Playground, soccer fields, sewage up for votes at Town Meeting
By Chloe Shelford
On Monday night, Town Meeting will consider funding a new playground, soccer fields, improvements at the wastewater treatment plant, and a feasibility study for a new Public Safety Complex, along with a ban on conventional plastic bags.
Town Meeting will be held in the High School auditorium at 7 Viking Rd. All registered voters are eligible to attend, participate, and vote. Because the town is trying out electronic voting, voters are urged to arrive early at 6:30 to sign in and learn how to use the hand-held devices.
Town Meeting will be asked to take the first step toward building a new Public Safety Complex, which would house the Wareham Police Department. The facility could also be the headquarters for other public safety departments, like the Wareham Emergency Medical Services and the Department of Natural Resources. The warrant article would fund a feasibility study.
The new facility could be located at the site of the current Police Station on Cranberry Highway, at the Decas School’s current location on Main Street, or on town-owned property on Minot Avenue.
A one-year moratorium on “social consumption marijuana businesses” has been proposed by the Planning Board. These establishments would be similar to a bar, in that patrons could purchase and consume marijuana in the business.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is currently developing the regulations for this kind of business. The Planning Board explained that the town needs more information before deciding whether or not to allow these establishments.
Another article would tweak the definition of “motor vehicle service” to allow those businesses to tow cars to the shop for repair.
The Planning Board also wrote the bylaw to make it clear that towing vehicles for storage is a use that has to be considered separately by the board.
Two outdoor recreation projects are up for Community Preservation Act funding. CPA funds come from a property tax surcharge for recreation, affordable housing, open space, and historic preservation.
The Wareham Youth Soccer Club is seeking $40,000 to create five new soccer fields on the Westfield property off Charlotte Furnace Road in West Wareham. The club has raised an additional $30,000 for the project.
Currently, the Soccer Club plays at the Decas School. Softball teams use some of the fields at Westfield. The funds would also be used to create a new parking lot and to purchase goals, other miscellaneous equipment, and a storage shed.
The second project up for Community Preservation funding is a new playground for the Shangri La neighborhood. The existing playground, located at 10 Peaceful Ln, frequently floods and has almost no equipment, as the majority was removed after being deemed unsafe.
Carol Malonson, a member of the Neighborhood Watch and Playground Committee, has spearheaded the project, and is requesting $220,000 in funding. The work planned is extensive: The drainage problems would be fixed, the basketball court would be upgraded, new equipment would be added, the playground would be fenced in, an accessible path would be added, and so would a pavilion to provide shade on hot days.
Malonson hopes to use the funds to purchase two play structures (one for kids ages two to five and another for kids ages five to twelve), a four-seat swing set, a toddler swing set including an accessible seat, a “Herculean Climber,” a merry-go-round, and two teeter-totters.
Both projects were recommended by the Community Preservation Committee and the Board of Selectmen.
Three articles would fund various projects related to clean water and the town’s sewer system.
One asks voters to approve the town borrowing $350,000 for the septic loan program. The program allows the town to offer low-interest loans to homeowners to cover the costs of connecting to the sewer or replacing or upgrading a failed septic system. Residents then repay the loan along with their real estate tax bills.
Another article would establish a Stormwater Management and Illicit Discharge Bylaw, which is required by the federal Clean Water Act.
The bylaw would be part of an effort to reduce pollution by targeting “pipes connected in the wrong place dumping the wrong stuff,” explained Town Planner Ken Buckland.
The Board of Sewer Commissioners is requesting $10 million to fund three upgrades to the Water Pollution Control Facility: a new raw wastewater lagoon, new denitrification filters, and a new “wet weather equalization” lagoon. The fixes are intended to help the facility manage peak flow times as well as infiltration flows following particularly wet weather.
Infiltration refers to the fresh water that enters a sewer system through cracked pipes, faulty storm drains, and sump pumps illegally connected to the town sewer.
Currently, when the plant receives more wastewater than it can handle, the foul-smelling wastewater overflows and contaminates the groundwater and Agawam River.
Town Meeting will also weigh in on a proposed ban of conventional plastic bags.
The bylaw, submitted as a citizens’ petition, would require all retailers that provide bags to customers at check-out to offer a recyclable paper bag, reusable check-out bag, or a plastic bag that is compostable and marine biodegradable, rather than a traditional plastic bag.
To view the complete warrant, visit the town’s website: wareham.ma.us.
