Month: April 2017

Public Input Wanted

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HYANNIS –The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has announced a schedule of 12 public meetings in locations across the state to present and discuss the draft MassDOT Five-Year Capital Investment Plan (CIP) Update.
Public input received at the meetings from May 15-24 will be considered before the CIP is finalized. Barnstable Monday, May 15, 6 p.m., Hyannis Transportation Center
MassDOT’s strategic Capital Investment Plan uses state and federal money to fund transportation investments across Massachusetts.
These include all MassDOT highway and municipal projects, regional airports, rail and transit projects including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Regional Transit Authorities as well as the MassDOT Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV).
Updated annually, the CIP uses a combination of public and stakeholder input with both objective and comparative evaluation of projects to select programs that will be funded over the next five fiscal years.
The draft being finalized now concerns Fiscal Years 2018 through 2022.
MassDOT has already received more than 1,100 public comments through its online tool, emails and letters.
Many comments have been incorporated into the CIP draft.
The public meetings will seek to increase public input before the final CIP is presented to the MassDOT Board of Directors in June.

Upcoming Precinct 7 & Town Council Meetings May

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Cotuit Prudential Committee Meeting – Monday May 1, 5pm, Freedom Hall 

Town Council Meeting – Thursday May 4, 7pm, Town Hall

Cotuit/Santuit Civic Association Board Annual Meeting & Village Tour with Town Staff, Friday May 5, 8am, Freedom Hall

Cotuit Prudential Committee Meeting – Tuesday May 9,  5pm, Freedom Hall

Precinct 7 Monthly Meeting – Wednesday May 10, 3-5pm, Cotuit Library

Town Council Committee to Assess Homelessness – Monday May 15, 6pm, Town Hall Cancelled

Cotuit Fire Commissioner’s Meeting – Tuesday May 16, 5:30 pm, Freedom Hall

Town Council Appointments Committee – Tuesday May 16, 5:30pm, Town Hall

Cotuit-Santuit Civic Association Meeting & Cotuit Fire District Budget & Candidate’s  Night – Tuesday May 16, 7:30pm, Cotuit Freedom Hall

Cotuit Water Commissioner’s  Meeting – Wednesday May 17, 6pm, Freedom Hall

Town Council Asset Management Advisory Committee – Thursday May 18, 6pm, Town Hall Cancelled

Town Council Meeting – Thursday May 18, 7pm, Town Hall

Cotuit Prudential Committee Meeting – Monday May 22, 4pm, Freedom Hall

Cotuit Fire Commissioner’s Meeting – Thursday May 25, 5:30 pm, Freedom Hall

Cotuit Fire District Elections – Tuesday May 30, 4-8 pm, Freedom Hall

Cotuit Prudential Committee Meeting – Wednesday May 31, 10am, Freedom Hall

Cotuit Fire District Annual Meeting – Wednesday May 31, 7:30pm, Freedom Hall

NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF FEES CHANGES

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Fee changes will take effect on July 1, 2017 for the following Departments, Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division, Community Services Departments HYCC Program and modified changes to the Regulatory Services Departments Consumer Affairs Division were adopted by the Town Manager on Friday, April 14, 2017.

Adopted Fees

Rt 28 Corridor Study

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UPDATE: April 19, 2018

View Final Report HERE

UPDATE: September 7, 2017

The project team, led by Steven Tupper, Cape Cod Commission, has been hard at work investigating a number of ideas that came out of the successful Listening Session on July 26th. They have been in the field conducting additional traffic counts and in the office drafting a series of concepts. If you are curious about what they have been working on, mark your calendar for the second public meeting. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 27th at Mashpee Public Library (64 Steeple Street, Mashpee, MA) at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will include a presentation of potential improvements followed by an interactive group discussion. The focus of the meeting will be the gathering of public feedback on the potential improvements for the corridor. This is the final planned public meeting for this project. A report will be prepared following a review of the feedback from this public meeting and any other comments received from the public.

In the meantime, check out the project website (http://www.capecodcommission.org/Route28EasternMashpee) where you will find a copy of the presentation and meeting notes from the July 26th Listening Session. Please feel free to contact Steven Tupper or anyone on the study team with questions or thoughts.

UPDATE: July 31, 2017

For those who could not attend the meeting, a copy of the presentation is now available on the Route 28 Eastern Mashpee Corridor Study website:

http://www.capecodcommission.org/Route28EasternMashpee

Meeting notes, including comments from the map exercise, are being compiled and will be posted on the website when available.

Mark your calendar for the second public meeting, Wednesday, September 27th, at Mashpee Public Library (64 Steeple Street, Mashpee, MA) at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will include a presentation of potential improvements, followed by an interactive group discussion. The focus of the meeting will be the gathering of public feedback on the potential improvements for the corridor. This is the final planned public meeting for this project. A report will be prepared following a review of the feedback from this public meeting and any other comments received from the public.

