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, Jan. 13
- Bike and Walkways Committee, 10 a.m.
- Cape Cod Commission, 1 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 18
- Open Space Committee, 4:30 p.m.
- Select Board, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 19
- Conservation Commission, 4 p.m.
- Board of Water Commissioners, 4 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Dredging It Up
Wellfleet Harbor’s silty north and south access channels used to keep 130 commercial and recreational vessels stuck at their slips for six to eight hours per day. These boats could budge from the mucky bottom only when the water was high enough — that is, for a few hours on either side of the high tide.
Now, vessels can go in and out of the harbor, no longer bound by that window. The second phase of the town’s dredging project has been completed, and 108,000 cubic yards of silt has been scooped from those access channels and hauled by barge to the federal disposal site in Cape Cod Bay.
“Wellfleet’s harbor is the town’s economic engine,” said Joe Aberdale, co-chair of the town’s dredging task force and chair of the marina advisory committee. Businesses that depend on commercial and recreational boating bring in $4 million yearly to Wellfleet’s economy, he said — on top of another $15 million raked in from shellfish and aquaculture sales.
Dredging of the mooring field, slated for fall 2022, will be the last stretch before Wellfleet’s dredging operation wraps up. Once that’s done, 325 boats there will have 24-hour access in and out of the marina and harbor. —Jasmine Lu
Abatement Given to Board Member
The board of assessors approved valuation reductions for four out of five applicants at its Jan. 4 meeting.
The board met in closed session to review abatement applications from four residents and from Eversource Energy, which owns various properties in Wellfleet valued at $14.9 million. The board, which consists of Diane Galvin, Gail Stewart, and Nancy Vail, denied Eversource’s application. It is not clear why, because the meeting was not open to the public and executive session minutes do not contain a record of deliberations. Vail said the content of the meeting is private because applicants’ personal financial information is involved.
The other applicants all got the abatements they asked for, including board member Gail Stewart. The board lowered the valuation of her house at 26 Whereaway Lane from $1,263,800 to $976,500, a reduction of $287,300.
Stewart said her membership on the board of assessors was not a factor in the board’s decision. Vail said Stewart recused herself from the discussion and vote.
The assessors thought the construction on Stewart’s property was complete “and it is not,” Vail said. “I sent our data collector out to re-measure and do an interior inspection to confirm percent complete and quality of construction.”
Vail is the town assessor.
Stewart and her husband, Peter, purchased the land in 2006 and the house has been under construction slowly ever since, whenever they can find contractors to do the work, Stewart said. It is still not complete, she said, though it may look that way from the outside.
According to the assessors’ database, the 3,476-square-foot house has one bedroom and one bathroom. The assessed value jumped from $827,200 to $1,263,800 this year.
“My house is not complete, and my taxes went up 52 percent,” said Stewart. Anyone can and should request an abatement if they feel it is deserved, she added.
The board also granted an abatement of $98,400 to Carol Greve of 360 Ocean View Drive.
Megan Hinton received an abatement of $4,430 and Burnham Gross got one for $1,170. —K.C. Myers
