Orleans voters approve six Prop 2 1/2 questions. Here is what the spending is for.
Orleans residents voted to support spending $4.5 million to pay for design work for a new fire-rescue station during Tuesday's annual election.
According to preliminary election results, 1,016 voters supported the move, while 521 voters opposed it.
The funding will pay to hire architects, an owner's project manager, and other related costs. After the design for the new station on Eldredge Park Way is complete, a proposal for a full construction will be presented to voters at a future town meeting.
The question also previously passed during the town's annual town meeting.
In all, Orleans approved seven ballot questions, including six Proposition 2½ questions.
The question seeking a $40.5 million debt exclusion for third phase of construction for the Lakes and Ponds Sewer Area Project in the area of Crystal Lake, Pilgrim Lake, Lonnie's Pond, Arey's Pond, and Namequoit River passed.
Voters also approved a $1.6 million debt exclusion to pay for the construction of the replacement of the easterly bulkhead located at the Goose Hummock town landing on Town Cove.
Another question passed for a $5 million debt exclusion to fund the design and construction of municipally owned solar projects at the wastewater treatment facility on Overland Way, the water treatment facility off Route 28, and the Department of Public Works facility on Giddiah Hill Road.
Orleans voters also approved $600,000 to fund connection engineering services for property owners in the Meetinghouse Pond Area; and assessing an additional $989,627 in real estate and personal property taxes for the fiscal 2026 operating budget.
Last, the nonbinding public opinion advisory asking state and other officials to prevent Holtec Inc. from evaporating into the air radioactive wastewater from the now-closed Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station also passed.
The election featured no contested races.
Both incumbents, Michael Allen Herman and Mark William Mathison, were reelected to the Select Board for new three-year terms. John P. Smith Jr. was unchallenged in his bid for another term on the Board of Health.
John Kanaga will serve as the town moderator.
Elizabeth Dawn Paine won her unopposed run for Nauset Regional School Committee and Virginia E. Stribula for the Orleans Elementary School Committee.
And Tracy O. Murphy and William Francis Powers, Jr. were unopposed in their bid for the Snow Library Board of Trustees.
Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on X @zanerazz.
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: See what Orleans voters passed at the town election
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Worries fuel push to elevate water woes on policy agenda
BOSTON (SHNS) – The Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources got its feet wet Tuesday, diving into testimony on bills dealing with water. Water and water infrastructure generally do not grab the spotlight in the way that other policy areas like transportation, education and housing do, but lawmakers and advocates who testified before the committee stressed their major economic, public health and environmental implications. Testimony Tuesday touched on issues related to PFAS, lead and other contaminants; water quality standards for private wells; drought management strategies; and the future of the networks of pipes that move water to and from homes. 'Massachusetts is facing a growing water infrastructure crisis. The pipes that deliver drinking water, the systems that treat wastewater and the stormwater infrastructure that protects our neighborhoods is decades or even centuries old. The U.S. EPA estimates that Massachusetts needs almost $37 billion in drinking water and clean water investment over the next 20 years. That is billion, not million,' Jennifer Peterson, executive director of the Massachusetts Water Works Association, told lawmakers. Peterson pitched a bill (H 1022 / S 563) that would establish a program for upgrading and expanding water infrastructure and would call for $200 million in annual state funding. She said state assistance is critical since 'water infrastructure investment is a shared responsibility among rate payers, the state and the federal government.' Local ratepayers have been burdened by, in some cases, double-digit water rate increases in recent years and the Trump administration's fiscal 2026 budget proposes to reduce funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund by 90%, she said. The bill, filed by Rep. Ted Philips of Sharon and Sen. John Cronin of Fitchburg, would dedicate $2 billion to expand the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's capacity with an emphasis on 'improving drinking water quality and increasing housing capacity,' designate $375 million for the HousingWorks infrastructure program, allocate $138 million for the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, and provide $78.5 million for the Commonwealth Sewer Rate Relief Fund, according to a summary from Cronin. 'The infrastructure is aging, and we really need to start investing in it. And there's not enough money on the local level, there just isn't. Certainly not with Proposition 2 1/2, that makes it crushing,' Paul Anderson, vice president of the Barnstable County Water Utilities Association, told the committee. Sen. Becca Rausch, the Senate co-chair of the committee, pressed Peterson, Anderson and others on where the roughly $3 billion contemplated in the bill should come from. 