08/19/2019 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes

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The Town's(unfunded)Plan to improve this situation has two key features: 1. Hybrid Solutions—The Plan proposes supplementing traditional sewering with innovative use of shellfish that naturally consume the nitrogen.The use of shellfish is expected to lower the overall cost of the project by 36%(potential savings of$90 million). 2. Adaptive Management—The Plan is built in five phases over the course of 25 years.This allows for the Town to attack the most severe damage first,test the results of efforts at each step, learn and adjust.There is room in this approach to adopt new technologies or solutions along the way.The Plan designers are hopeful that this approach may mean that the Town may never need to implement all five phases. Phase I of the Plan was scheduled to begin in 2017. It directly addresses provides for water treatment in an area at the head of the Mashpee River as well as shellfish propagation in Popponesset Bay,Jehu Pond and Hamblin Pond.The investment for this includes(in$ millions): Shellfish Aquaculture—year 1 $ 1.5 Collection System 20.0 Treatment System 11.0 Recharge Facility 1.5 $34.0 The operation and maintenance of the new facility is estimated to be$1.43 million and the shellfish cost will continue to be$1.5 million.A few things stand out in this budget: 1. The shellfish give a return without a capital cost.The efficacy of the shellfish strategy has already had a strong proof statement in recent data from the joint testing project coordinated by Wass Dartmouth.The annual cost for the entire shellfish program is comparable to cost to operate just a single wastewater treatment facility. 2. The majority of the capital investment is in the collection system,that is,the cost to build sewer pipes to the area homes and connect them to the treatment facility.This investment can be used with a variety of future water treatment strategies. To date,the Mashpee Board of Selectmen have not voted to fund Phase I.Some of the concerns discussed in recent meetings include: Cost—The full plan is projected to cost$250 million without shellfish and$160 million with shellfish. These numbers are large and, at first glance, produce sticker shock. The Capital cost for Phase I is$34 million and attacks the highest risk areas. The Plan is designed to make incremental improvements and test the results. By attacking the most severe problems in the beginning, the Town will be in a much better place to make future decisions. The sooner we start, the more we can learn and adapt. Neighborhood Effects—The neighborhood around the new treatment plant proposed in Phase I has voiced concerns about having such a facility so close to their homes.Concerns of its neighbors are important. But it's important to point out that the proposed Phase 1 plant will be more advanced than the existing plants which already operate efficiently and without damaging the property values of the surrounding premium real estate. The cost of the plant will be shared equally by all taxpayers in Mashpee with no betterment charges to the neighborhoods chosen for sewering.