Eastham Select Board Approves Elks Lodge Wastewater Easement Ahead of August Bid Deadline

Select Board · Meeting of July 20, 2026

Eastham Select Board approves Elks Lodge wastewater easement and schedules August special meeting for contract awards. The board voted unanimously July 20 to approve an easement agreement with the Protective Order of the Elks of the United States, clearing the final major pre-bid requirement for the town's wastewater collection and treatment project ahead of a State Revolving Fund deadline extended through the end of August; construction bids are due August 17 through 19 and the board agreed to a 5 p.m. Zoom special meeting on August 20 to award contracts.

Town Manager Rich Bienvenue also briefed the board on a forthcoming town property use policy covering rallies and vendor licensing, the latter prompted by a second hawker-peddler application from jam-and-jelly vendor Al's Backwards Barry Company, which the board approved through December 31, 2026. The meeting's longest debate centered on proposed Board of Health regulations that would require owners of roughly 246 cesspools to upgrade within two to three years, with properties in town-defined environmentally sensitive areas required to install innovative alternative nitrogen-reducing systems costing approximately $40,000 each plus $1,000 to $1,500 annually — a mandate member Jacqui Beebe called excessive, saying "I'm not supportive of this program moving forward the way it is," while Health Director Hillary Greenberg Lemos noted Eastham is the only Cape Cod community without a state-designated nitrogen-sensitive area.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,592 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.