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Wellfleet

     Free Senior Workshops From Castle Hill 

    By

    The spring session of Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill’s “60+” program begins this week. The free virtual workshops are open to residents of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, Chatham, Harwich, and Brewster who are 60 years of age or older.

    Vicky Tomayko teaches “Relief Printmaking in the Home Studio” on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon, from April 13th to 29th. Students will learn how to make woodcuts, linocuts, and collagraphs. If cooking is more your thing, Katherine Alford, former vice president of Food Network’s test kitchen, teaches a workshop on Thursdays, 3 to 5 p.m., from April 22nd to May 20th, skipping May 6.

    Sign up for the lottery at castlehill.org, or by calling 508-349-7511. Participants will be notified of admittance on Friday, April 9th.

     

    Covid Relief Fund Recipients Announced

    By

    The Mass. Cultural Council has announced the recipients of the Covid-19 Relief Fund. It awarded grants of $1,500 to 781 artists, humanists, and scientists, $1,171,500 in total.

    Twenty were from the Outer Cape. In Provincetown: visual artists Ramón S. Alcoléa, Karen Cappotto, Anastasia Egeli, Akiko Jackson, Chet Jones, and Gaston Lacombe; comedian Kristen Becker; multidisciplinary artist Andrew Fitzpatrick; filmmakers James Kubesch and Fermin Rojas; and, for theater, Robert DiVincenzo, Christopher Kosiavelon, and Michael Sottile.

    In Truro: visual artist Donna Mahan and, for multidisciplinary arts, Stephanie Rein and Vanessa Vartabedian.

    In Wellfleet: visual artists Megan Hinton and Julia Salinger.

    And, finally, in Eastham: musician Billy Hardy. Congratulations to all.

     

     Elena Ruehr Honors ‘A Great Diva’

    By

    Elena Ruehr, a composer who lives part of the year in Wellfleet, has created a new piece titled Notorious RBG, which will be performed virtually by members of the Boston-based Cantata Singers on Saturday, February 6th at 8 p.m. Also on the program are Arnold Schoenberg’s De Profundis and Peter Child’s The Year of the Rat. Watch it at cantatasingers.org.

    Notorious RBG, which uses the words of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as its libretto, consists of four solos by four different singers: Majie Zeller, mezzo-soprano; Kumi Donaghue, soprano; Nancy Kurtz, soprano; and Epp Sonin, soprano.

    “It’s very hard to write for solo voices without accompaniment,” says Ruehr, “because accompaniment gives the backdrop, the harmony, the sense of mood. The only example I know of music that is commonly sung without accompaniment is lullabies. Or you think of songs like ‘Amazing Grace.’ ”

    Ruehr thought about how these songs function, and then pushed the boundaries to make her composition “a little more modern and expressive.” What it comes down to, she says, are “melodic fragments that are understandable” and as short as three notes, which can be strung together like pearls in a necklace.

    Ruehr chose the Ginsburg quotes for their brevity and pithiness. The justice was a huge opera fan, and even appeared in the speaking role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, performed by the Washington National Opera. This is alluded to in a line in the last movement: “If I had any talent in the world, any talent that God could give me, I would be a great diva.”

    While the other movements suggest a blues or folk element, this last movement is full of trills, almost “as though Mozart has landed in the room,” says Ruehr.

    —Saskia Maxwell Keller

     

    ENVIRONMENT

    Wellfleet Harbor’s ‘Black Custard’

    It’s all-natural, but you wouldn’t want to eat it

    By

    WELLFLEET — Agnes Mittermayr, a marine ecologist at the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) in Provincetown, has coined a new term to describe the dark, sludgy material that fills Wellfleet Harbor: “black custard.”

    “Initially, everyone called it ‘mayo,’ ” she said.

    Winter Wednesdays — Whenever, Wherever

    By

    Registration for Winter Wednesdays, called “Winter Whenevers” this year, opens Monday, January 4th, at winterwednesdays.org. These free classes will allow “residents of Provincetown, Truro and Wellfleet to interact online with each other over the off-season and learn something new at the same time,” according to a press release.

