TRURO — Voters approved three Proposition 2½ debt exclusions at a special election on June 27, allowing the town to move forward with long-discussed projects. But the hiring of a full-time human resources coordinator was nixed by a 32-vote margin, according to the official election results.
About 21 percent of the town’s voters turned out, with 484 of the 2,312 registered casting a ballot.
Funding for the new HR position in Question 3 was the closest vote of the day, with 224 ballots cast in favor and 256 against. The town’s request for $113,158 would have allowed the hiring of someone to handle issues including staff hiring and retention in what was previously described on the meeting warrant as a “challenging recruitment environment.”
“It’s an incredibly important position moving forward,” Town Manager Darrin Tangeman told the Independent on June 28. “The town will have to evaluate what we can do to fill the workload gap because the current situation is not viable.”
Right now, human resources work is on the desk of Assistant Town Manager Kelly Clark, Tangeman said. “She’s pulling double duty, and she’s not going to be able to do that much longer,” he said.
The town will seek alternative ways to lessen Clark’s workload, like outsourcing some of the analytic work to a consultant, Tangeman said. Most of the work — including disciplinary issues and handling medical or family leave — is confidential, so it cannot be outsourced, he added.
With funding now secured by last week’s vote, the town will move forward on repairing the roof and HVAC system at Truro Central School. That vote, on Question 1, was the most decisive, with 416 in favor and 66 against. The repairs will help regulate temperatures in the school, which currently vary widely by classroom. Select board member Stephanie Rein said recently that while some classrooms are stuffy and overheated, others are consistently too cold.
DPW Director Jarrod Cabral said in an email that bid invitation documents for the project are currently under development and that they expect to announce the winning bid in September. Construction is slated for the summer of 2025.
Question 2, which asked voters for permission “to pay costs of engineering and related services for a new Department of Public Works Facility predominately at the Town Hall Hill site (excluding the 340 Route 6 site),” also passed easily, with 384 yes votes and 97 opposed.
Tangeman said on July 1 that preliminary work would begin the next day, with test pits and site marking for the organization Dig Safe Inc. Ground-penetrating radar and an electromagnetic survey are scheduled for July 11 and soil borings for July 19, he said.
The ad hoc building committee, focused on plans for the DPW facility, will move forward with a phase two environmental study for the site on Town Hall Hill. The committee’s attention is on that site — where the current facility is located — and on how the public works dept. can continue operating there while a revamp is underway. The environmental assessment is expected to last between four and six months.
Debate about the new facility’s location hasn’t ebbed since town meeting voted down an article related to siting the facility on Route 6, which was the DPW’s and select board’s preferred location. Tangeman said that town counsel from KP Law will be present at the select board’s next meeting on July 9 to discuss siting legalities and the town meeting votes.
Funding for the installation of a new and larger culvert at Mill Pond was the subject of Question 4, and it also passed easily: 408 to 73. That culvert will restore tidal flow and drainage in part of the Pamet River system — one of six spots along it where the town is working to restore the flow and with it, the salt marsh.
The culvert project is in final design, with construction expected to begin in 2028, Cabral said.
