All meetings in Truro are remote only. Go to truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. The agenda includes instructions on how to join.
Thursday, August 19
- Climate Action Committee, 10:30 a.m.
- Pamet Harbor Commission, Pamet Harbor, 5 p.m.
- School Committee, 5:15 p.m.
Friday, August 20
- Board of Library Trustees, 3:30 p.m.
Monday, August 23
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 24
- Select Board, 5 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Steer Clear
Two calves escaped from the Mooney farm on South Pamet Road on Thursday, Aug. 12, prompting a roundup that involved both the Wellfleet and Truro police departments.
The two calves had recently been picked out from an up-Cape herd, according to George Mooney, who owns and operates the farm with his wife, Janet. “They were lonely here, I guess,” Mooney said.
The calves first attempted a getaway on Wednesday night, Mooney said. He patched up the fence they had walked through, but they found another weakness in the barrier the next day. Part of the problem, Mooney said, was that the fence was designed to hold much larger cows (these calves are only eight months old).
George and Janet Mooney, and family who were visiting, began a search. They also alerted the Truro police. The officers involved could not be reached for comment by deadline.
One of the calves was captured quickly, but the other pressed on towards Newcomb Hollow Beach. Dispatcher Emily Miller of the Wellfleet Police Dept. received a phone call from someone walking down the dirt road. “Um, I was just walking to the beach — and there’s a — cow in front of me,” the caller told Miller.
Soon after, lifeguards were told to be on the lookout for the cows. “I’ve been doing this job for 30 years, and this is the first time I’ve had a cow incident,” said the Beach Director Suzanne Grout Thomas.
According to Miller, once Wellfleet officers caught up to the beach-bound calf, they puzzled over how to secure him. With the animal control officer off duty, a catch pole wasn’t an option. “So, they just kind of tried to corral him and keep him in the area,” Miller said. “He wanted nothing to do with humans whatsoever.”
The calf was reunited with his owners on Thursday evening. —Ben Glickman and Jasmine Lu
Un-Certainties
Truro’s tax classification hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24, during the select board’s 5 p.m. meeting. Truro’s residential tax exemption (RTE) will be discussed, as it is every year, and a rate approved. The RTE was 20 percent for FY2021. It was passed in 2018 at the 20 percent rate and has not changed, said Truro Principal Assessor Jon Nahas.
While towns can set the rate for their RTE, Massachusetts law caps it at 35 percent. In all municipalities that have the exemption, residents must apply for it — it’s not automatic. And, whether or not the RTE has been enacted, the local board must revisit the question annually.
The 16 municipalities in the state that have adopted the policy include Provincetown, Wellfleet, and Truro. Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline also have done so.
Eastham has not adopted the RTE. During a select board meeting on July 26, the board voted unanimously against it, said Eastham Principal Assessor Belinda Eyestone.
An RTE is revenue neutral, but it offers year-round resident home owners a property tax benefit by increasing the property tax paid by others. In some towns, such as Provincetown, the part-time resident taxpayers’ association objects to the RTE. A similar organization — the Truro Part-time Resident Taxpayers’ Association — exists in Truro as well, but the most recent minutes on its website are from July 2019, and there is no immediately apparent opposition to the RTE. —Sophie Hills