    Here’s the course lineup for Session I, which will take place January 18th through February 28th: “Better Pictures With Your Camera,” with Jim Austin, Mondays, 2 to 3 p.m.; “Strong Nation,” with Naya Bricher, Mondays, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; “The Wizard of Oz: Harold Arlen’s Songs,” with Marc Strauss, Mondays, 6 to 8 p.m.; “Listening to Classical Music,” with Craig Combs, Tuesdays, 1 to 3 p.m.; “Zumba,” with Naya Bricher, Tuesdays, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; “Sketch Your Town,” with Rowan Wielblad, Wednesdays, 1 to 2 p.m.; “The Art of Dying: Death Education and Conversation,” with Dawn Walsh, Wednesdays, 6 to 7:30 p.m.; “Movement and Meditation” with Jaime de Sousa, Wednesdays, 7 to 8:30 p.m.; “Using Media for Communication and Creativity,” with Amy Davies, Thursdays, 11 a.m. to noon; “Writing About Trauma Without Getting Lost,” with Jeannette de Beauvoir, Thursdays, 5 to 6 p.m.; “The Basics of Bread,” with Sean Flyr, Saturdays, 10 a.m. to noon; “Mantra Meditation, Restorative Yoga, Embodiment Yin Yoga,” with Onawa Calvin, Sundays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; “Beginning Mindfulness and Meditation Practice,” with Kalliope Chute, Sundays, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.; and “Singing Class for Beginning Soloists,” with Susan Mitchell, Sundays, 2 to 3 p.m.

    OUTER CAPE PORTRAIT

    The Moderator

    By

    DAN SILVERMAN / TOWN MODERATOR & WOODWORKER / WELLFLEET

    Just out of college, Dan Silverman drove to Wellfleet in 1972 for a job interview with a local builder. He’s never left. Silverman is a skilled woodworker and furniture maker. He is the village’s retired fire chief and the town moderator. Here he is in his own words.

    I always spent time with tools when I was growing up. Being a woodworker was something I knew from an early age was what I wanted to do. I came here not knowing anything about the place. I was a long-haired, left-wing Jewish hippie from New York, you know, all of the things that people around here, certainly the old-timers, weren’t used to.

    But Wellfleet was a pretty accepting town. The first time somebody called me a “washashore,” I just laughed. I didn’t take it personally, and I made sure I integrated myself into the community.

    So, I went to work as a carpenter and, little by little, I worked my way into a shop. Along with two other friends, we rented a space. We started buying machinery and tools, taking small woodworking jobs, and started to make my living, such as it was, and, happily, there’s been enough work to keep me going.

    When I first moved to town, and I realized that small towns in New England were governed by open town meetings, I found that fascinating. I started going to town meeting right away. I don’t think I’ve missed more than one or two town meetings in almost 50 years.

    I’m always impressed with how patient Wellfleetians are, in terms of listening to one another. People are really respectful. Even in some pretty hot issues, they do a good job of not personalizing things, not engaging in ad hominem attacks. I don’t tolerate it as moderator. One of the roles is to keep people talking to the issues and not about one another.

    I certainly have an opinion on the issues that are before the town, but, as a moderator, you have to step back from that. And you need to make sure that the process of how town meeting comes to that outcome is a good process. That suits my nature. And I like to think I’m good at it.

    I think town meeting does a pretty good job of reflecting the wishes of the town writ large. Does the arc of town meeting bend toward wisdom? I would say probably more yes than no.

    As a moderator, you’re standing up there in front of all your fellow townspeople, and to some extent it’s a little theatrical. There are moderators who are probably a little better at banter than I am. That’s not my strong suit. Every now and then I can come up with something that’s a little bit humorous, but it’s probably in spite of my nature rather than because of it.

    As you’re standing there waiting for town meeting to begin, there’s the feeling that you’re about to embark on this process that New England towns have been doing for 300 years maybe. There’s a mantle of seriousness that you put on. You’ve been given the responsibility for carrying on this very longstanding, venerated tradition of self-government.

    This year, Covid delayed town meeting, usually held in April. Silverman headed a task force charged with making a different plan for meeting outdoors on the elementary school ball field in September.

    One thing we did actually have a little concern about was what happens if somebody shows up without a mask and absolutely refuses to wear one. So, we had a separate seating area of about 20 chairs with a microphone for anyone who showed up. Nobody showed up without a mask. It never became an issue.

    We had a quorum all the way through. The fact that it was a beautiful day didn’t hurt. I think people really did want to be out and be among their friends and their neighbors and feel like they were doing something real. This is the first time in my memory that we’ve done a daytime town meeting and a lot of people said afterwards that they liked it.

    I ended up being on the pitcher’s mound. So, I had whatever it is, eight inches or a foot of elevation, but it just did feel like a pitcher, sort of in control of the game, which is kind of ironic, because I hated baseball. I was terrible at it. When I was a kid, anytime I ended up in a baseball game, I’d throw to the wrong base, or I’d make the wrong play. I just hated it! It’s funny it turned out this way.

