Rich Eldred
Orleans
Ex-Brewster town reporter and Environmental reporter for the Cape Codder. Botanical walk leader. Fan of fine banjo playing.
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Articles by Rich Eldred
Brewster To Seek State Help With Elementary Schools To Renovate Or Replace Eddy And Stony Brook
Stony Brook Elementary School in Brewster. FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – The select board and school committee jointly agreed on Monday to prepare two statements of interest to submit to the Massachusetts School Building Authority this January.
Brewster Begins To Formulate Fall Special Meeting Warrant; Officials Anticipate 10 To 15 Articles
Voters at the fall special town meeting will be asked to approve Community Preservation Act funds to improve the tennis courts at the Sea Camps bay property. ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO BREWSTER – The fall town meeting warrant is officially open for articles. That happened on Monday, Sept. 14, and already there are two articles teed up for the Nov. 16 meeting. The board expects 11 more, and that along with the closing article will comprise the warrant barring any citizens petitions or last minute additions.
Lombardi Gets A-plus In Annual Review
Brewster Town Manager Peter Lombardi. FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – Town Manager Peter Lombardi got his annual report card last week, and had he received a letter grade, it would have been the equivalent of an A-plus. He also didn’t get a gold star, but by unanimous vote the select board awarded him a 2 percent merit increase in pay.
Brewster To Investigate Residential Tax Exemption
BREWSTER – In its last meeting of August, the Brewster Select Board opted not to adopt a residential tax rate exemption and to tax all homes at $7.02 per $1,000 of property value. At its first meeting in September, the board chose to pursue a study on perhaps setting separate tax rates for first and second (or more) homes in 2028. The discussion is expected to last a year, and any further action would have to follow in the next year, so any such tax change would be at least two years away.
Officials Approve Hike In Affordable Rent At Serenity: What Constitutes ‘Affordable?’
The Serenity at Brewster apartments. Officials last week approved a rent increase on the facility’s affordable units. ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO BREWSTER – Affordable housing in Brewster might be a little less affordable. The select board last week approved a slate of rent increases for 27 affordable units at the Serenity at Brewster apartments developed in what was formerly the Wingate nursing facility on Route 124.
Brewster To Charge $300 For Short-term Rental Registration
BREWSTER – After three public hearings, the town has unveiled a final draft of regulations for the short-term rentals. Brewster voters approved the drawing up of rules at town meeting earlier this year. “There’s been a lot of discussion leading up to the regulations,” Town Planner Jon Idman told the select board Monday. “The task force produced a report.
It’s Official: Spring Rock Village Is Underway In Brewster
An official groundbreaking was held Tuesday at the Spring Rock Village affordable housing project in Brewster. RICH ELDRED PHOTO “If we’re ever going to deal with the housing situation it will be one step at a time,” Fourth District Congressman William Keating said at Tuesday’s groundbreaking at Spring Rock Village.
Brewster Approves New Shellfish Grants; Some Have Waited 15 Years For Opportunity
Brewster residents take advantage of the annual Oyster Sundays harvest. The town recently approved eight new shellfish grant leases along Cape Cod Bay. FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – Brewster’s mollusks may not yet rival the Wellfleet oyster, but if all things work out the local shellfish industry will be growing. The select board on Aug. 10 voted unanimously to support applications for eight new aquaculture leases along Cape Cod Bay.
Revised Nauset Agreement Better, But Still Needs Work
BREWSTER – The new regional agreement between the Nauset Regional School District and its four member towns is better than the existing pact but still lacking in some critical areas, according to select board members. “This agreement is much better than what we have now,” Select Board member Pete Dahl declared.
Economy, Gas Prices Impacting Local Campgrounds
The Sweetwater Forest Cape Cod Family Campground has seen a drop in activity this summer. RICH ELDRED PHOTO BREWSTER – Campgrounds used to dot the Cape, attracting those who’d rather rough it a bit as opposed to lodging in a motel room for a week. Those that remain have seen a mixed bag so far this summer, with economic conditions, including the price of gasoline, blunting business. In Brewster, the Sweetwater Forest Cape Cod Family Campground has been in the same family since it opened in 1958.
APCC Cyanobacteria Warnings, Methods Disputed By Brewster Board
BREWSTER – What began two summers ago as a dispute between Brewster health officials and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod over the classification of pond safety conditions has erupted into a fresh conflagration.
