town currently has a sewer moratorium in place, banning new connections until the sewer plant gains more capacity. 

Housing

The need for affordable housing became starkly apparent for all of Massachusetts in 2023. 

An influx of migrants overwhelmed Massachusetts' family shelter program led to homeless families being placed in motels around the state, including at Wareham’s Atlantic Motel and Mariner's Inn. 

Wareham organizations such as Turning Point and the Key Club helped support the homeless families in their stay, and are helping to support the chronic homeless from the Wareham area. 

The homeless population rose in 2023, according to Chuck McCullough, chair of the Wareham Area Committee for the Homeless. Seven individuals who were chronically homeless in Wareham died due to their unhoused state this year. 

The town made progress in affordable housing development in regard to both construction and funding. The extra funding allocated brings the town closer to meeting the statutory requirement, which stipulates that affordable housing accounts for 10% of Community Preservation Act spending. Through the last fiscal year, Wareham only reached 8.7%, according to a study from Tufts University. 

Spring Town Meeting approved $300,000 for an affordable housing project at Littleton Drive, but rejected $400,000 for a Woodland Cove development, concerned about the project's interaction with the community. Both projects are well underway, and will add 93 and 63 housing units, respectively. Fall Town Meeting approved $150,000 for an affordable housing project for six homes on Chapel Lane, and also allocated $150,000 to Wareham's Affordable Housing Trust. 

Developments

This year saw the start and end of many construction projects and businesses in Wareham.

In April, nine years of planning and fundraising finally paid off when community members gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the $286,000 dog park on Maple Springs Road, which was completed in a partnership between the Dog Park Affiliation and the town. 

In June, the property for the new building for Damien’s Food Pantry was cleared and construction began. This was followed up in September with a “Topping Ceremony,” celebrating the completion of the new roof and providing an update on financing for the project.

Wareham residents were amped up this year for new businesses, including the addition this past June of a Barnes and Noble at Wareham Crossing — the first bookstore in town in over a decade. Residents also saw the opening of the Wareham Animal Hospital in November — the only urgent care facility for pets in town.

It was also a year of goodbyes, including bidding farewell to the tradition of chopping down the family Christmas tree at the Mr. Chris property across from the police station. After four decades of service, Chris Gabriel moved his hair cutting business to Main Street where he has been operating out of Looks Unlimited since September.

Honoring people

Just this year, Select Board Chair Judith Whiteside said, “Wareham has a reputation — well-deserved — for taking care of people.” 

She said this when welcoming the migrant families who came to stay at the Atlantic Motel on Depot Street in September, and although this reputation was on display the past few months for those families, they weren’t the only ones honored and supported this year. 

For the first time in six years, Wareham celebrated Veterans Day with an official Veterans Day Parade. Boasting two grand marshals as well as an array of floats, walkers and vehicles, the parade themed “Honor Our Veterans” brought hundreds to Main Street for the Saturday, Nov. 11 holiday.

And for the first time ever, Onset celebrated Pride Month, which was first recognized by Wareham back in 2021. The Onset Bay Association kicked off the month of celebrations with a flag raising ceremony and silent auction. 

The town rallied together in support of the Wareham High School varsity boys basketball team, who won the Division 4 State Championship for the first time in 13 years. The Vikings beat the Springfield International Charter School Bulldogs 66-40 in the championship game, held at the Tsongas Center in March. 

The accomplishments of this year only fuel resident motivation as they begin to ponder what their next big resolutions will be for Wareham in 2024.