    TECHNOLOGY

    3 Towns Wait to See What Comcast Will Deliver

    A new contract offers benefits that are still unknown

    By

    WELLFLEET — Thanks to a new contract with five Lower and Outer Cape towns, Comcast may soon provide broadband internet connections to residents of Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham who live on roads with 15 or more homes per mile.

    But Comcast said that it doesn’t know how many new customers will get connected under the revised service policy.

    The telecommunications giant, which ranked number 28 on the Fortune 500 list this year with more than $13 billion in profits, has imposed a “density factor” of 25 residences per mile in Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham for years. Lowering the factor to 15 is seen as a big win by some town officials.

    Marc Goodman, Comcast’s director of public relations, insisted that the company doesn’t know how many homes might now get broadband. After the new contract is signed by all five select boards in December or January, Goodman said, home owners who believe they may qualify for service must ask Comcast to survey their roads.

    Goodman did not explain how Comcast has been able to enforce its 25-homes-per-mile density factor without road surveys that supposedly do not exist.

    William Hewig III of KP Law negotiated the contract renewal on behalf of the five towns this year. The group includes Orleans and Brewster, which, Hewig said, have had the 15-per-mile factor for the last 10 years.

    Hewig said he did not know how many more homes will get a faster internet connection as a result of the new contract. “The hope is it will bring in a lot more cable subscribers,” he said. “But we all know it’s a sparsely populated area.”

    By law, Comcast must provide its host towns funding for local programing and other benefits. Those benefits change every 10 years when the contract is renewed. The previous contract was signed in 2010.

    “We went into the negotiations saying, ‘All our towns need a lower density. It’s a non-negotiable term,’ ” Hewig said. “Negotiations were long. We were all courteous, but the negotiations were tough.”

    Comcast’s Goodman said providing broadband access to new customers might also depend on getting easements to cross private property.

    After the contract signing, Hewig said, Comcast will go to all the underserved roads in the area, such as Long Nook Road in Truro, to conduct surveys.

    Heather Draz, who lives on Pamet Point Road in Wellfleet, said it won’t help her. There aren’t enough houses there.

    Maeve Taylor, 4, tries to get homework done despite a very slow internet connection. Her home on Bound Brook Island Road has no broadband access. (Photo Tessa Bry Taylor)

    Draz’s two sons grew up doing their homework parked outside the Wellfleet Public Library to take advantage of the free wi-fi, she said. All their computer games, movies, and educational materials (she still has one son in college) must be downloaded from the internet to be used later at home.

    Draz has been advocating for better broadband for 10 years. She’s a regular at the cable advisory committee meetings.

    “If I can’t get it for my kids,” Draz said, “maybe I can get it for my grandkids.”

    Draz said the towns all deserve 100 percent connectivity, and the fastest way is to use local, state, and federal funds to pay Comcast to install lines in unprofitable rural areas.

    Millions of dollars in state funding has gone to the Berkshires to provide “last mile” infrastructure to towns that are so small and remote that Comcast would never get involved otherwise.

    “In some of these towns, you’re more likely to see Bigfoot than to have a great internet connection,” said Steve Johnston of OpenCape. “There was no way for them to ever get connectivity unless the state subsidized a connection.”

    OpenCape has used $40 million in state and federal funding to provide “middle mile” fiber-optic cable along Route 6. For most Cape businesses and home owners, however, the middle mile may as well be in Peoria. It’s the last mile that’s necessary.

    In last four years, the state’s Broadband Institute has spent millions to provide last-mile broadband to the Berkshires. Meanwhile, Cape Cod has received nothing from the Broadband Institute.

    The state’s policy, which dates back to 2008, prioritizes unserved areas like the Berkshires, while Cape Cod is merely “underserved.” And it is not underserved enough to meet the criteria for state funding. A 2010 report by the Truro Cable Advisory Committee found that 93 to 98 percent of Truro homes had access to Comcast broadband. This does not meet the state’s definition of “underserved.”

    But try telling that to the 65 to 198 homeowners in Truro who, the study found, have no Comcast access.

    State Sen. Julian Cyr is trying to help. He has proposed an amendment to the so-called Endure Act, to provide infrastructure for three Wellfleet roads: Draz’s Pamet Point Road, Bound Brook Island Road, and part of Old County Road.

    The Endure Act awaits action by the legislature. The IT Bond Bill, already signed by Baker, grants $1.7 million to OpenCape to be used in part to extend fiber-optic cable from where it stops at the Commons on Bradford Street to the rest of Bradford Street and all along Commercial Street.

    Fiber-optic technology is faster than Comcast’s coaxial cable. But Baker has not yet released the funds.

    Five years is a coon’s age in technology years, Johnston said, and the 10-year contract with Comcast is glacial.

