Most meeting in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are being held in person. Go to wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, March 31
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.
Friday, April 1
- Select Board, 5:30 p.m.
Monday, April 4
- Dredging Task Force, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 6
- Conservation Commission, 4 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Parking at Lecount Hollow
After a blizzard on Jan. 28, the Lecount Hollow Beach parking lot was closed because it was “dangerous,” Director of Community Services Suzanne Grout Thomas told the Independent.
It recently reopened following repairs, though cars are still prohibited from parking at the far end of the lot. The storm eroded the dune so that the asphalt extended over the undermined sand.
“It was blocked off until the DPW could go in and do some remediation to make it safe,” Grout Thomas said. That effort included cutting back the asphalt and erecting concrete barriers.
The DPW will make the final adjustments to the lot “after we’re sure all the winter storms have come and gone,” she said.
Future repairs include cutting a new trail to the beach, re-installing fencing, and repainting parking space lines. Grout Thomas said those will be done before the start of the summer.
Beach Rights Restored
Following Truro’s and Eastham’s leads, the Wellfleet Select Board voted on March 22 to waive beach parking fees for Native American tribe members.
The vote came at the request of Helen McNeil-Ashton, a vice president of the Truro Historical Society. McNeil-Ashton spearheaded the change in Wellfleet three weeks after doing the same in Truro.
Eastham extended the same rights to Mashpee Wampanoag tribe members in 2020. The Wellfleet and Truro declaration restores the rights to members of all Native Americans with a tribal identification card.
“Within the same family, there can be members who represent more than one native nation,” said Sheryl Jaffe, museum coordinator of the Wellfleet Historical Society.
“Thank you,” said McNeil-Ashton, noting that this means there’s a run from Eastham through Truro “where Native people can recreate and use the beaches as they did for thousands of years. This is fabulous.” —Michaela Chesin
