--
-Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like a banana. Stranger things have -
-happened but none stranger than this. Does your driver's license say Organ
-Donor?Black holes are where God divided by zero. Listen to me! We are all-
-individuals! What if this weren't a hypothetical question? [EMAIL PROTECTED]
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 00:05:22 EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: DPW Board meeting Sept 4/2001
I attended the DPW Board meeting tonight. The most important things for
us were:
1) FIMBY Coordinator Frank Reilley disccussed with the Board the list of
questions FIMBY needs answers for from DPW for the upcoming citizens
warrants at a special town meeting this month (date to be determined, but
probably the third week in September). Included in his list were questions
about the Doeskin Betterment Project and any alternatives to the currently
proposed siting of the pipeline through wetlands and the pumping station
on conservation land.
2) Excerpts from the Town Engineer's review of alternative routes for the
pipeline and siting for the pumping station were distributed in written
form.
The Town Engineers Alternatives numbers 3 & 4 still use the pipeline route
that crosses through 4-5 wetland areas and lies entirely within the
wetland no-touch and wetland buffer zones. Alternative 3 moves the pump
station into the wetland buffer zone along the water easement.
Alternative 4 moves the pump station onto town owned land at the
intersection of Grove and Edmands Streets. Cost estimates are $1.94
million and $2.1 million, respectively.
Alternatives 2A and 2B site the pump station at the intersection of Grove
and Edmands but use pipline routes north along private property to the cul
de sac at Doeskin Place. The projected cost for either proposal is $2.15
million.
Alternative 1 proposes laying a new line down Edmands Road and up Carter
Drive, not to serve residents along the way, but to fill the proposed tank
at the top of Doeskin Mountain. Estimated cost: $2.6 million.
This last proposal is incomplete: it does not specify the size of the
pipe and does not indicate a pump station location at all. It does not
replace the current 8" water main, but simply adds a new one. The cost is
estimated at 2.6 million, but a large portion (about $500,000) of the cost
of replacing the pipe should be paid for by the town, making the cost of
the betterment about $2.1 million. More pressure can be obtained by
adding horsepower to the pumps in the Grove Street Pump Station. It looks
like these pipes are quite old. Town records show that two of our older
house along Edmands were hooked up to the water main in 1924, making them
at least 77 years old.
Our proposal was for a 12" pipe to come off the 16" pipe in Grove Street
and go down Edmand and Carter. This pipe would replace the existing old
and leaky water main and use pressure reducers to serve the lower
elevation houses it passes on the way up the mountain.
The Town Engineer will present these plans in more detail at the
Conservation Commission meeting tonight (Wednesday, Sept.5) at 7:30pm.
We expect that the Cons. Com will reject the original proposal and
Alternatives 3 &4 because of the severe wetlands impact of the pipeline
and the pumping station.
The Town Engineer will present the plans again to the Selectmen on
Thursday night at 7:30pm. We hope that they, too, will reject the
original proposal on the recommendation of the Cons Commission and reject
the taking of conservation land for the pumping station. That will leave
the project with Alternatives 1, 2A, and 2B, all of which have little or
no impact on wetlands, get the pumping station off of conservation land,
and fall close to the $2,000,000 budget for the original proposal.
This issue is coming to a head. We hope that the neighbors turn out in
force to show the conservation commission that we are serious about our
environment, that we want the bylaws enforced, that we see the original
proposal and alternatives 3 and 4 as dangerous precedents for other
wetlands and conservation areas, and that we want developers, whether they
be the town or private developers, to respect wetlands and open space in
their planning, and respect conservation bylaws in the building process.
We want the Selectmen to prevent the precendent of taking of conservation
land for town projects, and prevent the use of easements in wetland areas,
and to direct the town to choose one of the alternative proposals: 1, 2A,
or 2B.
If this happens, the Doeskin Betterment Project can proceed on schedule
and on or near budget, and the residents of Carter and Doeskin can have a
more reliable water supply as quickly as possible.
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