Book Focuses On ‘Brilliance Of Honeybees’ - Signing At Brewster Conservation Day Saturday
“The Brilliance of Honeybees” author Laura Kelley. RICH ELDRED PHOTO “I’m a beekeeper allergic to bees,” Laura Kelley notes as the introduction to her first and only book, “The Brilliance of Honeybees.” The allergy that developed after decades worth of bee stings forced her to give up the hives that filled her Eastham backyard with constant buzzing and her kitchen with jars of honey.
Brewster Launches Historic Preservation Awards
BREWSTER – Do you have an old home you’ve restored, or perhaps you admire a historic structure or building in Brewster that has been brought back to life? In conjunction with the nation’s 250th birthday, celebrated last weekend, three local groups have decided to honor local exemplars with the inaugural Brewster Historical Preservation Awards. The Brewster Historical Commission is seeking nominations for the awards. The call opened July 1 and will close Aug. 31.
Brewster Turns Attention To EV Charging Stations; Only Lower Cape Town Without Public Chargers
EV charging stations in Chatham. Brewster is the only town on the Lower Cape without public chargers. FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – It may be the lowest level of medal in the Olympians, but Brewster is officially targeting bronze when it comes to the Charging Smart program.
Brewster Resolves School District Overpayments
FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – Officials have reached a resolution to Brewster’s overpayment of close to $400,000 to the Nauset regional school system as part of their annual debt assessment. Research by select board member Pete Dahl, confirmed by regional school officials, revealed that Brewster was assessed $391,162 more than it should have been over the past three fiscal years due to a misapplication of the regional school funding formula.
New Cafe Aims To Fill A Gap In Brewster
Elvina Ramazanova and husband Michael of Lily and Kappa Cafe. RICH ELDRED PHOTO BREWSTER – Elvina Ramazanova submitted her application for a common victualer’s license for what used to be the Snowy Owl in late April. “It’s a really nice spot. I can say the city center,” Ramazanova told the select board April 27. “I’m very excited. Lily and Kappa is going to be the name. It’s going to be a year-round cafe, or as I like to call it sometimes, a modern deli.” The very model of a modern major deli, indeed.
Brewster Develops Sewer Plans – Just In Case
BREWSTER – Consultants Horsley Witten have unveiled plans to sewer over 300 homes in Brewster. But not to worry — it’s a concept not likely to be implemented. The town still plans to meet its nitrogen reduction requirements for the Pleasant Bay and the Herring River watersheds through alternative actions such as reducing fertilizer application, septic system improvements, conservation restrictions and other non-sewer approaches.
Brewster Overcharged By Nauset School District; Town Owed More Than $400K
FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – It’s always nice to get a check in the mail for a refund you didn’t expect because you’ve been overcharged in some fashion. According to select board member Pete Dahl, Brewster is due such a check, for a fairly substantial amount, from the Nauset Regional Schools. More importantly, according to Robert Tobias of the finance committee, the school district’s finance director has agreed and readjusted the fiscal year 2027 budget to reflect a change in the assessing formula.
Natural History Museum To Celebrate Horseshoe Crab Day
Horseshoe crabs have been around for 450 million years. COURTESY PHOTO Maureen Ward will host the Horseshoe Crab Day event at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History on June 19. COURTESY PHOTO Previous Next BREWSTER – You’d be hard pressed to find a more enthusiastic supporter of horseshoe crabs, outside of the world of arthropods, than Maureen Ward.
Author Returns To Celebrate Anniversary Of Landmark Osprey Book
An osprey carries dinner back to its nest. EREZ BEN-AKIVA PHOTO BREWSTER – David Gessner never thought he was launching a career as a nature writer (he still says he’s not one) when he moved back to Cape Cod from Colorado in the late 1990s. But he was. “The Return of the Osprey: A Season of Flight and Wonder” celebrated its 25th anniversary with a new edition published last October by the Cornell University Press.
Brewster’s Ryan Burch Named Shellfish Constable Of The Year
Brewster Shellfish Constable Ryan Burch. RICH ELDRED PHOTO BREWSTER – For Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, 2025 was a very good year, as they both were named Most Valuable Players. It was a great year for a local resident as well. Ryan Burch of Brewster was named 2025 Massachusetts Shellfish Constable of the Year by the Massachusetts Shellfish Officer’s Association, and he didn’t even have to hit 50 homers to do it.
