Meetings Ahead
Some meetings in Provincetown are in person, some are online, and some are both. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a link to an agenda and details.
Thursday, Sept. 1
- Council on Aging Board, 10 a.m., Veterans Memorial Community Center
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m., Town Hall
Tuesday, Sept. 6
- State Primary Election, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Town Hall
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m., Town Hall
Wednesday, Sept. 7
- Historic District Commission, 3:30 p.m., Town Hall
Thursday, Sept. 8
- Planning Board, 6 p.m., Town Hall
- Public Pier Corp. Board, 5 p.m.
Conversation Starters
About That Sewer
Provincetown is holding a town forum on the $75-million sewer expansion project that will be up for a vote at a special town meeting on Oct. 25. The forum is on Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. at town hall, with an option to attend virtually.
At the select board meeting on Aug. 22, questions about how much it will actually cost homeowners to connect to the newly expanded sewer were addressed. Beyond betterment payments and usage fees, the cost to connect the plumbing under a house to a sewer main under the street is highly variable and depends on factors like distance, landscaping and hardscaping, and the costs of decommissioning whatever septic system already exists.
Jim Vincent of the Dept. of Public Works and John Goodrich of AECOM laid out a matrix of potential connection costs that homeowners would need to pay for a contractor to connect their property to the sewer. An “average installation” would be $9,500 to $12,000 and a “simplest installation” could be $2,500 to $5,000, but a “multi-building installation” could run $40,000 to $75,000, according to their presentation.
The town is seeking American Rescue Plan Act money to help create an assistance program for sewer connection fees for lower-income property owners, Town Manager Alex Morse told the Independent last week. The zero-interest or low-interest loan program from the county for septic system upgrades will now assist homeowners who need help with sewer connection fees, Goodrich told the select board. Even at a favorable interest rate, however, multi-building properties could be looking at serious expenses.
Connections to the sewer will not have to happen at the same time that betterments become due, however. Septic systems that pass board of health inspections can continue to operate, even while homeowners pay their betterment fees. Homeowners who wait until their systems no longer pass inspection would have needed a new system anyway — and the cost of a connection to the sewer is similar to the cost of a new septic system. —Paul Benson
