Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are 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, May 25
- Natural Resources Advisory Board, 4 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.
- Energy Climate and Action Committee, 7:15 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Police Promotions
Three Wellfleet police officers will have new titles beginning June 12. On May 16, the select board approved Chief Michael Hurley’s request to promote Sgt. Michael Turner, Det. Nick Daley, and Officer Mark Braun.
Turner will be promoted to lieutenant. He has been with Wellfleet’s police dept. since 1998, when he began as a summer officer. He was hired as a full-time officer in 2000 and was promoted to sergeant in 2011.
Daley will become sergeant after serving two years as detective. He was hired in 2015 as a community service officer and returned the next summer as a part-time officer before being hired full-time in 2017.
Braun will move to the rank of sergeant. He was a summer officer in 2015 and became a full-time officer in 2016.
The promotion process included letters of interest submitted to Hurley, an interview with Deputy Chief Kevin LaRocco, Assistant Town Administrator Rebecca Roughley, Public Works Director Jay Norton, and Human Resources Director Christine Ezersky, and then a final one-on-one interview with Hurley.
Better Town Meetings
Town Moderator Dan Silverman brought a report to the select board on May 16 with comments he received from community members on how to improve town meeting. The biggest concern, Silverman said, was that the Saturday schedule disadvantaged the working population and younger parents.
He also suggested updating the charter to amend the quorum rule after the April 29 meeting barely slid by with the needed 6 percent of registered voters present to conduct the meeting and advised splitting the warrant into two regular meetings, one in the spring, and one in the fall.
According to the town charter, town meeting should convene annually on the fourth Monday in April. Silverman suggested dedicating the spring town meeting to financial articles and establishing a regular fall town meeting for bylaw initiatives, so that an evening town meeting wouldn’t last more than one night.
Silverman said that, although he has long advocated for Saturday meetings, “with the feedback I have heard, I can admit that I was wrong.”
Not everyone was so easily swayed. “No matter when town meeting happens, there is always going to be someone who can’t make it,” chair Ryan Curley said. “Multi-day evening town meetings are a nightmare.”
Silverman added that regardless of the day of the week, he has taken to heart the resounding need for child care. “It is essential we provide child care so parents don’t have to make a decision on whether one or both can attend,” Silverman said.
He suggested amending the charter to require a quorum to open town meeting, then allowing the quorum to go to zero once the meeting has started. He said another idea could be lowering the quorum to zero for the whole meeting. “Towns with zero quorum see increases in turnout,” Silverman said, because “people know they have to show up.” —Sam Pollak
