Published in the April 20, 2020 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — As part of its initiative to foster better communications between the Town Council and the boards and committees that it appoints, last week’s meeting featured updates from the Advisory Board of Public Works and the Environmental Sustainability Committee.
Advisory Board of Public Works Chairman Christopher Tarr talked about the kinds of work that the board does in its oversight of the DPW, such as conducting hearings on betterment projects for private streets as well as abatement hearings for water and sewer bills.
Tarr noted that the board will soon be doing its annual water and sewer rate evaluation in preparation for issuing its recommendation in June for the new rates for FY 2021.
Tarr also talked about the planned curbside textile recycling program and how that will work. In response to a question regarding other DPW initiatives to reduce waste, Tarr said that the board was open to considering any suggestions.
Environmental Sustainability Committee Chairman Rob Darnell reviewed the composition of the committee and its guiding principles. He also talked about some the outreach that the committee has done.
He said that the committee has been working to map municipal building roofs for solar potential. They have also worked closely with the schools on reducing waste through composting and recycling. In addition, the group is spearheading an initiative to move away from the use of foam packaging.
Darnell talked about the committees’s efforts to promote zero-waste events as well as the upcoming virtual Earth Day Celebration.
In response to a question, Darnell said that the DPW will be deploying some public recycling containers around town to augment public trash receptacles.
Also at last week’s meeting, the Town Council set a public hearing for April 27, 2020 for Bhavya Two LLC, 950 Main St., regarding a request for a license or a modification of a license to store flammables.
