Two Board of Health Members Resign, Citing Select Board Member's Alleged Interference

HARWICH — June 22, 2026 — Two Harwich Board of Health members resigned Monday, citing alleged interference by Select Board member Donald Howell in the regulatory board's affairs. Kevin DuPont, who had just been unanimously re-elected chair of the Board of Health by his colleagues, read a prepared resignation letter effective immediately, saying the effort to send him before the town's interview committee — apparently set in motion by Howell without a full Select Board vote or even public identification of DuPont by name across four consecutive meetings — conveyed "an impression that the outcome had already been determined." Fellow Board of Health member Sharon Flieger also resigned on the spot, alleging that Howell had called her while she was chair to lobby her on a fertilizer policy item and asked her not to tell his wife — who also sits on the Board of Health — that he had called. Select Board member Jeffrey Handler said Howell acted "independent of this board" in directing staff to schedule DuPont's interview committee appointment, while Howell maintained he had consulted legal counsel and the town administrator and that the interview committee was the proper confidential venue for behavioral concerns. In a separate item, Town Administrator Jay McGrail previewed a presentation for a joint meeting with Chatham Thursday on renegotiating the Monomoy Regional School District assessment formula, noting Harwich carries 77 percent of the district's costs despite having roughly $50,000 in remaining levy capacity against a $1.96 million assessment increase — 26 times that capacity.