'I'll be very frank, right, having done this role and for a number of years now … nobody ever wants to pay more taxes. So where would we get $3 billion for this?' she asked. Peterson responded that the bill calls for a revival of the Water Infrastructure Advisory Committee that was created in a 2014 water law but has been mostly dormant since about 2018. She said that group would 'discuss where the new revenue sources would come from.' She said the conversation in previous years revolved around taxes on products that have a connection to water infrastructure. 'Back in 2012 when Representative [Carolyn] Dykema and Senator [James] Eldridge were leading the Water Infrastructure Finance Commission, toilet paper tax, pharmaceutical tax — things that had a nexus to water — were discussed, but there was never any consensus around how to move those forward,' she said. Rep. Mike Connolly of Cambridge was joined by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan to support legislation (H 920) that would require the Department of Environmental Protection to create and administer a voucher program to cover the costs of PFAS filtration equipment for households in municipalities where PFAS levels exceed the maximum contamination levels. Citing the Sierra Club, Connolly said 96 communities in Massachusetts had water systems that exceed that maximum containment level for PFAS as of February, up from 56 communities a few years earlier. 'There may be a question as to why the district attorney's office is involved in this water issue. It is what Representative Connolly referenced. I feel that part of the privilege of serving as the district attorney is to be looking at really a whole menu of prevention efforts,' Ryan said. 'We know, as the representative just mentioned, the problem with PFAS in water has grown by 47% in the last four years. Many of those communities are in my county.' The bill got a favorable report from the Environment Committee last session but then died in House Ways and Means, according to the committee's summary. Connolly said the version he filed this session has been updated to reflect feedback from key stakeholder groups. Ryan said the bill would provide vouchers for people to obtain two PFAS filtration devices in a five-year period, and it would cover the costs to change the filters every six months as recommended. She said the filters are placed at the point of water service, like faucets, washing machines, tub spouts and more. The district attorney said a set of filtration devices for a household costs about $300, and the replacement filters cost less than $50 each. Rep. Danillo Sena of Acton focused his testimony on well water, which he said is common throughout his district. Across Massachusetts, about 500,000 people rely on private wells for their water service, he said, but the state has no standards for private well testing or water quality. 'Because of this, many families don't know what is in their water. They purchase their home with no guarantee that their water is safe. Contaminants like lead, arsenic, bacteria and PFAS have been found in wells across Massachusetts. These have long-term effects on health, and with children at more risk than adults,' he said, testifying in support of a bill (H 1049) he filed. 'This legislation ensures that homeowners do not need to worry about the quality of their water through creating standards of wells [and requiring] testing. The Massachusetts Constitution established the right of clean air and water. We must uphold that right and protect 500,000 residents that currently do not have any legal protection.' Similar legislation from Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Reps. Natalie Blais and Meghan Kilcoyne (S 585 / H 900) was also on the committee docket Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Maryland Gov. Moore to announce support for flood mitigation projects in Howard County
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is expected to announce support for flood mitigation projects in Howard County through a state loan fund Wednesday. Additional support would be provided through the Maryland Department of Emergency Management's Resilient Revolving Loan Fund. Flood mitigation in Howard County Parts of Howard County experienced deadly flooding in 2011, 2016 and 2018, prompting an aggressive effort to prevent similar events in the future. After eight inches of rain turned Ellicott City streets into rivers and damaged more than 70 businesses, the county launched the Safe and Sound plan to address flooding issues with retention ponds in four areas. The plan dictates that debris be removed from waterways after weather events that bring two or more inches of rain within 24 hours or after strong winds. Before the plan was enacted, the waterways were inspected on a quarterly or semi-quarterly basis. Between 2018 and March 2025, Howard County's Department of Public Works removed more than 100,000 pounds of debris. There are a total of seven projects under the Safe and Sound Plan. So far, two of four retention ponds have been built, and a third is expected to be done by fall 2025, according to county officials. In Ellicott City, several flood safety measures have also been implemented, like signage pointing to high-ground access and a tone alert system. Federal funding cuts spark concerns The funding for all of Howard County's flood mitigation projects was secured, Executive Calvin Ball said in February. However, the proposed state budget and the Trump administration's federal spending cuts sparked concerns. The Safe and Sound Plan costs about $250 million, and a third of that is supported by federal funds, according to Ball. The county's flood mitigation plan is supported in part by a $75 million WIFIA loan from the Environmental Protection Agency and $20 million in funding from FEMA. "Uncertainty about federal funding places Howard County in an extremely precarious position, assuming tremendous financial risk," Ball said in March.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Plow driver testifies he saw no body in snow during crucial hours in Karen Read murder trial
