HARWICH — On a 3-1 vote, selectmen approved a contract agreement with Community Development Partnership, an Eastham based nonprofit, to serve as the town's new housing consultant. Selectman Michael MacAskill cast the dissenting vote, expressing concern the town was rushing the appointment, given the absence of a recommendation by the new affordable housing trust. Town Administrator Christopher Clark, who is...

HARWICH — Storefronts in the village should be living entities generating economic growth and stimulus, members of the newly formed Harwich Center initiative committee agreed during their first session last week. There was certainly renewed energy behind the revitalization of Harwich Center expressed at the gathering, with more than a dozen people coming together with the committee and expressing ideas on how ...

HARWICH — The Cape Cod Regional Technical High School building committee has selected Brait Builders Corporation of Marshfield as the general contractor for the new high school construction project. Brait Builders' $91,376,000 bid was $12 million below the initial construction estimate approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and $8 million below the adjusted professional cost estimate pr...

Timber Frame Home Under Construction In Harwich Uses Techniques, Tools Of The Past HARWICH – “This is how buildings were constructed all over Cape Cod back in the 17th century. Roughhewn freshly-cut timbers. Mortise and tenon joints. Fit together with no nails.” Jesse Lambert stood beside his work-in-progress on Sisson Road as he described his approach to constructing the new workshop and office space which...

EAST HARWICH — When it comes to restoring the pristine water quality in Pleasant Bay, Harwich, Chatham, Orleans and Brewster are in it for the long haul. It takes decades for nutrient pollution from upland residential development to reach the waterway, and it will take decades to bring nitrogen levels back where they belong, officials say. That’s not to say there isn’t ample evidence that the health of the b...

HARWICH — The competition with second home owners is driving up the cost of housing in Harwich and making it more difficult for people living and working in the community to purchase a home, said Town Administrator Christopher Clark, the chairman of the town's affordable housing trust. The town has recognized the need to increase its affordable housing inventory to provide places were the working community can...

HARWICH PORT — Outer Cape Health Services, Inc. held a ribbon cutting at its new community health center Tuesday, making a commitment to providing more all-inclusive health care here and on the Outer Cape. The doors to the new medical center located across from Saquatucket Harbor will be open on Monday morning with a commitment to serving the entire community whether health insurance is available or not. The t...

HARWICH — The man who has set town property lines, located parcels with limited descriptions and assured town projects are located on municipal property is retiring after 18 years of serving as the town's professional land surveyor. Paul Sweetser spent his last day in the office on Monday. “Retirement will be bittersweet,” Sweetser said on Monday. “I'll really miss all of the people I worked with up here over ...

HARWICH — Over its 30-year existence, Harwich Conservation Trust has preserved and protected more than 550 acres of diverse natural resources in this town, and the non-profit group is facing a financial deadline for procurement of another vulnerable 15-acre parcel. HCT Executive Director Michael Lach said the trust has little more than a month to raise $112,000 to secure the purchase of the parcel adjacent to ...

HARWICH — The town has received notice from the state Department of Environmental Protection that it has conditional approval for zero percent interest rate financing for the East Harwich sewer construction phase of its comprehensive wastewater management plan, which could save the community more than $16 million over the 30-year payment period. “It's a significant savings,” Town Administrator Christopher Clar...

HARWICH — Though the town is seeking a corresponding drop in the tax rate, property tax valuations in Harwich have increased by nearly 7 percent. That means the valuation of the average single-family home has jumped from $506,403 to about $542,000. “You’ve seen it in the market,” Board of Assessors Chairman Richard Waystack told selectmen last week. To keep the tax levy steady, the town is proposing a tax ra...

HARWICH – After a friend gave Bob Doyle a copy of the pocket edition of the Constitution of the United States, he decided to order 100 copies. The inside of the back cover of the compact pamphlet announces the goal of distributing 100 million copies by encouraging people to order and share 100 copies. “My wife said what will you do with 100 of them?” said Doyle. “I said wait and see. All of a sudden, I'm order...