David Sauro, President of the Centerville Civic Association
CENTERVILLE – Centerville residents gathered last week for a meeting to discuss Barnstable’s planned purchase of property at 310 Main Street for the potential placement of a sewer pump station.
Neighbors in the area want the town to reopen a Barnstable Town Council vote from September that approved nearly $545,000 to purchase the land.
Engineers for the town claim that the land is an optimal location for a gravity based system pump.
Town Councilor Britt Beedenbender was present at the meeting to answer questions and discuss concerns with people in attendance.
“It was an opportunity for the community to share their concerns, in some cases frustrations, offer their suggestions and those suggestions are being taken into account, I’ve already followed up with our town manager and DPW head on some things,” said Beedenbender.
“We are listening to the community. Our plan involves an outreach strategy. The DPW has already worked with our town manager and communications department as to how that’s going to happen.”
Beedenbender has stressed that the vote from earlier this year was not a vote to place the pump station at the 310 Main Street location, but rather it was a vote on whether or not the town should purchase the land.
“The vote on this property was purely to secure the purchase so that we had a parcel that we knew would work for this particular septic line coming through the village. I look at it like an insurance policy,” Beedenbender said.
“The vote was not to make that property a pump station, but it was an opportunity to purchase a property that we knew absolutely worked for what we needed to accomplish.”
She also said that years ago a proposed sewer pump station at Mother’s Park was opposed strongly by residents and in response the Department of Public Works did not move forward with the pump at that location.
The DPW has been working hand in hand with the town to find a location to begin the initial phases of the project.
While the meeting got testy at times, Beedenbender kept her composure and said that the town will allow for people to raise concerns and make suggestions, as an outreach plan is included in the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan.
The plan is a 30 year, $1.06 billion plan that will in time require the placement of many pump stations throughout the town.
The proposed Wastewater Management Plan will also reduce nitrogen in the town’s waters by 80 percent.
Beedenbender also said that while the pump station in question will most likely be installed in the next ten years at one of these locations, she sees it taking potentially 3 to 5 years.
She said that she and the town have to make a decision that is best for everyone and that everybody, including herself, will need to make sacrifices in this process.
To view the Town of Barnstable Wastewater Management Plan, visit https://townofbarnstable.us/WaterResources/CWMP-Final.pdf.
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