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coronavirus

    currents

    This Week in Wellfleet

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Go to wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for instructions on how to participate.

    Thursday, June 4

    • Coastal Resiliency Grant Listening Session, 10 a.m.
    • Select Board, 1 p.m.

    Tuesday, June 9

    • Select Board with Emergency Management Team, 10 a.m.
    • Elementary School Committee, 4:30 p.m.
    • Select Board, 7 p.m.

    Thursday, June 11

    • Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Covid-19 Update

    As of June 1, Wellfleet had two active cases of Covid-19, four cleared cases, and one death as a result of the coronavirus.

    Interviewing Town Administrator Candidates

    The select board will interview Maria Broadbent, town manager of Berwyn Heights, Md., and Shawn MacInnes, town administrator in Dartmouth, during their 1 p.m. meeting on Thursday, June 4. Broadbent and MacInnes are the two finalists to replace Town Administrator Dan Hoort, who has announced he will retire June 30.

    Broadbent was a finalist for town manager in Provincetown last year, but the select board there chose Robin Craver. Broadbent began her working life as director of an 11-town regional recycling center in Thorndike, Maine, then from 1994 to 2005, she was division chief of the Newport, R.I., Clean City Program. In Annapolis, Maryland, she ran the office of environmental policy for two years before being hired as the town manager of Berwyn Heights, population 3,500, with a $4.5 million budget in 2018, according to her resume.

    MacInnes, of Sandwich, has been town administrator of Dartmouth —  a town of 34,000 people, with 1,300 employees and a $91 million municipal budget — since 2018.

    Before that, he worked for the town of Yarmouth for 18 years. For 15 of those years, he ran the technology department, where he “procured and implemented software, hardware, voice, data and video systems for 25 sites and 350 employees,” he stated on his resume.

    MacInnes was promoted to the position of municipal operations director in Yarmouth. In that job he implemented long-range planning, negotiated labor contracts, and prepared the annual and capital budgets, according to his resume.

    (To listen to the select board’s interviews: Call 1-929-205-6099 and enter the meeting ID 962 1127 9901. Email questions and comments to [email protected].

    Coastal Resiliency Grant Listening Session

    The Mass. Office of Coastal Zone Management is conducting a Zoom call on Thursday, June 4, at 10 a.m., to present work from phase one of its Cape Cod Bay Shores Resiliency plan. The multi-phase initiative includes a $115,000 grant given to the towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham to improve shore management and preservation. They want to hear if the public thinks any data was overlooked.

    Hazardous Waste Collection

    The Wellfleet Transfer Station will be open Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for hazardous waste collection. To see what is designated as hazardous waste download the guide at www.loveyourlocalwater.org. Fees for disposal vary based on the materials. —Devin Sean Martin

    currents

    This Week in Eastham

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on the meeting agenda for information about how to view and take part remotely.

    Thursday, June 4

    • Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 p.m.

    Tuesday, June 9

    • Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.

    Wednesday, June 10

    • Board of Cemetery Commissioners, 10 a.m.
    • Finance Committee, 5 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Covid-19 Update

    As of June 1, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Eastham was 10.

    Chief Expresses Sympathy, Promises Respect

    In a Facebook post, Police Chief Adam Bohannon offered his prayers “for peace and justice — for George Floyd, his family, friends, and the entire city of Minneapolis.” He wrote that the “actions of several Minneapolis police officers,” which led to Floyd’s death, “have again tarnished the badge that most police officers work so hard to hold to a high standard.” Bohannon promised that his department “is committed to treating everyone, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or any other background, with the utmost respect, fairness and civility.”

    Big Turnout for Uncontested Election

    Although there are no races for offices at the June 23 town election, more than 443 applications for mail-in ballots have been returned to the town clerk. “I think we’re going to have the highest turnout ever for an uncontested election,” select board chair Eckman said Monday. The polls will be open for in-person voting on June 23, but the town is encouraging citizens to cast their ballots via mail.

    Experience Counts

    With planning board chairman Art Autorino joining the select board after the June 23 election, Craig Nightingale agreed to serve an additional special term. Former chairman Dan Coppelman also said yes to a return engagement. Both were appointed to three-year terms Monday. William Craig, who previously served on the South Burlington, Vt., planning commission, was named an alternate.

    With the resignation of David Schropfer, the town’s member of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority Advisory Board, the select board appointed Roz Diamond to the post. Her experience includes work for the New York City Dept. of Transportation and New Jersey Transit’s planning department. —Ed Maroney

    Select Board Takes Interest in Teardowns

    Prior to the planning board’s May 20 review of three teardown and rebuild projects, select board member Jamie Rivers read a statement from her board about the demolition of old houses, construction of larger houses and merging of lots. “It is the belief of the select board that several of these proposed building projects and projects in the not distant past do not line up with the content of the strategic plan,” Rivers said.

    The town’s five-year strategic plan includes efforts to offer financially attainable housing for people of all ages, supporting development that is appropriately located and scaled, and to improve conditions of existing properties that are deteriorating.

    “When we tear down affordable homes on sensible sized lots and approve merging of properties to build homes that are not in line with the current community character, we restrict access and affordability of housing,” Rivers said.