From Sprouts To Support: Inn Farm Partnership Feeds The Hungry
CBI Farm Manager Shane Chambers with his Persian cucumbers. RICH ELDRED PHOTOS Lettuce growing in the field at CBI farm. Three-quarters of the produce grown there ends up on tables at the inn. Pepper seedlings that will be sent to the Family Pantry garden. Previous Next BREWSTER – Sprouts have sprung across the Cape, and while seeds are started, not everyone has the acreage for gardening.
Brewster Health Dept., APCC Clash Over Testing; Town Dropped From Cyanobacteria Map
Cyanobacteria monitoring. FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – A battle over who is responsible for issuing health advisories about possible cyanobacteria contamination in ponds has resulted in the town being dropped from a regional map depicting pond health. The Association to Preserve Cape Cod contracted with multiple groups across Cape Cod, municipalities and Barnstable County to create a cyanobacteria monitoring program.
Varley Named Fire Chief
BREWSTER – Fire Chief Robert Moran will retire on Oct. 12, after serving in that role since 2010. He’s temporarily on medical leave while Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Varley serves as the acting chief, and on Monday the Select Board voted 4-0 to make Varley the permanent Fire Chief. “Following the town charter, the Select Board acts on my recommendation,” Town Manager Peter Lombardi explained.
Boat Found At Conservation Land Underscores Problem Of Dumping
Someone abandoned a center console boat, complete with outboard motor and trailer, on Brewster Conservation Trust land. COURTESY BCT BREWSTER – Want a boat? The Brewster Conservation Trust has one - they didn’t ask for it and don’t want it. It was dumped at one of their properties on Route 137, complete with outboard motor and trailer. They were unable to track down the owner or who dumped it and now they have to figure out what to do with it.
Flanagan: Brewster Ponds Coalition ‘Cutting Edge’
First Barnstable District State Representative Chris Flanagan addresses the Brewster Pond Coalition Saturday. RICH ELDRED PHOTO BREWSTER – Brewster’s ponds have been around since this sand spit was left by the glaciers and the ice blocks in the kettle holes melted. But the Brewster Ponds Coalition has only been around for a decade, celebrating its tenth anniversary Saturday morning at the Cape Cod Bible Alliance Church on Route 6A.
Gardening For Fun And Philanthropy: Resident Donates Community Garden Produce To Pantries
Lucas Farber planting spinach at the Brewster Community Garden. RICH ELDRED PHOTO Verona tomatoes that Farber is growing to donate to the Lower Cape Outreach Council pantry. RICH ELDRED PHOTO Previous Next BREWSTER – Fresh fruit and vegetables are some of the tougher items to come by in the food pantries of Cape Cod.
Gilberti Gets Nod For Brewster Planning Board
BREWSTER – Brewster has a new planning board member to replace Amanda Bebrin, who was elected to the select board in May. In a joint meeting between the two boards July 24, Carmel Gilberti was selected to serve out Bebrin’s term. The appointment runs until next May’s annual town election.
Zoning Study To Focus On Mixed Use, Multifamily Housing
BREWSTER – It may seem like Brewster has done a lot with affordable housing, but the town is looking to do more. The Barrett Planning Group (BPG) has been hired to conduct a grant-funded analysis of zoning and the possibility of establishing mixed-use and multifamily housing in town. The study is now getting underway. Judy Barrett of BPG was on Zoom to speak to both the planning board and select board about the project last week.
Cyanobacteria A Growing Problem For Cape Ponds
A cyanobacteria bloom identified in Harwich’s West Reservoir. APCC PHOTO BREWSTER – Cape Cod is famous for salt water beaches, but there are over 890 ponds and lakes on the Cape. Unfortunately, that fresh water isn’t always clean and safe. Cyanobacteria are naturally occurring organisms prevalent in both salt and freshwater, and some species can exude toxic compounds making swimming risky. Currently there is a cyanobacteria advisory for Upper and Lower Mill Ponds in Brewster.
