Town Meeting OKs sludge-site lease, 113-46

Town Meeting · Meeting of October 26, 2026

Wareham's Fall Town Meeting voted 113-46 to authorize a 30-year lease of town land for a potential sludge-processing facility near the wastewater plant. Director of Water Pollution Control Scott Crehansel said the town pays roughly $500,000 annually to dispose of biosolids, a cost expected to rise as its current Rhode Island disposal site closes, and pitched pyrolysis technology as an alternative; Linwood Avenue resident Sally Morrison said neighbors have endured "horrifying smell" from the existing plant for years. Town Meeting also approved a $1.8 million transfer for a public safety radio upgrade, $1 million in Community Preservation funds for a 348-acre conservation restriction along the lower Agawam River, and a new three-year police union contract with 2 percent annual raises.

A citizen's petition letting downtown businesses count public parking toward occupancy requirements failed 104-53, short of the two-thirds threshold, after Planning Board Chair Jane Gleason urged members to address parking "holistically" rather than piecemeal.

In the full story:

• Opening and Consent Agenda
• Article 11: Decas School Custody
• Article 12: Community Events Committee Bylaw
• Article 10: Tony's Lane Surplus Declaration and Sludge Facility Lease
• — Thomas Bickey, resident [00:37:51]
• Article 7: Police Union Contracts
• Article 17: Lower Agawam River Conservation Restriction
• Article 1: Public Safety Radio Upgrade
• Article 9: Police Chief Age Extension
• Procedural steps and outcome: Passed by majority voice vote; the moderator noted hearing at least one audible "nay."
• Article 18: Parking Count Toward Occupancy (Zoning Bylaw Amendment)
• — Jane Gleason, Planning Board chair [01:52:07]
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,411 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of October 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.