After publicly criticizing the Town Center Septic Task Force for failing to look at all the septic plan options available and to accept the realities of Title 5 requirements, the Board of Health sat down with the task force last week to seek common ground.
Led by Chairman Chris Ashley, task force members Tim Clark, Ron Ricci, and Leo Blair sought input from the board on the task force’s warrant article seeking $40,000 to fund a study on septic options for town center. The article would be funded through the stabilization fund, and would require a two-thirds vote both at Town Meeting and at the ballot box.
Since being formed by a motion of the Board of Selectmen in December, the task force’s position has evolved from one seeking to recommend a single course of action at Town Meeting, to one seeking diverse options. Article 14 will propose raising $40,000 to be expended by the BOS to contract and oversee professional services regarding septic system design and the creation of a septic model. The money would also be used to inform residents of associated costs through public forums. After the study is finished, resolution will be sought at the next Town Meeting, whether specially called or regularly scheduled.
“We’re seeking your input on the current proposal in the warrant article, which is substantially different from the one envisioned in December,” said Clark.
“It’s now clear we need a process to look at a range of potential solutions,” added Ashley, “to flesh out a full range of solutions for each part of the question, whether on-site septic for Town Hall or the [old] library, or municipal tie-in to the schools’ wastewater treatment, or the will to create a town center septic system.”
He said the task force needs to present “an organizational blueprint that will meet success…and create a solid foundation for debate.”
The task force also seeks to create a subcommittee, said Ashley, “with participation from a number of standing boards in town.” He suggested it would be up to the selectmen to set up a committee of “the willing and able” to oversee the study if the town approves the warrant article.
There was disagreement among task force members as to how the study would be managed.
Task force member Leo Blair said, “I believe the jurisdiction should fall under the Board of Health and [the subcommittee] should report to it. The Board of Selectmen would have the financial control. This territory has been traveled several times before. [Doing otherwise] would be met with skepticism and would poison the debate.”
Clark said that, although permitting related to any changes in septic options for homes in town center would be addressed by the Board of Health, control of the subcommittee should fall under the selectmen, since it is an infrastructure issue.
Health board chairman Tom Philippou said, “The first step is to explore the technical solutions to the problems faced by the town. The data-gathering should be overseen by the Board of Health. This project is very worthwhile,” he added. “The data will be applicable not just to the town center but the rest of town [as well].”
Ashley voiced the task force’s frustration with the lack of progress to date on sewer options for town center.
“Some voices are saying [go for] a townwide sewer, and some [say] don’t do anything ’til they fail. Neither one is actionable.” He continued, “The information evaporates. We want funds for public information—on the town website, mailings—to add to the body of public knowledge to inform the debate. We want to create a reference library for the town.”
Clark volunteered that “it is conceivable that we won’t spend half [the $40,000], depending on the outside piece [the consultant].”
Task force member Ron Ricci observed that there have been many proposals over the years. His concern is getting the required two-thirds vote to get the funding.
“There is tremendous reluctance to give any money to this. I don’t think anyone knows the amount spent so far studying this. [The Master Plan study began in 2000.] We need deliverables at ATM.”
“We’re not interested in any more studies,” added Clark, “just due diligence… If the answer is ‘do nothing,’ it’s an answer worth knowing.”
Ricci disagreed. “We have at least one building [the old library] we can’t do anything about since it doesn’t have a workable septic system. We need a proposal at the end. Nothing is not an answer.”
Blair said that one of the components of the new proposition “is that individual septic solutions would be considered…We would get something for our money. One of these [solutions] is for the old library.”
Ashley added, “If there’s no stomach for the broader economic district, we can still decide what is the solution for the library, for example. It’s the only way we could envision getting this process to come to a conclusion.”
Nashoba Associated Boards of Health sanitarian Ira Grossman said he thought the task force’s approach was too open-ended.
“If you give the data to the consultant you must formulate the questions carefully,” he said, adding that any solutions proposed by consultants should specify whether they would include unlimited capacity for growth, or just solve the problems of present town buildings.
Grossman recommended that the project be broken into three components: the municipal solution [for town buildings], a revitalization component, and checkerboarding, which he called the worst approach.
“The more users, the cheaper the project,” Grossman concluded.
