Editor’s note: This article has been updated from the original to provide more information on the Select Board meeting.
The North Carver Water District is no longer a one man show.
The Select Board voted in two not so new commissioners to the water district in a meeting on Tuesday, June 26.
At the meeting, board members voted for former commissioners Eric Mueller and Douglas Ficks to fill two vacant seats and serve with Bob Belbin, the district’s formerly lone member.
The North Carver Water District operates and maintains the town’s North Carver water supply, according to the town’s website. As of late last year, water has been supplied by the Middleboro Water Department for North Carver residents due to water quality issues and maintenance requirements, according to the Carver district’s consumer confidence report.
The new members were added following concerns raised about conditions at the North Carver water plant and the financial viability of the water district, both of which were highlighted at the meeting.
Eric Mueller has a long history in the water industry and first served as a commissioner starting in fall of 2022 before resigning last year, he said.
“We were going to the town for the money,” Mueller said. “There was no budget for operations and maintenance.”
This caused Mueller to step down from the role alongside former chairman Mike Palimeri. They hoped that leaving the board empty would have it fall under the responsibility of the town, and in turn, figure out the water district’s poor financial situation, Mueller said.
After Belbin filled a vacant seat on the water district, it never fell into the hands of the Select Board. And now, the district still faces major financial and operational challenges.
This time though, Mueller hopes to stay.
“I’d like to see it through,” he said.
Before nominating Mueller for the position, Select Board member Mark Townsend said that experience is important in this role.
“I just think that experience with water and with the North Carver Water District is a really important thing,” Townsend said.
Douglas Ficks served as a commissioner for the North Carver Water district also starting in 2022, but opted not to run for re-election in the last election.
“I was just swamped at work,” he said. “I just had too much on my plate.”
Now, Ficks said that his schedule has freed up, which will allow him to serve as a commissioner again, hence he is yet again seeking the role.
Ficks has worked for decades in the water departments of both Hanson and Duxbury. He said that he believed his knowledge and work experience would bring a help to the town of Carver as a water district commissioner.
“There’s no substitute for experience,” Townsend said about supporting Ficks’s nomination.
In a joint appointment from the Select Board and North Carver Water District, Select Board members voted alongside Belbin to decide who would sit with him as water district commissioners.
Mueller was voted in by a vote of 4-1, with Belbin as the only “no” vote.
Ficks was voted in by a vote of 3-2, with Select Board members John Cotter, Sarah Hewins, and Mark Townsend voting “yes.” Jim Hoffman and Bob Belbin voted against Fick’s nomination.
Belbin expressed his desire to have new blood in the water district and his opposition to the appointees. There were three other applicants who did not previously hold North Carver Water District positions in consideration.
“You’re getting the same old, same old,” Belbin said about the two new members.
At the meeting, Belbin was concerned about his future influence in the water district.
“If [Mueller] is allowed to get back on and Mr. Ficks gets back on… there’s no reason for me to stay because I’ll get overruled on everything,” Belbin said. “I want new people on the board.”
Despite their opposing stances on water district nominees, Cotter, who chairs the Select Board, praised Belbin for his ability to get projects done and “drive things home.”
“I hope you stay on the board,” Cotter said to Belbin.
Contact editor Nick Mossman at nick@carverjournal.com
