Deceased Waterfowl Found on Beaches

The Town received reports of deceased waterfowl on Town beaches this week. Animal Control Officer Diane Byers collected and examined eight duck carcasses collected from a concentrated area of Ridgevale Beach on January 23d. Some of the birds exhibited wounds which suggest they were hunted rather than dying from disease. The incident has been reported to the State. The duck hunting season runs through January 28th.

While this case was likely due to hunting, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, is present on Cape Cod. If a member of the public encounters a dead bird on one of our beaches, they are asked to contact ACO Byers at 508-945-5111 or diane.byers@chathampolicema.com. The public should not attempt to collect or move any bird carcasses.

Select Board Action - Jan. 21st

The Select Board approved sales on Town property for the Monomoy Regional High Sschool class of 2025 to hold a bake sale at the Community Center, 702 Main Street, during the Health Festival hosted by the Dept. of Comm Services and Health Division on Saturday January 25th.

Town Manager Jill Goldsmith and Finance Director Carrie Mazerolle presented the Town Manager’s proposed Operating and Capital Budgets.

The “State of the Town” including current valuation, property tax rate, and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability were reviewed.

The Town’s Digital Budget Book and its navigation were introduced.

The Operating budget estimated at $43,921,522 including projected revenues and expenditures, budget drivers such as salaries, debt service, insurance costs, and employee benefits were reviewed.

The budgetary impacts of five new proposed positions (1 Community Development Local Inspector, 2 Department of Public Works Parks/Grounds/Cemetery, 1 Police Officer, 1 Natural Resources Boat Operator/Marine Mechanic) were discussed.

Preliminary estimated Educational Assessments for the Monomoy Regional School District and the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School District were reviewed. The School Districts will present their budgets to the Select Board on February 11th.

The proposed Capital Budget includes $2,942,650 which is 6.7% of the Operating Budget. A breakdown of the Capital requests by departments and the funding sources were reviewed, as were other potential articles for items funded outside of the Operating and Capital budgets.

The balance and use of Free Cash to fund the Capital Budget, improvements to the Transfer Station, and renovations at the Center for Active Living were discussed.

Funding for anticipated work on the Monomoy Regional Middle School not currently included in the budget was discussed.

The public is encouraged to view the meeting in its entirety through Chatham TVs on-demand archive.

Upcoming Public Hearings

The Select Board will hold the following public hearings beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the large meeting room at the Town Office Annex, 261 George Ryder Road.

January 28th

To consider an application for a new seasonal all alcoholic beverages restaurant license for Ten Yen LLC d/b/a Namazu Ramen, 643 Main Street, Michael Jacek, Manager.

February 11

To consider a petition from NSTAR Electric Company d/b/a Eversource Energy to install 30’ +/- of 3” conduit from proposed handhole 189/H1A to customer installed handhole at 14 Bucks Creek Road. 

All interested parties are encouraged to participate in-person or through the link in the posted agendas.

Planned Electrical Outages

Eversource will be replacing transformers in two areas of Town next week that will require planned power outages.

On Wednesday, January 29th, approximately 22 customers on Old Harbor Road will experience an outage for approximately 4 hours sometime between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.

On Friday, January 31st, approximately 145 customers on Stage Harbor Road, Champlain Road, and Cedar Street will experience an outage for approximately 4 hours sometime between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.

All customers affected by the outage have been notified by Eversource.

The Community Center, 702 Main Street, will be open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the Center for Active Living, 193 Stony Hill Road, will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. if anyone affected by the outages needs to warm up or charge a device.

Take the Seafood Survey Today

The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance is conducting a seafood survey as part of its Meet the Fleet Program. The survey seeks to measure seafood consumption trends and the effectiveness of the Fishermen’s Alliance’s local seafood promotion and education activities.

In addition to in-person Meet the Fleet events, the Fishermen’s Alliance shared a series of educational videos during 2023-2024 to increase knowledge of local seafood and fisheries. These included cooking demonstrations, seafood preparation tips and tricks, recipes, and discussions with commercial fishermen and chefs.

Anyone can take the survey – you do not need to have attended a Meet the Fleet event or watched the videos to participate! All responses are anonymous.