Falmouth $2.6 million pickleball proposal postponed by town meeting
FALMOUTH — An article proposing the design and engineering of a new wastewater system was top of mind at the Monday night special town meeting as Falmouth voters, after nearly an hour and a half of spirited debate, passed the article with a majority.
Town officials and residents gathered in the Lawrence School auditorium to vote on 18 articles outlined in the warrant, most passing without conflict. Two articles, both petitions, were called to be postponed through a request from the petitioners, and were voted down, while all others passed.
Falmouth has a representative town meeting, where all voters elect town meeting members and those members then vote on all town meeting matters.
Amy Lowell, Falmouth wastewater superintendent, said the installation of a new wastewater system, which was article 6 in the meeting warrant, is critical in order to halt the degradation of Great Pond, a key watershed in the densely populated area. Currently, the pond is experiencing increased loading of nitrogen from widely-used septic systems.
“Sewering is the only way to remove 100% of the septic nitrogen loads from the lower watershed,” Lowell said. “And that’s what’s required to do in order to meet the total maximum daily load nitrogen limit set by the state.”
Despite the majority vote, some residents and voters voiced support for other forms of wastewater management, from urine diversion to residential grinder pumps. The latter was the focus of a petition, article 13, which called for the authorization of a urine diversion pilot program. The petition passed with a majority vote.
A urine diversion pilot program is an alternative option for removing nitrogen from septic systems. The pilot program is a data collection process whereby volunteer residents would install the system in their homes and data would be sent to the state Department of Environmental Protection for analysis.
Pickleball proposal postponed
One article that was expected to draw a degree of controversy, a petition to allocate $2.6 million for the installment of pickleball courts at Trotting Park fields, was indefinitely postponed through a request from the petitioners asking for more time for planning.
The other, article 15, was also voted down through similar means.
WARRANT ARTICLE NUMBER | WHAT IS THE ARTICLE ABOUT | PASSED, FAILED, POSTPONED |
4 | Fund Lawrence Cafeteria Roof and Water Mains | YES |
6 | Fund Sewer Design and Permitting of Northeast Maravista and Teaticket Path Peninsula Service Area | YES |
11 | Petition: Funding for Trotting Park Pickleball Courts and Amenities | POSTPONED |
13 | Petition: Select Board to Authorize Urine Diversion Pilot | YES |
17 | Authorize Elderly Tax Exemption Change from $500 to $1,000 | YES |
18 | Authorize Elderly Tax Exemption Change from 70 to 65 | YES |
19 | Adopt M.G.L. c. 59 § 5, cl. 41D Index of Elderly Tax Exemption Income & Assets to Inflation | YES |
20 | Adopt Tax Exemption Change for Blind Persons | YES |
For more information on the articles featured in the special town meeting warrant go to: https://www.falmouthma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15185/2023--November--Warrant-Booklet.
Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jd__walker.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sewer system in Falmouth approved as only way to protect Great Pond
