Harwich Has Another Bumpy Year With Town Staffing

 HARWICH – It was another year of swinging doors as several department heads came and went.

The coming and going of finance directors-town accountants continued with the departure of Kathleen Barrette, who resigned after 14 months. The superintendent of the water-wastewater department, Dan Pelletier, decided to move on after nine years. Police Chief David Guillemette retired after serving the department for nine years. A building commissioner hired in September never made it to work at town hall.

It was also another year when Town Administrator Joseph Powers sought a job in another community. Powers was a finalist for the position of town manager in Foxborough at the beginning of the year, but he did not get the job. Powers was a finalist again in December for the town administrator position in Bellingham, but he withdrew his name when the select board there was poised to make the decision between Powers and former Northborough Town Administrator John Coderre.      

 When asked to comment on the decision to withdraw his name as a finalist, Powers wrote in an email, “I do not and will not comment on any topics related to my career outside of Harwich. Thanks for reaching out.”

Over the past few years the town experienced major losses in staffing. In about two-and-a-half years, the town went through three finance directors-town accountants. The position is now filled on an interim basis.

The loss of Pelletier as superintendent of the water-wastewater department was significant, coming as the town was about to begin phase three of the sewer installation project in East Harwich. Pelletier took a full-time position at a private firm where he worked part-time for the past six years to make ends meet, he said at the time of his departure. The town hired a new water-wastewater superintendent in Jason Trepanier, who took over as department head on Aug. 26. Trepanier served as the water-wastewater superintendent in East Bridgewater for 11 years, but he was familiar with Harwich, having worked as chief operator in the town’s water department from 2000 to 2002.

There were also a number of building commissioner turnovers. The select board affirmed the appointment of Randy Spears on Aug. 19. Spears was residing in Florida at the time, and as part of the agreement he was to start working remotely for the town on Sept. 23 while he made arrangements to relocate. He was scheduled to begin working in town hall on Oct. 18, but he never arrived. Select Board Chair Julie Kavanagh said Spears decided not to leave Florida for the Harwich position, so the town is once again searching for a building commissioner.

January was a rough month along the coastline from Red River Beach to the Herring River, which was pummeled by surges driven by three major coastal storms, causing major erosion and property damage. Two storms hit only a few days apart. The first one, on Wednesday, Jan. 10, had a six-foot surge that caused serious erosion and significant flooding. The storm on Saturday, Jan. 13 came on an astronomical high tide and persisted for a much longer duration, also battering the coastline and causing major flooding. Properties with no coastal protection experienced 10 to 15 feet of erosion, and seawalls and revetments were damaged.

Protecting the environment was a hot topic at the annual town meeting. Petitioned articles seeking to protect the environment were defeated by voters on opening night, including articles seeking to petition the state legislature to allow local regulation of pesticides and banning the resident use of herbicides, as well as an article seeking to preserve trees during property development.

 It was an emotionally charged session as many voters supported the need to reduce and ban pesticide and fertilizer applications to protect human health and the environment. Others questioned the procedural route of the petitions while arguing that education is the proper tool for protecting the environment.

 The three petitions were submitted by Patrick Otton. “This is about health,” he said. “Your health, my health, animal health, nature’s health, keeping Harwich healthy. Human activity, our human actions, are impacting the place where we live. Let’s take care of it.” 

Trees were once again a matter of discussion on the second night of the annual town meeting. Voters had turned down a tree preservation bylaw on the first night of town meeting, and on the second night, cutting down two trees which were buckling the sidewalk in front of Brooks Free Library became an issue which has yet to be resolved.

Select Board member Peter Piekarski was elected twice in a 43-day period. Piekarski was the only candidate running in a special election held on April 9 to fill the unexpired term of former select board member Mary Anderson, who resigned in October 2023. Piekarski was then elected to a three-year term on the board in the annual election on May 21. 

July 2 was a day for change of command in the police department. Approximately 100 people came together to say goodbye to Guillemette and to welcome “home-grown” Police Chief Kevin Considine. For the first time in 24 years, the department was led by a chief who came up through the ranks.

Brooks Academy, the historic building which houses the Harwich Historical Society and Brooks Academy Museum, has been shuttered for nearly two years while construction is being done on the structure, which was built in 1848. The amount of work associated with the construction drove the need for the town to meet new codes, including public access requirements. An elevator was needed to provide access to the basement and the second floor, but there was no funding in place for one. Funds were available for additional work, including exterior improvements and new windows, but with the shifting of the building during placement of a new foundation, interior work was now also necessary to meet the requirements for a permanent occupancy permit.

A stakeholders group was formed over the summer to assess the total cost for getting the historic building once again open to the public. According to a comprehensive cost estimate, an additional $1,300,149 will be needed.

 The select board informed the state that the town had several concerns and questions regarding the viability of the Pine Oaks Village IV housing project planned for North Harwich, which must get approval from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to raise funds for the project through tax credits.

 Mid-Cape Church Homes, Inc. is the project applicant, and Pine Oaks Village IV is the nonprofit organization planning to build a 248-unit affordable housing complex off Queen Anne Road in North Harwich. The project was met with opposition from neighboring residents. Traffic congestion, impacts on the environment, and grouping affordable housing in just one of the seven villages in the community drew the loudest protests.

The updated version of the town’s housing production plan also met with protest from some town officials. The select board refused to endorse the document, and the planning board was highly critical but eventually gave the plan its endorsement. Select Board member Michael MacAskill said that he could not support the plan due to a lack of community support. He took issue with a section of the plan that he said clearly seeks to sell the Pine Oaks Village IV project to the community. One section of town cannot be crammed with housing to reach the 10 percent affordable housing goal, he said.

The select board said the plan needs a clearer direction and needs to identify conclusions. The board took no action on an endorsement. 

 The affordable housing trust voted to select Pennrose as the developer to design, construct and operate a 90-bedroom affordable housing complex on six acres of the former Marceline property at 456 Queen Anne Rd. Pennrose was chosen out of three companies that filed proposals.

Davenport Realty Trust, the sole bidder on the purchase of the West Harwich Baptist Church, is proposing to demolish the church, built in 1880, and replace it with a structure that replicates the historical exterior features. Davenport is planning to build between 10 and 13 market-rate rental units in the new structure.

It was an exceptionally busy year for the Harwich Conservation Trust, which has two major ongoing eco-restoration projects and a couple of additional land purchase initiatives in the works. The trust is putting the finishing touches on the 49-acre restoration of the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve off Bank Street and is beginning the 31-acre restoration project at the Hinckleys Pond-Herring River Watershed Preserve. Earlier in the year the trust reached its funding goal for the 12.34-acre Red River Valley Preserve, and it is raising funds for the 50-acre Thacher cranberry bogs acquisition along Great Western Rd.

 In December the trust announced an initiative to raise $400,000 to acquire two separate parcels totaling 6.3 acres in the Pleasant Bay watershed.