    Planning board chair Art Autorino said “Unless you are going to come up with a bylaw that limits the size of the building you can put on a piece of property —it’s difficult for us to say, ‘That house is too big.’ ” —Ryan Fitzgerald

    TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

    Out-of-State Arrivals Still Told to Lie Low

    Gov. Baker’s 14-day quarantine is advisory, not an order

    By

    PROVINCETOWN — On March 27, Gov. Charlie Baker issued an advisory that travelers into Massachusetts from other states should self-quarantine for 14 days. At that time, New York State was reporting 7,000 new coronavirus cases a day, while Massachusetts was reporting 700.

    HEALTH

    The Doctor Is In, but Mostly Virtually

    Questions and answers about how OCHS is coping

    By

    Outer Cape Health Services, the major provider of health care for the four Outer Cape towns, continues to operate its three clinics with reduced hours, staffing, and salaries, a result of the coronavirus-related financial crisis that medical organizations across the country are facing. Questions about OCHS’s current services and capacity, its financial status, and its future that were submitted by the Independent this week elicited some answers from medical and management staff.

    The three clinics, in Provincetown, Wellfleet, and Harwich, currently offer urgent care, preventive care for children, and management of chronic diseases, especially for those most at risk, said Kathleen Weiner, chief development and communications officer. Two-thirds of current visits with clinicians are conducted online via teleconference, she said.

    “Walk-in service is very much discouraged to limit unexpected exposure and allow for pre-visit screening,” said Chief Medical Officer Andrew Jorgensen.

    In late March, OCHS Executive Director Patricia Nadle made an emergency appeal to donors, warning that “the funds are simply not available to serve our community as we have for decades,” and suggesting that one of the three clinics might have to be closed. This week OCHS senior staff member Gerry Desautels, when asked if the organization was still considering closing one clinic, said, “Not at this time.”

    Neither Weiner nor Desautels would give specifics on the success of the recent fund-raising effort other than Weiner’s comment, “We live in a generous community where the support of our neighbors has made a meaningful difference.”

    Other questions from the Independent and OCHS responses follow:

    Q: When do you anticipate being able to resume routine non-urgent appointments?

    Dr. Jorgensen: We anticipate resuming routine physical exams during a later phase of reopening when directed by the Mass. Dept. of Public Health (DPH). Routing non-urgent appointments, for well controlled diabetes, for example, are currently provided by telehealth. We will continue to offer telehealth options even when we also provide this service in person in a later opening phase.

    Q: What is your current policy about providing Covid-19 tests? Who is eligible?

    Desautels: DPH has expanded the criteria for who should be tested for Covid-19 to include all symptomatic individuals (even with mild symptoms) as well as close contacts of positive individuals.

    Q: Can anyone get a test?

    Desautels: Anyone can access us for testing but we require any individual to first have a phone consult with an OCHS provider to discuss symptoms and make a determination for testing.

    Q: How many tests have you done in the past week?

    Desautels: About 60.

    Q: Is the number of tests you are doing going up or down, or staying about the same?

    Desautels: Staying about the same.

    Q: You recently announced that you are part of a contact tracing collaboration. How does it work? Are you using technology and/or trained interviewers to do this work?

    Weiner: We are partnering with Partners in Health (PIH) to do contact tracing. The program has allowed us to bring back some of our furloughed staff and dedicate them to this effort. PIH is training and managing the tracers.

    Q: We have noted news reports about a significant drop-off in immunizations around the world. How is OCHS’s immunization project going?

    Scott R. Weissman, OCHS clinical director of practice development: Our pediatric immunization rates are being closely monitored. During the initial Covid shutdown, we accommodated children under two years old for their well-child visits. In following the commonwealth’s phased re-opening guidelines, we are welcoming back all other pediatric patients for routine care.

    This past week we launched our proposed social media account focusing on pediatric immunizations and health. Based on our parent/caregiver survey data, we gleaned that while all of the respondents trusted their child’s primary care clinician, approximately half of the parents/caregivers got their pediatric health information from social media. Our Instagram account (@outercapekids) is curated by the OCHS Wellfleet family medicine team and features a weekly evidence-based article that is abstracted to appeal and be easily interpreted by our audience.

    Q: Will you provide services to people who are not already signed up with OCHS for primary care?

    Weiner: Our mission is to provide a full range of health care and supportive social services that promote the health and well-being of all who live in or visit the 10 outermost towns of Cape Cod.

    Q: A local resident reports that her 15-month-old granddaughter who is visiting her was denied a needed immunization at OCHS because she had never before been seen by anyone there. Is that correct?

    Desautels: We cannot comment on any specific patient information. Any individual can reach our patient access center for assistance and clarification on available services and scheduling at 508-905-2888.

    CURRENTS

    This Week in Provincetown

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    All meetings are held remotely. To watch a meeting, go to provincetown-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. Follow the link to the agenda for instructions on how to watch and participate.

