Orleans Select Board Sets November 18 Special Town Meeting After Date Conflict

Select Board · Meeting of July 15, 2026

Orleans Select Board sets November 18 Special Town Meeting after scrapping a November 16 date that conflicted with a regional one-cape conference. The board voted unanimously on the revised date at its July 15 meeting, also approving an August 3 warrant opening and September 23 closing deadline. In a 4-0-1 vote, the board declared the Affordable Housing Trust property at 22 Old Tote Road surplus, clearing the way for transfer to the Housing Assistance Corporation under what Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development Elizabeth Jenkins called one of the town's first 120 percent deed-restricted housing arrangements.

The board unanimously passed FY26 year-end budget transfers including an $82,000 fire salary correction and first-year funding for police body-worn cameras, with Vice Chair Michael Herman noting the police chief would present a public briefing on the camera program in August or September. Public Works Director Rich Waldo told the board that favorable bids on phase three sewer construction — targeting Route 28 from Tonset Road to the Aries Lane area beginning in September — may allow the town to return close to $10 million in unneeded borrowing authorization once the project is complete, though he cautioned Route 28 would face at least a year of construction disruption.

In the full story:

• Background and stakes
• Natural Resources — Rock Harbor, Nauset Beach, and the Herring Run
• Recreation Culture and Community Affairs — Eldridge Park Bids Open
• Council on Aging
• Snow Library
• Public Works and Wastewater
• The complete report — 3,799 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.