Meetings are held remotely. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on the meeting you’re interested in to read its agenda and for information on how to view and take part remotely. 

Saturday, Feb. 13

• Board of Library Trustees, 9 a.m. 

Wednesday, Feb. 17

• Open Space Committee, 3 p.m.
• Planning Board, 5 p.m.
• Nauset High School Building Committee, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 18

• Affordable Housing Trust, 11 a.m.

Conversation Starters

Covid-19 Update

As of Feb. 4, Eastham had 22 new cases within the preceding 14 days and 89 total cases to date, according to the Mass. Dept. of Public Health weekly Covid-19 report. No Eastham Covid-19 deaths have been reported. 

Second Term Sought

Select Board Chair Jamie Demetri has announced she will run for a second term on the board this spring.

“I’ve learned a lot in the last three years,” she said. “In addition to a standard three years on the select board, we have also had some curveballs with Covid.

“There’s been a lot of ripple effects that are so unique to this last year that I feel obliged to stay through all of this,” said Demetri. “Right now, we’re kind of just kicking off vaccination clinics and we finally have some good news, and it feels good. I feel it’s important to have some type of continuity for the town.”

Off-Season Storage

The town is considering offering storage for shellfishing gear and other work equipment on town property.

“It’s come to our attention that there is an interest in having shellfishermen, aquaculturists, people in that type of work in our town to use town property to store their shellfishing gear in the off season, meaning the winter,” DPW Supt. Silvio Genao said at the select board’s Feb. 8 meeting.

“Do you have sites in mind that are not going to end up being an eyesore because you have all this equipment stored?” asked board member Art Autorino, noting the number of houses he sees with lobster traps and boats in their yards.

Board member Al Cestaro noted the point of the public storage would be to help with blight concerns in town. “There’s a lot of folks in town that don’t particularly want to see 800 smelly lobster traps abutting their property,” said Cestaro. He noted his own aquaculture operation uses about 60 four-by-eight steel racks and a number of plastic bags.

“Personally, I love lobster traps in people’s yards. I think it’s the Cape Cod way,” said Chair Jamie Demetri, noting that not everyone shared her view. “We need to maybe start brainstorming some options that can find that medium ground,” she added.

Genao recommended working with the shellfish advisory workgroup to develop a plan. “There’s a lot of logistical steps we would need to iron out,” he said. “We definitely have space, if that’s what the board would like us to do.”

—Linda Culhane