Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are held in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, June 13
- Herring River Executive Council, 3 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m.
Monday, June 17
- Special town meeting, 6 p.m., Wellfleet Elementary School
Tuesday, June 18
- Special town election, noon to 7 p.m., Adult Community Center
Late Spring Town Meeting
At the Wellfleet Community Forum on June 10, Town Moderator Dan Silverman remarked that the warrant booklet for the upcoming June 17 special town meeting is the thinnest he has ever seen.
Town Administrator Tom Guerino and Wellfleet Food Pantry volunteer Cindy Batchelder presented the two articles on the anomalous late spring agenda.
“It’s kind of odd for me to come before you my first month on the job and say I want to spend $1.7 million of your dollars, especially given what you have had for difficulties over the past few years,” Guarino said, referring to the article requesting that the town purchase the Gestalt Center in South Wellfleet. “Sometimes an opportunity presents itself.”
The article asks for a $1.7-million debt exclusion to fund the purchase. It will require a two-thirds majority vote at town meeting and majority approval at the special election the next day at the Adult Community Center.
According to Guerino, the 4,484-square-foot building would house offices for the building, conservation, planning, and community development departments. It would also provide additional meeting space for the public and a basement for record keeping (which is in suitable dry condition, Guerino said: “There wasn’t any critter droppings”).
Guerino said that the debt exclusion, while adding further debt to the town, will not affect the tax rate because $1.98 million in other borrowing will be coming off the debt schedule in the next four years.
Jan Morrissey asked if the property, which sits on two acres of upland, could be subdivided in the future for housing. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility,” Guerino said, though he had not previously considered it.
The pantry hopes to build a new structure on the Adult Community Center property. But Batchelder said at the forum that the citizens’ petition for the use of the South Wellfleet fire station is a backup option, given that the pantry’s agreement with its current landlord, Grace Chapel, calls for it to be out by the end of the year.
Moderator Silverman noted that the petitioned article authorizes the select board to lease the fire station but does not require it to do so. The Pantry will be meeting with the select board on June 20 discuss next steps. —Sam Pollak
