1999-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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costs and will be supported when it's time to move Report of the ahead with funding and implementation. Sewer Commission We look forward to your help with that effort. I i I To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Respectfully submitted, j the Citizens of the Town of Mashpee F. Thomas Fudala, Chairman Dennis H. Balzarini, Vice Chairman At the start of this report,please let us thank you all John J. Cahalane, Clerk/Secretary for your support of the Commission's Town Meeting request to fund a long-needed plan for wastewater management in Mashpee. We greatly appreciate the $405,000 loan authorization received at the May Town Meeting and the $40,000 of supplemental funds voted Report of the in October. Leisure Services Department As we have all now come to recognize, existing loading of nitrogen to the watersheds of the Mashpee River, Shoestring Bay, Waquoit Bay and other coastal I am very pleased to submit to the Board of waters has exceeded the capacity of those waters to Selectmen and the citizens of Mashpee, the Annual deal with it, resulting in the loss of our eelgrass beds Report as Leisure Service Director: and the shellfish resources that depended on them, as well as in fish and shellfish kills due to low oxygen OUR MISSION levels, "pea soup" water and increasingly foul odors. These conditions will only get worse since much of To meet the needs of our community by promoting the nitrogen in our watersheds has not yet reached the quality programs and recreational activities that are bays. designed to enhance self-esteem, personal growth and development while focusing on the educational,socio- Following up on the nitrogen sensitivity study of cultural, and economic interests that influence our the Popponesset Bay estuary currently being done by health and well-being. Dr. Brian Howes and the Center for Marine Science and Technology, the Commission has now taken the GROWTH next step toward developing a solution to the Town's To fully depict the e wastewater and nitrogen loading problems. After an efforts of the Leisure Services exhaustive consultant selection process, we selected Department, I'd like to show the massive expansion the firm of Stearns & Wheler, along with Dr. Howes, and increase in services by a comparison to our posi- to prepare a Watershed Nitrogen Management Plan / tion in 1994. In just 6 years our revolving account has Effluent Pipeline Preliminary Design identifying the grown from $29,000 annually to $200,000. This most cost-effective approach to reducing nitrogen in revolving account is used to temporarily house pro- PP g g each watershed to levels that do not harm the bays. gram and event fees which covers the cost of equip- ment, supplies, one full-time employee, numerous i` With their assistance, as well as that of a number of part-time staff and instructors, and facilities used in Town officials and residents, we were successful in support of our programs. obtaining a $405,140 zero interest loan from the Commonwealth to develop our plan, having the high- During the last year, Leisure Services has taken est ranked of the 37 planning projects approved for g expanding opportunities great strides in ex andin o in the follow- funding. We are now in the process of finalizing con- ing areas: increased use of Schools; After-School I tracts with our consultants and completing the legal childcare & Summer Camp; Adult Continuing requirements for obtaining the state loan funds,as well Education; programs for Older Youth; and Special as putting together the preliminary data needed to Events. Continuous development in these areas along begin the project. Once those steps have been com- with the growth of offerings such expanded activities pleted, we anticipate beginning an 18-month planning as the Kids Klub Pre-School, youth enrichment and process in the spring of 2000. Throughout that youth sports skills programs, along with Adult Sports process, we intend to seek the involvement of as many programs has kept the Department growth oriented of you as possible, in order to develop a plan that and creative. meets our needs, but is also realistic in its goals and 142