News Flash

Administration

• NEBPA and the Town have successfully negotiated a mandatory vaccine or testing policy for its members, negotiation with AFSCME this week. 
• The HR Manager and I held a kick-off meeting with GovHR, the firm conducting our Salary & Compensation Study. 
• Secretary Kennealy, Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development for the state of Massachusetts, visited Provincetown last week. He was joined by Dan Rivera, CEO of MassDevelopment. The Provincetown Chamber convened, and I was invited to attend. We visited Liz's Cafe, Mussel Beach and Ptown Bikes, and had a brief roundtable at the Commons (partially funded by MassDev), to discuss local business challenges and potential new funding through state ARPA funds.
• I attended the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce/Provincetown Chamber/Eastham Chamber/Wellfleet Chamber After Hours event at the Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum, and met several business and civic leaders throughout the Cape. 
• We held the second meeting of the RFP Review Committee for housing proposals at 3 Jerome Smith Road. Interviews with all three firms are scheduled for Wednesday October 6th. 
• In partnership with the Building Committee working to advance the Police Station Project, we launched a new page on the Town website with two new videos - one, a virtual tour of the current state of the Police Station, and the second a video presented by the lead architect presenting both the 2019 design and the updated 2021 design. Residents are encouraged to visit http://www.provincetown-ma.gov/policestation to vote on their preferred design. 

Building

• The Bradford Access Project (BAP): The project is still awaiting inspection by the State of MA. Elevator Inspectional Department.  It has been represented that the inspection will occur either the last week in September or the first week in October.
• 286 A Bradford: This project has received the first of the eight foundation permits. This property will be improved with eight buildings, four duplexes and four single family dwellings. The total of twelve dwellings will contain two bedrooms each.  Two of the dwellings are proposed to be deed-restricted affordable units.
• Local Building Inspector, Jim Nickerson, has successfully passed the three required exams for Massachusetts State certification as a Local Building Inspector.  

Code Compliance

• Plastic Water Bottle Ban: Compliance has been high regarding the plastic water bottle ban.  Visits were made to most retailers that sold water in single-use plastic bottles in the past.  To date, only one retailer received a warning, with all others having eliminated plain water products under 1 gallon.  The warning issued was more about a misinterpretation of the by-law than a violation of the by-law.  Even vending machines around town are dispensing canned water.

Council on Aging

• Council on Aging Position Openings:  The COA Program Coordinator, Rick Shaw, is retiring in October after four years of service to the town and will be greatly missed.  This position and the Program Assistant position are being posted.  
• Fuel Assistance: The VMCC is one of three approved sites in Provincetown for Fuel Assistance applications.  COA Outreach Coordinator Andrea Lavenets has been assisting residents with renewals and will help new applicants once applications are available.  Last year, she assisted 36 households with benefits totaling about $38,000.
• SNAP Kiosk:  A self-service SNAP (Food Stamps) portable kiosk is available in the main office of the COA at the VMCC.  This is part of a pilot program by the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance intended to enhance rural residents’ ability to apply for benefits and check on their account information without having to travel to regional offices.  It is available to all residents during business hours with no appointments required.

Environment/Conservation 

• The Town has been awarded a LAND grant from the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services in the amount of $152,000 to offset the purchase price for the acquisition of 86R and 88 Atkins Mayo Road for conservation purposes. This acquisition was approved at the Annual Town Meeting in May 2021.

Harbormaster

• Harbormaster Boats: The utility and winter boat Marine 3 is being serviced in preparation for winter service.
• Sailboat on rock jetty: Ownership confirmed, working with KP Law to prepare Certified Letter to owner.
• Harbor Committee: Recordings of the Harbor Committee are now being converted to a format making the recordings accessible for public viewing and listening.

