Guarded Beaches This Weekend

Due to lifeguard staffing challenges affecting the entire Cape, only Harding's Beach will be guarded this weekend. Lighthouse Beach Patrol will be present at Lighthouse Beach.

Updates on lifeguard staffing will be posted to the Recreation and Beaches website.

Four Community Services Officers in neon green shirts standing on steps with three Police Officers standing behind them

Community Service Officers on Duty

The Police Department's new Community Service Officers (CSO) were sworn in for duty on Thursday, June 22nd and will fixtures on Main Street through August.

The CSOs are not Police Officers but they will be responsible for parking enforcement downtown and at area landings and beaches in addition to acting as community ambassadors providing residents and visitors with information about the downtown area and other area attractions. They will be working during special events and assisting our full-time officers in a variety of ways.

The CSOs will be in uniform sporting high visibility shirts so they will be easily identified. Please join us in welcoming (pictured left to right) Connor Frazel, Catrina Tobin, Sean Olsen, and Christina Fontaine aboard!

Chatham Harbor Run/Walk Sunday

The annual Chatham Harbor Run/Walk will be held this Sunday, June 25th, beginning at 11:00 a.m., on Crowell Road at Lake Street and finish at the Monomoy Regional Middle School, 425 Crowell Road.
The race route will take the runners from Crowell Road to Queen Anne Rd., to Pond Street, to Stage Harbor Road, to Cedar Street, to Champlain/Battlefield Road, to Bridge Street, to lower Main Street, to Shore Road, to Barcliff Ave, to Tip Cart Drive, back to Crowell Road to the finish line.

To facilitate the race, several streets will be detoured, and traffic redirected from 10:30 a.m. to approximately 1:00 pm. Residents who live on or near the race route should plan accordingly and expect delays. There will be uniformed Police Officers at several locations along the route to assist with traffic.

All the above-listed streets will be affected by temporary closings, resident only traffic, and detours. Residents and business owners in affected areas should plan accordingly.  

Sticker Office Hours

In addition to its regular hours of Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Sticker Office will be open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 24th and Saturday, July 1st.

Worker in orange vest standing on a large pipe in the ground

Sewer Construction Update

June 26-June 30

Work is tentatively scheduled to continue on Pump Station #3 on Meetinghouse Road and on Pump Station #4 on Morton Road.

Roadway, curb, and sidewalk work will continue on Crowell Road between the intersections of Lake Street and Kendrick Harvest Way. Final paving is expected on Wednesday, June 28th and Thursday, June 29th.

A portion of Crowell Road will be closed between Stony Hill Road and Tip Cart Drive, and Lake Street will be closed. Traffic will be detoured via Tip Cart Drive to Barcliff Avenue to Old Harbor Road to Orleans Road to Stony Hill Road.

Once the Contractor is past Tip Cart Drive working towards Kendrick Harvest Way traffic will be detoured via Crowell Road to Main Street to Old Harbor Road to Orleans Road to Stony Hill Road.

No sewer related roadwork will be taking place in July or August. Pump Station site work is expected to continue through the summer at Pump Station #3 (Meetinghouse Road), Pump Station #4 (Twine Field Drive), and the Queen Anne Road Pump Station (SE corner of Queen Anne Road & Oyster Pond Furlong).

Main Street Over Night Work

In preparation of a sewer lining project, work to inspect and clean approximately 300 feet of sewer line in the vicinity of 487 Main Street will take place from 2:00 – 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, 2023.

Workers will be in the road during this time and Main Street will remain open. There are no anticipated impacts to services for residents or businesses. Please use caution if driving through the area during this time.

Beginning at 12:00 a.m. (midnight) until approximately 7:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 27, 2023, contractors will install a steam-cured sewer main liner at this location. Earlier this month, the 8” sewer main was compromised and emergency sewer work was undertaken to repair a 20’ section. This liner project will address the most degraded section of sewer main on Main Street.

Three businesses will be impacted during this work and work has been timed to minimize impacts as much as possible. Main Street will remain open to one-way alternating traffic, but delays should be expected between Cross Street and Chatham Bars Avenue. Please use caution if driving through the area during these hours.

Thank you for your continued patience as this issue is resolved.

Mill Hill Road

Sewer repair work will be conducted on Mill Hill Road on Wednesday June 28th and Thursday June 29th, with paving on Friday June 30th. The Contractor is advising that one lane will remain open.

MassTrails Grant Awarded

The Town has been granted $352,000 through the 2023 MassTrails Grant program. These are matching funds to the $88,000 Community Preservation Act funds appropriated at 2023 Annual Town Meeting and will be used to construct a shared multi-use path along the east side of George Ryder Road connecting the Old Colony Rail Trail and the shared multi-use path along Route 28 in West Chatham.

The shared multi-use path will improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians traversing the lower portion of the road while accessing the multi-use path along Route 28 in the West Chatham corridor. The project was one of 68 funded through MassTrails in 2023.

Aerial view of shoaling along the Chatham shoreline

Chatham Garden Club Presents

The Chatham Garden Club is hosting "The Past, Present and Future of Chatham Harbor: Coastal Storms, Sea Level Rise and Barrier Evolution" featuring Coastal Geologist Dr. Mark Borrelli on Wednesday, June 28th at 4:30 p.m. at the Community Center, 702 Main Street.

