Voting Note: The presidential primary election is Tuesday, March 5. Each party’s candidates, as well as candidates for state and town party committees, are on the ballot. Early in-person voting is underway until March 1. Check the town’s website for when and where you can vote.
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, Feb. 29
- Natural Resources Advisory Board, 2 p.m.
- Local Housing Partnership, 4 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m., Middle School Auditorium and online
- Select Board, 6 p.m. Adult Community Center and online
Friday, March 1
- Cable Internet and Cellular Service Advisory Committee, 11 a.m.
- Board of Water Commissioners, 4 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School District Capital Asset Subcommittee, 5 p.m., Nauset administration office
Monday, March 4
- Behavioral Health Task Force, 3:15 p.m.
- Shellfish Advisory Board, 6 p.m., Town Hall Conference Room and online
Tuesday, March 5
- Select Board, 6 p.m., Adult Community Center and online
Wednesday, March 6
- Conservation Commission, 4 p.m., Town Hall Conference Room and online
Conversation Starter
Forum Brings a Quorum
The Wellfleet Community Forum’s meeting on Monday, Feb. 26 attracted a crowd of more than 200 civic-minded Wellfleeters, who filed into a crowded Adult Community Center and tuned in online to hear neighbors express their concerns about the state of the town.
The meeting, which was designed as “an opportunity to show up and communicate your concerns about the performance of the Selectboard and the management of our Town’s government,” according to the forum’s announcement, lasted 90 minutes.
A microphone facing the audience served as a soapbox for those who wanted to express their worries and offer solutions. Monologues exhibited a range of views on the animosity plaguing select board meetings, the town’s finances, and the perils of slow-going wastewater plans and the housing crisis.
“There is a broad consensus among the community that things need to change,” said Town Moderator Dan Silverman, who facilitated the meeting. “Perhaps this meeting can be the beginning of starting to turn things around.”
One by one, townsfolk came to the microphone to offer their two cents.
Helen Miranda Wilson likened select board meetings to “virulent family arguments,” where many are too afraid to speak up. Maurice’s Planning Committee member Roland Blair pointed to vitriol between board members, which he said has led to “division across the board.”
Elementary school committee chair Martha Gordon suggested that members of town boards and committees receive training as part of an onboarding process so that “they feel that they are supported.” She reminded the crowd that select board members are volunteers. “I can’t imagine what it is like to sit on the select board for the first time,” she said.
Steven Kopitz said that the disharmony among select board members is a symptom of weak financial systems in place. “If you don’t have that, it percolates up and becomes a political issue,” he said.
Conservation commission member John Cumbler worried that the town’s leadership is not moving fast enough to address wastewater issues. “The sooner we sewer the downtown, the faster we are able to make an impact on our harbor,” Cumbler said. Downtown sewerage would also revive a “dying” Main Street, he said, and allow for higher density to improve the town’s housing stock.
Lydia Vivante wanted to put a time limit on select board meetings: “When you are reaching five hours, you are not making good decisions at that point,” she said. —Sam Pollak
