Meetings Ahead
All meetings are held online. Go to Wellfleet’s town website wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the individual meetings for instructions.
Thursday, May 14
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.
Friday, May 15
- Wellfleet Covid-19 Needs Response Task Force Community Calls, 10 a.m.
Monday, May 18
- Energy and Climate Action Committee, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 19
- Select Board, 10 a.m.
- Open Space Committee, 4 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Covid-19 Update
As of May 11, Wellfleet had two active cases of Covid-19, four cleared cases, and one death as a result of the coronavirus.
Longer Ban on Short Term Rentals?
Select board member Michael DeVasto said he doesn’t want an “unrestricted situation to lead to an unmitigated disaster,” so the select board voted to send a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker urging him to extend the statewide ban on short-term rentals until June 15.
The governor’s order currently goes to May 18. Select board members Justina Carlson, Janet Reinhart, and DeVasto voted on Tuesday to ask the governor to extend it so that towns on the Outer Cape can be prepared.
Board members Helen Miranda Wilson and Kathleen Bacon voted against sending the letter, arguing it’s better to wait and see what the governor announces on May 18.
Short-term rentals bring 125,000 people to the four Outer Cape towns each week; with that kind of turnover contact tracing is impossible, DeVasto said. Carlson said Wellfleet’s population grows by 18,000 people in summer. The manager of a large grocery store told DeVasto he already cannot hire anyone and the current staff is maxed out.
Arguing against the extension, Wes Chapman, a resident, said he’s never seen such panic.
“It’s time to say, we need to get on with our lives,” Chapman said. —K.C. Myers
PPE Tan Lines
Wellfleet is developing new protocols and training for lifeguards this summer, including requiring them to wear surgical masks and gloves on the job. Lifeguards will be trained to place a mask or face shield onto a person being helped by the lifeguard on the beach in order to protect both the beachgoer and the lifeguard.
Speeders Beware
Wellfleet’s open roads of quarantine won’t be so open going forward. After receiving multiple reports of aggressive driving and excessive speeds in the past month, Wellfleet Police Chief Mike Hurley will be upping police presence on the roads. “Motor vehicle enforcement hasn’t been on our radar as much these past few weeks,” Hurley said. “We will be getting back to that.”
Select Board to Meet Weekly
The Wellfleet Select Board will now meet on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 10 a.m., in addition to their usual bi-weekly evening meetings. The idea is to allow the board to more quickly address issues that are arising due to Covid-19, said Town Administrator Dan Hoort. The Wellfleet Covid-19 Task Force meetings, which have been taking place every Tuesday at 10 a.m. will now take place every other Tuesday (on the off weeks of the morning select board meetings). —Devin Sean Martin
