This article was updated on Oct. 24, 2024.
WELLFLEET — After next year, there may not be anything “special” about a town meeting held in October.
That’s because Wellfleet’s voters approved a series of amendments to the town’s charter and bylaws at a special town meeting on Monday, Oct. 21 that would change how the town organizes its decision-making. Instead of holding one town meeting in the spring that often spans multiple evenings, Wellfleet would hold two every year: a spring meeting focused primarily on financial matters, and a fall meeting focused on zoning, general bylaws, and other matters.
The changes were proposed by Town Moderator Dan Silverman, who said that he wanted to make town meetings less of a slog for Wellfleet residents. The changes to the town charter must be approved by a town election vote, most likely at the annual election next April or May, said Silverman.
If the charter changes are approved at an election, they will take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year, so they would have no effect on next year’s annual town meeting or any special town meeting that might take place before then.
While neither of the two annual meetings would be restricted to the topics in Silverman’s proposal, he hopes that the changes will result in shorter meetings, thereby encouraging voters to attend and stay until the end.
Quorum Rules
Maintaining a quorum at town meeting has been a challenge for Wellfleet, and another of the measures proposed by Silverman and approved by voters this week aims to fix that.
Wellfleet requires a quorum of at least 6 percent of the town’s registered voters to be in attendance for a town meeting to continue — which means that if too many people leave the meeting early it sometimes has to be adjourned until the next evening.
If the charter changes are approved, the quorum will be required only at the beginning of the meeting. This means people would be free to go home early and the meeting could continue without them.
“Be advised that if you wish to participate in the decision-making process, you have to show up,” said select board member John Wolf.
Several voters argued that conducting official business without a quorum was unfair to those who can’t attend a meeting all the way to the end.
“We don’t want anything decided by just a handful of people,” said former select board member Helen Miranda Wilson. “We usually get our first real information about the articles during the session.”
Silverman, who did not moderate Monday’s meeting while his own proposed articles were being considered, said that sometimes a large number of people come to vote on a specific article and then leave after it passes or fails. “No one has to stay for the whole meeting, but those who do remain should be able to complete the business of town meeting,” he said.
(In a small bit of irony, the quorum was established only once on Oct. 21, at the meeting’s outset at 6:25 p.m. No one offered a motion to confirm that a quorum was still present, even though the number of voters clearly dwindled toward the end of the evening.)
Voters also approved Silverman’s proposals to change the way Wellfleet advertises future town meetings. The town would no longer mail the entire warrant to every registered voter — instead, it would mail postcards inviting voters to pick up copies of the warrant at the library, post office, and other town buildings.
The only one of Silverman’s proposals that didn’t pass as written was Article 11, which would have amended the town charter to set the date of town elections by bylaw or select board vote rather than having the date set in the charter itself.
Select board member Ryan Curley proposed striking the clause that would have allowed the board to set election dates — an amendment that voters approved unanimously, according to temporary moderator Bruce Bierhans, who presided over the discussion of each of Silverman’s proposals.
“I didn’t feel comfortable letting officials set their own election dates,” Curley said.
Staffing Debate
Article 4, which appropriated $36,500 for the new Gestalt Municipal Facility’s operating costs, passed quickly and almost unanimously.
Article 5, which authorized $40,000 to pay for “shared general administrative support” for the town departments that would work from that facility, however, proved to be the most contentious item on the warrant.
“I would need proof that an administrative assistant is necessary,” finance committee chair Kathleen Granlund told the assembly. Finance committee member Stephen Polowczyk said he found the measure to be “very nebulous” and said a “clear position” for the new staffers would be necessary for the measure to earn his vote.
“Job descriptions are up to the town administrator and the select board,” Town Administrator Thomas Guerino countered. “They’ve never been the finance committee’s choice.”
Town Planner Beth Pyles spoke strongly in favor of Article 5, saying that her administrative support had moved to assist the marina, leaving her without an assistant. “This is very important to me,” she said.
After an extended discussion, Article 5 passed with about 30 votes against it.
Articles related to staffing at the marina, by contrast, received unanimous approval from voters. A transfer of $173,250 from the town’s Stabilization Fund — including $53,250 to pay marina staff — was approved to supplement the marina’s operating budget. An equal amount is expected to be transferred from the town’s Marina Enterprise Retained Earnings back to the Stabilization Fund at the next town meeting.
“This pier will be the heartbeat of Wellfleet,” Police Chief Kevin LaRocco enthusiastically told the town.
Acting Harbormaster Stuart Smith said that besides providing salaries for the marina’s staff, the money will also be used to fix numerous electrical problems at the marina and pier, including bare wires, broken fittings, and a breaker panel in need of replacement.
Smith also said that most of the town-owned boats are “not seaworthy.”
The town also unanimously approved road widening easements for the Herring River Restoration Project, two articles relating to the construction of a permanent facility for the Wellfleet Food Pantry, and a $3-million MassWorks grant to fund construction of a wastewater treatment facility at 95 Lawrence Road.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article, published in print on Oct. 24, omitted the requirement that charter changes adopted at town meeting be approved at a town election before they take effect.