Housing 

• 3 Jerome Smith/VFW Housing Development: The Town received three proposals on 7/29/21 – from Commonwealth Community Developers, Pennrose, and The Community Builders [TCB]. Review is underway with the Review Team having met on 9/7 & 9/15/21. Interviews are being scheduled for 10/6/21.
• The Year-Round Market Rate Rental Housing Trust approved issuing the Request for Proposals for Property Management for Harbor Hill on 8/3/21 with proposals due by 9/30/21. A non-mandatory Q&A was held on 9/13/21 with 2 entities attending, The Community Builders and Community Development Partnership. The current contract with the CDP expires on 12/12/21.
• Ownership Units: 30 Shank Painter Rd. Unit #102, one-bedroom inclusionary zoning unit at $215,000, is now available. The open house was held on 9/11/21 and complete applications are due by 9/27/21. Several have already been submitted. Note that the comparable side-by-side unit is marketed for $635,000 [and spoken for] indicating how large the gap is - $420,000 - from affordable to market rate. All but 1 or 2 market units in the building are committed.
• Community Housing Resource [CHR] conducted the lottery for their waitlist that crosses over all their properties [7 in Provincetown, Truro, & Wellfleet] on 9/13/21. The Housing Specialist assisted with drawing all 206 numbers for the applications submitted by the due date of 8/16/21; several dozen additional applications have been submitted since and will be placed at bottom of waitlist. Note the breakdown of the 206 applications for household size:

169 – 1 person household   [82%]

27 – 2-person household     [13%]

5 – 3-person household                   [5% - households of 3 or more]

3 – 4-person household

1 – 5-person household

1 household unidentified  

• Community Housing Resource [CHR] has received approval from the Department of Housing & Community Development to change their management agent to Community Development Partnership which includes all the CHR units in Provincetown at 32 Conwell, 40A Nelson Ave, 83 Shank Painter, and Stable Path.

Human Resources

• Resignation: Tyler Dow, Police Officer (last day 9/18/21); Erin Ellis; Project Administrator & Transportation Coordinator (last day 9/28/21); Jane Petterson, Utility Billing Specialist (last day 10/1/21); Richard Shaw, COA Program Coordinator (last day 10/14/21)
• Open Year-Round Positions: Currently the Town is seeking Water Department Skilled Laborer/Equipment Operators, DPW Facilities Manager, Assistant Director of Tourism, P/T COA Program Assistant and On-Call Secretaries.

Library

• In-person Programming Returns: The Library returned to in-person programming last weekend with the 5^th Provincetown Public Library Book Festival where the Library welcomed twenty authors and hundreds of audience members for three days of literary awesomeness. Masks and proof of vaccination were required to attend the events. 
• Regular Library Hours Resume: Beginning on Monday, September 20^th the Library returned to regular hours (52 hours a week/7 day a week) for the first time since March 13, 2019. Mask wearing in the building is still required. 
• Programs: Go to provincetownlibrary.org for information about upcoming programs.

Licensing

• Licensees: Conducting outreach to businesses to discuss the season and general concerns.
• Licensing Board: The board has an opening for an alternate member.
• Regulations and Fee Schedules: Under review.

Marine and Emergency Management

• Chapter 91 Manual:  Jim Vincent will provide a workshop on Wednesday, September 29th for Harbor Committee members and other public officials to work through a manual that has been prepared with input from DEP regarding the Chapter 91 permitting process. This manual outlines the State’s Chapter 91 licensing process and Harbor Committee’s responsibilities as the Town’s representatives during that process. It will also be helpful to property owners and the public for understanding the regulatory program and the public access benefits from this program. This is one of the final steps of a project recommended by the committee and funded by the Harbor Access Gift Fund. 

MIS

• Cybersecurity: The MIS Department’s effort to improve the Town’s cybersecurity posture is ongoing. We are participating in a state-wide awareness program that is being sponsored by the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS). Provincetown is trending ahead of the State average for assessment and assignment completion rates.
• School Updates: MIS has recently deployed a new fleet of devices for students, including Chromebooks and iPads. We are also assisting with the transition to a new Student Information System (SIS), which began July 1. This effort requires the synchronization of data between multiple systems.

