News Flash

Administration

• The focus of the last two weeks has been Town Meeting - preparation and execution, and now follow up. 
• In the weeks to come we will work together on a 1-year evaluation and we will begin the FY2023 goal setting process. 

Building

• 30 Shank Painter Road: The work is essentially complete and some of the units have obtained Certificates of Occupancy.  The owner is completing the Land Court registration that would create the appropriate condominium documents and permit the issuance of the remainder of the Certificates.  This project included two deed-restricted affordable housing units.   One unit is located off-site.
• 40 Winslow Street: The new duplex is underway.   The project went through the inclusionary Planning Board process and is providing a payment in lieu of $35,195.00 instead of creating an on-site affordable unit.
• Building Projects: The Building Department actively participates in the Community Development Department pre-application meetings.  We have at least four pre-application meetings a week.  We have had to increase the number of meetings due to increased requests.  These have proven very beneficial in the long run to provide a clear path to applicants to understand the requirements of their projects as they are related to Town Bylaws and 780 CMR MA. State Building Code. 

Council on Aging/Human Services

• Volunteer Recognition: April is National Volunteer Month and each year the COA staff hosts an event to honor our many volunteers. Much appreciation goes out to all of our volunteers whose commitment, energy and caring enable us to offer so many vital programs and services at the Senior Center each year. 
• Human Services Office Hours: Several human services agencies offer office hours to Provincetown residents of all ages at the Community Center including Cape Cod Children’s Place, Gosnold on Cape Cod (counseling and social services assistance), Independence House, Mass. Dept. of Veterans Services Town Veterans Agent and the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Vet Center Social Worker. In addition, South Coastal Counties Legal Services provides Elder Law consultations to residents 60+ through the Senior Center.   Residents can call 508-487-7080 for more information.
• VMCC Drop-Off Site: Residents can bring used flags for proper disposal as well as used eyeglasses for distribution to those in need to the VMCC. Many thanks to Shawney Carroll, Veterans Agent, and the Provincetown Lions Club for providing these services.

Environment/Conservation 

• The Environmental Planner is working with several partners on upcoming grant opportunities to advance the Town’s climate change and coastal resilience objectives:
  1. with the Cape Cod Commission on an MVP Action grant for a regional low lying roads vulnerability assessment and design project, which would develop conceptual designs and cost estimates for vulnerable road segments.
  2. with the Center for Coastal Studies on an MVP Action grant or Seaport Economic Council grant to develop short- and long-term shore protection mitigation strategies.
  3. with Sustainable Coastal Solutions on a CZM Coastal Resilience grant for the engineering and construction of the Ryder Street Dune Enhancement Project.
  4. with the Cape Cod National Seashore and the state Div. of Ecological Restoration to advance feasibility studies of modifying the West End Breakwater to mitigate the destruction of the Moors salt marsh by burgeoning purple crab populations.
  5. with the Center for Coastal Studies and the Outer Cape Health and Conservation Regionalization team to determine a scope for the next phase of developing the Intermunicipal Shoreline Management Plan. 

Harbormaster

• Moorings: Mooring renewal letters have been mailed with renewals in process. Information for Beach Boat Permits is included in the renewal information letter.
• Kayak Racks on Beaches: April 15, 2022, at 8:00am has been announced for the time when kayak rack rentals will begin in the Harbormaster Office.

Health

• Public Outreach: The Health Agent will attend Annual Town Meeting with a supply of COVID rapid tests to distribute to attendees, assisted by Town Planner Thaddeus Soule. Citizens are advised to use test kits 4-5 days following indoor gathering. Anyone who tests positive should isolate, inform their healthcare provider and any close contacts. Everyone who tests positive, regardless of vaccination status, must stay home for 5 days. Patients with no symptoms or resolved after 5 days continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days. Anyone with a fever should stay home until recovered.
• COVID-19 Testing: The final state-sponsored Stop the Spread PCR test clinic in Provincetown was March 31^st with 60 COVID tests performed on that date. Stop the Spread has conducted 724 COVID tests in Provincetown. The Agent has signed up for an additional 1080 at-home rapid tests from the MEMA warehouse provided by the state due for delivery within the next week or two. 
• Updated COVID Vaccines: As of March 31, 2022 all residents aged 50 and older or individuals who are younger with certain medical conditions may now access a second COVID-19 booster, at least 4 months after the first booster. This is recommended for people who are moderately or severely immune-compromised. Patients are urged to talk to their healthcare provider about COVID-19 vaccination and medical conditions. 