Please feel free to contact Steven Tupper stupper@capecodcommission.org or call 508.362.3828 with questions or thoughts.

 

 

Route28_Mashpee_Corridor_Study_Area

Route 28 Barnstable/Eastern Mashpee Corridor Study –

 Route 130 to Orchard Road

Public Meeting Set for July 26, 2017

BARNSTABLE COUNTY, MA – Cape Cod Commission, Town of Barnstable and Town of Mashpee staff will host a public meeting to discuss the Route 28 Eastern Mashpee Corridor Study on Wednesday, July 26that the Mashpee Public Library (64 Steeple Street, Mashpee) at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will include an overview of project goals and existing conditions, followed by an interactive group discussion. The focus of the meeting will be gathering public feedback on issues, opportunities, and visions for the future of the corridor. 

The section of Route 28 from Route 130 to Orchard Road was identified as a priority for investigation based on the congestion and safety issues experienced on this section of roadway. This section of road is often congested, with particularly significant back-ups experienced during summer months. This congestion is a barrier to regional travel as well as access to local businesses and residences. Additionally, safety issues exist at many locations along the corridor with more than 150 crashes occurring along this stretch of road over a three-year period. Also of key concern is accommodation for all road users including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users. This is a heavily used corridor for non-motorized users looking to access their jobs and retail destinations from their neighborhoods.

The Cape Cod Commission, under the 2017 Unified Planning Work Program, is conducting a transportation planning study for the area with the goal of developing alternatives that will provide safe and convenient access within the study area for all users of the roadway system including pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. Potential context-sensitive improvements will look to improve safety, reduce congestion, and improve accommodations for all users. A 2nd public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, 2017 to discuss identified potential improvement alternatives. View HERE  for the latest Route 28 Corridor Study information.

FIRE WARNING Prescribed Burn TODAY!

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Hi,
Just to keep you informed. I have met with the burn boss and things are going well.
Looking at burning 10 acres.  There might be a little shift in wind sending some smoke landward,
but things look good.
Darcy Karle


CROCKER NECK CONSERVATION AREA

PRESCRIBED BURN SCHEDULED

* WEATHER PERMITTING* FRIDAY APRIL 14, 2017

When: Scheduled from 8:00AM to 4:00PM

PLEASE KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM BURN AREA

WHERE CONTRACTORS ARE WORKING

Why: This type of controlled prescribed fire management promotes fresh growth of new plants, provides habitat and foraging opportunities for local wildlife, and also serves as wildfire prevention and refuge for people caught in between a wildfire event. Surrounding neighborhoods are protected by reducing the chance of wildfire in Crocker Neck by conducting these low burning controlled fires on a regular basis.

Darcy Karle, Conservation Administrator

darcy.karle@town.barnstable.ma.us    P 508-862-4093

Cotuit Fire Department will be issuing a reverse 911 notice!

Food Waste Composting Program Begins

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Town of Barnstable begins new Food Waste Collection/Composting Program at Marstons Mills Transfer Station and Recycling Center

From kitchen scraps to black gold!

The Office of the Town Manager and the Department of Public Works is pleased to announce the start of a new Food Waste Collection/Composting program at the Transfer Station and Recycling Center, 45 Flint St., Marstons Mills.

The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of food waste that gets thrown away with the trash, thereby reducing trash disposal costs for Transfer Station customers. According to the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), as much as 25% of household trash is food waste that could be diverted from landfills and incinerators, and composted.

Residents with a current Trash Disposal or Recycling Only sticker may now drop off their household kitchen scraps and food waste for composting at no additional cost. The collection barrels are located in one of the sheds used to contain recycled materials.

The town is partnering with Watts Family Farms, located in Forestdale, which will pick up the kitchen waste on a weekly basis, transporting it to their facility, where it will be turned into high quality compost.

Residents are advised that while most kitchen scraps may be composted, including meat and bones, and paper towels and napkins, such items as kitty litter, plastics, cardboard, and Styrofoam are excluded, and may not be disposed of for composting.

The Barnstable Food Waste Composting program is, in part, being funding through a grant from MassDEP.

For further information, please call P.J. Kelliher, Solid Waste Division Supervisor (508-420-2258).

Good Pesach

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The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb Altarpiece was unveiled in St Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent. The Catholic altarpiece which has been called “the most influential painting ever” has been restored after four years of work.

The altarpiece is thought to have been begun by Hubert van Eyck, (c. 1385–90 – 18 September 1426) and subsequently completed in 1432 by his brother Jan van Eyck (c. 1390 – 9 July 1441)

Its features 100 figures with various Biblical scenes, including the Annunciation. Its central panel shows a sacrificial lamb, representing Christ, on an altar bleeding into a grail.

The piece has had an eventful history having been stolen six times including once during the Napoleonic wars and the First and Second World Wars.

