Meetings Ahead
Meetings in Truro are often held remotely. Go to Truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for an agenda and details on how to join.
Thursday, April 11
- Ad Hoc Building Committee, 4 p.m., remote
- Pre-Special Town Meeting, 5:30 p.m., remote
Tuesday, April 16
- Ad Hoc Building Committee, 4 p.m., remote
- Board of Health, 4:30 p.m., hybrid
Wednesday, April 17
- Planning Board, 5 p.m.
Conversation Starter
Cyr’s DPW Dream
After months of hubbub over the proposed DPW facility upgrade, a new siting proposal has come from state Sen. Julian Cyr, who kicked off the public comment period of the town’s ad hoc building committee meeting on April 8 saying, “I’m here tonight to offer a potential contingency proposal for the committee and the town’s consideration.”
He floated the idea of combining the parcels at 100 and 104 Route 6 in the National Seashore. Both properties were previously assessed as possible sites and found to be too small. The first parcel, owned by the Aiken family, is the subject of a legal battle over its leased use by Bobby Martin for his landscaping business. The second belongs to the Mass. Dept. of Transportation. Together, the parcels total about 3.2 acres.
Cyr acknowledged that both sites pose challenges. A zoning change would be required for their use. But both sites have suffered environmental degradation: a 1990s gas leak on the Aiken property and a salt encroachment at the Mass. DOT site. Both would require phase one and two environmental assessments, Cyr said, which would take about four months and cost the town $125,000.
Select board liaison Bob Weinstein was skeptical. The move would take an act of Congress, he said: “Not going to happen.”
DPW head Jarrod Cabral sent the Independent a Feb. 21 letter from Seashore Supt. Jennifer Flynn stating the Park’s continued opposition to a change in use on the Aiken land.
“We have also been informed by NPS that we may not be able to store tires, motor oil, or hydraulic oil at either the 104 Route 6 or 100 Route 6 location,” Cabral said in an email. “This means the DPW would not be able to perform vehicle maintenance at these locations,” he wrote.
Cyr said he has had multiple conversations with Flynn. Flynn advised him, he said, that were the town to acquire the Aiken property, “it would be considered a municipal property in a different category.”
Town Manager Darrin Tangeman was unsure of the feasibility of Cyr’s proposal. “We’re happy to explore this,” he said, but “it’s not up to us.” —Sophie Mann-Shafir
