Eastham Select Board Appoints Survey Board for Two Eroding Brownell Road Homes

EASTHAM — February 10, 2026 — Eastham Select Board votes to convene a board of survey for two condemned Brownell Road properties teetering on an eroding coastal bank. The board voted 3-0 Tuesday to appoint Rich Waldo, the Orleans DPW director and an engineer, to the three-member review panel, joining Building Commissioner Basil's own appointee, Rich Bryant of Cape Associates. Conservation staff reported that 153 Brownell Road lost roughly 8 feet of coastal bank in the most recent storm and now sits as close as 5 feet from the cliff edge. The owner of 157 Brownell Road, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania resident, has not responded to three phone calls, multiple emails, or three attempted in-person service visits from a process server. Staff warned the public to stay away from both properties, noting the base of the bank is severely undercut and invisible from above — and that wave action alone, without a storm, can trigger collapse.