How the Eastham Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 5 Select Board members elected townwide. Jamie Rivers (now Jamie Demetri) joined the board after the May 2018 town election; William O’Shea left. On May 21, 2018 the board chose Wallace Adams as Chair (5-0), Martin McDonald as Vice Chair (3-2, Aimée Eckman and Jamie Rivers voting no) and Aimée Eckman as Clerk (4-1, Jamie Rivers voting no). John Knight resigned in September 2018 after moving out of Eastham; Alexander Cestaro won the December 11, 2018 special election for his seat. Covers 49 meetings, May 21 to May 20, 2019.
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.
Under the state Open Meeting Law, boards post notice at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays.
What Town Meeting decided
In Eastham, 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 4, 2026 38 votes: 30 passed, 1 failed, 2 indefinitely postponed, 4 referred, 1 advisory
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: Select Board minutes (the board was called the Board of Selectmen until September 2019) from January 2, 2018 through September 8, 2026, from the town’s online Agenda Center, which holds minutes back to 2017 (MassVoter has loaded 2018 on). Not here: executive-session minutes; one set of minutes for which the town posted the wrong file (September 27, 2021, which holds the Housing Production Plan instead); minutes the town has not posted, including the February 26, 2026 emergency meeting and June 22, 2026; and every meeting after September 8, 2026. Most minutes are typed; 11 are scanned copies, which MassVoter read with text-recognition software and checked by hand. Eastham’s minutes give the mover, the seconder and a count for each motion, such as “VOTE: Yes 5, No 0” or “VOTE: Yes 4, No 1 (Jamie Rivers)”; many votes, especially from 2018 to 2023, are roll calls that list each member’s vote by name (since 2025 sometimes by first name only, as in “Jerry, Yes”). Warrant-article recommendations in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023 are recorded in tables. When the count matches the members present, we show every member present as voting yes, and when the minutes name the members who voted no or abstained, everyone else present as voting yes. Where the minutes give only a split count without names, a roll call leaves out a member who was there or names one who was not, or the count does not match the members present, we show the count only and add a note. A few motions have no vote written down; we show those with no count. Members who stepped aside (recused), had not yet arrived or had left are left out of that vote. Votes taken by other boards at joint meetings (such as the Finance Committee) are not included. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.
May 20Approve the Renewal Loan Application for Michael S. CabralMotion: To approve the Renewal Loan Application for Michael S. CabralPassed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 20, 2019: Approve the Renewal Loan Application for Michael S. Cabral
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To approve the Renewal Loan Application for Michael S. Cabral
Jamie Demetri had not yet arrived.
From the minutes
“Martin McDonald made a motion to approve the Renewal Loan Application for Michael S. Cabral Aimée Eckman seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 4, No 0.” (Motion: McDonald, second: Eckman)
“Aimée Eckman made a motion to approve the appointments as listed Martin McDonald seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 4, No 0.” (Motion: Eckman, second: McDonald)
“Aimée Eckman made a motion to approve the appointments as listed Martin McDonald seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 4, No 0.” (Motion: Eckman, second: McDonald)
May 20Accept the resignation with a letter of ThanksMotion: To accept the resignation with a letter of ThanksPassed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 20, 2019: Accept the resignation with a letter of Thanks
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To accept the resignation with a letter of Thanks
Jamie Demetri had not yet arrived.
From the minutes
“Aimée Eckman made a motion to accept the resignation with a letter of Thanks Alexander Cestaro seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 4, No 0.” (Motion: Eckman, second: Cestaro)
May 20Approve the appointment of L. Michael Hager to the…Motion: To approve the appointment of L. Michael Hager to the Charter…Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 20, 2019: Approve the appointment of L. Michael Hager to the Charter Review Committee
AppointPassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To approve the appointment of L. Michael Hager to the Charter Review Committee
Jamie Demetri had not yet arrived.
From the minutes
“Aimée Eckman made a motion to approve the appointment of L. Michael Hager to the Charter Review Committee Martin McDonald seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 4, No 0.” (Motion: Eckman, second: McDonald)
May 20Approve the re-appointments as listedMotion: To approve the re-appointments as listedPassed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 20, 2019: Approve the re-appointments as listed
AppointPassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To approve the re-appointments as listed
Jamie Demetri had not yet arrived.
From the minutes
“Aimée Eckman made a motion to approve the re-appointments as listed Alexander Cestaro seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 4, No 0.” (Motion: Eckman, second: Cestaro)
May 20Approve the 5 Licenses listed above and the transient…Motion: To approve the 5 Licenses listed above and the transient Vendor…Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 20, 2019: Approve the 5 Licenses listed above and the transient Vendor Permits as listed in the packet
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To approve the 5 Licenses listed above and the transient Vendor Permits as listed in the packet
Jamie Demetri had not yet arrived.
From the minutes
“Aimée Eckman made a motion to approve the 5 Licenses listed above and the transient Vendor Permits as listed in the packet Martin McDonald seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 4, No 0.” (Motion: Eckman, second: McDonald)
May 20Approve the new Annual Liquor License for TwoFive Restaurant,…Motion: To approve the new Annual Liquor License for TwoFive Restaurant, Inc.Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 20, 2019: Approve the new Annual Liquor License for TwoFive Restaurant, Inc
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To approve the new Annual Liquor License for TwoFive Restaurant, Inc.
Alexander Cestaro had left the meeting.
From the minutes
“Martin McDonald made a motion to approve the new Annual Liquor License for TwoFive Restaurant, Inc. Jamie Rivers seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 4, No 0.” (Motion: McDonald, second: Demetri)
May 8Authorize Michael Lorenco to arrange for the Technical Assistance…Motion: To authorize Michael Lorenco to arrange for the Technical Assistance being…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note
To authorize Michael Lorenco to arrange for the Technical Assistance being offered by DLS
Aimée Eckman had left the meeting.
From the minutes
“Alexander Cestaro made a motion to authorize Michael Lorenco to arrange for the Technical Assistance being offered by DLS Martin McDonald seconded the motion VOTE: Yes 3, No 0.” (Motion: Cestaro, second: McDonald)
From the Eastham Select Board’s official minutes, posted in the town’s Agenda Center. We check every vote against the Select Board members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos: The Provincetown Independent (courtesy of the members, or by Nigel Diamond and Joe Navas).