Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Eastham are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you are interested in on the calendar at eastham-ma.gov for details. All meetings are at Town Hall unless otherwise indicated.
Thursday, Feb. 27
- Nauset Regional School Committee Communications Subcommittee, 9 a.m., online only
- Council on Aging Board of Directors, 9:30 a.m.
- Board of Health, 3 p.m.
- Cape Cod Commission public hearing on Eastham Corridor Special District, 3 p.m., online only
- Finance Committee, 4 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School District Capital Asset Subcommittee, 4 p.m., Nauset Regional Middle School
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m., Nauset Regional Middle School
Friday, Feb. 28
- Strategic Planning Committee, 10 a.m.
Monday, March 3
- Nauset Regional School District Central Office Budget Subcommittee, 8 a.m., online only
- Nauset Regional School District Budget & Finance Subcommittee, 3:30 p.m., Nauset Admin. Bldg.
- Select Board, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 4
- Nauset Regional School Committee Building Use Subcommittee, 8:30 a.m., Nauset admin. building
Thursday, March 6
- Finance Committee, 4 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 p.m.
Conversation Starter
Open Meeting Law Complaint
At its Feb. 24 meeting, the select board discussed an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by the president of the Eastham Part-Time Resident Taxpayers Association, Tom McNamara of Weymouth, shortly after chair Aimee Eckman changed her mind and voted to adopt a residential tax exemption for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
In Massachusetts, such complaints must be filed with the board that is the subject of the complaint before they are sent to the attorney general’s office. McNamara’s complaint alleged that Eckman had discussed her vote with board member Jamie Demetri in a hallway after the board voted on Jan. 6.
“We believe there was significant pressure applied to Ms. Eckman in her hallway discussion with Ms. Demetri and afterwards again in the following days, and perhaps by others, to change her vote,” the complaint read.
“I looked at the video recording, and there were 46 seconds between when Jamie went out into the hall to get me and when I came back through the door,” Eckman said. Even if they had discussed the RTE at that time, it would not have constituted a violation of the Open Meeting Law, Eckman said, because the two did not constitute a quorum of Eastham’s five-member select board.
Town Manager Jacqui Beebe wondered how pressure from “others” would be a violation. “It’s entirely appropriate for public officials to discuss issues with constituents,” she said. “It’s just really good democracy.”
All five board members said they believed Eckman had not violated the Open Meeting Law. After a short discussion, Beebe said that she would draft a response to the complaint on behalf of the board. —Parker Mumford
