How the Chatham Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 5 Select Board members elected townwide. Same five members; Cory Metters and Dean Nicastro were re-elected on June 17, 2021. At its reorganization on June 18, 2021 the board elected Peter Cocolis Chair, Shareen Davis Vice Chair and Cory Metters Clerk. Covers 41 meetings, June 18 to May 17, 2022.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the Select Board do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.
Town Meeting, not the Select Board, votes the town budget and town bylaws.
In Chatham, Town Meeting — not the Select Board — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Any registered voter can take part, and most votes are by voice or show of hands, so there is no list of who voted which way.
Annual Town Meeting · May 10, 2025 59 votes: 51 passed, 4 failed, 4 no action
Art. 1Annual Town Election (officers elected by ballot)No action“NO MOTION”
Art. 2Authorize appointment of officers and accept annual reportsPassed“So Voted Unanimously.”
Art. 3FY2025 budget adjustments: transfer $378,200, including $316,200 from free cash to the Affordable Housing TrustPassed“So Voted Unanimously.”
Not here yet: the May 11, 2026 Annual Town Meeting (the Town Clerk's minutes are not posted yet; only an unofficial scorecard is online).
Titles are short descriptions of each article from the official record; the quoted words are the Town Clerk’s. A vote at Town Meeting is not the final word on everything: some articles also need a ballot vote (such as a tax override) or the Attorney General’s approval (bylaws).
"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Loaded: 398 meetings from January 8, 2018 to September 15, 2026, with 4,081 votes, from the board’s official minutes on mytowngovernment.org/02633, the town’s minutes site. Not online: 21 meetings since January 2018 with no usable minutes online: for 8 the site says the minutes are “on record with the Town Clerk” (paper only), and for 13 the posted file is empty, belongs to another town or board, or is an attachment rather than the minutes. MassVoter is asking the Town Clerk for these. Released minutes of closed (executive) sessions are loaded as their own Special meetings in 5 cases: where they are the only minutes for that date (December 10, 2018; January 5, 2021; July 5, 2023) and the two sessions on the Town Manager’s contract (January 13 and February 17, 2026). At joint meetings only the Select Board’s own votes are shown; votes of the other board, including the Affordable Housing Trust trustees, are left out. How votes were read: Chatham’s minutes give each motion with its mover and seconder, then either a count (“Vote: 5-0”, sometimes naming who voted no or abstained) or, since 2020, a roll call with each member’s vote. A roll call, or a count that adds up to the members present with any no votes or abstentions named, shows each member’s vote (98% of votes). A count that does not add up, or does not say who voted no, is shown as a count only. Choices between nominees (each member names a person) show the result only, with the roll call quoted in the note. Members and officers for each year come from the board’s reorganization minutes. Discussion settled “by consensus”, without a vote, is not shown as a vote. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote. On October 7, 2026 the Town Clerk’s office answered our questions about roll calls that did not match the members present (public records request #26-297): name typos, an attendance line that was not updated, roll calls with no votes written in, and the joint Affordable Housing Trust votes. The 24 votes affected now show each member’s vote, with the answer quoted in the vote’s note. Thank you to the Chatham Town Clerk’s office for its help.
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
May 10Modify the watering ban with the following language: The…Motion: to modify the watering ban with the following language: The Fire…Passed 3–2 · No: Davis, Dykens
May 10, 2022 (Joint meeting): Modify the watering ban with the following language: The Fire Department can use the municipal water system as needed for their purposes; allow all lawns, established and new, can be…
ApprovePassed · 3–2
To modify the watering ban with the following language: The Fire Department can use the municipal water system as needed for their purposes; allow all lawns, established and new, can be watered no more than two times per week and should be watered between 5PM-9AM; allow hand watering of shrubs and flower gardens two times a week; permission for which days to water both lawns and shrubs/flower gardens be assigned according to odd/even street addresses
Yes: Cocolis, Metters, NicastroNo: Davis, Dykens
From the minutes
“Motion: by Dean Nicastro to modify the watering ban with the following language: The Fire Department can use the municipal water system as needed for their purposes; allow all lawns, established and new, can be watered no more than two times per week and should be watered between 5PM-9AM; allow hand watering of shrubs and flower gardens two times a week; permission for which days to water both lawns and shrubs/flower gardens be assigned according to odd/even street addresses. Second: by Cory Metters Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: No Dean Nicastro: Yes Cory Metters: Yes Shareen Davis: No Peter Cocolis: Yes.” (Motion: Nicastro, second: Metters)
Mar 22Recommend the purchase of the Chatham Health and Swim…Motion: to recommend the purchase of the Chatham Health and Swim Club…Failed 1–3 · No: Cocolis, Dykens, Nicastro · Abstained: Davis
March 22, 2022: Recommend the purchase of the Chatham Health and Swim Club as described in the petition
ApproveFailed · 1–3
To recommend the purchase of the Chatham Health and Swim Club as described in the petition
Yes: MettersNo: Cocolis, Dykens, NicastroAbstained: Davis
From the minutes
“Motion: by Jeff Dykens to recommend the purchase of the Chatham Health and Swim Club as described in the petition. Second: by Dean Nicastro Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: No Dean Nicastro: No Cory Metters: Yes Shareen Davis: Abstain Peter Cocolis: No.” (Motion: Dykens, second: Nicastro)
Mar 22Recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town…Motion: to recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town MeetingFailed 0–5 · No: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, Metters, Nicastro