    Thursday, May 28

    • Public Pier Corp., 2 p.m.
    • Select Board with Board of Health, 4 p.m.
    • Planning Board with Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.
    The search light of a Coast Guard helicopter pierced the 2 a.m. darkness over Provincetown Harbor on Saturday in the search for two missing kayakers. (Photo Jamie Demetriou)

    Tuesday, June 2

    • Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.

    Wednesday, June 3

    • Historic District Commission, 4 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Coronavirus Update

    As of May 25, Provincetown had one confirmed active case and one death from complications related to Covid-19, and 27 additional cases were considered recovered.

    Reopening Policies Vetted

    After weeks of planning, the town manager’s recovery coalition began Tuesday to unveil recommendations from a 70-page report (available on the town’s website at provincetown-ma.gov/archivecenter/viewfile/item/24230) they presented to the select board and the board of health. The two boards are charged with setting policies for the summer of 2020.

    The discussion began on Tuesday and continues Thursday, May 28, at 4 p.m.

    On Thursday Health Director Morgan Clark will present results of a community-wide survey created to get residents’, workers’, and property owners’ opinions on how public spaces and businesses could be allowed to open safely without causing a surge of Covid-19 infections.

    The select board will then take up the suggestion to shut down Commercial Street to cars from Standish to Court streets in order to create more room for outdoor shopping and dining. The recovery coalition’s recommendation would ban cars Thursdays through Sundays from 6 to 10 p.m. starting June 4. This could be extended or ended by June 30, depending on how it goes, according to the report.

    The coalition has also suggested banning parking on Commercial Street on Friday nights from Bangs to Johnson streets from 6 to 10 p.m. through Labor Day. This would allow more room for people to spread out during the East End Gallery Walk.

    All kinds of other changes are on the table regarding restaurant seating, which will be discussed on Thursday as well. With relaxed restrictions for outdoor seating, restaurants could put tables outside in parking areas, as long as this did not increase overall seating.

    Restaurant seating could also be expanded into beach areas on a “case by case” basis, the report states.

    The coalition recommended that retailers be granted regulatory relief to display merchandise outside, so the entire summer could become a Monumental Yard Sale Weekend.

    Doing business outdoors with a lot more takeout food will require more public picnic areas. The coalition proposes to add picnic tables and a handwashing station to the new Waterfront Park, recently purchased from Elena Hall at 387 Commercial Street. Other seating could be added to a small area at the end of the Johnson Street parking lot. The coalition asked the board of health and select board to consider placing roll-out beach access mats, also known as “Mobi-Mats,” to sections of the beach by Ryder Street Extension and by the pier to allow people to spread out. —K.C. Myers

    CURRENTS

    This Week in Truro

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Meetings are held remotely. To watch live, go to truro-ma.gov and find meetings on the lower right of the home page. Click on the agenda of the meeting you are interested in and follow directions within each agenda. To view meetings after they have occurred, go to the town home page, scroll down under News & Announcements, click on “Remote Meeting Information,” and follow directions there.

    Thursday, May 28

    • Select Board, 2 p.m.

    Monday, June 1

    • Conservation Commission, 2 p.m.

    Wednesday June 3

    • Board of Health, 2 p.m.
    • Planning Board, 6 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Coronavirus Update

    As of May 22, there were zero active cases of Covid-19 in Truro, and 10 resolved cases.

    Agreement on Short-term Rentals?

    On May 28 at 2 p.m. the Truro Select Board will consider two questions about short-term rentals posed by Eastham Select Board Chair Aimée Eckman. She seeks input from select board members from Brewster, Chatham, Provincetown, Truro, Orleans, and Wellfleet, according to the May 28 meeting agenda.

    Eckman is asking if each board would like to see a minimum stay for short-term rentals this year. And if boards can agree on that, what would the minimum number of days be: 7, 14, or 28 days?

    The results of this survey will be forwarded to state Sen. Julian Cyr and Rep. Sarah Peake, to guide policy as part of the county’s reopening plans. Cyr and Peake have advocated for consistent policies throughout the region.

    Farmers’ Market Time?

    Sustainable CAPE founder Francie Randolph is seeking permission to use town property to begin the Truro Educational Farmers’ Market on June 8. The select board will discuss the request on May 28.

    The market usually draws about 400 people and is held from 8 a.m. to noon on Mondays through Aug. 31, according to the application. A delay of the June 8 opening will affect farmers’ incomes as well as SNAP (food stamps) card holders wishing to access fresh food locally at a discount, according to the application. The farmers’ market is the only SNAP-eligible food provider in Truro.

    Town Meeting Date

    Town staff will ask the select board at its  2 p.m. meeting Thursday to delay the town meeting from June 23 to Sept. 15, according to the agenda for that meeting.

    After reviewing the idea of holding town meeting outside or using technology to allow for “satellite meeting spaces,” Town Manager Rae Ann Palmer stated there doesn’t appear to be a safe and effective way to hold town meeting in June. She also ruled out limiting the warrant articles to financial matters. In the end, she will recommend on May 28 that the town meeting be postponed.

    Under the emergency regulations imposed by Gov. Charlie Baker, towns can spend one twelfth of their 2020 fiscal budget each month until a new fiscal year 2021 budget can be approved by voters.

