A meeting of the Sharon Board of Health was called to order at 7:35 P.M. on Monday evening, May 16, 2005, in the Sharon Town Offices, with the following members in attendance: Anne Bingham, Chair; Elizabeth Barnett, M.D.,Vice-Chair, Suzi Peck, and Sherwin Goodblatt. Also present was Jim Andrews, Health Agent for Engineering.
Minutes of Meeting of April 11, 2005
VOTED: (Goodblatt/Barnett) Goodblatt, Barnett, and Bingham approved the minutes of the meeting of April 11, 2005, as prepared. Peck abstained.
Minutes of Meeting of April 25, 2005
VOTED: (Goodblatt/Barnett) unanimously to accept the minutes of the meeting of April 25, 2005, as amended.
Meeting dates: The Board agreed on the following schedule for upcoming meetings:
June 13 and 27; July 11 and 25; August 8 and 22; September 12 and 26; October 24.
Jennifer Aycock - applicant for licensing as Massage Therapist
Ms. Aycock had just called to provide a contact person for verification. Elizabeth Barnett will follow up via email and/or fax to ascertain the curriculum at the college Ms. Aycock attended. Licensing is still pending.
Summary of May 16 2005 BOH/Wilbur School Redevelopment Committee/ Selectmen/Water Comissioners/ Conservation Commission/ Zoning Board of Appeals/ Department of Public Works/ Planning Board (invited) / Water Management Advisory Committee (invited) / Citizen Meeting on Wastewater Management and Downtown Development and the Wilber School
COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION #1
Purpose: To begin to resolve potentially conflicting goals of protecting public health and the environment and increased development of the downtown area in general with a particular focus on the immediate proposal to study the feasibility of using the Wilber School site for wastewater disposal for a portion of the downtown area
Summary of Goals / Concerns / Obstacles expressed by attendees:
Board/Individual Goals ….. Concerns/Obstacles
Wilber School Redevelopment Committee/ Jim Goldsmith
Develop site as a gateway to the town (lighting, sidewalks, paths, possible clock)
Commercial Development,
Library (possible 36% funding, possibly free standing, possibly enable movement of other town offices
Housing on second floor
Long term lease: developer pays for improvements
Let an RFP to get proposals for using sites
Existence of other proposed uses of site that they aren’t (or weren’t aware of)
If used for wastewater disposal: how much area is left for “non wastewater uses, what is impact on abutters and on groundwater
Concerned about cost of wastewater treatment system
Cannot move forward with their RFP until they know how much of the lot will be used for the septic system,
Wilber School Committee/Joel Tran (also former planning board member)
The RFP will include the towns desires for the characteristics of the proposed development and along with their relative rankings. The committee will rank the responses according to these criteria
Wastewater treatment is not allowed on the site unless there is ZBA approval
Conservation Commission/Peg Arguimbau
Get wastewater effluent into areas that need recharge, while protecting groundwater quality
Additional pollutant loadings to Beaver Brook Basin
Selectmen & Water Commission/ David Grasfield
Protect and expand water supply
alleviate existing water quality problems, e.g., nitrates
to propose to invest in a larger solution to the town’s wastewater problem then just dealing with issues piecemeal
enable the optimal development of the center balancing water issues, revenue , quality of life, character of the town
Enable reuse of Wilbur School site
Enable progress toward state-mandated affordable housing requirements where appropriate
We need more drinking water than we have
How are we going to pay for all this
Selectmen/Bill Heitin
Minimize financial impact of Wilbur School to town
Optimizing revenues from Wibur School Site
Enabling development of site
Citizen/Lealdon Langley (also member of Water Management Advisory Committee
to enable reuse of Wilbur site;
to recharge area of Groundwater of zone II of the Beaver Brook Aquifer. In order to protect streamflow and wildlife, protect water supply availability (by protecting quantity by recharging and by protecting quality
to reduce existing contamination reaching the wells in the Beaver Brook Aquifer/get waste water treatment for that area contributing to the Beaver Brook Aquifer in order to help reduce the existing level of nitrates currently reaching the well.
to adequately treat for bacteria and viruses.
Get information on wastewater generation in zone II, and impacts of additional development on the wells
to help private failing systems in the general area in the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Perhaps by tying septic systems into a wastewater district to which users would pay fees. It would require 5000 sq. ft. to handle a 10,000 gpd flow. The reserve area would probably require double that amount.
decreasing ability to use well #4;
protecting public water supply. Existing and innovative / alternative systems don’t protect drinking water adequately: A normal septic system produces nitrate quality of 35 mg/l.; An IA system brings that down to l5 mg/l; a wastewater treatment plant would bring that down to 10 mg/liter , which is the maximum contaminant level for drinking water.
Protection of nearby properties: septic systems and basements
Obstacle: to develop legal and financing structures for the possible creation of wastewater districts
Obstacle: Paying for this
Zoning Board of Appeals/ Walter Newman
ZBA has been limiting single family development, with a goal towards protection of groundwater quality and quantity.
BOH be comfortable early on with wastewater treatment for site
Worried about impacts of proposal to use Wilbur school site for additional wastewater treatment
Conservation Agent/Greg Meister
Solve existing water quantity and quality problems before we create new ones
Groundwater monitoring wells to characterize existing nitrate loadings and determine how much additional nitrate the aquifer can handle
Concerned about adding problems to a basin where we already have a problem; urged caution
Board of Health/Suzi Peck
Similar to all those previously stated
Ensure that decisions about Wilbur Site in particular and development in the downtown area in general don’t lead to contamination of Beaver Brook Aquifer
Deal with existing public health and economic problems of failing systems in the downtown and surrounding areas
Identify how much additional wastewater development the Beaver Brook Aquifer can handle without becoming contaminated
Think more broadly and town wide about wastewater management solutions
Piecemeal reaction to wastewater problems
Difficulties of coordinating across boards/agencies
Public Works/Planning Board / Peter O’Cain
Planning Board goal to increase density in downtown area and to encourage mixed use: increase affordable housing near public transit. Proposed to expand overlay district to acheive these goals
CHAPPA Grant is designed to assist with these goals: will study perc rate, soils, groundwater flow from site to wells, including hydraulic modeling and estimate the impact of nitrates and nitrites on the wells. It is intended to determine the maximum amount of wastewater that could be disposed of on site.
Need to move quickly on contract
Information needed in any event to move forward on Wilbur School development
Few other lots available for treating wastewater from the downtown area
Town Administrator /Ben Puritz
Need to move quickly on contract
Information needed in any event to move forward on Wilbur School development RFP
Town DPW Director/Eric
Some form of wastewater treatment has always been assumed if Wilber School site was used
SUMMARY OF NEXT STEPS:
Move forward with the CHAPPA Grant RFP to study the Wilber School Site
Present results to another joint meeting of the interested parties
Meet again on June 6 to continue the discussion of the wastewater/development issue
Consider using the remaining $11,000 of the CHAPPA grant to work on some of the issues identified by the group
The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 P.M.
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