    “Comcast is giving up the density factor — that’s a very small giveaway,” said Johnston. “To me, the 10-year contract is a red flag. It’s an eternity in the technology world. Towns need to ask themselves how they can take control.”

    Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed the Mass. Broadband Institute’s policy on unserved and underserved areas to Gov. Charlie Baker. The policy was in place before Baker became governor.

     

    DIGGING DEEP

    Seashore Prepares for Bound Brook Land Swap

    Archaeologists play a role to protect natural and cultural resources

    By

    WELLFLEET — Driving northbound on Bound Brook Island Road in Wellfleet last week, travelers were greeted with a peculiar sight: a number of workers in reflective vests sifting through buckets of sand in what appeared to be the driveway of Bound Brook Farm.

    These workers weren’t panning for gold — they were looking for something potentially much more valuable.

    The Cape Cod National Seashore conducted an archaeological dig on a small parcel of land abutting the road, as part of the final stages of a rare land swap between the Seashore and a private landowner. Although the team did not find any significant artifacts, this episode reveals how the National Park Service approaches land acquisition. It also sheds light on the Outer Cape’s archaeological history.

    Lisa Brown, the owner of Bound Brook Farm, owns a few hundred square feet of land on the western side of Bound Brook Island Road, a plot that will eventually be flooded as part of the Herring River Tidal Restoration Project. Meanwhile, the Seashore owns a slightly smaller plot just across the street, on what would appear to be Brown’s driveway. So, the two parties initiated a swap just over two years ago. That process is still ongoing — held up, in part, by the need to undertake a full archaeological survey of the land.

    “Before we do a land exchange, we have to make sure we’re not giving away land with natural or cultural resources that are exceptional,” said Park Planner Lauren McKean. Archaeologists who visited the site last winter decided further investigation was needed.

    After a detailed survey on Oct. 28, contractors from Public Archaeology Labs, based in Pawtucket, R.I., found no objects of historical or cultural significance on the Seashore land. This means that, after the findings have been submitted to the Mass. Historical Commission, if the land exchange is approved by state and federal authorities, Brown and the Seashore will be able to swap the two parcels.

    Though the archeologists didn’t find anything of note, they very well could have. The Outer Cape is rich in Native and early American history, which means there are hundreds of archaeological sites in the area, many of them still undiscovered.

    “We have around 230 known archeology sites from Provincetown down to Eastham on National Seashore land,” said Park Historian Bill Burke, and, he added, “that’s just scratching the surface.”

    The site of last week’s dig was in a zone particularly well situated to hold archaeological resources.

    “There are certain parts of the Cape that are considered more sensitive for archaeology, meaning there’s a high likelihood that there are sites,” said Burke. “That sensitivity is driven by what you and I would want if we had to go out and start a village site today.” The Herring River, he pointed out, would have been an important food source for Native American people.

    Despite the Outer Cape’s archeological richness, there aren’t teams of surveyors scouring every square mile. That’s for a number of reasons. For one thing, the Park Service cannot infringe on private property.

    Then, too, archaeology, is by its nature destructive. “The philosophy of archaeology in the Park Service is that we’re not out to find everything,” said Burke. “We’re out to protect what we have.”

    Free Workshops for Seniors at Castle Hill

    By

    Year-round residents from Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, Brewster, Harwich, and Chatham are eligible to apply for the Truro Center for the Arts annual “60+” program of free workshops for seniors. The courses are “Pastels,” with Rob DuToit, Mondays and Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to noon, October 19th through November 4th; “Poetry,” with Kate Wallace Rogers, Mondays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to noon, November 2nd through November 19th; and “Printmaking,” with Vicky Tomayko, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10a.m. to noon, October 20th through November 5th.The classes will be held virtually this year, via Zoom. Applications are available on thecastlehill.org website. Space is limited: participants are chosen by lottery and will be notified of admission on October 14th.

    public health

    E. Coli Found in Wellfleet Town Water

    Many residents are missed by initial warning to boil water

    By

    WELLFLEET — The discovery of E. coli bacteria in the town’s public water supply led to a “boil water order” from the state on Saturday evening. Occupants of the 290 homes served by the system should boil tap water for at least one minute before drinking it, washing dishes, or brushing teeth with it. Restaurants are required to boil water for five minutes.

    The bacteria, which can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and headaches, were found in water samples taken on Sept. 24 and 25 by WhiteWater Inc. of Charlton, which manages Wellfleet’s municipal water system. The company said the problem should be corrected within three to seven days.

    That message is simple enough, but getting the information out to residents, property owners, and businesses has proved to be challenging.