    All other Outer Cape towns have already delayed town meeting until the fall: Provincetown’s is Sept. 21, Wellfleet’s is Oct. 5, and Eastham’s will be either Sept. 21 or Sept. 28. —K.C. Myers

    currents

    This Week in Wellfleet

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    All meetings are held online. Go to wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for instructions on how to participate.

    Tuesday, June 2

    • Select Board with Emergency Management Team, 10 a.m.

    Wednesday, June 3

    • Cape Cod Regional Government Assembly of Delegates, 4 p.m.
    • Conservation Commission, 4 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Covid-19 Update

    As of May 25, Wellfleet had two active cases of Covid-19, four cleared cases, and one death as a result of the coronavirus.

    Library Curbside Pickup

    The Wellfleet Public Library is beginning to open up again, starting with curbside pickup for books. Readers can call ahead to check out a book, and then pick it up outside. The library will have a maximum of two staff members in the building at one time to comply with social distancing. Library Director Jennifer Wertkin asks readers to be patient in the early stages of the pickup service. Each book returned will have to be “quarantined” before it is loaned to someone else, so there may be waiting lists for popular books.

    Graduation Parade

    On Friday, June 5, at 11 a.m., the recreation dept. along with the fire dept. is conducting a parade through town to celebrate Wellfleet high schoolers graduating this year, said Becky Rosenberg, the recreation director. The parade will begin at the center of town and proceed down Holbrook Avenue. Each graduating student will be given a place to stand along the route.

    Community Preservation Grants

    The Wellfleet Community Preservation Committee is accepting grant applications for projects that benefit housing assistance or employment opportunities to help Wellfleet locals during the Covid-19 pandemic. All projects must fall within the criteria for CPC funds, that is, they must somehow relate to housing, historic preservation, open space, or recreation. Applications approved by the CPC will be listed as articles at the upcoming town meeting on October 5. Funds will be made available after town meeting approval. To apply, visit the CPC website or request an application by email to [email protected]. Applications are due July 15. —Devin Sean Martin

    currents

    This Week in Eastham

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Meetings are being conducted remotely. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on a particular meeting to read its agenda. That document will provide information about how to view and take part remotely.

    Thursday, May 28

    • Council on Aging Board of Directors, 1 p.m.
    • Board of Health, 3 p.m.
    • Joint School Committee, 6 p.m.

    Monday, June 1

    • Select Board, 5:30 p.m.

    Thursday, June 4

    • Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Sun Shines on Eastham 400 Sunset Series

    There’s not a day the sun will go down this summer without mention of the notorious “First Encounter” of Pilgrims and Nausets at Eastham’s eponymous beach. Starting June 1 at First Encounter Beach or at eastham400.org, depending on progress with the pandemic, a 10-minute presentation will begin every night through Labor Day, 15 minutes before sunset.

    Among other “400” activities that will go forward, Sundays at dusk in July and August will be time for storytelling around a campfire, either at First Encounter Beach or online. Recent Nauset High graduate Joanna Holleck of Brewster, a sophomore at Gettysburg College, will produce both series in collaboration with John Hanlon, who has organized the National Seashore’s summer campfires for 20 years.

    “I’m excited to learn more deeply about this place I love and where I grew up,” Holleck told a virtual meeting of the Eastham 400 committee on May 18.

    The news is less good for a July visit to Rock Harbor by the shallop Elizabeth Tilley, a replica of the sort of vessel from which the Pilgrims set foot on First Encounter Beach. Plans had been to share costs with Provincetown, which has now canceled its summer events. Committee members will review options, including a virtual program, with the John Howland Society, which has charge of the Tilley.

    Plan Addresses Flooding

    There’s no need to hazard a guess about what Eastham needs to do about climate change and sea level rise. It’s there for all to read in the 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan approved by the select board last week and sent off to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for certification.

    Town Planner Paul Lagg told the board May 18 that action items lay out “a strategy for what the town wants to do in the next five years and beyond.” The town must have the plan approved in order to get in line for state or federal grants, Lagg added.

    FEMA’s community rating system “rewards towns that undertake floodplain protections beyond the minimum,” said Lagg. “Property owners get discounts on flood insurance policies” when that’s done. Both he and the department’s community development assistant, Debbie Cohen, are certified to assist home owners.

    Let’s Keep It Friendly

    Select board chair Aimée Eckman offered a “personal point of view” last week on the early return of part-time residents during the pandemic. “I don’t look at part-time residents as tourists,” she said. “I know people see out-of-state plates, [but] they’re our neighbors and friends. From the part-timers I’ve seen coming this spring, they’re extremely responsible.” She added that not every year-round resident is abiding by guidelines. “Just try to be patient with people and educate them if you see them doing something that might be a problem,” she said. “I think they’re open to being educated if people aren’t screaming at them.”

    June 1 Meeting a Door Into Summer

    Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe plans to present a draft summer services program to the select board June 1 that will include guidance on beaches, recreation programs, and the like. Her plans are informed by group meetings with other town administrators, select board chairs, health agents, and from National Seashore administrators who have been working towards creating uniform policies.

