TRURO — Two houses that were pulled down the highway in late February to be renovated and used to house some of the town’s seasonal staff stand side by side on blocks, still in disrepair, on a now-cleared 0.77-acre lot owned by the town at 25 South Highland Road.
One of the houses came from the Walsh property and the other was donated by Tom and Kathleen Dennis and moved from 127 South Pamet Road.
The hope was that their overhaul would be completed by summer. But Town Manager Darrin Tangeman said that didn’t happen because of a shortage of certified and competitive bids from contractors.
The town has now selected Cape Cod Builders Inc., the contractor that submitted the lowest bid, to do the job, though the contract with the company is still under review, Dept. of Public Works Director Jarrod Cabral said Monday.
“We expect to sign in the next few weeks,” Tangeman said. Once the contract is in effect, the contractors will have 210 days to complete the work. That 30-week timespan means that if the contract is signed in mid-July, project completion would be slated for mid-February.
In the town’s advertisement for bids, the sitework was to include “installation of a new foundation to receive the relocated structure, building addition, exterior and interior building repairs and renovations, plumbing, electrical and HVAC work.” It would also involve “installation of a new septic system, and other site utility work to include electrical service, onsite well, telephone and cable.”
Some abutters were skeptical about the town’s choice to relocate the cottages before building their foundations. “It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money to spend money moving houses without any infrastructure in place,” Robert Baker of 18 South Highland Road told the Independent.
Tangeman said that, although the initial plan was to put down foundations first, the town opted to move forward in increments rather than not at all. “There was a normal timeline for this, but it ended up being more complicated because of a lack of contractors,” he said.
The buildings also likely have lead paint and asbestos, Tangeman said. “They’re very old buildings,” he said. But, he added, those toxic materials do not pose a danger to the community because they’ll be removed and disposed of properly.
In an abutters’ notice dated Aug. 7, 2023, the town laid out a timeline for construction on the parcel that put completion in fall 2023. That notice was long enough ago that some abutters were surprised by the arrival of the houses.
“I didn’t know what was happening until they started clearcutting the trees,” said Deborah White during the public comment period at a select board meeting on May 14. “Now, it’s a mess. They’ve cut down the trees; there’s insulation blowing all over the neighborhood.”
The town has cleaned up the debris since White and other neighbors spoke up, but abutters remain unhappy with the pace of the renovations.
“Since those houses have been moved, they have done nothing,” Todd Motta told the Independent. Motta lives at 20 South Highland Road, across the street from the town-owned lot. “I’m not against housing, but do it the right way,” he said.
“This is an eyesore for all of us,” said Carol Motta, Todd’s wife. “We’ve all got nice yards; we take care of everything.”
“What the public needs to understand about it is there were a number of failed bids as it relates to the foundations,” Tangeman said during the May 14 select board meeting. “This is the nature of the construction industry right now.” The winning proposal from Cape Cod Builders president Chase Pappas has a base price of $881,840.
Once the town adds a housing coordinator to its staff, a change scheduled for July, that person will be responsible for developing a business plan for the rentals, Tangeman said. For now, DPW staff periodically visit the property to do maintenance work, he said.
Answering questions about the project, Tangeman seemed to be as frustrated as the neighbors about the pace of progress on the houses. He had described plans for the cottages’ move in a December 2022 newsletter. The housing shortage was responsible for turning away qualified applicants for “critical town positions,” he wrote at the time.
“I’m apologetic to the community members that are neighbors of this project that the process isn’t working as fast as we would like,” Tangeman said on June 24. “We want to get this done and get this cleaned up and be good neighbors.”