    “It was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination,” said Police Chief Michael Hurley of the warning system. Hurley sent out alerts developed by CivicPlus, a technology company in Manhattan, Kan., which also created the town’s website.

    Leaks in Alert System

    But there were some big leaks in those alerts. First, you need to have signed up on the town website to receive them either by phone, by text message, or by email (or all three). Then, you need to have kept your contact information updated. People who had changed email addresses or phone numbers missed the boil water order issued on Saturday night.

    Also, those who signed up to get alerts by phone received an automated call saying there was important information “attached,” which obviously made no sense when referring to a phone call. Hurley said the software was supposed to translate the written notification into spoken words, but this particular message was too long.

    So, on Sunday, Sept. 27, CivicPlus advised officials to create a shorter explanation. That’s why everyone on the alert system received a marginally more coherent phone message on Sunday.

    Rebekah Eldridge, the water dept. clerk, said the message on Saturday was cryptic, and the one on Sunday was an improvement, but it still left some people more confused and suspicious of a hoax.

    The police dept. on Sunday got angry calls from residents who either didn’t get the information directly from the town or who found they had to click through several online links to get details. The process was clunky and confusing, Hurley said.

    “People were getting frustrated and lashed out, and it was a very stressful two days,” Hurley said.

    The main issue, Hurley said, is that the entire town staff was unprepared and untrained in the use of the emergency alert system.

    “The town got it from CivicPlus a few years ago, and to be quite honest, the time, the effort, and the training was never put in,” Hurley said. “We were supposed to be set up and ready to go, but we seem to manage by crisis.”

    290 Phone Calls

    Eldridge and Jim Hood, chair of the board of water commissioners, went to work on Sunday, personally calling all 290 property owners with hookups to the system to let them know of the danger. It took 12 hours, Eldridge said. And yet that effort still missed properties that have changed hands, or whose owners’ contact information had changed.

    Scott Castro, who in August purchased a condominium on Commercial Street, found out about the boil water order when the Independent, aware that he was new in town, called him on Monday, Sept. 28. He said he would have to talk to his 12-year-old daughter, since she often drinks from the tap.

    “I’m a little surprised at this,” he added, “It’s not like this is Flint, Mich. It sounds like a big town problem, not a little town problem.”

    Eric Smith, a WhiteWater project executive, would not say why the public water supply contained E. coli, which is an indicator that the water may be contaminated by human or animal waste. The bacteria are especially dangerous to infants, the elderly, and those with severely compromised immune systems.

    “We’re following all of the Mass. D.E.P. guidelines regarding the system,” Smith said.

    Stormwater runoff can contaminate public water, but there has not been much rain. It can also be caused by a failure in the water treatment system, according to the email sent via the alert system. Eldridge said they suspect it is a leak in a pipe somewhere, though she, too, was unsure.

    The system is being totally flushed and cleaned with a chlorine solution; then it will be retested, Eldridge said.

    In the meantime, Eldridge is trying to put to good use the 12 hours she spent finding the water system’s customers. She is creating an updated list and wants to be able to send out a massive group email should something like this happen again.

    To sign up for emergency alerts, go to: wellfleet-ma.regroup.com.

     

    HELP LINES

    Wellfleet, Taking Cue from Provincetown, Dials In on Mental Health

    Community members are on call, so no one has to go it alone

    By

    Editor’s note: In the Aug. 6 print edition of the Independent the Well Line’s phone number was incorrect. The correct number has been substituted below.

    WELLFLEET — “We all have to go through this pandemic, and my feeling is no one is going through it alone,” said Dale Rheault, one of the founding members of Wellfleet’s new mental health phone line.

    For the past two weeks, a group of health-care professionals in Wellfleet has operated a phone line for residents to call if they are dealing with anxiety, loneliness, or any other mental health issues.

    Dubbed the “Well Line” after the “well” in wellness and Wellfleet, the phone line is manned by clinical social worker Dale Rheault, pediatrician Susan Spear, who specializes in adolescent medicine, and registered nurses Dennis Cunningham, Karen Friedman, and Kristen Shantz.

    The phone number is 508-514-1633. The line is staffed Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. After-hours messages get callbacks on the next weekday.

    The service is not clinical, but instead serves as a resource for people to reach out to if they need assistance in finding professional help or they just need someone to talk to.

    Wellfleet Police Chief Mike Hurley first pitched the idea of a Wellfleet mental health phone line two months ago.

    “What you are seeing overall is an uptick in everybody’s stress and anxiety, mine included,” he said. “It just seems like, every day, mental health is woven into whatever we deal with.”