Karen Read's defense team is looking to build on momentum yesterday from a surprise police witness who testified that her taillight was less damaged when he helped seize it with a warrant than it appears in photos taken after it arrived at the Canton Police Department, where authorities first towed it. Read's defense called Brian "Lucky" Loughran, a Department of Public Works employee, to the witness stand Wednesday morning. He testified that he passed by 34 Fairview Road, the home of Brian Albert, where John O'Keefe was found dead in the snow, multiple times between 2:40 a.m. and around 6 a.m. Prosecutors allege Read hit her boyfriend outside and drove off, leaving him to die amid blizzard conditions. Loughran said he had good visibility despite the blizzard conditions due to multiple lights on the plow truck and a high seat. Asked if he saw a body in the snow, he said no -- but he added that he did see a Ford Edge SUV parked outside the address on a later pass around 3:30 a.m. Karen Read's Silence In Murder Trial Raises Stakes For Defense He said it stood out to him because he was from the area and knew the Albert family -- and he had to maneuver around the vehicle as he cleared the road. Read On The Fox News App "For as long as I can remember, they have never parked a vehicle in front of their house," Loughran testified. "They've always had enough ample parking in the driveway." Special prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Loughran during cross-examination about purported threats from an online blogger and inconsistencies in his timeline. Karen Read Judge Blocks Sandra Birchmore Mentions; Expert Says Cases Should Be Wake-up Call For Police Loughran said he never felt threatened by the blogger and denied having a bad memory when Brennan confronted him with multiple statements that offered different times for when the river passed by Fairview Road. Then Brennan played police dashcam video taken outside 34 Fairview that showed the heavy snowfall and the distance between the house there and Cedarcrest Road, where a plow truck drove by multiple times in the background. Loughran agreed that some of the passes were him in the plow, dubbed "Frankentruck," but said he couldn't be sure at other moments. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X The taillight fragments were not found at the crime scene until later, too, and her defense's implication is that they could have been planted there. Wednesday marks the 27th day of Read's retrial on murder and other charges in the January 2022 death of O'Keefe, her then-boyfriend, a Boston police officer, and an uncle who had taken in the orphaned children of his late sister and brother-in-law. She denies hitting him with her 2021 Lexus SUV and leaving the scene, where he died with head trauma and signs of hypothermia. The defense says no collision happened and something or someone else caused his injuries. On Tuesday, Dighton Police Sgt. Nicholas Barros testified that when he arrived at Read's parents' house to help state police confiscate the vehicle, fewer pieces of taillight were missing from the cracked taillight. He said that a photo of Read's SUV taken at the Canton Police Department's sallyport – a secure garage – did "absolutely not" show the taillight in the same condition it was in when he saw it in the driveway. Barros surprised the courtroom when he testified for the commonwealth during Read's first trial, which ended with a deadlocked jury last year. This time, he was a defense witness. Karen Read's Suv Reached '74% Throttle' Moments Before John O'keefe's Final Movements, Crash Expert Testifies "He was a devastating witness who has the [district attorney's] case on life support," said Mark Bederow, a New York City-based defense attorney who is closely following the case. He said special prosecutor Hank Brennan conducted an "excellent" cross-examination, showing Barros and the jury images of Read's taillight taken over the course of the day, before police took her SUV, but defense attorney Alan Jackson performed equally well in redirect questioning. Sign Up To Get The True Crime Newsletter "The sum total is that Barros is 100% unequivocal: the taillight he saw on January 29 was not anywhere near as destroyed as when the [Massachusetts State Police] had it," he said. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who is also following the case, called Barros' testimony a "bombshell" and said the surprise in trial 1 was "a clear Brady violation" – referring to a rule that prosecutors must share exculpatory evidence with the defense. "The fact that a police officer drove to the Omni Hotel to meet with the defense team of a defendant on trial for murder clearly indicates he wanted to tell his story," she told Fox News Digital. Dr. Judson Welcher, an expert for the prosecution, explained to jurors how he found that O'Keefe appeared to have been struck in the arm by the back corner of Read's SUV before he fell to the ground and fractured the back of his skull. Christina Hanley, an analyst with the state police's crime lab, testified that investigators recovered plastic fragments from O'Keefe's clothing that were a match with the broken taillight or something made of the same material. Read could face life in prison if convicted of the top charge, second-degree article source: Plow driver testifies he saw no body in snow during crucial hours in Karen Read murder trial
