By Michelle Pelletier Marshall
ROWLEY — A special town meeting will be held on Monday at Pine Grove School at 7:30 p.m. All residents are encouraged to attend and vote on important issues affecting tax dollars. A quorum of 100 people is needed to vote on the issues at hand.
Sixteen articles are on the town warrant for this special town meeting, including asking that a total appropriation of funding transfers for $125,748.75 to be used by the Board of Water Commissioners to fund a water quality pilot testing program. The results of the program will be used to determine a water treatment process for a soon-to-be-built water treatment facility in town.
"This facility will address the near urgent need for the town of Rowley to ensure the continuation of safe drinking water for the residents in town," said Scott Martin, chairman of board of water commissioners. The water treatment facility project is expected to take more than three years and cost upward of $7 million.
Rowley has three water stations: Well 2, built in 1960, near the Agawam Diner; Well 3, which is off Boxford Road and was built in 1981; and Well 5, which was built in 2004, on Pingree Farm Road. While there have been no problems with the water supply from Well 2, which supplies two-thirds of the town's water, both Well 3 and Well 5 have had water safety issues, evidenced by the presence of coliform, sporadically since 2005.
Despite diligent maintenance, chlorine cleanings and other precautions, in addition to resolving issues of unacceptable items, such as junk cars and manure piles found in the watershed protection district, the problems at Wells 3 and 5 have not been permanently resolved.
"We feel this (the adding of more and more chlorine) is getting to a breaking point and just increasing the level of chlorine is not going to fix the issue anymore," said John Rezza, water department superintendent. "Since the treatment plant solution is at least three years out, we need to get the pilot program underway now."
The other articles on the town warrant address appropriating funding for call firefighter and police department wages, as well as wages for a parks and recreation services coordinator position. Releasing funding for a fire services study and repair of fencing in the town cemetery will also be voted on at the meeting. Other town needs to be addressed include releasing funding (no town funds will be used) for landscape work at the Fox Meadow Condominium development, and repairs and restoration of the Town Hall and Annex buildings with money from the Community Preservation Fund Historic Resources Reserve.
