HARWICH — A presentation made by Building Commissioner Raymond Chesley to selectmen shows building permit fees in the town are 57.2 percent less than the average of the surrounding communities on Cape Cod. The town has been looking at its fee structures in various departments and Chesley, in a public hearing last week on proposed fee increases, pointed out the fees in his department have not been raised since ...

HARWICH — With a $65 million annual budget, the town has a lot of moving pieces and once in a while a program can get lost in the numbers. That was the case with funding for Sunday openings of the community center. The Sunday opening issue was raised by former selectman Jannell Brown, who in late June emailed Town Administrator Christopher Clark inquiring about the status of Sunday openings. She said she thoug...

EAST HARWICH — When Jill Abraham recently planted several bee-friendly perennial plants in her yard, she marveled at how happy the pollinators seemed to be. And that got her thinking about what it would be like if yards all over the Cape were planted with native plants favored by bees and other pollinators. Abraham, the owner of Power Yoga of Cape Cod in East Harwich, is also a student in a leadership traini...

The first multi-town watershed permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has been approved, allowing innovative options for the management of nitrogen pollution in and around Pleasant Bay. Nitrogen – 75 percent of which is generated through septic systems, 16 percent by lawn and golf course fertilization and another 9 percent through stormwater runoff – serves as a fertilizer in...

HARWICH — A compromise on the design for the proposed new convenience store and two apartments in Harwich Center has been reached between the historic district and historical commission and developer Saumil Patel that will make it more in keeping with the historic village. Patel, the owner of the adjacent Main Street Market in Harwich Center, agreed to have more of the building fronting on the street, to place...

HARWICH — The planning board has approved a site plan special permit for Allen Harbor Marine Service, Inc. to store between 39 and 60 boats on the lot at the east side corner of Route 28 and Grey Neck Road. The property was part of the Mill Store operation and was used for garden shed storage and sales. Brad Malo of Coastal Engineering, Inc. said Allen Harbor Marine Service is planning to purchase the 40,810-s...

HARWICH - CBS news correspondent Seth Doane, a native of Harwich who now lives in Rome, told about 220 members of the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) at the group’s 30 th annual meeting Monday afternoon that by the time August rolls around he is “desperate to get here.” Doane, a 1996 graduate of Harwich High School, graduated from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication. In...

HARWICH — Employees of the Brooks Free Library fear for their lives. That is, when they're crossing the streets around the Harwich Center facility. Safety in the crosswalks in the area of the Brooks Free Library has been an issue for a number of years. It was a topic of discussion during the Harwich Center Initiative study in 2001 and it remains a concern. “In fact, a regular joke among staff members is tha...

HARWICH – To find a little bit of local magic, look no further than the Cape Cod Lavender Farm. Located off a winding dirt road, the farm is home to a fragrant field of lavender plants, an enchanted fairy garden, and walking trails. Cynthia Sutphin started the farm on her own property 23 years ago, and it has since continued to grow and evolve – the farm now sees between 10,000 and 12,000 visitors each summer....

HARWICH — There are changes taking place on the north corner of the intersection of routes 137 and 39 with the leveling of a section of the site for the new East Harwich fire station, but those changes will also include a new memorial park to be centered around the flag pole cell tower area. “I've filed site plan paperwork,” Town Administrator Christopher Clark said on Thursday. The town administrator said the...

HARWICH — The town is putting in place a fraud risk assessment policy that is committed to deterrence, detection and correction of misconduct and dishonesty. The town has been without such a policy and putting one in place has long been a recommendation of the town's auditors. “There haven't been any problems that are generating the policy. It's a protective measure,” said Finance Director Carol Coppola. She s...

HARWICH — Selectmen are looking to engage the community in all the details involved in the upcoming sewer project. For more than 600 residents in East Harwich, connecting to the system is just a couple of years away. Selectman Larry Ballantine has been pushing for a wastewater communication coordinator to work with residents and answer questions, receive input and be a focal point for addressing wastewater iss...