A very generous anonymous benefactor has offered us a unique opportunity to double the effect of our donations toward Dean Pond by promising to match all monies, up to $5000, donated between now and Labor Day.

This year the Popponesset Beach Association allocated $28,000 of the 2021/22 budget for hydro-raking of invasive vegetation and for an in-depth scientific survey to clarify our long-term needs to maintain the pond as a viable healthy ecosystem. Currently we have an additional expense of $12,000 needed for removal in the Fall of the hydro-raked vegetation to an approved dumping site. Our immediate fundraising goal is $25,000 but we aspire to raise as much as we can beyond these immediate costs towards water quality improvements and general pond maintenance which is estimated at $8500 to $10,000 per year.

The PBA and the Pond Committee are very aware that the association has extensive needs and requests for funding for our many projects and activities, so we invite the community to help supplement some of the ongoing pond expenses to reduce, but not eliminate, the need for PBA financial support. In line with that, Friends of Dean Pond has become a tax deductible 501c3 organization, which means your contributions may be tax deductible.

Dean Pond is a treasured resource and feature of Popponesset. The PBA thanks all the members of the pond committee -  Melissa Allen, Mary Ann Brennan-Newcomb, Greg Carey, John Cloherty, Elizabeth  Calder, Heidi Dalaklis, Michael Madnick, Joan Quilty, and Ann Zmudsky – who have contributed outstanding work, support and financial commitment to ensuring the future health of the pond for all of us.

All Popponesset homeowners have or will receive a solicitation letter in the next few days and we invite everyone to contribute by Labor Day and take advantage of the generous pledge to match our donated funds. Please contact Mary Ann Brennan Newcomb with questions: 617-529-4376.

Saturday, June 25, 2021 –We had a great turnout for the PBA semi-annual Homeowners Meeting at the Community House this morning.

Reports were presented by PBA committees about budget and dues collections, Community House activities, security, Deans Pond maintenance, roads and drainage, communications and beach accessibility.

We also heard from Mashpee Town Selectman Andrew Gotlieb about local water quality issues and future plans for wastewater management. Bob Hughes, representing Save Popponesset Bay, addressed us about their current progress and future plans to maintain the Spit. Barbara Reilly presented results of the 2021 PBA Survey.

To the Popponesset Community:

The PBA Board has been very active this winter addressing many significant community needs and projects. We have recently completed a two-month budgeting process and have made our initial budget recommendations for 2021.

Our operating budget has not changed from 2021 vs 2020.  And while we have accomplished several of our important goals over the past two years, despite best intentions we weren’t able to move as fast as possible on some of our previous approved projects. The result is that we have some funds available to us this year that have carried over from the prior year. We plan to apply these carried-over funds to several prioritized projects this coming year. The projects include:

Security
We have a new security task force and in January we held an online security meeting with the community resulting in recommendations for several new initiatives. We plan to work with our new security company, our neighboring communities, and the Mashpee town officials to send an early and consistent message on security, especially at the beaches. We will also use extra private and police details in the three weeks around July 4th.

Water Quality
We will continue to fund water quality studies to establish a good baseline of the water condition of the beaches.

Beach Accessibility
We will expand on the progress we made in 2018 to increase accessibility to the beaches by adding a beach boardwalk on Squaws Lane and a mobi-mat at Sandy Beach.

Community House
We will purchase some new playground equipment plus some other exciting summer improvements and also budget for continued architectural work and future improvements to the house.

Deans Pond
We will work with a nationally recognized firm (Solitude Lake Management) to address the biological health of the pond and perform recommended maintenance, as well as target critical areas to address invasive species. We feel very strongly that if we do not invest in the pond now, this precious resource will continue to deteriorate.

Drainage
In 2020 we were able to complete several significant drainage projects. We plan to be more aggressive with drain cleaning this year and to use this time to assess our needs and designs rather than planning new larger projects.

We plan to apply most of the roll-over funds to the above prioritized projects, leaving some for any additional unexpected needs and costs. We strongly believe these collective expenditures are warranted. We will mail PBA members a more detailed budget letter.

If you are a member of the PBA and need to update your contact information please contact us here: UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO

We will again open up our April 10th meeting to the community online at 9:30 AM. Login information for the meeting will be on the calendar [CLICK HERE] and posted on Facebook. You can feel free to ask us any questions during the meeting or contact us here: CONTACT

Looking forward to spring returning in Poppy,
The PBA Board

Popponesset residents can help to forward the initiative to improve our water quality. Watch this informative video about the Town of Mashpee's plans for funding and designing a system for wastewater treatment.  See how you can be involved: Step one is to be educated about the issue. Step two is to register to vote in Mashpee and vote for the project to be implemented. The first important vote will be in the Town Meeting Warrant available in March.

Selectman Andrew Gotlieb on
TOWN OF MASHPEE WATER TREATMENT PLAN