Planning

• Community Development: September was and continues to be a busy month with pre-application meeting times being filled each week with new development proposals. Town staff meet with prospective applicants every week to outline the permitting process for each project that is typically unique based on the prebuilt nature of the community, as well as environmental, historical, zoning, building, and health codes.
• Coastal Resiliency: The Town Planner met with the Environmental Planner/Conservation Agent, Emergency Management Coordinator, Public Works Director and Assistant Town Manager to discuss the status of coastal resiliency planning and upcoming projects.
• Local Comprehensive Planning Committee: Discussed the public presentation process and schedule for Winter 2021 through early 2022 in advance of the Spring Town Meeting. Drafting the Targeted Action Plan and Implementation Timeframe.

Project Administration/Transportation

• Boat Storage Form:  The Boat Storage form for winter boat storage at the Grace Hall Parking Lot #4 is available on the Town of Provincetown Parking Department web page.  Please fill out the form and either mail it in or bring it to the Treasurer/Collector’s office with the required fee.
• Camper Permit 2022:  The same as it was executed last year, this year the 2022 Camper Permit will be sold through a lottery system.  Information on the lottery will be posted over the winter on the Town of Provincetown Parking Department web page.

Public Works

• Stormwater Basins: Highway Department crews will be working to clean stormwater basins over the next few weeks. They will vacuum the basins using a vacuum excavator, inspect infrastructure and pressure wash leaching basins as needed.
• Standish Street Repaving: DPW staff are trying to finalize details of repaving Standish Street this October but are running into issues obtaining supplies particularly granite curbing. We will continue to seek alternate vendors, but the industry as a whole has the material in extremely low supply.
• Transfer Station: Work is being planned to sand blast and repaint the trash and recycle hopper at the transfer station this Fall. Starting Sunday October 10^th through Friday October 15^th the transfer station will be closed. Curbside pickup will still occur but no residents will be allowed into the Transfer Station.

School

• We are preparing for our site visit by the International Baccalaureate Accreditation Team after a comprehensive self-study over the past 2 years.  While the review will be conducted remotely, we look forward to receiving feedback on the things we are doing well and ways to deepen our work.
• We have had positive cases of COVID over the past week.  We are utilizing the state's Test & Stay program and using Rapid Tests for those classes that might be impacted.  So far, no new cases this week.
• Our 5th graders will enjoy the cultural and scientific wonders of the Dune Shacks over the next couple of weeks thanks to Nancy Flasher and Peaked Hill Trust.

Tourism

• Digital Advertising: The Late Summer campaign has transitioned to Second Summer and will run through October. The messaging points to the outdoor activities and the things visitors can do to play and enjoy Provincetown responsibly and safely. The ads have been updated to include ‘Masks are recommended for everyone’s safety.’’
• Radio Advertising: The Second Summer Southeastern Massachusetts regional radio campaign was launched on Wednesday September 1^st on ten radio stations. Script – Second Summer is a GREAT time to enjoy outdoor fun in Provincetown. The weather is the best of the year. Have a sailing adventure, enjoy the beaches and bike trails, or go on a dune tour and a whale watch. Excite your taste buds with P Town’s vibrant outdoor food scene. And of course, experience the famous Commercial Street, filled with galleries, and one of a kind shops. Book your Provincetown trip today. Masks are NOT required, but recommended for everyone’s safety. Plan your visit at P town Tourism dot com.
• Cultural District: The Provincetown Arts and Culture District will produce two overlapping events in Town October 8-10.  Art Provincetown and the Washashore Music Festivals will take place over three days filled with art, music, drag, comedy and parties including something for artists, collectors, designers and music fans. The cultural district is one of the 51 designated by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. A radio and digital advertising campaign is in place to support these events.