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...

HARWICH — The town is moving closer to establishing a Clean Waters Community Partnership with the towns of Dennis and Yarmouth that would include a regional wastewater district and development of a treatment plant and multiple effluent recharge sites. Selectmen received a presentation from their wastewater consultant CDM Smith on Monday night as they begin assessing the special legislation that would allow the...

HARWICH — The second reading of the town fuel efficient vehicle policy was approved Monday night without a hitch, but efforts by the administration to put the policy in motion required exhaustive debate. The policy is part of the town's effort to implement the Green Communities program approved by town meeting in May. Two of the five criteria for the program were approved in town meeting and the town fuel effi...

HARWICH — Selectmen on Monday night deferred moving forward with an application to expand the Schoolhouse parking lot, instead agreeing to appoint a seven-member committee that will look at parking issues throughout the town. Parking has become the hot topic in Harwich Port this year with an expanding business climate attracting more people into the village coupled with the loss of some parking spaces to new d...

HARWICH — The owner of Resilient Family Farm, who has been battling with the town for nearly two years over permitting issues, has filed a lengthy lawsuit in Barnstable Superior Court claiming he has been defamed by regulatory boards and department directors and administrators. Barry Dino Viprino has been doing battle with the town over the commercial status of his farm at 35 Chatham Rd. as well as wetland iss...

HARWICH — The waterways committee is supporting a pilot program growing kelp off Herring River this winter, with the understanding that project proponent Mark Kelleher will work with Harbormaster John Rendon to resolve any potential navigation issues. Kelleher will be doing business as Kelpeher Farms and presently is going through the permitting process to locate two kelp arrays outside Herring River. One woul...

HARWICH — Paperwork for calling a special town meeting was issued this past week to Tom Birch, an outspoken opponent of using a 2.25 acre parcel of town land on Queen Anne Road to establish a pet burial ground and crematorium. Birch said on Tuesday he is looking at the options of calling a special town meeting to reconsider the town meeting vote in 2016 giving the cemetery commission custody and control of the...

HARWICH — The town will be taking a close look at its compliance with the Americans With Disability Act through a $30,000 planning grant that will evaluate handicapped accessibility in public buildings, parks and beaches. Town Administrator Christopher Clark said the grant was the work of the town's accessibility rights commission, which put in for $50,000 for a municipal self-evaluation from the Massachusetts...

WEST HARWICH — The planning board will conduct a site plan special permit review for the lot along Route 28 on the east corner of Grey Neck Road, which for a long time held sheds for the Mill Store operation on the opposite corner. The Mill Store is no longer in business and both the store and the 40,810-square-foot lot on the east side of Grey Neck Road are for sale. Allen Harbor Marine Service is planning to...

HARWICH — The weather and the warmth of the Cape Verde community made for a wonderful day in Brooks Park on Saturday, with music, dance and food defining the island's culture of the Second Annual Cape Verdean Festival. The Cape Verdean community here has long been an instrumental part of the town. Selectman Ed McManus said he is proud of the part its played, including early contributions to the fishing and cra...

HARWICH — The town has received a $10,000 Communities Cultural District Initiative grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to establish two cultural districts, in Harwich Center and Harwich Port. Harwich over the past year has become very active in focusing on cultural activities as a means of driving the local economy. The conversion of the former Harwich Middle School into the Harwich Cultural Center h...