Visions for Sea Camps get thumbs up at Brewster town meeting

BREWSTER — Visions for the future of the former Sea Camps properties, months in the making, were accepted Saturday as voters gathered at the Stony Brook Elementary School for the annual town meeting.

A total of 608 voters checked in for the meeting, where they dispensed with 24 articles over five hours, including passing a $26,523,727 level services town budget representing a 5.3% increase, approving the local and regional school budgets, giving initial approval to an elementary school operational override, and considering bylaw proposals related to short-term rentals.

The greenlighted $758,091 elementary school operational override now moves to the May 28 town election, where it will also need approval to take effect.

Brewster School Committee Chairwoman Katie Jacobus said if the override does not pass, the elementary schools will face "significant, significant cuts, both in personnel and programming."

Paths forward for the Sea Camps

Plans for reuse of the Sea Camps — the 55-acre Bay property at 3057 Main St./Route 6A, and the 66-acre Pond property at 500 W.H. Besse Cartway that voters approved buying in fall 2021 — got the most attention Saturday, both getting approval during nearly two hours of discussion.

Most of the debate centered around provisions for housing, with some questioning the placement of housing in a water protection zone on the Pond property, and others wondering why more housing wasn't included on the Bay property.

Plans for the Pond property call for conserving 56 acres, with 1.6 miles of walking trails, an improved gravel access drive, gravel parking areas for Americans with Disabilities Act beach and trail access, nature-based programs through Mass Audubon and Brewster Conservation Trust partnerships, plus 10 acres along Route 137 for affordable housing and a wastewater treatment plant.

The Bay property vision includes 2.4 miles of walking trails, bike trails with increased access from the rail trail, a Mass Audubon nature center, continued beach and outdoor pool access, a fitness station loop, four new tennis courts, a playground, 25 community garden plots, picnic and events spaces, athletic fields, reuse of 24 of 92 structures with the potential for arts studios, pop-up events, and smaller gathering spaces, seven cabins for workforce housing, and an 8-acre area for future municipal uses.

The Bay property plan also sets aside land for a potential new community center.

Addressing some voters' questions about why more of the Bay buildings aren't tagged for housing, Town Manager Peter Lombardi pointed out "well over 50 of these buildings are 75 years old" and have significant costs associated with reusing them.

A visionary framework but no funding for plans

No funding was associated with acceptance of the Sea Camps plans, which officials said only aim to establish a visionary framework for the future of the properties.

Funding for different phases of the plans, which will be spread over the next five to 10 years, will be considered at future town meetings. That will begin as soon as this fall, when funding for a community center needs assessment study is expected, as well as funding to begin the first phases for both properties.

An estimated $20.6 million in excluded debt is needed to realize plans for both properties, except a community center, adding about $140 per year to the average property tax bill for 25 years. A community center could require an estimated $36.3 million in additional excluded debt, adding about $250 per year to the average bill. But these increases, if approved, would be softened by retirement of about $15 million in old debt over the next 10 years.

Local school budget and operational override considered

Voters approved an $11.7 million budget for the Stony Brook and Eddy schools, including fringe benefits — a plan representing a 12.6% increase.

A separate vote supported the $758,091 operational override to fully fund the schools at $12.5 million. If approved at the election, it will add an estimated $82 per year to the average property tax bill based on the current $710,900 median residential home value.

School officials point at significant increases in special education costs as the main driver of increased budget needs.

Officials who don't support the override expressed concern about "the frequent need to ask the voters for overrides." Last year, a $316,878 operational override was approved.

Select Board Chair Ned Chatelain said he's concerned about the lack of a financial forecast "that will help us to understand what the coming years will look like."

Selectwoman Cynthia Bingham shared the concern. "We cannot keep doing this year after year," she said.

Proposed short-term housing bylaws tabled again

Two bylaws proposed via citizens petition presented by resident Matilda Delano — one requiring annual registration of short-term rentals, one restricting the number of such rentals a property owner can operate in Brewster — were indefinitely postponed. Both were previously considered and also tabled at the fall town meeting.

Chatelain assured voters the Select Board plans to take up the issue "more comprehensively" this summer, and to involve the community in the conversation.

SOME OTHER TOWN MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Heather McCarron can be reached at hmccarron@capecodonline.com, or follow her on X @HMcCarron_CCT.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Plans for Sea Camps, school override supported at Brewster TM