    Hurley added that he got the idea for the line from Provincetown, which had already set up a mental health support phone number.

    “We called the Provincetown group, and they already adopted Truro, so they couldn’t take on Wellfleet, too,” he said.

    From there, Cunningham and Spear took Hurley’s idea and formed a team to get Wellfleet its own service.

    Although the salient piece of the program is the phone line, the Well Line is three-pronged.

    The service also includes a buddy system, where two callers can be paired up to check in with each other every day, week, or few weeks, depending on their needs.

    “If someone is home alone, or home and lonely, and they would like to touch base with someone, they can,” Spear said.

    The team also holds weekly group therapy sessions on Zoom, led by Rheault. The meetings take place every Monday from 3 to 4 p.m.

    Rheault, a former clinical social worker, is the only member of the group who is qualified to lead a clinical session. She practiced her profession in Provincetown for 15 years, retiring last year.

    “I missed the work, but I felt a real calling, because people were experiencing such stress with the exasperation of isolation,” she said. “I wanted to be helpful.”

    Planning happens outdoors for the Well Line team; from left: Susan Spear, Dale Rheault, Dennis Cunningham, Kristen Schantz, and Karen Friedman. (Photo Teresa Parker)

    Then the Well Line group asked her to join in their effort.

    “I am sadly happy to be doing this,” she said.

    On July 27, Rheault had her first call from an elderly resident who, along with her husband, is immunocompromised and was concerned about the risks that summer tourists bring to the community.

    The former therapist spoke with the resident for most of the day and offered her resources for getting advice on safety.

    “The line has been pretty quiet,” said Rheault. “But we are ready and willing to help people.”

    The Provincetown Warm Line is at 508-309-5848 and operates from noon to 7 p.m. daily. Similar to Wellfleet’s, the line is manned by a group of current and retired medical professionals who are part of Provincetown’s Covid-19 Task Force. They also offer the buddy system service.

    THEATER COMPANIES

    Wellfleet Theaters Postpone Live Shows Till 2021

    Provincetown companies likely to follow

    By

    WELLFLEET — After the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater announced on May 5 that it was postponing its entire 2020 season of productions until 2021 due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the smaller, artist-run Harbor Stage Company followed suit on May 11.

    “Given the current dangers of the Covid-19 outbreak, we just can’t bring ourselves to put our audiences or artists at risk,” wrote Harbor Stage co-founder Brenda Withers in an email to subscribers.

    WHAT had earlier put forward a schedule of four plays and one musical from June 12 through Oct. 18, while the Harbor Stage held off announcing the three summer productions it was planning.

    Empty seats at Harbor Stage Company in Wellfleet. (Photo courtesy Robert Kropf)

    Both the Provincetown Theater and the Peregrine Theatre Ensemble have not yet announced the fate of their seasons as a whole, though some productions have been postponed and both companies acknowledge the insurmountable obstacles going forward with live indoor theater under current conditions.

    Elsewhere on the Cape, the Cape Playhouse in Dennis announced that it would postpone its entire 2020 season until the following year.

    Christopher Ostrom, WHAT’s executive and artistic director, told the Independent why WHAT chose to postpone before the announcement of state guidelines on reopening.

    “We convened a crisis task force and concluded that no matter when the lockdown was lifted, it would be incredibly difficult to do any production, knowing the lead time to get to opening night,” Ostrom said.

    In calculating the capacity of WHAT’s 212-seat Julie Harris Stage under an all-but-certain social distancing directive, “We figured that the maximum was 30 seats,” Ostrom continued. “We also had to look at what the rehearsal process would be like. There were so many variables that were outside our control. What if someone coughs in the middle of the performance?”

    Another factor is where actors and staff would live. “We own a house that houses about half our company,” Ostrom said. “They share bathrooms and kitchens. We wondered if people would be doing that so soon.”

    Despite WHAT’s recently improved financial position, the pandemic makes survival that much more difficult. “I took a pay cut just to get us through,” Ostrom said. “We did get [PPP] funding. And 85 percent of subscribers either donated instead of a refund or paid it forward. That was an overwhelming gesture of generosity.”

    Over at the Harbor Stage, located in WHAT’s former home, Robert Kropf, co-founder and artistic director among equals, said in an email, “We realized we’d have to do an abridged season but were holding out hope for one play, later in the summer. As a small operation, we felt we could pivot pretty quickly.”

    Social distancing was decisive. “With only 90 seats, reduced seating is not really an option at the Harbor,” Kropf said. “Ticket sales are really a lifeline for us.”

    In the end, he added, “There were just too many unknowns, and our first priority is the safety and health of our patrons, collaborators, and the company.”

