Meetings are held remotely. Go to www.truro-ma.gov, click on the meeting you want to watch, and open its agenda for instructions on how to watch or take part online.
Thursday, Jan. 21
- Climate Action Committee, 10:30 a.m.
- Cultural Council, 2 p.m.
- School Committee, 5:15 p.m.
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Friday, Jan. 22
- Commission on Disabilities, 3:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan 25
- Charter Review Committee, 5:15 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 26
- Select Board, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 27
- Planning Board, 2:30 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Covid-19 Update
As of Jan. 18, Truro had eight active cases of Covid-19, according to the town website, and 27 total cases, according to the state Dept. of Public Health. Truro has had no deaths attributed to Covid-19.
Town Water for Pond Village
The select board has voted to put an article on the town meeting warrant to add $77,670 to the 2022 capital budget to make engineering and cost estimates of extending public water lines to Pond Road and Twine Field Road.
A year-long controversy over building the Cloverleaf, an affordable housing complex on Highland Road that was approved by the zoning board of appeals on Jan. 14, has brought the water quality problem in Pond Village into sharp focus.
The problem has been well known for years, said Robert Weinstein, chair of the select board. There are elevated levels of nitrogen in some Pond Village wells, likely caused by septic systems and wells sharing small lots on low-lying topography that gets storm runoff from all the surrounding hills, said Health Agent Emily Beebe.
Beebe advocated for providing this neighborhood with public water because the water main already goes right by the intersection of Pond Road and Shore Road. Public water would be the quickest and easiest way to solve health problems posed by poor water quality, she said.
The health agent’s view, however, was opposed by resident Joan Holt, who wrote a letter to the select board telling them that poor water quality is due to wastewater and that is where the town must focus. Holt said cesspools should be upgraded as a first step.
Beebe said the wastewater problem is a lot more complex than adding town water. But, she added, the board of health did recently vote to order all cesspools be replaced by Dec. 31, 2023 (see story on page 9).
Stephanie Rein Will Be Walsh Liaison
The select board on Jan. 12 appointed member Stephanie Rein serve as its liaison to the Walsh Property Community Planning Committee.
The town bought the 70-acre Walsh property in 2019 for $5.1 million. The mostly buildable parcel represents a rare opportunity to guide the town’s future — a chance to make a difference in housing, open space, recreation, and economic opportunity that may not come up in an entire lifetime, said Rein. That is why, she said, she is so passionate about the topic. It’s one reason she ran for the select board in the first place.
The liaison has no decision-making role but reports back to the select board information that may be relevant. The planning committee, appointed in October, has not started to meet yet because town officials are still finalizing contract details with facilitator Stacie Smith of the Consensus Building Institute.
Some may feel sticker shock at Smith’s contract, which provides payment of “up to” $98,000. But both Town Manager Darrin Tangeman and Assistant Town Manager Kelly Clark told the select board that Smith has no intention of billing that much; the figure, they said, represents the maximum she could be paid. —K.C. Myers