Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Truro are remote. Go to truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. The agenda includes instructions on how to join.
Thursday, Aug. 10
- Council on Aging Board, 11 a.m., Council on Aging
Friday, Aug. 11
- Local Comprehensive Plan Committee workshop, 10 a.m., Public Library
- Shellfish Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., Town Hall
Monday, Aug. 14
- Local Comprehensive Plan Committee, 1 p.m., Public Library
Tuesday, Aug. 15
- Board of Health, 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 16
- Cemetery Commission, 9 a.m., Town Hall
- Walsh Property Community Planning Committee public forum, 6 p.m., Community Center
Conversation Starters
Rolling Ahead on DPW
Dept. of Public Works Director Jarrod Cabral presented a review by CHA Consulting of plans for a new facility at the select board meeting on Aug. 8. The review looked at all five sites that had been under consideration, although the select board voted unanimously in June to site the facility at 340 Route 6, as Cabral recommended. The current cost estimate for construction at that site is just under $28.2 million.
Bruce Jensen, a certified estimating professional at CHA, said that the review assumed that construction would begin in the summer of 2024. Select board chair Kristen Reed asked Jensen for estimates of how much the project’s costs would increase if it were delayed “as we consider an article for town meeting.”
Jensen estimated an increase of 5 to 6 percent for next year and added that he would put annual increase estimates for future years closer to 4 percent.
Both select board member Bob Weinstein and resident Tim Hickey asked about regrading the site.
“All the sites had a decent amount of regrading,” Jensen said, although “the 340 site actually was somewhere towards the middle to the bottom in terms of grading and sitework, comparatively.” Per Weston & Sampson’s analysis, Jensen said, the site would also require a retaining wall.
Hickey worried about the accuracy of the projected cost: “Can you dispute that there might have to be 20,000 metric tons of earth to level that area?” he asked.
Jensen said that CHA’s 10,593-cubic yard “cut and fill” estimate was based on “current limited surveys and limited grading plans.”
Select board vice chair Sue Areson pointed out the lack of design plans. “Is it reasonable to anticipate that we could have them next spring?” she asked. Cabral responded that “design would take anywhere between 8 and 10 months but that includes permits.” Timing would depend on when the town sought funding, he added.
Walsh Property Forum
The Walsh Property Community Planning Committee will hold a public forum at 6 p.m. on Aug. 16 at the Community Center. The meeting will entail a “brief presentation and opportunity for the public to engage in conversation,” according to committee cochair Eileen Breslin, and will guide the committee’s plan for the fall town meeting. That plan will lay out the community’s suggestions for use of the land, from housing and mixed-use development to open space. —Sophie Mann-Shafir
