HARWICH — The affordable housing committee is looking to put its first housing project in place to demonstrate the abilities of the recently installed affordable housing trust to develop housing. The group received some good news from a due diligence assessment conducted by Bohler Engineering on behalf of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. The company conducted an assessment of the 265 Sisson Rd. property,...

HARWICH — Selectman Donald Howell took out nomination papers to run for a fourth term on the board this past week. His term and that of Selectmen Chairman Larry Ballantine expire in May. Ballantine has said a couple of times on the past month he has not reached a decision yet on whether he will run for another term. Town spending and its impact on taxpayers is the major issue facing the community, Howell to...

HARWICH — The former fire station on Bank Street could be demolished in the near future. Selectmen last week instructed Interim Town Administrator Joseph Powers to take the steps necessary to begin the process. Powers said Selectman Michael MacAskill requested moving ahead with the demolition plans and a site visit was held with Town Engineer Griffin Ryder and Harbormaster John Rendon. The building has not bee...

HARWICH — The community preservation committee saw the need for a community playground adjacent to the Harwich Elementary School, but wrestled with funding the entire project when deliberating on how the town’s Community Preservation Act funds should be spent in the May town meeting. The committee ended up reducing the playground request from $641,035 to $500,000, and also reduced the affordable housing trust ...

HARWICH — Selectmen will soon be putting together a request for proposal for town administrator search companies to assist the committee they have put together to screen candidates to fill the town's chief executive position. On Monday night the board heard presentations from Groux-White Consulting, LLC and Community Paradigm Associates. The board was looking for some foresight into the services companies prov...

HARWICH — The conservation commission approved two requests for determination of applicability relating to floodplain issues for two recreational projects along Route 28 last week. The projects include a 36-hole mini-golf course adjacent to Bud’s Go Karts and expansion and a snack shack for The Trampoline Center across from the A&W Root Beer restaurant. There will be additional site plan review permitting ...

HARWICH — The conservation commission will hold a public hearing tomorrow morning (Friday, Jan. 16) on proposed changes to the town’s wetland protection and water-dependent structures bylaws as it works on preparing articles for the annual town meeting. “The goal is to be able to allow the commission to more consistently apply the bylaws,” Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski said this week. The focus is ...

HARWICH — The term “Complete Streets” brings up some uncomfortable memories for town officials who were involved in the planning process to improve road conditions along a section of Route 124 several years ago. The project had been approved for construction under the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the funding would have been provided by state and federal agencies. But one of the conditions, comp...

HARWICH — The planning board will be acting on a site plan review special permit for a major solar photovoltaic facility at two locations at the Cranberry Valley Golf Course. The arrays are expected to generate 282 kilowatts of power annually. The project is proposed by Greenskies Renewable Energy, which was the successful bidder on a package put together by the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative, the orga...

HARWICH — “It was a final piece to a land conservation puzzle we’ve worked on for 23 years,” Harwich Conservation Trust Director Michael Lach said this week of the trust’s purchase of a one-acre parcel in the Coy’s Brook/Herring River Watershed. Lach said over those 23 years the trust has managed to purchase and preserve 28 acres in the watershed, establishing the Coy’s Brook Woodlands to preserve water qualit...

HARWICH — The historic district and historical commission has imposed a one-year demolition delay on the demolition of the historic structure located to the west side of Holy Trinity Church grounds in West Harwich. The Victorian-style house was constructed in 1914 and has been used as a rectory and more recently as the church’s thrift shop, but it has been vacant for the past five years. Spokesperson for the d...

HARWICH — There are plans to develop a 36-hole miniature golf course on the land adjacent to Bud’s Go-Karts on the corner of Route 28 and Sisson Road. The proposal was scheduled to go before the conservation commission on Wednesday night because a portion of the property is located in the floodplain. The section of Route 28 from Sisson Road to just west of Brooks Road has become the town’s center for summer re...