    Licensing for Alcohol Sales

    Eastham has no seasonal package store licensees, and select board member Jamie Rivers wants to keep it that way. “The town is very well covered by our year-round off-site liquor licenses,” she said May 18 during the board’s review of licensing practices.

    The current board can “look at the application package, make it tighter and more clear, look at what criteria you’re looking for, gaps or gluts, but you can’t set a policy for the next board,” advised Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe.

    Board chair Aimée Eckmann thanked Rivers for requesting more details from applicants for liquor licenses. “It has really made a huge difference,” she said. “There’s more of a plan instead of them just signing an application, throwing it at us, and we rubber stamp it…. If they go out of compliance, it’s clear what they said was supposed to happen.”

    SEASONAL PROSPECTS

    Tourist Economy Can’t Open Till Mid-June

    Lodging, dining, and retail get three weeks to prepare

    By

    PROVINCETOWN — Phase one of the governor’s reopening plan began on Monday, but for the Outer Cape’s hospitality-driven economy, the big changes will come with phase two.

    That’s when renting to vacationers, eating in restaurants, and browsing through stores all become possible again. There will be new rules for these activities, and whether consumers will be ready to partake is another matter. But the timeline for opening has been laid out, and the key transition is likely to come mid-June.

    Factories, construction sites, and houses of worship reopened May 18; on May 25, retail stores can begin delivery and curbside pickup, and offices, laboratories, drive-in movies, hair salons and barbers (by appointment), pet grooming, some boats (with limits on passengers), and some athletic fields and courts may reopen.

    In phase two will come the necessary ingredients for a stay on the Cape. Many purely recreational activities are reserved for phase three: bars, whale watching, gyms, museums, and movie theaters.

    The transition between these phases is supposed to be controlled by six statewide health indicators, which measure the severity of coronavirus infections and the health care system’s capacity to handle them. The state’s “health dashboard” is to be updated weekly. Each phase will take a minimum of three weeks, so phase two can begin, at the earliest, on Monday, June 8.

    “Phase one is pretty limited,” state Sen. Julian Cyr told the Provincetown Select Board Monday night. “We have to get morbidity and mortality down to get to phase two. It will take at least three weeks, and potentially longer.”

    For many businesses, mid-June might just barely be soon enough. In a recent survey, 58 percent of Provincetown business owners said they needed to open by June 15 to have a viable season. Forty-two percent said that if they couldn’t open by July 1, they might not open at all.

    Many business owners said they would stay open later in the season to recoup lost income. Summer is not easily replaced, though. The earliest that phase-three businesses can reopen is June 29. Provincetown’s whale watch fleet, bars, gyms, and yoga studios may be forced to face a year without a July.

    Provincetown’s health agent, Morgan Clark, told the select board Monday that, in addition to the state’s metrics, she is keeping track of Provincetown’s supply of ambulances and rescue crews, Outer Cape Health Service’s supply of clinicians, and the staff of various town departments, including police and the dept. of public works.

    “We are looking at the percent of these critical personnel who could be exposed and quarantined,” said Clark, “to be sure we’re not overwhelmed.”

    Town Manager Robin Craver said she’ll deliver a comprehensive report next week with policy recommendations. She said she anticipates changes to Commercial Street to make more space for pedestrians, as well as new uses of town property, such as the addition of picnic tables or handwashing stations.

    “My hope is to have these things ready for implementation by mid-June,” said Craver, “so we are prepared.”

    Many business owners were aggravated that the state did not provide more detailed guidance. On Monday, “sector-specific protocols” were released only for phase-one businesses, leaving hotels, restaurants, and others to wonder what rules would apply to their newly opened businesses in only three short weeks.

    For the time being, residents arriving from out of state are still “urged” or “instructed” (the state government uses both words) to self-quarantine for 14 days. A coalition of legislators from the Cape and Islands, chambers of commerce, and hospitals had advised a strong quarantine, including bringing 14 days of food and other supplies with you to the Cape. A new version of that advisory was still being developed at press time.

    “We’re working to get clarity from the state on the rules for people from out of state, especially in phase two and beyond,” said Sen. Cyr. The governor’s out-of-state quarantine advisory dates back to March 27, when Massachusetts was at the very beginning of its outbreak.

     

    DISTANCE

    Wellfleet’s Beaches May Be Plenty Big

    But officials want to reduce parking anyway

    By

    WELLFLEET — Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday, without providing evidence, that social distancing at beaches means blankets must be 12 feet apart — at least during phase one of the state’s reopening. Wellfleet will take it a step further, reducing beach parking capacity by 25 percent.

    Baker’s latest advisory gave towns the authority to make final decisions on beaches. Wellfleet Beach Administrator Suzanne Grout Thomas came up with the parking restriction as a way of testing the density experience on the beach early in the season.

    State Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Truro) has said that coronavirus regulations should be the same throughout the Cape to minimize visitors’ confusion and frustration.

    “Region-wide consistency is very important,” Cyr told reopening planners on Monday. “Going it alone really concerns me.”

    Officials worry that overly restrictive rules in one town will lead to overcrowding in others.

