WELLFLEET — Roughly 300 voters at Monday’s annual town meeting reveled in a budget with no overrides and whipped through the first 12 financial articles on the 35-article warrant in the first hour. Healthy debate on a citizens’ petition calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and a home-rule petition for pesticide reduction occupied most of the evening. Every article passed except a petition to establish a scholarship fund for Wellfleet students.
The fiscal 2025 operating budget, presented in the warrant booklet with Wellfleet’s standard “typographical errors,” according to Town Moderator Dan Silverman, clocked in at $31.3 million. That’s a 7-percent increase from last year, but “we are doing very well,” said Wellfleet’s new Town Administrator Tom Guerino.
The $2.6-million capital budget was also approved. Jim Lotti questioned the need for a $350,000 upgrade for the fire dept.’s HVAC system, noting that the station is only 14 years old.
“The HVAC has been faulty since day one,” Fire Chief Richard Pauley said. DPW Director Jay Norton said the current system causes mold, and the town has won a $200,000 Green Communities grant for an eco-friendly system, he added.
Eleven community preservation articles were approved as a package, totaling $1.5 million for housing, recreation, open space, and historic preservation. The Affordable Housing Trust will get $750,000; four Habitat for Humanity homes on Old King’s Highway will get $175,000; $150,000 will go to a land conservation fund; and $200,000 will help the Cape Cod Modern House Trust restore the home of Bauhaus designer Marcel Breuer.
A $100,000 Proposition 2½ override to create a scholarship fund for high school seniors was the only article to be defeated. It was a citizens’ petition by Bill Dugan, but Town Counsel Carolyn Murray said it was not legal, citing a provision of the state constitution that prohibits the use of taxpayer money for private individuals.
The voters were mostly agreeable on Monday, but a group of 25 voted against every financial article. Diane Brunt said after the meeting that she had rallied the group to vote against “waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars. If we went line by line, we would have been here until 2 a.m. We are tired of talking. That’s why we voted no.”
Ceasefire Petition
A petition calling for an enduring ceasefire in Gaza passed by a majority vote after a 30-minute discussion. A copy will be sent to the town’s Congressional delegation and to President Joe Biden.
Since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military, said petition cosponsor Mia Saunders. “The scale of destruction, largely inflicted by U.S.-supplied weapons and paid for by our tax dollars, is unparalleled in modern history,” she said. “Local initiatives such as these are one of the few ways we can use our civic power to influence our elected officials.”
Many residents spoke in support of the resolution. “If we vote against this resolution, I would feel such great shame,” said Lor Holmes. “This is about humanity, not partisanship.”
Some questioned the role Wellfleet plays in international conflicts. “A town meeting is not a place for an international issue,” said Suzanne Ryan.
Former Town Administrator Harry Terkanian said Wellfleet has a history of weighing in on social issues. “We have taken votes on the Vietnam War and on declaring Wellfleet to be a nuclear-free zone,” he said. “We are being asked whether we want to stake our position in the ground that we are not in favor of what is going on.”
Others disapproved of the petition’s wording. “Israel’s war on Gaza is listed here,” said Lois Tash. “It is not Israel’s war on Gaza; it is Hamas’s war on Israel.” Tash worried that such petitions, which Saunders said have been approved in over 100 municipalities, will “increase anti-Semitism.”
Walter Buckingham questioned the inclusion of the term “political prisoners” in the call for the “release of all hostages, detainees, and political prisoners on all sides.” An amendment by Liz Wood to end the sentence after “hostages” was approved. Soon after, the petition itself was adopted.
Pesticide Reduction
The liveliest debate was over a home-rule petition asking the state legislature to let the town regulate the use of toxic pesticides on public and private property. An identical petition was approved in Eastham on May 4 and in Orleans last fall.
In an hour-long discussion, some found the article too strict; others thought it wasn’t strict enough. “There are so many loopholes that you might as well not have it at all,” said Helen Miranda Wilson.
A proposed bylaw in the petition included exemptions for nonsynthetic materials listed under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Exceptions would also include the use of indoor sprays and insect baits, insect repellents and disinfectants for personal and household use, sprays for pets, and commercial farming and nurseries.
Arborist Joshua Wagner argued that the regulation should target commercial entities rather than individuals. His amendment to remove “usage for commercial farming and nurseries” from the listed exceptions was defeated.
Curt Felix, owner of the local Mosquito Squad franchise, spoke against the petition. He compared the regulation of pesticides to transportation regulations. “This would require only natural options” like riding horses and walking, he said. “But walking requires natural shoes to be used. I don’t think there is anybody in the audience who has natural shoes.”
Town Counsel Murray noted that the proposed bylaw would not come back to town meeting if the petition is approved by the legislature. “If the state chooses to pass it, they are going to pass it with this bylaw,” Murray said. “You are stuck with whatever the legislature has approved.”
The discussion wrapped up by 9:30 p.m., and the resolution passed with an overwhelming majority. After voting on standard closing articles, all that was left was a raffle to give out five free beach stickers. That lasted longer than most would have hoped, as many voters had already fled the Wellfleet Elementary School gymnasium for the comfort of their homes.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article, published in print on May 23, incorrectly identified Wellfleet voter Lor Holmes as “Laura Holmes.”
