All meetings in Wellfleet are remote only and can be watched online. Go to wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, Dec. 16
- Natural Resources Advisory Board, 10 a.m.
- Herring River Executive Council, 3 p.m.
- Local Housing Partnership, 3 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.
- Community Preservation Committee, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 17
- Affordable Housing Trust and Select Board, 4 p.m.
- Select Board Executive Session, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 21
- Energy and Climate Action Committee, 7 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Dredging Almost Done
Sailing in Wellfleet Harbor will soon be a lot smoother, even at low tide. According to Marina Advisory Committee Chair Joe Aberdale, 96,000 cubic yards of harbor silt had been removed from the inner harbor as of Dec. 8, putting this year’s dredging near completion.
“There are about eight working days left to complete the project,” Aberdale said at a dredging contractor and engineers’ progress meeting on Dec. 8.
“We got a lot of fishing boats coming into the harbor now for dockage,” said Harbormaster William Sullivan. “It’s been pretty busy between the holidays here.”
It took 77 scow (flat-bottomed boat) trips to move the silt to the federal disposal area in Cape Cod Bay.
The current work is part two of a three-phase undertaking. The first part, completed in 2020, cleared the federal channel.
The federal channel and the inner harbor dredging cost $10 million in a combination of federal, state, and local funds, Sullivan told the Independent.
The final area, the mooring field, comes next. There is no cost estimate yet, and the town must obtain permits before starting that phase, Sullivan said.
Lt. Island Bridge Blues
The select board on Dec. 14 unanimously approved a change order to the contract with Coastal Engineering to allow completion of repairs to the Lt. Island Bridge.
“The current contract expires Dec. 31 of this year,” said Dept. of Public Works Director Jay Norton. “I’m looking to make sure that this is done before Memorial Day,” he added.
The contractor needs eight weeks to order building materials. “They’re looking at doing the repairs in February, March, or April at the latest,” Norton said.
The long-planned bridge repairs will bring the bridge up to national and state safety standards, according to the project’s bid documents, by replacing worn and deteriorated components.
It was supposed to be done earlier. But on Oct. 29, Coastal Engineering found rot in the bridge’s support beams. That came as a surprise because the bridge has undergone regular inspections by both the state and town. Island residents already time their lives by the tides. The repairs add complexity to their daily comings and goings.
The project cost is $77,495, plus $19,970 spent on temporary supports to keep the bridge open after the rot was discovered, Norton said. —Michaela Chesin