Dr. Borelli will place the natural evolution of Chatham Harbor over the last 200 years into context will discussing current conditions, and possible future configurations. Dr. Borelli is the Director of the Seafloor Mapping Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown and has been studying Chatham Harbor for 20 years. He will discuss the data he's collected over that time including the latest from April 2023. He will also talk about possible future scenarios for the Harbor and Pleasant Bay.

All are welcome to this free program.

Cape Cod Life "Best Of"

Voters in Cape Cod Life magazine's annual Best of Cape Cod & the Islands have awarded Chase Park the Silver for the Best Picnic Spot on the Lower Cape!

We are proud to have the Park recognized as the special spot we all know it is and we thank the members of our Parks and Grounds Division for their work to keep the Park in top shape!

We congratulate First Night Chatham for winning Gold for the Best Off-Season Event on the Lower Cape and and our Chatham Independence Day Parade for Best Summer Event on the Lower Cape. Hats off as well to all our Chatham businesses and restaurants who earned recognition by voters. The complete list of "Best of" winners is available on Cape Cod Life's website.

Housing Opportunities

Housing Assistance Cape Cod has announced the sale by lottery of properties at in Harwich and Dennis.

A three bedroom, 1.5 bath single family home is located at 15 Gomes Way in Harwich and is available at $183,466. A two bedroom, 1 bath home is located at 19 Nautical Way in Dennis and is available for $219,164.

The deadline to apply for either property is 5 p.m. on June 30th. Income and asset guidelines apply. Resale restrictions are in place on both properties. For more information and applications visit Housing Assistance Corporation's website.

National Environmental Youth Advisory Council

The US Environmental Protection Agency has established the Agency's first-ever National Environmental Youth Advisory Council to provide independent advice and recommendations to Administrator Michael S. Regan on how to increase EPA’s efforts to address a range of environmental issues as they relate to youth communities.

The EPA is soliciting applications for youth to fill 16 vacancies on the NEYAC. Selected applicants will contribute to a balance of perspectives, backgrounds, and experience of the council and will be appointed by the Administrator. As a first-of-its-kind committee, all members of NEYAC will be between the ages of 16 and 29.

Applications to the NEYAC are due by August 22, 2023 at 11:59PM ET. To apply for appointment to the council, the below information is required:

Contact information
Resume OR short biography OR qualification essay
Statement of interest
Media Project

Visit the EPA NEYAC webpage for more information on the council and to apply.

EPA will be hosting virtual application webinars where the public can ask EPA staff questions live. The webinars will be on Zoom and will be hosted at the following times:

Friday, June 30, 2023 @ 3PM – 4PM ET // Register here
Monday, August 7, 2023 @ 12PM – 1PM ET // Register here

We Are Hiring!

The Town has several seasonal and full-time openings. Come join Team Chatham! Check out our full listing of employment opportunities.

Next Select Board Meeting - May 16, 2023 @ 5:30 p.m.

All are welcome to attend and participate in our open and public meetings. The agenda for each meeting is posted 48 business hours prior to the scheduled meeting time and can be accessed through the Select Board’s webpage.

Attend in-person at the Town Office Annex, Large Meeting Room. Join the meeting on-line or participate by phone by dialing 1-508-945-4410 and entering Conference ID 203 386 491#.

I. Minutes

June 20, 2023

II. Public Announcements and Agenda Item Requests

III. Drought Status Update and Discussion

IV. Public Comments on Business Agenda

V. Business Agenda (Board Discussion Items)

A. Seasonal Shellfish Area Closure; Oyster Pond

B. Update from Cape & Islands District Attorney Galibois

C. Consider Draft Letter of Support for Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates Ordinance

D. Consider Request for One Day Entertainment Permits; Mondays on Main, July 3, 2023 – August 28, 2023

E. License to Enter and Use Real Property; 0 Main Street (former Buckley property); Leavitt

F. Board/Committee/Commission Appointments (July 1, 2023)

G. Special Town Meeting (September 18, 2023 at 6 PM) Warrant Article Review and Placement

1. New Center For Active Living (CFAL) Facility Design and Construction; 1610/0 Main Street

2. Zoning Bylaw Amendment/Map Change; 1610 and 0 Main Street Properties and Referral to the Planning Board

3. Declaration of Surplus Town Property at 193 Stony Hill Road

4. Design & Engineering for Re-Use of 193 Stony Hill Road

VI. Convene Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees

A. 127 Old Harbor Road – Reconfirm Vote to allocate AHT Funds for Architectural Design and Engineering – Continued Discussion from June 13, 2023

The Mainsheet

The name of our e-newsletter was selected from submissions by our community.
In nautical terms a mainsheet is the line connected to the boom which allows a sailor to control the speed of a boat. We think that is fitting for an e-newsletter that can be used to quickly send out important information to our community or at a more leisurely rate for less pressing matters. It reflects Chatham’s maritime history, is reminiscent of the front page of a newspaper, and it is a fun play on Main Street, where you go to be part of all that is happening in Town!

Town of Chatham website www.chatham-ma.gov