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, Jan. 4
- Nauset Regional School District Central Office Budget Subcommittee, 8 a.m., Nauset Administration Office
- Housing Authority, 10 a.m.
- Cable Internet and Cellular Service Advisory Committee, 10 a.m.
- Nauset Schools Regional Agreement Subcommittee, 5:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 8
- Behavioral Health Task Force, 3:15 p.m.
- Library Board of Trustees, 5:30 p.m., Wellfleet Public Library
Tuesday, Jan. 9
- School Committee, 5 p.m.
- Cultural Council, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall & Zoom
- Select Board, 6 p.m., Adult Community Center & Zoom
Wednesday, Jan. 10
- Historical Commission, 5 p.m.
- Nauset High School Building Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Conversation Starter
Rebuilding a Task Force
The select board voted during its Dec. 19 meeting to appoint Chris Merl and Alfred Pickard to the dredging task force, partially rebuilding the committee after a slew of resignations following the select board’s rejection of a dredging mitigation plan left chair Joe Aberdale as its only remaining member.
Each member will serve a term of three years ending on June 30, 2026.
Merl, who has been a vocal opponent of the mitigation plan, told the board that he “would like to be involved in the negotiations to try to get the town a good deal going forward.”
Pickard, who owns Wellfleet Marine Corp., had previously served on the task force before resigning in the summer of 2021. The resignation followed a vote by the select board in May 2021 that cut off the dredging task force from directly negotiating the terms of mitigation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
That vote, said select board vice chair John Wolf, who is also the liaison to the task force, “emasculated the dredging task force.”
During its Dec. 5 meeting, the select board reaffirmed the task force’s original charge as the body in charge of pursuing a dredging permit. That agenda item came at the request of Aberdale, who said he would continue as chair of the task force if the town permitted a line of communication between him and the Army Corps.
The dredging task force, now with three members, has the bare minimum for a quorum and is thus able to hold meetings and conduct business if all three members attend. But there are still two remaining vacancies on the board. —Sam Pollak
