Voters approve $ 1.9 million for the sewage treatment plant, money for the employment of two new rescue workers
| Cape Cod times
WELLFLEET – Saturday’s town hall voters approved a town budget of $ 21.7 million and $ 1.9 million to build a sewage treatment plant for an affordable housing project planned for Lawrence Road.
The town council also approved Fire Chief Richard Pauley’s request for $ 168,080 to hire two new firefighters / EMTs and pay for paramedic training. Pauley said the department has a severe shortage of paramedics due to the lack of affordable housing.
Voters also approved a tax on short-term rentals and increased the local excise tax on short-term rentals from 4% to 6%. This also applies to the room usage tax.
Board member selected Michael DeVasto said short-term rents were a major cause of the housing crisis in the Cape.
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The city assembly also approved three articles dealing with wastewater and its treatment.
The most expensive was Item 21, which raised $ 1,931,866 to build a sewerage facility at 95 Lawrence Road, which is also to be used as an affordable housing project.
Voters also chose to spend $ 250,000 to help install “upgraded” innovative and alternative wastewater treatment plants in the Wellfleet Harbor watershed. These technologies could potentially provide a much cheaper solution to wastewater than building multi-million dollar wastewater treatment plants like other cities are planning.
Voters also gave the go-ahead to spend $ 50,000 on a technical study for a so-called permeable reactive barrier at 111 and 117 East Commercial St.
The PRB is essentially an underground filter that traps nitrogen from the high density wastewater treatment plant area in the city center. Nitrogen from these systems flows towards Duck Creek, depriving the water of oxygen and killing fish and plants. Eastham, Orleans and Falmouth are currently using PRBs.
Before: Housing, sewage, statutes supreme resolution of the city assembly of Wellfleet
The voters shot down Article 39 for the creation of an Agriculture Commission. Some said another committee was a bad idea as the city is having a hard time filling vacancies on existing committees. Others said Cape Cod was more of an aquaculture community than an agricultural one.
However, a right to farm statute was passed, a measure that supports agriculture.
Some advocated the statutes, especially those who actively farm and participate in farmers’ markets. Some also disagreed with the notion that agriculture is insignificant in Wellfleet, saying that the people there actually farm.
However, some voters fear that agriculture could affect water quality, and one person said the measure did not include language dealing with pesticides or the effects of agriculture on water quality.
More: Eastham Town Meeting: Voters approve the purchase of the town center
Article 44 was passed, statutes of the Trust for Affordable Housing, aimed at addressing the housing crisis in Wellfleet.
A secondary housing charter was also passed that did away with the affordable secondary housing charter.
DeVasto said the existing by-laws for affordable accessory units were ineffective.
According to the statutes, people can legally build additional residential units on their property without the need for a special permit.
The statute aims to create more year-round housing to combat the housing crisis that is so widespread in Wellfleet and the Cape as a whole.