A new municipal building is being planned for the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Departments. During the February 12 meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board, members heard from Henri Renauld, Water and Sewer superintendent, regarding the new building plans.
Renauld stated that a combination of revenue sources will be used to offset the early construction estimate of $3,600,000. He explained that for years the two departments have rented space around the community for offices and for equipment storage. Now with the pending sale of two lots in the Bay Club and the sale of 33 Church Street, costs including possible borrowing will be offset.
Renauld said design of a new building was nearly complete and may include pump-testing areas, which will lessen the impact of paying to have pumps repaired and/or tested. He said there would be a Spring Town Meeting article for voters to consider any necessary borrowing for the building.
Budgets were also reviewed for the FY25 cycle. The combined increases equal 2.6% over FY24; the FY25 Water/Sewer operating budget stands at $2,721,489.
Also meeting with the board was Gail Joseph, health agent. Joseph and the board discussed a number of revenue-producing activities that might help in Joseph’s continued efforts to right this enterprise’s troubled financial past.
One immediate action planned is the raising of fees at the Transfer Station. With the high costs associated with both solid and recyclable materials, reducing tonnage was critical, Joseph stated. Now available at the Transfer Station are recycle bins for clothing and books. But food waste, which adds to the weight issue, was tougher to tackle.
“People don’t understand how important it is to compost food waste,” said Joseph, adding that people who bring their household trash to the Transfer Station are actually incurring double the cost to the town, since residential pick-up has already paid for that service. And regarding food waste, she said that there were future state regulations being discussed for removing food waste from the solid-waste stream altogether.
In discussing the need for a scale that could accurately calculate fees for construction debris, Joseph said that there were small portable scales available. The board asked her to look into that option. When asked how much construction debris was currently being captured and paid for, she responded, “35 percent.”
The board also asked Joseph to look into electronic devices that would allow the town’s cell phone at the transfer station to process credit-card payments. Currently, the department is only able to process cash transactions.
The FY25 operating budget draft for the Transfer Station stands at $174,980.
Recreation Department Director Greta Fox also met with the board. They discussed at length the various programs offered ranging from basketball to pickleball, summer camp, lacrosse, flag football and kayaking lessons. She said that Mattapoisett residents were considered first for openings in summer camp and that staffing for the beach looks promising for the season. The draft operating budget for the Beach and Recreation departments is $69,650.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board is tentatively scheduled for Monday, February 26, at 5:30 pm.
Capital Planning has also been meeting with department heads for their capital needs. The list for FY25 has as its number-one priority $360,000 for a new ambulance. Other items include: $40,000 for ambulance stretcher; $11,000 new Fire Department helmets; $18,000 hose replacement; $75,000 Highway Department pickup truck; $300,000 annual road improvements; $32,900 paging server Old Hammondtown School; $32,900 paging server Center School; UTV with stretcher $25,000; $8,000 replace pump forestry Fire Department vehicle; $50,000 Town Hall exterior-trim painting; $10,000 Highway Department exhaust fan; $18,000 Old Hammondtown water heater; $25,000 library elevator upgrades; $130,000 Pine Island culvert-design engineering; $18,000 Center School water-heater replacement; $26,000 fire door replacement; $20,000 Center School window seals and $25,000 Old Hammondtown VCT flooring.
Mattapoisett Select Board
By Marilou Newell