June will bring teppanyaki cooking at a new restaurant and a triathlon to Wareham residents. Selectmen approved applications for both on Tuesday.

Zen Palace, which will specialize in Asian cuisine, is slated to open in Wareham Crossing. It will feature tables with teppanyaki grills where chefs prepare food in front of customers, a sushi bar, lounge, outdoor patio, and traditional dining room seating.

Though enthusiastic about the new business, Selectman John Cronan stressed that manager Ching Chan should make sure that she and all employees serving alcohol complete Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPs), especially because one of the Zen Palace owners had a liquor license suspended for six days in 2007 due to a patron falling asleep at the bar at a Methuen restaurant.

"I appreciate you being so upfront and honest about [the suspension], but keep in mind that we'll be remembering that if we ever have to see you here for violations," Cronan said.

The Selectmen approved the use of town roads, the Onset band shell, town pier, and Onset Beach for the "Escape the Cape Triathlon," hosted by the Norwood-based company Max Performance. Tim Richmond, a representative for the company, said he wants to attract about 500 athletes and is hoping the lack of Cape traffic will be a big draw for the June 12 event. The race will consist of a one-third-mile swim, ten mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run.

The Selectmen also voted to allow the town to deficit spend for snow and ice removal for the remainder of fiscal year 2010. Already this winter, the town has spent nearly 77 percent of budgeted snow-removal funds. Town Administrator Mark Andrews said this is necessary to "make sure the roadways are safe and secure and so we can have our citizens mobilized as soon as possible" in the event of a storm.

Finance Committee member Marilyn Connors Donahue said the snow and ice budget is one of only a few areas for which the town can use deficit spending and it is normal to go over the budget due to the unpredictability of weather.

The Selectmen approved new policies and procedures for the Wareham Police Department. When first proposed by Chief Richard M. Stanley at the Jan. 12 board meeting, Selectman Brenda Eckstrom said she wanted to hold off on a vote until she had a chance to read Stanley's report in its entirety. Cronan said he was critisized following the meeting for wanting to vote that night after reading just the highlighted sections of the report. He said he has since read the whole thing.

Andrews also provided an update on the Health Care Trust Fund audit. He said he expects the report to be complete and ready to be discussed at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Feb. 23, which will be attended by the Finance and School committees.