Approved as amended, August 25, 2004
Minutes of August 14, 2004 Board Meeting
Wellfleet Non-Resident Taxpayers Association
Present. Dorothy Altman, Tom Baratz, Lila Croen, Aida Donald, Sam Frank, Chick Holtkamp, Curt Lippincott, Bob Mangiaratti, Marian Palley, Ed Rullman, Marian Sanders, May Ruth Seidel, Marilyn Silver, Mary von Kaesborg, Elga Wasserman, Agnes Wolf and Jean Schaefer, Administrative Consultant. (Dave Garrison participated via the speakerphone.) Absent. Karen Holtkamp.
The meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM by May Ruth Seidel, President in the conference room of the Wellfleet Senior Center. A motion to approve the minutes of the July 24th board meeting was seconded and carried.
Curt Lippincott, Treasurer, announced that the current balance is $4812.70.
Report from President. May Ruth reported that she had inquired about the cost of listing the Association in the Wellfleet Chamber of Commerce booklet that is distributed during the summer. If we wish to submit a request for a two-line description under “Organizations” but not become members we will not be guaranteed space. Space is limited and non-profits have been left out recently. As members we will be listed and included in the index. Membership dues are $175. A motion to join the Chamber was passed unanimously. It was suggested that we also inquire about the cost of placing an ad in that booklet.
May Ruth reported that she had contacted the Brewster Non-Resident Taxpayers Association and its rules for full-time residents are that only non-resident taxpayers can be voting members.
May Ruth also stated that at this time she preferred not to pursue the matter of the non-resident personal property tax issue with the Selectmen, because she would rather combine a discussion of this issue with other matters of concern, such as the poor quality of water in South Wellfleet. The board concurred in this decision.
Reporting for Chick Holtkamp, who was not present at that time, May Ruth discussed the plans for the August 22nd annual meeting.
Report from Water Committee. Most of the meeting focused on a discussion of materials prepared by the Water Committee, which it had just emailed to the Board for its review. These included an Action Memo and several other items, including a questionnaire that it wished to send to the membership. The Action Memo was based on the slide presentation that Emily Beebe had made at our July 11th general membership meeting and summarized procedures to follow if a homeowner wished to consider and explore the feasibility of building a neighborhood well. During the ensuing discussion, the following were suggested for inclusion in this memorandum:
- A statement regarding the cost of building a neighborhood well and the conditions that would make it desirable;
-Referrals to other sources and the names and phone numbers of people to contact;
-An introductory paragraph that would include the pros and cons of community wells;
-A discussion of planning for common septic systems as another approach to the problem; and
-More emphasis on what a community well is, rather than what it is not.
Marion Sanders commented that if the 8-stage Master Plan is fully implemented, the water quality needs of South Wellfleet will still not be addressed and that this Action Memo is really directed to meet the needs of this region.
Following this discussion the Water Committee agreed that it would revise the Action Memo and distribute it to the Board for review.
In considering two other documents prepared by the Water Committee, Appendix A, Wellfleet Municipal Water System Master Plan, and Appendix B, a Detailed History of Wellfleet s Municipal Water System, numerous concerns were expressed by members of the Board. Marion Sanders wanted the emphasis in these documents to underline the need to ensure that every household should have access to good water and that this should be the Town s responsibility. Dorothy Altman expressed concern that there was no emphasis on long-term planning and zoning as it is linked to access to water and she would not want any action of the Board to be viewed as favoring unbridled growth. Mary von Kaesborg thought that the documents should give the pros and cons regarding growth and water issues. Marian
Palley thought that these documents and the Action Memo conveyed conflicting messages about whether the response to this problem should be handled by the private or the public sector. She suggested delaying distribution of the Action Memo, which emphasizes a private, neighborhood approach and focus on a more overall approach to the problem.
Aida responded that the purpose of the Action Memo was to summarize what Emily Beebe had said at our July 11th meeting and was an attempt to respond to a motion by the Board. She stated that she views giving good water as a health issue and does not want this to be an instrument for over development.
Bob Mangiaratti agreed with Aida that there are many ways to control growth and felt that we need to make progress in addressing the water problem. He moved that we send out the materials at this time.
May Ruth commented that the minutes of our July 11th meeting, which were about to be distributed to the membership, also summarized Emily Beebe s presentation re: neighborhood wells. She suggested that Aida and Jean review these minutes and determine whether they adequately cover the material they wish to present in the Action Memo.
With regard to the remaining items prepared by the Water Committee, it was the consensus of those present that they had not had adequate time to review these materials and that they would prefer to discuss them at the next Board meeting. Mary stated that distributing this material, along with a questionnaire, is an important step for the Association and that we needed to carefully review the material before we send it out. It was agreed by those present that the map depicting the areas that would be served by each phase of the 8-stage Master Plan should be included with the material that we would distribute.
Dave Garrison commented that this discussion exemplifies the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. He urged that the motion to send out the materials at this time be withdrawn because he felt that the material is not ready to send out. He thinks we need to focus more on informing our members and that the questionnaire does not provide enough information to allow people to answer the questions. He advocated sending out the material as it is available and deferring the survey questionnaire at this time.
Jean stated that the Newsletter has had numerous articles about the work of the Water Committee and the actions of the Town regarding these issues.
A vote on Bob s motion to send the materials now was defeated. Numerous comments following this vote made it clear that the intention of the Board was to delay a decision on the distribution of these materials until the next meeting so that members would have time to carefully read and review the material, but not to reject the concept of their distribution. May Ruth stated that procedures for distributing the material prepared by the Water Committee would be discussed at the next Board meeting.
Other Committee Reports. Mary distributed a report of the Harbor Committee and an agenda for the committee. She indicated that the revised Harbor Management Plan would be voted on in April 2005.
Chick Holtkamp, reporting for the Program Committee, discussed possible topics for next year s general membership meetings and asked for suggestions from the Board.
Dorothy Altman, reporting for the Development, Planning and Zoning Committee, stated that the Planning Board is updating the Comprehensive Plan and expects to submit the revised plan to the Town Meeting in the spring of 2006. She thought that Rex Peterson would be interested in talking to members about zoning and planning issues.
Marian Palley reported that she had spoken to Nancy Larkin, director of operations at the Outer Cape Health Service and found that she was unaware of the change of policy regarding blood tests and that she will see that it reverts to its former policy as long as people come in with prescriptions for these tests.
Other Business. May Ruth requested a volunteer to help her and Tom Baratz with publicity, but received no response.
There was a discussion of the desirability of having a logo and substantial accord that this was a desirable thing to do. Marian Palley suggested having a contest in the Wellfleet community for a logo design, with a $100 prize for the winner, which she felt would generate considerable positive publicity for the Association.
May Ruth thanked Marion Sanders, who is retiring from Board membership, for her service on the Board and, in particular, for her hard work on the Water Committee.
Marian Palley reminded members that she needs materials for the newsletter by the end of November for the January issue. She wants short, easily readable pieces and letters to the editor which are 200 words are less.
A motion to adjourn was made at 10:50 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lila G. Croen, Secretary
August 23, 2004
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