ORLEANS – It may be the Orleans Agricultural Advisory Committee, but the select board is considering whether or not some seats on the committee should be open to non-residents. Town Administrator John Kelly told the board Oct. 12 that as currently written, the committee’s charge limits participation on the seven-member panel to Orleans residents. He added that with the exception of ex-officio members, it ...

District Towns Asked To Support Additional $38 Million In Project Costs A district-wide election will be held in January in each of the four Nauset towns asking voters to commit an additional $38 million toward the district’s high school renovation project. The Nauset Regional School Committee unanimously voted Nov. 3 to hold elections in Orleans, Brewster and Eastham on Jan. 10. The process will mirr...

ORLEANS – Gathered outside the Orleans Fire Rescue headquarters last week, members of the department joined together to push Engine 175 into the station’s apparatus bay. The engine was fine. In fact, it’s brand new, and the Oct. 26 “push-in” ceremony was called to officially welcome the new vehicle into service. Town officials and residents gathered at the station to celebrate the new engine, w...

Task Force Also Recommends Recreation Staffing Changes ORLEANS – The town needs a new community center, but the task force charged with bringing that effort to fruition also says the town needs some staffing changes to help make it a reality. The community center feasibility task force presented its final report to the select board Oct. 19. It recommends that the town create a new position, the direc...

General Contractor Bid Approximately $30 Million Over Budget With the Nauset Regional High School renovation project running over budget, voters in the four district towns could be asked to commit more money to the project early next year. The Nauset High School Building Committee reviewed two general contractor bids that were submitted for the project at its Oct. 26 meeting. But the low bid came in ...

ORLEANS – After 13 months of work, the town's Governor Prence planning committee has concluded that the 5.5-acre property should be used for housing. Now the question is how to make it a reality. The committee presented its final report to the select board Oct. 19, recommending that the former motel site be used to accommodate a variety of housing types, mostly affordable rental units but also workforce housin...

ORLEANS – Town meeting voters last week narrowly passed an article seeking permission to petition the state legislature to craft local legislation prohibiting the use of fertilizers. But speaking for the finance committee, Constance Kremer said the matter shouldn't have been before voters at all. While Kremer said the committee shared in the town's concern about protecting the town's waterways, she said the ar...

ORLEANS – It's been four years since the Orleans branch of the Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary has hosted its biannual Holly Berry Bazaar, but the group is ready to get back into the holiday spirit. Everything from jewelry and woodcrafts to baked goods, jams, gift baskets and hand-knit scarves and clothing will be on sale Nov. 12 at Nauset Regional Middle School, where the auxiliary will host this year's bazaar fr...

ORLEANS – Select board members say short-term rentals need to be regulated, and requiring that those properties be registered with the town was seen as the first step in that process. But voters at Monday's special town meeting said the proposed registration bylaw put before them was not ready yet. Voters also gave the go-ahead for submission of a request to ban fertilizer use in town to the state legislatu...

ORLEANS – It wasn't smooth, but an article to enter into a contract with a new vendor to run the town's parking program passed with voters at Monday's special town meeting. Article 14 sought to use $32,500 in free cash to enter into the contract with AIMS Parking Systems. The money would be used to purchase the company's software, which allows the town to manage public parking at town landings and other areas ...

ORLEANS – As John Kelly prepares to retire at the end of the year, the transition to a new town administrator/manager is getting underway. The select board plans to interview candidates for an interim town administrator on Nov. 2. At that same meeting, the board will also interview members to serve on a search committee that will assist in the hiring of a full-time administrator (who will work under the title ...

Select Board Votes To Alter Article Ahead Of Special Town Meeting ORLEANS – Brenda Taylor’s mother can no longer drive, so she and her sister often drive her from Harwich for visits to her favorite place, Rock Harbor. “We were watching all the boats come in,” Taylor told the select board Oct. 12 about one such trip. “I was watching my brother come in, and she said to me ‘This is Cape Cod. This is what I lov...