Brewster Housing Trust Ponders Expanded Role
BREWSTER – Guidance is what the town’s affordable housing trust was seeking from the select board on Monday night; guidance for when affordable housing isn't quite enough and attainable housing may be necessary. “There are a number of regulatory changes on the state level that are really exciting,” Ned Chatelain, the select board representative on the trust and its newly elected chair, told his fellow select board members.
Millstone Road Housing Gets $6.7 Million State Grant
BREWSTER – It’s been a big month for affordable housing in Brewster. The biggest news might be the $6.7 million the developers of Spring Rock Village will receive from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities on June 20. “I went to the award in Danvers and it was super exciting,” Assistant Town Administrator Donna Kalinick said. “We’ve had a great month here in Brewster, with the Housing Hero award and Housing Choice designation and then funding in the first round.
Bay Towns Band Together To Manage Shoreline
A man fishes from a jetty near Point of Rocks Beach in Brewster. Jetties are a major factor in the transportation of sand along the Cape Cod Bay coast. ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO BREWSTER – A grain of sand knows no boundaries when it’s blown or washed upon a forsaken shore. With that in mind, it makes sense for towns to disregard manmade lines on a map when contemplating what to do about erosion and tides eating away at our coastline and reconstructing our beaches.
Large Solar Array Under Construction Off Freeman’s Way
Equipment prepares land off Freeman’s Way for a large solar array. RICH ELDRED PHOTO BREWSTER – A new solar farm is taking shape off Freeman’s Way that could provide enough electricity to power hundreds, maybe thousands of homes. There are already three big solar projects off Freeman’s Way in the industrial zone — two at Captains Golf Course, with a 1,490 kilowatt array over the parking lot and 480 kilowatts at the driving range.
Brewster Celebrates Summer Solstice At Farm
Scenes from the solstice celebration last week at Allard Farm in Brewster. RICH ELDRED PHOTOS Previous Next BREWSTER – The solstice came to Brewster last Friday, June 21, and the Allard Farm celebrated with food, music, beer and wine, crafts, tie dye T-shirts, plants and more plants. Popular crooner and guitarist Tim Sweeney provided music along with the band Catfish, all the way from Florida.
Brewster Receives ‘Housing Hero,’ ‘Housing Choice’ Awards
BREWSTER – The town last week received the Housing Hero Award from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership in Worcester at the organization’s Housing Institute event. The award honors work the town has done for affordable housing, but it received something better the same day at the same event. Brewster was designated a Housing Choice Community along with Springfield and Woburn by Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Agustus. That award comes with benefits.
Brewster COA Celebrates Five Decades
Brewster residents celebrate the 50th anniversary of the council on aging at the Bay Property last Saturday. RICH ELDRED PHOTO BREWSTER – It’s old enough to join the American Association of Retired People, but not yet old enough to take advantage of most of its own programs. On Saturday the council on aging celebrated 50 years of providing services to Brewster seniors with a bash at the Bay Property.
Labdon Falls Five Votes Short As Recount Leaves Brewster Results Unchanged
Laurel Labdon. BREWSTER – Tuesday’s three-hour recount at Brewster Town Hall resulted in no change in the outcome in the race for the select board. In a repeat of last year, challenger Laurel Labdon lost the three-candidate race by just five votes. The final tally was 1,685 votes for incumbent select board member Mary Chaffee, who began her third term last week after winning in the May 28 election with the same number of votes.
Brewster Moves To Implement Sea Camps Plans; Planning Board To Examine Zoning Issues
The former administration building on the Bay Property. FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – After two years of careful planning, meetings, forums, surveys, discussions and overwhelming approval of the resulting plans, the bay and pond property planning committees are no more. They were dissolved on Monday evening by the select board on a 4-0 vote.
25th Annual Against The Tide Fundraiser Saturday In Nickerson
This year’s Against The Tide Swim-Run-Walk fundraiser will be held at Nickerson State Park Saturday. COURTESY PHOTO BREWSTER – When Cheryl Osimo of Barnstable was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 41 in 1991, she wanted to do more than just beat the disease herself. “If only 5 to 10 percent of breast cancer is hereditary, what is causing all the breast cancer? It has to be something in the environment. It has to,” she said. “So someone has to do this work and we’re proud to be doing it.