It was very nearly destroyed in the 16th century by iconoclasts and in 1934, one of its 12 panels was stolen and never found.

The restoration began after the Getty Foundation allocated a £1.3m grant for co-ordinators to remove the varnish and adjust the colours.

“The surprises begin with the frame itself,” says Bart Devolder, onsite co-ordinator of the project. “Not all of it survived, but the portions that did were cleaned to reveal silver leaf topped by transparent glazes that imitate stonework.”

On the frame of the piece is a famous inscription naming the painting’s donors and stating that the altar was begun by Hubert van Eyck.

“Our restoration confirmed that the inscription was original,” says Devolder. “It can now be said with certainty that the Ghent Altarpiece is by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, though it is still unclear whether any of Hubert’s paint is visible on the surface.”

Cotuit Fire District Public Meetings

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Residents of the Cotuit Fire District will notice on the first line of the tax summary of your tax bill it reads “COTRES” meaning Cotuit Residents. This assessment is collected by the Cotuit Fire District to maintain the public water system, provide emergency ambulance and fire services, maintain & manage Freedom Hall and provide streetlights throughout the District.

Monthly meetings of the Prudential, Water and Fire Commissions are held at Freedom Hall. The Annual election for Commissioners and Clerk take place on the fourth Tuesday in May, 4-8pm Freedom Hall. The Annual District Meeting is held on the following Wednesday in May, 7pm Freedom Hall. Eligible voters are encouraged to attend to help decide how the Cotuit Fire District tax revenues are spent.

As a service to residents of the Cotuit Fire District below are links to Fire, Water and Prudential Committee meetings to keep you up to date and informed.

Fire Commissioners – Agendas & Minutes

Water Commissioners – Agendas & Minutes

Prudential, ByLaws & Policy Advisory Committees – Agendas & Minutes

 

For the Record

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The following article is from the Cape Cod Times April 1, 2017

THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOL’S JOKE.

Compare the $85,000 that Cotuit was hoping to receive from Borrego to install a larger solar array to the monies that Falmouth will be receiving from their project. Perhaps this is why Borrego wouldn’t answer the question “what’s in it for you”?

Falmouth solar project connection delayed

Town officials express frustration with Eversource, saying work was slated to be done Jan. 1

By Christine Legere
FALMOUTH – The 4.8-megawatt solar array on the town’s closed landfill off Thomas B. Landers Road has been ready to operate for about four months, but to date not a kilowatt has been produced nor a penny made for the town.

The problem is that Eversource Energy, which was expected to have the solar panels connected to an electrical substation by Jan. 1 so electricity could flow to the grid, hasn’t completed its work.

Since that deadline passed, Falmouth officials have become increasingly frustrated with the utility, which says it will have the work done by next week.

“When they were working on their connection from Falmouth to Martha’s Vineyard, Eversource had 20 trucks with 50 workers on Mill Road around the clock,” said James Fox, a member of the Falmouth Economic Development and Industrial Corporation, the agency handling the solar project for the town.

The vast solar array is owned and operated by Citizens Energy Corp., a nonprofit organization founded by Joseph Kennedy II.

The Economic Development and Industrial Corporation arranged a lease of the landfill to Citizens Energy for about $60,000 per year. Citizens Energy also pays the town another $60,000 or so in annual taxes.

On top of those amounts, profits from the generated electricity is expected to net the town $500,000 annually, once power is flowing to the grid.

Local officials say the town is losing more than $40,000 for each month the array remains unconnected.

Last Monday, selectmen discussed denying three requests by Eversource to install electrical service at a handful of locations, holding the company up until Eversource made good on its commitment to connect the solar array.

Ultimately the board approved Eversource’s requests, deciding a denial would only hurt residents waiting for their electric lines. The situation was still “unbelievably frustrating,” Selectman Megan English Braga said.

Falmouth’s public works Deputy Director Peter McConarty assured the board that night that Eversource promised the solar connection would be completed by March 31. He later received a letter formally confirming that commitment.

But the date has since passed.

“I talked to Citizens Energy and the contractor, and there is no evidence there was any work done there at all this week,” Fox said Friday.

This week, an Eversource spokeswoman provided new deadlines to the Times.

“Weather dependent, we’re on pace to complete our work late next week,” Rhiannon D’Angelo wrote in an email. “Strong winds and winter weather impacted our work schedule late this winter, causing us to fall slightly behind, but our plan is to finish the interconnection work on Tuesday and complete the necessary witness tests at the facility on Thursday.”

That would make the new completion date April 6.

Brian O’Connor, spokesman for Citizens Energy, just wants to see the panels hooked up.

“We look forward to the interconnection being completed and electricity finally flowing for the town, the ratepayers and the environment,” O’Connor said.

— Follow Christine Legere on Twitter: @ChrisLegereCCT