Meetings are held remotely. From wellfleet-ma.gov, hover over a date on the calendar on the right of the screen and click on the meeting you’re interested in to open its agenda. That document will provide information about how to view and take part remotely.
Friday, Jan. 15
- Bike and Walkways Committee, 9 a.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 19
- Emergency Management Team Covid-19 community update, 12 noon
- Harbor Dredging Task Force, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 20
- Conservation Commission, 4 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Covid-19 Update
According to the Mass. Dept. of Public Health’s weekly Covid-19 report, Wellfleet had three new cases of Covid-19 within the 14 days preceding Jan. 5. The town has recorded a total of 29 cases and one death from the virus.
Shellfish Board Gets Creative
Two Covid-related agenda items were on the table at the Jan. 6 shellfish advisory board meeting. As the Wellfleet Shellfishermen’s Farmers Market (a response to Covid’s effect on restaurants) turns one month old this week, members discussed its future. They also sought to remedy problems with this year’s rising numbers of recreational shellfishermen.
The state Dept. of Public Health has not approved shellfishermen to operate their own trucks or stands. That means the market’s entire operation is dependent on Holbrook Oyster’s truck, something Shellfish Constable Nancy Civetta is eager to change.
The market’s organizers are also newly focusing on equity in participation. Selectman Ryan Curley explained that shellfishermen will now participate in two-week rotations, “to cycle in some new people and give them a chance at the market.” That rule won’t apply to shellfishermen providing a product that no one else is. Market organizers are eager to find a Wellfleet-based scallop vendor.
A motion to increase the cost of all shellfishing permits by five dollars starting Feb. 1 also passed unanimously. The initiative was Civetta’s, who cited a dramatic increase in the number of shellfishing permits sold this year, especially online. The five dollars will cover the credit card processing fee, which Civetta called “a significant dollar amount that I did not budget.”
Board member Jake Puffer was skeptical of the fee increase at first. “I know a lot of guys are struggling,” he said. In the end, though, he and the rest of the board members came around. “I think that’s reasonable and smart to increase it,” said member Zack Dixon.
Recreational annual resident permits will now cost $65; annual senior resident permits, $25; annual nonresident permits, $215; and commercial permits, $315.
—Josephine de La Bruyère
