Members of the Chatham Fire Department standing next to US Flag

Fire Department Badge Ceremony

The Fire Department held a Badge Ceremony on Wednesday, July 28 to recognize recent internal promotions and new hires.

With the departure of Captain Wallace Wirtz to become Fire Chief of Oak Bluffs, Ryan Clarke was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain, and James Young was promoted to Lieutenant from Firefighter.

Mark Heller was promoted to EMS Captain from EMS Coordinator and two new probationary Firefighters, Louis Carlo and Dustan McGlinn, received their first Fire Department badges and Town pins. Congratulations to all!

Parade Award Winners

Independence Day Parade Committee Chair Justin Bohannon announced the award winners for the 2021 Independence Day Parade at the Select Board meeting on Tuesday. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all of the participants!
Best Use of Technology: Monomoy Yacht Club
Most Environmentally Conscious Entry: Oyster River Boatyard
Best Civic Entry: First Night Chatham
Best Family Entry: Magner Family
Funniest Entry: Chatham Drama Guild
Most Patriotic Entry: Ken Owens Memorial Jamboree
Best Youth Entry: Chatham Yacht Club
3rd Place: Eventide Landscape, Irrigation, and Goodies
2nd Place: Chatham Yacht Club
1st Place: Phillips Family Farm (Third consecutive year!)

Summer Residents Town Meeting

The Summer Residents Advisory Committee will host the 75th Annual Summer Town Meeting on Tuesday, August 3rd in the large meeting room at the Town Office Annex, 261 George Ryder Road. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

Both summer and year-round residents are welcome to participate in the meeting. The meeting can be attended virtually through Microsoft Teams or in-person. It will also be broadcast on live on Channel 18 and streamed through the Town's website. If you attend in-person, masks are welcomed.

Items on the agenda include welcome by Select Board Chair Peter Cocolis, a presentation by Town Manager Jill Goldsmith and Finance Director Alix Heilala on the State of the Town, and an update on the Town's water supply. Summer Resident Advisory Committee members Phil Richardson will discuss affordable housing in Town and Jill MacDonald will review the history of the Town's wastewater project.

Fireworks & Fun at Veterans Field

Rescheduled from July 1, Fireworks & Fun will be held at Veterans Field next Thursday, August 5.

Festivities begin at 6 p.m. with children's activities running until 8:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m. Dan Clark, the "Singing Trooper" will take center stage (or is it center field?) to entertain the crowd. Fireworks will begin at 8:45 p.m.

Bring a blanket or lawn chair and picnic, or visit the Veterans Field concession stand for snacks or dinner and enjoy the show!

Nicki Smith and Crystal Keon

New Faces in Conservation

Two thirds of the Conservation Division of the Department of Natural Resources have joined Team Chatham in the last few months.

Conservation Agent Nicole Smith began working for the Town in the spring. She served as the Assistant Conservation Agent for the Town of Harwich for the last five years and had previous experience with the Conservation Divisions in Truro and Dennis. She earned her BS in Wildlife Biology with a secondary major in Natural Resources and Environmental Science.

Joining Conservation Agent Smith and Assistant Conservation Agent/North Beach Manager Paul Wightman is Crystal Keon, our new Conservation Secretary. Ms. Keon has office management experience with Ryder & Wilcox and Eastham Veterinary Hospital. She will be putting her organizational skills to work for the Division and the Conservation Commission as its recording secretary.

The Conservation Division offices are located at the Town Office Annex, 261 George Ryder Road and can be reached at 508-945-5164.

Keep it Up Chatham!

At the Select Board meeting on July 27, Public Works Director Tom Temple reported that the amount of water being pumped by all Town wells in July 2021 has decreased by 13.9% from July 2020. He credits the reduction to recent rain, community outreach and compliance with Mandatory Water Conservation Measures, and enforcement of such when needed. But, we still remain under the Mandatory Water Conservation Order!

Reducing the amount of water pumped is not only important to allowing the level of the aquifer to recover each day but it cuts down on the wear and tear on the infrastructure that delivers the water from the aquifer to your tap, therefore reducing the need to cycle wells on/offline and the risk of equipment failure.

Thank you Chatham! Let's keep up with compliance and down with water use!

Land Needed for Affordable/Attainable Housing

The Town and its Affordable Housing Trust are seeking proposals for the purchase of a parcel of land, or parcels of land, within the Town suitable for the construction or an existing building suitable for renovation for use as a mix of affordable and attainable housing (30% of Area Median Income and up to 200% of Area Median Income). The Town will also consider Proposals for the donation or lease (minimum term of 99 years) of property.

Proposal guidelines are available via email to snealy@chatham-ma.gov or by calling 508-945-5105.

Sealed proposals clearly marked: “Proposal – Real Property” must be received at the Town Manager’s Office, 549 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633 prior to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 31, 2021.

The Town of Chatham reserves the right to reject any and all proposals or take whatever action may be deemed necessary to be in the best interest of the Town.

Town of Chatham website www.chatham-ma.gov