    David Drake, artistic director of the Provincetown Theater, told the Independent the reason he hasn’t postponed his entire season is that “we have nothing in place to answer to our subscribers. We’re investigating some other things. We’re exploring outdoor possibilities. A friend sent me a Zoom play. I’ve got a number of irons on the fire right now. Thank God, we’ve established year-round continuity at our theater. I feel we have enough of an audience that will follow us where we’ll need to be.”

    Drake noted that he’s postponed his spring show, Mae West’s The Drag, to the fall, and his June-July world premiere, Sarah Schulman’s The Lady Hamlet, till 2021. The reason for postponements instead of cancellations, he said, is that rights have already been paid for, and commitments made.

    “Meanwhile,” Drake added, “we’ll continue doing Mosquito Story Slams once a month and having these ‘community conversations’ with David Wilson through the end of June.”

    The Peregrine Theatre Ensemble usually puts on one musical production for the whole summer at Fishermen Hall, the auditorium at Provincetown Schools. The show is performed by a company of rising young actors, many right out of school, who need to be housed. The company has not yet announced what they’ll be doing or if they will cancel.

    Adam Berry, a Peregrine co-founder and executive director, said, “If I had a building of my own, I’d have made a decision about what to do. I applaud WHAT for taking the initiative and setting an example, by doing what is right for their community and right for their organization.”

    Peregrine, like the Provincetown Theater, has plans to offer virtual entertainment. Ostrom, when asked about a virtual season, said, “We lack the resources to pivot that way effectively. But we’re keeping our options open.”

    Kropf, of the Harbor Stage, said, “For now, as things shift and settle, we remain eager and ready to jump back on the ship — whatever that looks like and whenever that is. I’ve been summering in Wellfleet and working in that beautiful, banged-up building for 20 years. It means everything. It’s a fight.”

    STICKER SHOCK

    Wellfleet Board Sets Beach Restrictions

    By

    WELLFLEET — In an effort to reduce crowding on town beaches, Wellfleet is moving the start date for requiring beach parking stickers forward 30 days, to May 20. And only those with resident and taxpayer stickers will be allowed to park starting then.

    The town will not allow visitor permit parking until June 20, which was the original date beach stickers were to be required.

    “We have to think carefully about how to achieve social distancing,” select board member Justina Carlson said. “I think this is a terrific, practical proposal.”

    Select board member Kathleen Bacon suggested the earlier sticker requirement would also bring much-needed cash to town coffers.

    At their May 12 meeting, with nearly 100 people in attendance via Zoom, the board voted unanimously in favor of both pushing up the required date and restricting parking to residents and property owners, but not without controversy.

    New Wellfleet homeowner Matthew Rosenberg said he had bought what he hopes will be his home after he retires. He plans to rent the property out until then.

    With the date for beach stickers pushed up, and the date for visitor stickers pushed out, he worried that the new regulation is too aggressive.

    “If, out of fear, the select board is saying that we cannot have beach access for people who are legally renting, I’m not sure what to tell them,” he said. “Why are they making this decision absent [Gov.] Baker’s guidance?”

    The response from the select board: it’s better to be safe than sorry.

    “The Cape is trying to figure out what the heck to do with all the people who want to flood in,” said select board chair Janet Reinhart. “We need to take it slowly.”

    Wellfleet sees a population increase from about 3,000 year-round residents to around 18,000 people during the summer.

    AFFORDABLE HOUSING

    Town Meeting Delay Stalls Housing Progress

    Water main upgrade, a first step, needs voter approval

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    WELLFLEET — Officials are pumping the brakes on the 95 Lawrence Road affordable housing project due to the delay of town meeting.

    The use of town-owned land at that location, surrounding the baseball field across from the Wellfleet Elementary School, for affordable housing was approved at town meeting last year. A task force has been working on a request for proposals to build 46 units of affordable housing on the site. But building there will require an upgrade to the town’s secondary water system for an expected cost of $3.5 million, which the town plans to split between bonds and a MassWorks Infrastructure Grant.

    The state has not yet released the grant application, but Wellfleet could have begun the project with a town meeting vote on authorizing bonds to get it started. Now, with town meeting delayed due to the pandemic, the project must be postponed for several months.

    The original water main system was installed in 1989 to serve about 40 properties near the transfer station. It has three wells near Coles Neck Road.

    The pipes were made intentionally small to cut costs, according to select board member Kathleen Bacon.

    A new main with larger pipes connected to wells on Old Kings Highway was installed in 2009. The new system took the role of the primary water main, while the original main from 1989 was demoted to secondary.

