Most meetings in Wellfleet are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting that interests you on the calendar at wellfleet-ma.gov for details. All meetings are at Town Hall unless otherwise indicated.
Monday, July 28
- Shellfish Advisory Board, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 29
- Nauset Schools Regional Agreement Subcommittee & Town Reps., 6 p.m., NRMS, Orleans
- Select Board, 6 p.m., Adult Community Center
Thursday, July 31
- Council on Aging Advisory Board, 9:30 a.m., Adult Community Center
Conversation Starter
Grant Support for Septic Systems
At the select board’s July 22 meeting, member Josh Yeston suggested that the town revisit a grant program for residents upgrading to best-available nitrogen-reducing septic systems. It was a proposal suggested by members of the affordable housing trust, of which he is also a member, he said.
The town’s current grant program, Town Administrator Tom Guerino said, allows homeowners to apply for up to $12,500 to help defray the costs of upgrading to an enhanced innovative/alternative system. That amount was determined in 2021, Guerino said, and costs of installing the systems have since been estimated at far higher numbers.
A new fund, Yeston said, could be disbursed by the housing trust to support residents making under 120 percent of area median income. Another option was to “rewrite the program, where there’s a sliding scale based on gross income, so the maximum would go to those in most need,” he said.
Any decision on grant programs would depend upon how the board of health decides to move forward with its regulations, as those may affect the number of households required to make an upgrade, Yeston said.
A July 23 meeting critical to determining those steps forward was delayed because two members of the board of health — Nick Picariello and Janet Drohan — had stepped down.
Select board chair John Wolf said that the board of health is, for now, chaired by Ken Granlund and that the meeting will be rescheduled to August after appointments of new members. —Tyler Jager