    The ocean beaches that Wellfleet administers — Lecount Hollow, White Crest, Cahoon Hollow, and Newcomb Hollow — have an average of about 53,000 square feet within the lifeguard watch zone boundaries at mid-tide, Thomas told the Independent.

    A reporter’s rough calculation indicates that space should be adequate, at least at Lecount, White Crest, and Cahoon, with Newcomb Hollow the beach most likely to push the limits on the 12-foot separation rule.

    If the average beach blanket group take up an eight-by-eight-foot square, with 12 feet of distance between them and the next, each group would need about 400 square feet. That means that at mid-tide the lifeguard zone should accommodate a rule-abiding crowd of about 133 blanket groups.

    That is close to the number of parking spots at each beach. Lecount Hollow has 136 spots; the White Crest front parking lot has 138 (not including the day-pass parking lot that the select board has already closed for this year); and Cahoon Hollow has 80 spaces. If each car is counted as a proxy for a blanket group, there would be virtually no need to limit spaces.

    Newcomb Hollow, though, has 184 spaces, so if a car is a proxy for a blanket group, then at full capacity, the number of blanket groups might outstrip the lifeguarded space.

    Indoors Vs. Outdoors

    The reason for the governor’s 12-foot distancing rule at the beach is unclear. Studies show that social distancing outdoors is not nearly as crucial in preventing infection as it is indoors.

    According to preliminary research on Covid-19 infection rates, the dangers of contracting the virus at the beach might not warrant the 12-foot rule. A study of 318 Covid-19 outbreak pockets in China found that transmission occurred outdoors in only one of them.

    A similar study conducted in Japan concluded that outdoor transmission was 18.7 times less likely than indoor transmission.

    Neither of these studies has been peer-reviewed and therefore cannot be used to influence decisions made by lawmakers.

    A recent study on transmission of Covid-19 by Dr. Lydia Bourouiba of M.I.T., which has been used to support the six-foot separation standard, mentioned that transmission is much less likely outdoors due to increased air circulation.

    Bourouiba’s work suggests that the six-foot rule might not be needed outdoors, let alone the 12-foot separation proposed by Baker.

    But Grout Thomas said she was most concerned about entry areas where people may pass close to one another even when the beaches are not crowded.

    The National Park Service, which operates six beaches in the Cape Cod National Seashore, has not decided what regulations to enforce on its beaches this summer.

    “We are looking at ways to adaptively recover and enhance access,” said Seashore Supt. Brian Carlstrom. “We hope to have our plan outlined by the end of the week.”

     

    PEOPLE

    Lilli Osowski Goes All In for Veterans

    Mobilizing a whole school for a cause

    By

    You may not know her by name, but Lilli Osowski is one of Provincetown’s busiest residents.

    A senior studying health technology at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, she works three jobs — at Cape Tip Seafoods, Sidekicks Travel toy store, and Advinia Care (the long-term care facility at Seashore Point). And, this year, she took on even more responsibility by organizing her classmates to help veterans all across the Cape.

    Cape Cod Tech offers 15 specialized programs called “shops”; Lilli persuaded each one to help. Horticulture students aided a 92-year-old World War II veteran by mowing his lawn, raking his leaves, and cleaning his gutters. Carpentry students made a metal display case for one vet, and plumbing students replaced another’s faucet.

    Cape Tech senior Lilli Osowski honors Provincetown’s veterans in preparation for Memorial Day. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    On one day, three different shops used their skills to help six female veterans. The women dropped off their cars to be detailed in the auto shop, and meanwhile had a spa day, courtesy of the school’s cosmetology students. Then they headed over to the culinary department for a free lunch.

    “They had a whole day,” says Lynn Fleischer, Lilli’s social studies teacher. “It was awesome.”

    Back in the fall, Fleischer, who lives in Eastham, noticed Lilli’s enthusiasm for helping veterans when all the students were writing thank-you cards for Veterans Day. Lilli’s cards were extra heartfelt, and one day she approached her teacher to offer help in addressing the 275 letters that students had written. Fleischer suggested that Lilli organize a larger project and participate in a community service competition sponsored by SkillsUSA, an organization that promotes leadership for students in career and technical education programs.

    In addition to coordinating all 15 shops at the Tech in service projects for veterans, Lilli was planning to present a memorial placard, made by the school’s engineering shop, to local veterans. The presentation would have been part of the Cape Cod Veterans Center’s annual Welcome Home Ceremony on March 29, dedicated to Vietnam vets.

    That gathering in Bourne was going to be the “cherry on top” of Lilli’s project, says Fleischer. Now it is on hold, as the event was postponed by the coronavirus, which also halted progress on the placard, since students had to switch to online learning. The national SkillsUSA convention, where Lilli was going to present her “ALL In for Our Vets” project, has also been cancelled.

    But the pandemic can’t stop Lilli. Last Saturday, she helped her uncle, Thomas Osowski, commander of the local VFW, put flags next to the graves of every veteran buried in Provincetown — over 600 of them.

    Osowski mobilized her whole school to make veterans’ lives better. (Photo courtesy Lilli Osowski)

    Lilli has several veterans in her family, and she cites this as one reason for her interest in veteran aid. She also says that working at a nursing home, which she’s been doing since August as part of her school’s cooperative learning program, has taught her that veterans can feel neglected and voiceless.

