Meetings Ahead
Many meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are being held in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, August 4
- Community Preservation Committee, 9 a.m.
- Housing Authority, 10 a.m.
- Maurice’s Campground Working Group: Septic, 1 p.m.
Friday, August 5
- Maurice’s Campground Working Group, noon
Tuesday, August 9
- Select Board, 7 p.m.
Thursday, August 11
- Board of Water Commissioners, 4 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Special Town Meeting Articles
The select board voted to place 19 articles on the warrant for a Sept. 10 special town meeting. The most high profile item will be the proposed acquisition of Maurice’s Campground.
The board signed a purchase-and-sale agreement with the longtime owners of the 21.5-acre campground for $6.5 million in the spring and need voters’ approval to ink the deal.
“I feel like we should be looking at this purchase through an intermunicipal agreement with the town of Eastham,” said board member Kathleen Bacon during a July 19 meeting. “The impact of this purchase takes the housing crisis off the table completely — not just for Wellfleet but for the region. And why we’re not partnering with another town for this purchase when it’s going to have an enormous regional impact — I’m questioning how we structured this purchase.”
Chair Ryan Curley disagreed: “Wellfleet is late to the ballgame here,” he said. He argued that “Eastham has been buying properties in their town for the purpose of building housing,” and that Eastham residents would not support helping pay for a land purchase in Wellfleet “if we turn around and say, ‘We want you to chip in because we took action much later than you have.’ ”
Board member Michael DeVasto also noted that it would have been difficult to coordinate with Eastham for the purchase.
“Land acquisitions are pretty complicated,” DeVasto said. “Bringing in a third party to try and negotiate a contract for a land acquisition — it’s beyond the scope of what could have even happened.”
The special town meeting will also include four articles involving budgetary transfers, prior year invoices, the fiscal 2023 capital budget, and transfers to the stabilization fund.
There will be two additional operating expenses: one creating a new human resources director position and another to fund a harbor flora and fauna study. There are nine bylaws and initiative petitions on the warrant, including a meaty zoning bylaw amendment pertaining to the conversion of seasonal cottage colonies to year-round use and allowing undersized lots to be used for affordable housing. —Emma Madgic
