Harwich Capital Outlay Committee backs new feasibility study for combined DPW and water facility

HARWICH — June 10, 2026 — Harwich Capital Outlay Committee launches feasibility study for combined DPW and water facility after town meeting defeat. The committee met June 10 to debrief on the spring town meeting, where a $1 million DPW building article failed both on the floor and at the ballot, and to chart a new course. Town Administrator Jay told members he has retained Weston and Sampson through the town's engineering budget to conduct a feasibility study — with deliverables expected by December 2026 — on a joint DPW and Water and Sewer facility, a larger scope than the rejected proposal. He said water and sewer commissioners have agreed to participate in part because their existing site sits in a Zone 1 wellhead protection zone where new construction is restricted, and that a combined facility could split debt service between the general fund and the enterprise fund, reducing any future debt exclusion ask. Committee chair Martha Donovan separately raised sharp concerns about proposed Charter Commission language she said would require more than 30 separate votes at town meeting to clear a typical capital plan, warning "we're going to end up with a lawyer sitting in a meeting" to interpret the provisions; she and other members urged attendance at the Charter Commission's public outreach session on June 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Harwich Town Hall.