    She says that one wheelchair-bound World War II veteran whom she cares for at Seashore Point once told her the story of losing his leg because of a gunshot wound. “He’s one of the quieter ones,” she says, but he opened up to her. “He tells me stories that he doesn’t tell anyone else. I’m his voice.

    “Veterans don’t get enough acknowledgement,” she says. “It hurts to see.”

    Lilli will be starting at the University of New Hampshire in the fall, as a health sciences major. She is not sure she’ll make a career out of helping veterans. What matters to her is helping people, whoever they might be. “I just want to make a difference in people’s lives,” she says.

    Lynn Fleischer echoes the same sentiment. “Helping and honoring people is her passion,” she says. “What a kid.”

    CURRENTS

    This Week in Provincetown

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    All meetings are held remotely. To watch a meeting, go to provincetown-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. Follow the link to the agenda for instructions on how to watch and participate.

    Thursday, May 21

    • Zoning Board of Appeals, 6:30 p.m.

    Tuesday, May 26

    • Select Board and Board of Health, 6 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Covid-19 Update

    As of May 18, Provincetown had no confirmed active cases of coronavirus, one death, and 27 additional cases considered recovered.

    Advice: No Cruise Ships, Indoor Shows

    The recovery coalition’s public health working group released recommendations Monday based on research about the safest way to proceed this summer. The group advised that cruise ships and bus tours should detour away from Provincetown.

    The group also advised that indoor entertainment should bow out for the summer, as well as large outdoor attractions; buskers; shared bathrooms in accommodations, such as rooming houses; saunas and steam rooms, except those in private homes; and food and coffee bars.

    “These aren’t banned, this is just information for the public to signal where the public health working group is heading,” said Health Director Morgan Clark on Monday.

    The coalition will present a full list of recommendations at a May 26 joint meeting of the select board and the board of health, where policies can begin to be set.

    The coalition working group will spend the summer monitoring new coronavirus cases, as well as testing capacity, the number of available ambulances, and the percentage of essential workers (such as doctors and nurses) who may become sick with the virus.

    Outer Cape Health Services officials told the working group that the Provincetown clinic would stay open longer than their other two clinics should there be a staffing shortage, Clark said.

    Survey Says…

    Results of a community survey about the reopening of Provincetown were still not completely tabulated by deadline, but the preliminary report found that 2,500 people took the survey, according to Town Manager Robin Craver.

    A full 77 percent of respondents prioritized “doing everything possible to prevent the spread of Covid-19” over the economy, she said.

    The majority favored welcoming back day-trippers, weekend visitors, week-long visitors, summer visitors, and domestic workers. But most respondents did not want to see cruise ships or international workers in 2020. —K.C. Myers

     

    CURRENTS

    This Week in Truro

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Meetings are held remotely. To watch live, go to truro-ma.gov and find meetings on the lower right of the home page. Click on the agenda of the meeting you are interested in and follow directions within each agenda. To view meetings after they have occurred, go to the town home page, scroll down under News & Announcements, click on “Remote Meeting Information,” and follow directions.

    Thursday, May 21

    • Town Manager Screening Committee, 2 p.m.

    Tuesday, May 26

    • Select Board, 2 p.m.

    Thursday, May 28

    • Zoning Board of Appeals Cloverleaf Hearing, 5:30 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Covid-19 Update

    As of May 19, Truro had one active case of coronavirus and nine resolved cases.

    State Accused of Soft Language

    Select board member Bob Weinstein told state legislators at the Truro Select Board meeting on Tuesday that he was very disappointed that the language in the governor’s orders regarding several reopening guidelines was too soft and didn’t mandate necessary safety precautions. He said there wasn’t enough testing or contact tracing in the state.

    State Sen. Julian Cyr, a Truro native, agreed with Weinstein, saying, “There are some gaps in the reopening plan,” but there is more testing on the way. State Rep. Sarah Peake, of Provincetown, said there is “abundant testing capacity now.”

    Town Manager Rae Ann Palmer asked for signs to use at town beaches related to social distancing of 12 feet between beach blankets and other state guidelines.

    “Those are crucial, especially for Memorial Day,” said Cyr.

    Budget Cuts Looming

    Palmer and Town Accountant Trudi Brazil estimate that summer revenue will likely be down $500,000: from $2.2 million to $1.7 million. Beach and dump sticker fees, and meals and rooms tax collections are expected to be significantly lower than in 2020.

    Suggestions on how to cut the fiscal 2021 budget include a loss of $3,000 in the Truro 400 budget, and the removal of all library and road maintenance from the capital budget. A mobile generator and interview room for the police department could also be chopped, Palmer told the select board on May 5. —K.C. Myers

     

    currents

    This Week in Wellfleet

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    All meetings are held online. Go to wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the individual meetings for instructions.

    Thursday, May 21

    • Dredging Task Force, 11 a.m.
    • Local Housing Partnership, 4 p.m.

    Tuesday, May 26

    • Select Board and Emergency Management Team, 10 a.m.
    • Select Board, 7 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Covid-19 Update

    As of May 18, Wellfleet had two active cases of coronavirus, four cleared cases, and one death.

