A Saturday morning public meeting regarding sewer projects in the Parkwood Beach and Oakdale and Cromesett Park neighborhoods was standing room only, as residents packed the Town Hall Auditorium to ask town officials and a representative from engineering firm Camp Dresser & McKee about costs related to those projects.

The meeting was originally intended for the Oakdale and Cromesett Park residents, where sewer construction began this summer. However, discussion of combining that project's costs and charges with the nearly complete Parkwood Beach sewer construction brought Parkwood residents out in force. Helping to fill the room were Agawam Beach residents, there to express concern about future sewer construction in their neighborhood.

In a similar presentation as one made at the July 27 Board of Selectmen meeting, John Sanguinet, assistant to the Board of Selectmen, provided residents with estimated "betterment" costs, the amount each homeowner must pay to cover the sewer extension to their particular area. Parkwood Beach residents could be looking at a $15,300 betterment, while Oakdale and Cromesett residents could pay $22,100.

"Again, these are only estimates," Sanguinet stressed.

Betterments must be paid within 20 years and carry a 2-percent interest rate. Residents will be notified when they can tie into town sewer, at which point the betterment fee will be added to their tax bills. Homeowners have one year from the notification date to tie in, though they can delay doing so for up to five years if they have a newer septic system. However, delaying the tie-in will only defer the yearly $584 fee assessed to all sewer users. Betterment payments will be charged as soon as homeowners have the ability to tie in.

In addition to the betterment payment and yearly sewer user fee, property owners in newly sewered areas need to contract with a town-certified drain layer and pay to connect to the sewer. Sanguinet estimated the cost of connecting at $3,500 to $4,000.

Final betterment costs will not be known until construction in each area is complete. There is a construction contingency built into each contract and, if it is not completely used, or construction costs go over the contingency, betterments could decrease or increase, Sanguinet said.

Meeting-attendees expressed frustration at the Board of Selectmen's method of determining betterments. The total cost of a sewer project is currently divided evenly among the homeowners who benefit from it. In earlier times, Wareham determined betterments by road frontage and how much pipe was needed to tie a particular property into the town sewer.

"I think the Selectmen really need to sit down ... and come up with a plan that's equitable for everyone," said Oakdale resident Ronnie Robinson.

Cromesett resident Bill Scharnick wondered if the fees could somehow be shared amongst all taxpayers. "This is a betterment for the entire community," he said.

Residents and officials also discussed whether the costs for Parkwood Beach and the Oakdale/Cromesett projects could be combined and divided equally among residents of those neighborhoods. It was fear of such a plan that prompted the Parkwood Beach Association to present a petition to the Board of Selectmen at the July 27 meeting. The petition asked that the board keep the contracts and costs of the Parkwood Beach sewer project separate from all other sewer projects.

According to Sanguinet's estimate, if the contracts were combined, the betterment would be about $17,800 for every property owner in all three neighborhoods, an increase for Parkwood Beach residents and decrease for Oakdale and Cromesett residents. Historically, sewer contracts have not been combined, which prompted many to question whether doing so would cause legal problems.

Also questioned was whether $1.4 million in state stimulus funding, given to the town for both contracts, could be applied in different amounts to both contracts. For the purposes of his estimates, Sanguinet had divided the funds evenly. How to divide the stimulus funds would be the Board of Selectmen's decision, he said -- raising the possibility of partially closing the gap between Parkwood and Oakdale/Cromesett assessments without combining the projects and doing an equal division.

Selectman Brenda Eckstrom, who represented the board at the meeting along with Selectman Walter Cruz, said she hoped the board would make its decision on how to determine the betterments within the next couple of weeks.

Sanguinet, as well as Town Administrator Mark Andrews, said the town is continuing to look into additional stimulus funds and other funding that could help bring down the costs of the projects.

"The numbers can only go south, in my opinion," Andrews said.

The town began upgrading its sewer system in 2000, after the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection mandated that 12 Wareham neighborhoods be sewered over a 20-year period. All 12 are on or near the water, have a history of septic failures and have groundwater levels too high for continuation of on-site wastewater treatment. The town also completed a $23 million upgrade to the sewer plant in 2005, as mandated by the DEP.