Select Board weighs $100,000 design appropriation for former Atwood water-tank contamination; funding source disputed

The Select Board on Sept. 16 discussed a proposed article asking town meeting to appropriate $100,000 from free cash to fund engineering design and bidding for remediation at the former Atwood water-tank site. The appropriation would produce a construction bid package and clarify full remediation costs; it does not itself pay for full cleanup. Doug Manns, chair of the Affordable Housing Trust, told the board the trust voted 5–0 to withdraw an earlier $200,000 offer tied to acquiring the parcel. He said the trust wants more time to study the contamination and to consider other affordable-housing opportunities. "We did vote 5 to nothing to withdraw the offer of the 200,000 for the land," Manns said. Consultants from PAIR told the town the most heavily impacted areas could be addressed with a cap of filter fabric and cover material for roughly $15,000 as an interim measure; the $100,000 article would instead fund engineering design work so the town can solicit firm remediation bids. Select Board members debated whether the cost should come from free cash or the water-reserve fund; one member argued properties that do not receive town water should not be assessed for cleanup costs attributable to the public water system, while others said funding from the general fund would avoid creating divisions. Neighbors urged inclusion of testing on abutter properties, and the board requested further technical detail before finalizing the article. The Select Board asked DPW leadership and the town’s consultant to return with more precise remediation options and cost estimates ahead of the Oct. 7 warrant-signing deadline.