    Four-Step Enforcement Plan

    Health Dept. Director Hillary Greenberg-Lemos is putting the responsibility of social distancing and mask-wearing on the public, but she has a plan if violations arise. When the department receives the first complaint about a person not complying with Covid-19 guidelines, it will send someone to the location of the complaint and issue a verbal warning. Greenberg-Lemos admitted that “for general members of the public this is tricky, but for businesses, it’s really doable.”

    For the second infringement, the department will issue a written warning. For the third, the violator will receive a $100 fine, and for the fourth infraction, the violator will receive a cease and desist order. Complaints should be emailed to [email protected].

    Transfer Station Takes More

    As of May 18, the transfer station is accepting construction and demolition debris, leaves and brush, metal, furniture, marine debris, propane tanks, refrigerators, air-conditioners, dehumidifiers, and reusable compost. The station is not requiring purple pay-as-you-throw bags until further notice.

    Beach Limits Set

    Wellfleet beach parking lots will be restricted to 75 percent of capacity for the foreseeable future. Beach Director Suzanne Grout Thomas wants to keep beach density down until she can get a sense of how much the beaches can handle, all the while observing the 12-foot separation on the beach imposed by Gov. Baker. —Devin Sean Martin

     

    currents

    This Week in Eastham

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    While town hall is closed to the public, meetings are being conducted remotely. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on a particular meeting to read its agenda. That document will provide information about how to view and take part remotely.

    Thursday, May 21

    • Affordable Housing Trust, 11 a.m.

    Tuesday, May 26

    • Conservation Commission site visits, 8:15 a.m.
    • Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.

    Thursday, May 28

    • Board of Health, 3 p.m.
    • Joint School Committee, 6 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    No June Annual Town Meeting

    Rather than gamble on conditions being right for a June gathering, the select board agreed Monday with Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe that the annual town meeting should take place in the fall.

    Beebe said plans to address the Nauset Regional High School building project in the fall — possibly on Sept. 21 or 28 — rather than the spring “was what really committed us to the fall. Do we really need two town meetings in a time when we’re already totally challenged? Any day in September or October is fine as long as we can take a vote [on the project] at the ballot box at the November election.”

    The state is allowing towns that decide against a June meeting to spend 1/12 of their current fiscal year’s budget on a month-to-month basis after the fiscal year ends June 30, until town meeting is held.

    The town election is still on for June 23, with polls open from noon to 6 p.m. Applications for mail-in ballots are going out to all households in hopes of avoiding a crush at the ballot box.

    Aquaculture License Revoked

    With shellfishing members Al Cestaro and Jared Collins recusing themselves, the three remaining select board members voted unanimously Monday to revoke the aquaculture license of Nathan Davis and suspend his commercial shellfish permit and that of David Howe.

    Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe said complaints were made that soft-shell clams had been placed on Davis’s new grant, and that an investigation by the shellfish constable and the state environmental police confirmed the allegations.

    “An entire shellfish aquaculture community could be damaged by placement of product from another source,” Beebe said. “It’s one of the most fundamental rules of aquaculture.”

    The town administrator read a communication from Davis, who said he had been unable to take the day off given that “the fishing industry is very unstable,” but hoped “to appear before a non-biased arbitrator” and “clear my name of false allegations.”

    “A lot of people out there are doing things correctly,” board chair Aimée Eckman said. “If all their grants get contaminated, shame on us if we don’t step in to stop this kind of behavior.

    Rock Harbor Improvements

    The Rock Harbor parking and ramp project may be completed as soon as mid-July, harbormaster Scott Richards told the select board Monday. “Everything has to be fabricated,” he said. “Companies for fabrication were furloughed” because of the pandemic but will now be able to get back to work.

    The town has three commercial slips on the Orleans side of the harbor, and the fire dept.’s boat “will go in this weekend,” the harbormaster said, next to the historic Coast Guard rescue boat’s spot. —Ed Maroney

    It’s OK to Play on Field of Dreams

    Eastham Recreation is keeping the basketball and pickleball courts at the Field of Dreams open, Director Christine Mickle told the recreation commission May 13. They’ll be available, she said, as long as people abide by social distancing guidelines.

    The courts and playground were built with $500,000 in community preservation funds, approved in 2016. In 2018, $71,000 was added for phase two: new dugouts at the baseball/softball fields, landscaping and rock removal, and a 10-foot protective fence along the walkway. Rec committee chair Ed Casarella said Cape Cod Tech had won the bid for construction, but the pandemic has disrupted scheduling.

    The commission has an article in this year’s town meeting warrant to tap $375,000 in community preservation funds for playground improvements at Wiley Park. “I don’t envision any problem of the article going through, but we have to wait for town meeting,” Casarella said.

    Although summer recreation camp was approved for seven weeks at the high school, Mickle wasn’t sure it will happen. She said the department’s seasonal hires are on hold, and she couldn’t say when the beach sticker office will open. Ordinarily, stickers aren’t required for town bay beaches and ponds until June 20. —Ryan Fitzgerald

     

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