TRURO — Town staff plan to move a cottage from the Walsh property onto a town-owned lot where lifeguards, beach attendants, camp counselors, and other seasonal employees can live next summer.
The select board on Aug. 23 approved moving either Cottage 10 or Cottage 13 on the Walsh land from its current location on a 70-acre swath of town land to a much smaller lot at 25 South Highland Road. The South Highland parcel is near the town’s former burn dump. Water testing there found no contaminants. A single-family home with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) can be placed there “by right,” that is, without requiring a special permit or variance from the zoning bylaw, according to Dept. of Public Works Director Jarrod Cabral.
The cottages are among eight cabins on the Walsh property, which the town purchased in 2019 for $5.1 million. The Walsh Property Community Planning Committee (WPCPC) members, who are now brainstorming a master plan for use of the property, concluded that that they did not want the town to use any of the cottages onsite, WPCPC Co-chair Fred Gaechter told the Independent on Aug. 30.
“We felt the use would restrict the planning for the entirety of the property,” Gaechter said. “It would have restricted the master plan. We want to view the property as a blank slate.”
The cottages are in various states of disrepair; they were used by the Walsh family after being rented out as part of a seasonal cottage colony during the 1940s and 1950s. Cottages 10 and 13 are in the best condition, Gaechter said, which explains why they are being eyed for town staff in 2023.
At 881 square feet, Cottage 10 has three bedrooms and a single bath, according to a Weston & Sampson report on the Walsh property. Cottage 13 is a Sears, Roebuck kit home constructed in 1940 containing three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and a single bathroom. It was occupied seasonally until 2007, the report stated.
Officials scoped out the cost of moving one of the cottages to South Highland Road and determined it could be done for $361,000, Cabral told the select board on Aug. 23. That includes a new foundation, septic system, and renovations, Cabral added.
Town Manager Darrin Tangeman told the select board the town must now formalize the cost with contingencies and seek funding from the Truro Housing Trust, which has $500,000, according to Kevin Grunwald of the Truro Housing Authority.
“We do have a deadline to do this,” Tangeman said on Aug. 23, adding he would like to have the summer staff be able to occupy the cottage and an ADU next summer. Tangeman referred to a house that may be donated to the town as the ADU, but he was not available to explain further before the Independent’s deadline.
Finding housing for summer employees has been a major challenge in Truro and throughout the Outer Cape. This summer, Truro offered $2,500 signing bonuses for camp counselors and lifeguards if they stayed through August. While that measure did bring in enough staff to run a summer camp, only 25 to 35 campers could sign up, as opposed to 100 in prior years.
“We had hired staff and lifeguards who had to decline the offer because they couldn’t find anywhere to live that wasn’t too expensive,” Recreation Director Damion Clements told the Independent in June.
Eastham had to cancel its popular swimming lessons, which once attracted 200 students, because the town could not attract lifeguards or swim instructors.
The Truro Select Board had instructed town staff to research all town-owned property for potential “workforce” housing. The terminology applies to homes rentable to those earning between 60 and 120 percent of area median income, said Truro Principal Assessor Jon Nahas. Grunwald, however, said a better term is “community housing,” since it is more respectful of people living in affordable housing. They too, he said, are part of the workforce.
Nahas presented two other properties where homes could be erected (or moved) without zoning variances. There is 340 Route 6, next to the town’s public safety facility. That 2.7-acre property is also being considered for a new DPW headquarters, Nahas said.
The town owns 9.4 acres at 0 Quail Ridge Road, which is next to the Walsh property and the Cape Cod National Seashore. “We do need to work on access to that property,” Nahas said. It has the potential for many homes, he added.
