Eastham
Meetings Ahead
From eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16, click on the meeting you’re interested in to read its agenda. That document will provide information about how to view and take part remotely.
Thursday, April 23
- Council on Aging, 1 p.m.
Monday, April 27
- Eastham 400 Commemoration Committee, 10:30 a.m.
- Elementary School Committee, 5:30 p.m.
- Select Board, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 28
- Conservation Commission, site visits, 8:15 a.m.
- Finance Committee, 3 p.m.
- Tee-Time Committee, 5 p.m.
- Conservation Commission, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 30
- Board of Health, 3 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Weighing Town Meeting Options
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the town election hours as ending at 7 p.m.
The annual town election will be held June 23 from noon to 6 p.m., but don’t feel you need to be there. In fact, the town would prefer that you vote early by mail, and will be sending applications to do so to every residential address. Voting will be limited to election of town officers, with ballot questions put off until the fall.
Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe resorted to physics to explain the twisting path toward a town meeting (or two) and an election (or two) in an April 21 memo to the select board. “Newton’s Third Law … is heavily in play,” she wrote. “(F)or every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
The work of the town, including approving a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, electing officers, and passing judgment on the Nauset Regional High School building project, must go on even in a pandemic. Municipalities are waiting for word from Gov. Charlie Baker, expected shortly, on whether town meetings can be scheduled before June 30; at this point, town elections must still be held before that date.
Beebe has assembled enough pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to offer two options, which the select board discussed Tuesday night. In Plan A, a stripped-down annual town meeting on June 15 would address “essential, budget-related articles to make it as short as possible,” the town administrator wrote. This event might require provision of masks, widely separated seating, temperature checks, a change of venue, and other safety measures. The board decided Tuesday that a vote for town offices but no ballot questions would be held June 23 with an emphasis on early voting by mail.
(Ironically, there are no contests for town offices this year. Without ballot questions, the only decision needed would be to write in someone for the elementary school committee seat that did not draw a candidate; incumbent Judy Lindahl is running for the other one.)
Plan A continues with a special town meeting on Oct. 19 that would cover all other articles and the school building project, followed by a vote on the school project Nov. 3, Election Day.
If the pandemic and the state’s response prohibit a June town meeting, Beebe’s Plan B cancels the proposed June 15 session and reschedules it on Oct. 19 with a full warrant. The June 23 election, with town offices only, would still be held on that date, and Election Day on Nov. 3 would include a separate ballot for ballot questions.
Although communities have been given “tools for carrying on basic business after July 1 without a town meeting,” Beebe wrote, that’s not a great option. Towns would be allowed to spend 1/12 of the current fiscal year’s budget each month, a challenge for a community that spends more in summer than in winter. And without a new budget, the town can’t set a tax rate and send out bills.
Boat Storage Lottery Coming
If you’re planning to enter the town’s vessel storage permit lottery, be aware that the deadline for your application is May 1. The select board planned to review the process at its April 21 meeting.
The COA and Covid-19
On April 23 at 1 p.m., the council on aging’s board of directors will hold a virtual meeting that will include an update the COA’s response to the pandemic. The agenda page (eastham-ma.gov/sites/easthamma/files/agendas/coa_04.23.20_meeting_post.pdf ) has instructions for viewing and participating online
More Time for Tax Payments
The select board was expected this week to approve adjustments regarding property tax payments and penalties following action by the state government. Changes would include extending the property tax due date from May 1 to June 1, waiving penalties and interest charges for bills due on or after March 10 if they are paid by June 30, and extending the deadline for residential tax exemption applications from April 1 to June 1.
Transfer Station Limits
The town is taking household trash and recyclables, including residential (but not commercial) yard waste. But it has stopped accepting construction and demolition debris and bulky items such as furniture, refrigerators, and electronics, and drop-off areas for those items are closed to picking.
The Cape Cod National Seashore reported an uptick in illegal dumping last week, including construction materials found in the Doane Rock area in Eastham and household trash at Great Island in Wellfleet.
A list of companies accepting construction and demolition debris can be found at eastham-ma.gov/public-works/pages/transfer-station under “Say NO! to Illegal Dumping.” —Ed Maroney
Deadline for Comments on Hazard Plan
Monday at 4 p.m. is the deadline for comments on the town’s draft hazard mitigation plan, which lists strategies and actions to reduce risks to human life and property from natural hazards such as nor’easters, hurricanes, floods, and coastal erosion. Go to easthammvp.weebly.com to scan the document and leave comments.
Eastham’s plan attempts to build a long-term strategy to educate residents and prepare them for such events. Town staff, residents, and local stakeholders worked together for several months to develop a plan that meets Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements and reflects the character and individuality of Eastham.
Once the plan is approved by FEMA and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and adopted by the select board, the town becomes eligible to receive funding from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance program. —Ryan Fitzgerald