    That secondary system can pump 40,000 gallons of water per day, which is fine for the current usage, according to water commission chair Jim Hood, but not for the added housing.

    The chances of getting the MassWorks grant to pay for half the costs are good, said Carl Sussman of the Lawrence Road Project Task Force. But with town meeting delayed, voters cannot approve the bond until October.

    Without a way to guarantee developers that the new water main will be paid for and installed, town officials decided not to put out the request for proposals.

    “Uncertainty attracts fewer developers, potentially less qualified developers, or maybe no developers,” Sussman said.

    The delay is a disappointment for those working to bring Wellfleet closer to the state’s 10 percent goal for affordable housing. Last year, only 1.9 percent of the town’s year-round housing was affordable, according to McIlroy, though thanks to organizations like Habitat for Humanity, that number is now up to 2.45 percent.

    “The more we can do to encourage people to live in this vibrant town, the better,” said Sarah Pechukas Slivka, a member of the Wellfleet Housing Authority.

    She said she and many friends who have raised children in town are troubled by the fact that, once grown, their children cannot afford to stay. “It’s nice to think of a community where people can afford to buy homes. I can’t think of anything more important for the town.”

    CIVICS

    Hoort Proposes Mail Ballot for Town Meeting

    Can a New England tradition survive the pandemic?

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    WELLFLEET — Town Administrator Dan Hoort has asked the Outer Cape’s state legislators to try to get Beacon Hill to consider a radical remedy for the possibility that the traditional town meeting can’t survive the Covid-19 crisis: “I believe Massachusetts should allow a mail-in ballot to replace annual town meeting this year,” he wrote to Sen. Julian Cyr and Rep. Sarah Peake.

    Dan Hoort
    Wellfleet Town Administrator Dan Hoort. (Photo Ed Miller)

    Hoort is clearly concerned that the crisis will have a devastating effect on town finances, with tax revenues and local residents’ incomes greatly reduced. He said he was looking at ways to make cuts now in the fiscal 2021 budget.

    “Revenues relying on a busy summer season are going to be hit and hit hard,” he wrote. “If I can recommend adjustments now it may not be as bad for the FY 2022 budget.”

    Hoort is worried that it will be a long time before residents feel comfortable crowding into the school gym for town meeting, which by law cannot conduct business with fewer than a quorum of citizens — currently about 175 voters.

    “Everything I’m reading says we won’t even resemble being back to normal (or a new normal) until a vaccine is available, which is at least a year into the future,” he wrote. “Having just had our first Covid-19-related death in Wellfleet, I can’t imagine a scenario where our residents are willing to sit next to each other at town meeting for at least a year, if even then.” [See story on the death of Bruce Drucker, page 9.]

    Cyr replied to Hoort’s message, saying that a chair of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Municipalities, Sen. Becca Rausch, was looking into the ideas of remote participation in town meeting and voting by mail. Peake’s response echoed Cyr’s, adding, “Let’s see where we are as we move forward. I think no one today can imagine what July will look like.”

    The idea of remote participation in town meeting raises a host of questions with few answers. If participation depends on having access to a particular kind of computer technology and being comfortable with using it, does that seriously limit the ability of many citizens to exercise their rights? Is it feasible to conduct an open, orderly, and fair discussion and debate on town warrant questions with a large group of people using video or teleconference platforms?

    Hoort noted that “through recent legislation the town has the option of reducing quorum requirements, but I find that to be a bad option, as it reduces participation. The mail-in ballot really is the best way to include everyone.”

    He suggested that the ballot might include all the articles of a normal annual town meeting, or just those items considered high priority by the select board. “Each item would have the following voting options: (1) Approve; (2) Disapprove; (3) Indefinitely Postpone,” he wrote.

    “Any ballot question that does not receive 50 percent or more in favor would be considered to have failed. This would allow those opposed to any item ample opportunity to vote against it.”

    Mia Baumgarten, Wellfleet’s media operations manager, told the Independent on Tuesday that setting up town meeting for remote participation was possible, but it wouldn’t be easy.

    “It would be very clunky on Zoom,” she said, referring to one of the most popular videoconference platforms. “You’d have to open it up to several avenues, and you’d still have issues of access. And what if there’s a storm? But it could be done, as long as the state says it’s OK.”

    Baumgarten and other town officials said the part that concerned them most was the ability to have a real debate. That’s the essence of our town meeting form of government, they said.

    The Independent has set up a videoconference “virtual open newsroom” to discuss the status of town meeting in the pandemic crisis. It will take place this Friday, April 17, from 4 to 5 p.m. For information on how to participate, call the newspaper at 508-237-8381.

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