March 22, 2022: Recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
ApproveFailed · 0–5
To recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
No: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, Metters, Nicastro
From the minutes
“Motion: by Dean Nicastro to recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting Second: by Jeff Dykens Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: No Dean Nicastro: No Cory Metters: No Shareen Davis: No Peter Cocolis: No.” (Motion: Nicastro, second: Dykens)
Mar 22Recommend the petitioned article on Runway Displacement to the…Motion: to recommend the petitioned article on Runway Displacement to the 2022…Failed 0–5 · No: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, Metters, Nicastro
March 22, 2022: Recommend the petitioned article on Runway Displacement to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
ApproveFailed · 0–5
To recommend the petitioned article on Runway Displacement to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
No: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, Metters, Nicastro
From the minutes
“Motion: by Dean Nicastro to recommend the petitioned article on Runway Displacement to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting. Second: by Jeff Dykens. Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: No Dean Nicastro: No Cory Metters: No Shareen Davis: No Peter Cocolis: No.” (Motion: Nicastro, second: Dykens)
Mar 22Recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town…Motion: to recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town MeetingFailed 0–5 · No: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, Metters, Nicastro
March 22, 2022: Recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
ApproveFailed · 0–5
To recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
No: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, Metters, Nicastro
From the minutes
“Motion: by Jeff Dykens to recommend the petitioned article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting Second: by Shareen Davis Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: No Dean Nicastro: No Cory Metters: No Shareen Davis: No Peter Cocolis: No.” (Motion: Dykens, second: Davis)
Mar 17Recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting…Motion: to recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town MeetingFailed 2–3 · No: Cocolis, Davis, Nicastro
March 17, 2022: Recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting (CPA -(Housing) Orleans Cape Cod Five Housing)
ApproveFailed · 2–3
To recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
Yes: Dykens, MettersNo: Cocolis, Davis, Nicastro
From the minutes
“Motion: by Jeff Dykens to recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting Second: by Shareen Davis Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: Yes Dean Nicastro: No Cory Metters: Yes Shareen Davis: No Peter Cocolis: No.” (Motion: Dykens, second: Davis)
Mar 15Recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting…Motion: to recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town MeetingPassed 3–2 · No: Metters, Nicastro
March 15, 2022: Recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting (127 Old Harbor Road – Reuse of Structures)
ApprovePassed · 3–2
To recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
Yes: Cocolis, Davis, DykensNo: Metters, Nicastro
From the minutes
“Motion: by Jeff Dykens to recommend the article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting Second: by Shareen Davis Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: Yes Dean Nicastro: No Cory Metters: No Shareen Davis: Yes Peter Cocolis: Yes.” (Motion: Dykens, second: Davis)
Mar 15Recommend the Goose Pond Forest article to the 2022…Motion: to recommend the Goose Pond Forest article to the 2022 Annual…Failed 0–4 · No: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, Metters · Abstained: Nicastro
March 15, 2022: Recommend the Goose Pond Forest article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
ApproveFailed · 0–4
To recommend the Goose Pond Forest article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting
“Motion: by Dean Nicastro to recommend the Goose Pond Forest article to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting Second: by Cory Metters Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: No Dean Nicastro: Abstain Cory Metters: No Shareen Davis: No Peter Cocolis: No.” (Motion: Nicastro, second: Metters)
Mar 15Place the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee…Motion: to place the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee Home…Passed 4–1 · No: Nicastro
March 15, 2022: Place the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition on the 2022 Annual Town Meeting Warrant
ApprovePassed · 4–1
To place the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition on the 2022 Annual Town Meeting Warrant
Yes: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, MettersNo: Nicastro
From the minutes
“Motion: by Shareen Davis to place the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition on the 2022 Annual Town Meeting Warrant Second: by Jeff Dykens Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: Yes Dean Nicastro: No Cory Metters: Yes Shareen Davis: Yes Peter Cocolis: Yes.” (Motion: Davis, second: Dykens)
Mar 15Recommend the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee…Motion: to recommend the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee Home…Passed 4–1 · No: Nicastro
March 15, 2022: Recommend the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition to 2022 Annual Town Meeting
ApprovePassed · 4–1
To recommend the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition to 2022 Annual Town Meeting
Yes: Cocolis, Davis, Dykens, MettersNo: Nicastro
From the minutes
“Motion: by Jeffrey Dykens to recommend the Establishment of a Real Property Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition to 2022 Annual Town Meeting. Second: by Shareen Davis. Roll Call Vote: Jeff Dykens: Yes Dean Nicastro: No Cory Metters: Yes Shareen Davis: Yes Peter Cocolis: Yes.” (Motion: Dykens, second: Davis)
From the Chatham Select Board’s official minutes on mytowngovernment.org, where the town posts them. We check every vote against the Select Board members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos: Town of Chatham (town website, Select Board Members).