By: Alan Pollock
In a response that flexes both their emergency response skills and their ability to improvise, Lower Cape officials are doing what they can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while keeping essential government services going. As of Friday morning, there were five confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Barnstable County, but with the increased availability of test kits, public health officials expect that n...
CHATHAM — Volunteers and staff of the Chatham Conservation Foundation have seen plenty of nature in their visits to the conservation lands they protect. But when it comes to wildlife, most of the action happens at night or when nobody’s around. The Chatham Conservation Foundation’s (from left) Julie Baca, Dorothy Bassett and Antonia Porcari ex...
CHATHAM — By a solid margin, voters at Saturday’s special town meeting approved spending $75,000 for a feasibility study for a new council on aging building on Stepping Stones Road. But because the land is under the control of the Monomoy Regional School Committee, which has voted against releasing it back to the town, it remains to be seen if a new senior center could be built on the two-acre parcel. The v...
CHATHAM – In order to create a year-round arts and entertainment facility and preserve the historic buildings on the former Monomoy Theatre property, owner Alexandra Properties is proposing a new zoning overlay district covering 776 Main St. and 70 Depot Rd. Both properties were used by the Monomoy Theatre until its sale to Alexandra Properties last year. The proposed Main Street Theater Overlay District would...
By: Alan Pollock
CHATHAM — This year, the April Fools of Chatham Fire Department will lead their annual fund-raising plunge in frigid Nantucket Sound to benefit one of their own. The swim will take place on April 1 at 4:30 p.m. at Harding’s Beach, and hundreds of people are expected to join in. This year’s event will raise funds for 28-year-old Hayley Varin, who will soon be married to Chatham Firefighter Harry Fietz. Varin wa...
CHATHAM — It’s been a practice for about as long as anyone can remember, but because of a complaint to the state, the town is now regulating the storage of weir poles at the end of Harding’s Beach. Used to suspend offshore fish trap nets, the wooden poles are stored on the end of the beach in the off-season. Answering a complaint from an unnamed citizen, the state attorney general’s office says the practice re...
By: Tim Wood
CHATHAM – An agreement between neighbors and a California-based renewable energy company on a buffer area has cleared the way for approval of a solar power array off Middle Road. The zoning board of appeals on Feb 27 approved a special permit for NextGrid's solar facility on the 15-acre sandpit owned by J.W. Dubis and Sons. The facility could be generating power by summer. Property owners along West Pond Ro...
By: Tim Wood
CHATHAM – Honoring a commitment to be good stewards of the earth, St. Christopher's Episcopal Church will be installing solar panels on the roof of its parish hall. The historic business district commission last week unanimously approved the 86-panel, roof-mount solar array, which will be placed on the southeast-facing roof of the hall, adjacent to the Gallery building property, and will be visible from Main S...
CHATHAM — Ahead of the latest round of airport master plan discussion meetings, selectmen are encouraging the airport commission to really listen to citizens’ concerns to rebuild a sense of public trust. It’s also not too late to form a citizens’ advisory committee to improve public participation in the process, selectmen said. On a split vote in January, the airport commission rejected that suggestion and opt...
By: Alan Pollock
CHATHAM — By a solid margin, voters at Saturday’s special town meeting approved spending $75,000 for a feasibility study for a new council on aging building on Stepping Stones Road. But because the land is under the control of the Monomoy Regional School Committee, which has voted against releasing it back to the town, it remains unclear where – or if – a new senior center might be built. The vote count was...
CHATHAM – What will the town's demographics look like in 25 years? That's one of the key questions posed in a recent report on housing issued by the finance committee's community housing working group. READ THE FULL REPORT HERE “Will we be a vibrant, thriving and hard-working community comprising a range of age, race, family size, income, occupational prospects and other demographics? Or shall we conti...
CHATHAM – Town officials are defending their proposal to add new positions to next year's budget, saying increasing workloads, along with new federal workplace requirements, are making it difficult to meet the level of services expected by residents. “We're hitting a point where we're stressing the workload capacity of our employees,” Town Manager Jill Goldsmith told selectmen last week. While staff members ar...