Brewster Select Board Race Heads To Recount
Laurel Labdon. FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – For the second election cycle in a row, Brewster will be getting a recount. In last week’s town election, Amanda Bebrin edged Laurel Labdon by three votes, 1,458-1,455, for a seat on the select board, while incumbent Mary Chaffee topped the ticket with 1,685 votes for the other open seat. Labdon has formally requested a recount after collecting 10 signatures from each of the town’s three precincts.
Brewster Looks To The Next Phase Of Sea Camps Plan
The administration building at the Sea Camps property. Brewster is moving ahead with implementing a plan for the bay and pond properties that was approved at the recent annual town meeting. FILE PHOTO BREWSTER – The plans for the Sea Camps properties aren’t set in concrete, but they are in printer’s ink after approvals at town meeting. Brewster will now advance to the next steps: financing and beginning work on a decades’ worth of projects.
Bebrin Wins Brewster Seat By Three-vote Margin
BREWSTER – If you thought last year’s select board race was tight with a six vote margin, well, 2024 produced an even tighter result. After the final 10 ballots were counted, Amanda Bebrin held off Laurel Labdon by a three-vote margin, 1,458 to 1,455 for. In the second board seat up for grabs, incumbent Mary Chaffee racked up 1,685 votes to win her third term as a select person. All told, 2,068 people voted. Last year Labdon lost to incumbent Ned Chatelain by six votes after a recount.
Brewster Memorial Day: A Reminder Of Loss And Sacrifice
A color guard stands at attention at Brewster’s Memorial Day ceremony. RICH ELDRED PHOTOS Brewster residents gathered Monday at the council on aging for the town’s Memorial Day ceremony. Previous Next BREWSTER – While people broiled their hot dogs and steaks on the grill or spent time on the beach or shopping, speakers at Brewster’s Memorial Day ceremonies at the council on aging wanted them to remember the reason for the holiday weekend.
Finances, Services, Housing At Issue In Brewster Election
Amanda Bebrin. FILE PHOTO Laurel Labdon. FILE PHOTO Previous Next BREWSTER – The League of Women voters held a select board candidates forum May 7 at the Brewster Ladies’ Library.
Brewster Dedicates Outdoor Pavilion At Community Garden
BREWSTER – Community gardens are really for the community, not just the gardeners that tend a plot. Brewster’s community garden broadened its horizons on May 1, when the Brewster Conservation Trust and town officials dedicated an outdoor education pavilion and an heirloom apple orchard to go along with the existing children’s garden, wildflower meadow and nature trails. The fertile land was donated to the Trust by founding members Mary-Louise and Ruth Eddy in 1984.
Brewster Passes Sea Camps Plans; Funding Will Come Later
The former Cape Cod Sea Camps Pond property. ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO BREWSTER – Despite long debates, every article was approved at Saturday’s town meeting, except for the two short-term rental citizens petitions, which were postponed, just as two similar petitions were postponed at last fall’s town meeting. The plans for the bay and pond properties comprising the former Cape Cod Sea Camps were approved. No funding was attached to the two sea camp plans.
Two Habitat Homes Near Completion In Brewster
Volunteers work on a Habitat home off Red Top Road in Brewster. RICH ELDRED PHOTO Habitat homeowner Bernalynn Sargent, left, and Beth Finch, who donated land for construction of two Habitat homes. RICH ELDRED PHOTO One of two Habitat homes nearing completion in Brewster. RICH ELDREDGE PHOTO Previous Next BREWSTER – One thing they aren’t making more of on Cape Cod is land.
Sea Camps Plans, School Budget Top Brewster Annual Town Meeting Saturday
BREWSTER – Brewster’s Annual Town Meeting begins Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Stony Brook School. The headline items are the plans for Brewster’s $20 million Bay Property and $6 million Long Pond Property that formerly comprised the Cape Cod Sea Camps. Approving or accepting the plans doesn’t bind the town or voters to any expenditures — such as a $30 million community center — which will need to be approved separately over the next decade. But the plans will guide town proposals for the future.
Brewster Police Develop Strategic Plan
BREWSTER – Every Police Department should have a strategy. Thanks to work by Ostman Business Strategy, a consulting firm run by John Ostman, the Brewster Police Department now has one. Brewster Police Chief Heath Eldredge now has 48 strategies to implement, with 19 objectives, five strategic goals, 157 action plans all under one overarching vision. “The department had not previously engaged in the strategic planning process,” Ostman said at last week’s select board meeting.
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