Fourth Annual Meeting of Wellfleet non-Resident Taxpayers Association
Minutes, August 22, 2004
In the absence of May Ruth Seidel, President, the annual meeting was called to order at 2:00 PM by Chick Holtkamp, Vice-President of the Association. It was held in the Wellfleet Senior Center and attended by about 60 people.
A motion to approve the minutes of last year s annual meeting, which was held on August 24, 2003, was approved unanimously. Curt Lippincott, Treasurer, reported that the Association had a balance of $5368.70.
Report of the Nominating Committee. Karen Holtkamp, chair of the Nominating Committee, presented the Committee s slate of board members and officers to serve two-year terms, commencing in August 2004. Other members of the Committee were Lila Croen, Bob Mangiaratti and Agnes Wolf.
Renominated to serve as Directors were Dorothy Altman, Aida Donald, Sam Frank and Edwards Rullman. Nominated to serve their first terms on the board were Tina Browne, Jim Hood, Elga Wasserman and Agnes Wolf. Aida Donald was nominated to serve a two-year term as a Vice-President, replacing Marion Sanders who is retiring from the board. In the absence of additional nominations from the floor, a motion to approve the slate of the Nominating Committee was passed unanimously.
Meet the Selectmen. Chick then introduced Tim Smith, Town Administrator, and Wellfleet Selectmen: Dale Donovan, Mike May, Ira Wood, and Helen Miranda Wilson, who were present to answer questions from the audience. The majority of questions pertained to water quality issues. Responses to these and other questions were as follows:
-While the quality of drinking water is a community problem, poor quality water is only found in a few isolated spots. There are a number of ways of approaching this problem and the plan proposed by Environmental Partners is one approach. Articles are being considered for the October Town Meeting that will deal with future planning for a municipal water system and seek support to bring forth a plan to present at the April 2004 Town Meeting. Among the issues that need to be considered is whether an expansion of the current Municipal Water System should be paid for, primarily, by user fees and connection fees or by taxes. They plan to propose that these fees also recoup monies spent in the past.
-After the last defeat of proposals regarding the water system they conferred with other towns and found that systems can operate at a profit if they have at least 250 hookups. They plan to survey taxpayers to see who wants to hookup so that they can plan intelligently.
-If a water system makes a profit these funds could be used to ease the general tax burden.
-Wellfleet has a shallow aquifer and it needs to be protected. When we talk about water problems we need to define what we mean. The book Water Follies discusses various aspects of this topic. In the past, individual water problems were dealt with by negotiating with the Town or with neighbors.
-In the 1980 s, the Town turned down funds that would have paid for sewers but these funds are no longer available. Many think that a large sewer system would be very bad for our water quality. There is a countywide effort to look at waste disposal. The National Seashore and GUPACA are other organizations that are concerned about this matter.
-If our current water system provided fire protection it would only serve a limited number of homes. We can have fire protection without hydrants. We also have a larger fire department than is needed for a town of 3000 residents because of the large number of summer residents. Fire hydrants would require large water tanks, which would have to be rinsed out 1-2 times a year, which is a wasteful use of water.
-Water quality in the ponds is tested weekly and the results are posted at each site but they may be ripped down. The water in the harbor is tested more often than any body of water in the State.
-Sidewalks on Commercial Street are narrow because of vegetation. Most streets don t have sidewalks but the overgrowth on those that do will be discussed with the DPW.
-Beach sticker fees were raised because of the need for additional revenue. All program fees have been raised, and similar action is being taken in other towns and cities. This is one way of getting additional funds without having to raise taxes. All property owners pay the same amount; there is no distinction between fulltime and part-time residents.
-There has not been a consistent policy regarding homeowners assigning the second beach sticker, to which they are entitled, to family members. In fact, there was disagreement among the panelists as to whether this is allowed. There was strong feeling that the Beach Administrator should make a ruling and that this should be applied consistently.
-With reference to a sign at McQuire s Landing about a private beach, all beaches on the ocean are part of the National Seashore. On the bay side, private property extends to the mean high water mark. (A subsequent conversation with Susan Thomas, Beach Administrator, found that the deed for the property in question at McQuire s Landing gives rights to the mean low water mark and that the Town Selectmen had voted to allow this property owner to put up the sign. /L. Croen)
-Curbside trash pickup is available from at least one private trash collector, who will also pick up recycles for an additional fee.
-There is an active affordable housing group in the Town. Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Affordable Housing Authority and Affordable Housing Partnership are collaborating on this matter, which is a huge need. Property owners can now erect a second dwelling on their property if it meets affordable housing criteria and if they get a special permit.
-With regard to the church, which is now referred to as 335 Main Street, this is an ongoing concern and a committee is considering alternatives. It is moving slowly and development of the site may be done through a private developer. The WNRTA was given credit for stimulating thinking about incorporating a pharmacy in this structure. CVS has been contacted about the possibility of having a satellite store in the building, but there has been no response. The Cape Cod Five Bank would like to use part of the property to construct a drive up window. The Town had to allocate money to shut the building so that it would not deteriorate further.
Fire Safety Grant. Following this portion of the meeting, Chick introduced Dan Silverman, Wellfleet s Deputy Fire Commissioner, who spoke about a grant-funded program that has been awarded to the Department. Called a Safer Home Partnership, it will enable the Fire Department to offer free home safety visits to populations viewed as at risk (elementary school students, seniors and renters) in order to recommend how homes can be made safer for residents, visitors and renters. The review will include making sure that occupants know how to exit in an emergency and where smoke detectors are located. A standardized form for fire protection and other emergency issues will be developed in order to make homes safer.
A member of the audience stated that builders needed to know that if there is an alarm system there needs to be an external lockbox that would provide access to the house. Dan stated that the department has relied on alarm companies to inform purchasers regarding this matter. He urged homeowners to protect their homes when they are away by turning off their pump switch or turning off the power to the pump. He said that this would save homeowners a great deal of money by preventing damage from water.
Outer Cape Health Services. Irene Daitch, a member of the Board of Directors of the Outer Cape Health Service, then presented a history of the service. She described a longstanding effort to bring medical care to the outer cape, which culminated in 1963 in the formation of AIM by Wellfleet, Truro, Provincetown and Eastham. The clinic on Route 6 was erected in 1966 and is a not-for-profit medical facility that treats patients regardless of their ability to pay. Approximately one-third of its patients have no medical insurance.
The medical staff consists of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses. Although it is open 12 months a year, its revenue is markedly reduced in the off-season. It currently sees 5000 patients a year in a building that was designed to serve 700 patients. She announced that they are currently incorporating Friends of the Outer Cape Health Service and hopes to raise awareness of this clinic as a community resource. The need for pharmacy services was discussed.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lila Croen, Secretary
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