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Date: 5/18/2021
HATFIELD – Residents in Hatfield gathered on May 11 to vote on 30 warrant articles presented by the town during its Annual Town Meeting.
While most articles passed quickly, Article 13 and subsequently Article 22 required further discussion.
Article 13 was a citizen’s petition brought forward by resident Susan Berry, who wanted to move a proposed sewage pump that would be placed on her property to another location, which would rescind a previous vote from the Special Town Meeting in November 2020.
“The town wants to put a raw sewage pump station in the front of my lot where the restaurant The Waxwing is currently located. I do not want to stop the sewer project but having the pump station located in front of the restaurant with outside dining is not a good idea,” she said.
After Berry said one of her concerns was the odor from the sewage, Scott Simpson, a civil engineer on the project, said it was less likely to happen with a public sewage pump.
“The pump station is completely underground so at the surface there is only a concrete pad that can be detached for maintenance. It has a driveway associated with it and the entire area is fenced. For odors, wastewater only generates an odor when it is stagnant, and that risk is significantly reduced with a public sewer system,” he said.
Simpson also said that the easement needed to be 1,100 square feet since the sewage pump would be on a Massachusetts Department of Transportation highway.
“We considered many options for the pump station, but the proposal I saw was missing sewer connections for a couple of residents. Another important consideration is because West Street is a Department of Transportation highway as part of Route 5, it requires every driveway to have enough space to turn around, which takes up most of the space for the easement,” he said.
After one resident asked if it were possible to move the project, Simpson said it was but would lead to an increased cost and delay in the project.
During the discussion, Berry’s engineer that she hired for the project, Bucky Sparkle, explained that there were other options for the location and the current project would limit parking at the Waxwing.
“One of the downsides about putting it on a commercial property in this particular case is that there is parking that would be lost as well as access for tractor trailers. In terms of practicality across the street and a little bit north there is already vegetative screening that would help protect the visual scape of that property,” he said.
After the discussion, the town voted to deny the petition with a 73-72 vote against it, but residents said they were unhappy that there was not a recount after just one head count of residents.
“With all due respect, what played out on that vote was offensive, and it was outrageous. A one vote difference and there was no recount, that just was not right. I almost feel like I need to leave because what is the point of being here,” one resident, Sean Robinson, said.
Because Article 22 was a request to continue the sewage project, residents voted to move the article up after quickly passing Article 14.
Article 22 required a two-thirds majority vote with 81 in favor and passed 82 in favor to 39 opposed.