Housing 

• Community Housing Council: The Council met on 3/21/22 and voted recommendations for Town Meeting articles.

Human Resources

• Resignation: Nick Robertson, Assistant Town Accountant, (last day 4/1/22).
• Open Year-Round Positions: Currently the Town is seeking a Town Hall Custodian, Full Time Telecommunicator, Fire Department Secretary/Paramedic, Assistant Town Accountant, Principal Accounts Clerk, On-Call Secretaries and On-Call Telecommunicators. 
• Open Seasonal Positions: Currently the Town is seeking Seasonal Police Community Service Officer, Seasonal Police Officers, Seasonal Highway Department Laborers, Seasonal Transfer Station/Sanitation Laborers, Seasonal Barrels and Grounds Attendants, Seasonal Third Barrel Pick Up Employees, Seasonal Comfort Station Attendants, Seasonal Fire House & Town Hall Public Restroom Attendants, Seasonal Beautification Maintenance Staff, Seasonal Groundskeeper Maintenance Staff, Seasonal Recreation Behavioral Aides, Seasonal Recreation Leaders, Parking Lot Attendants, Seasonal EMT, Seasonal Paramedic, Seasonal Assistant Harbormaster, Seasonal Pier Deck Safety Crew, Seasonal Pier Maintenance Technician, Seasonal Pier Night Watch/Deck Safety Crew. 

Library

• Upcoming Program: Join author Leslie Kirk Campbell for a reading and signing of her new short story collection The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs in the Library’s Marc Jacobs Reading Room on Tuesday, April 19 at 6:00pm. The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs is about the ways our bodies are marked by memory, often literally, and the risky decisions we make when pushed to the extreme.  Winner of the 2020 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, this collection of short stories is a study in compassion and in passion, a must-read for our times. This is an in-person program.
• Wednesday Night Movies in April: Join us for our The Real Life Moby-Dicks Series. April 6: A Life Among Whales (2005; 57 minutes): Weaving together natural history and biography, A Life Among Whales delves deeply into the unique relationship between humans and whales as told by renowned whale biologist and activist Dr. Roger Payne. April 13: Leviathan (2012; 1 hour, 27 minutes): A documentary shot in the North Atlantic and focused on the commercial fishing industry. April 20: Blackfish (2013; 1 hour, 23 minutes): A documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales. April 27: A Plastic Ocean (2016; 1 hour, 42 minutes): Journalist Craig Leeson teams up with diver Tanya Streeter and an international team of scientists and researchers, and they travel to twenty locations around the world over the next four years to explore the fragile state of our oceans.
• Moby-Dick Marathon: After two years of presenting virtual Moby-Dick Marathons we will return to the traditional in-person marathon on April 29, 30 and May 1 this year. Contact btaylor@clamsnet.org to sign-up to be a reader. 

Licensing

• Licenses: Gearing up for the season and retail renewals. 
• Licensing Board: Licensing Board has an opening for an alternate.
• Licensing Department: The legislature and governor approved an extension for outdoor dining which began in 2020 as a response to Covid and licensees were notified.

MacMillan Pier

• The Fender Pile replacement and Infrastructure Project: The project will begin mobilization by the end of April and should take 5-6 weeks to complete.     
• Renewal Slips: Applications for tenants have all been sent out and 98% have been returned and are being processed for the upcoming season.
• Mooring Renewals: These applications have also been sent out.
• Kayak Storage: Kayak rack permits go on sale Friday April 15^th at 8am in person only at the Harbor Master’s office out on MacMillan pier.
• Operations: The office remains open 7 days a week from 8am to 4pm and additional hours as needed to support the needs of the tenants and transients of the Pier. Emergency “on call” numbers are posted and the pier is monitored off hours.

Marine & Emergency Management

• State PPE supplies arrive: Several departments are receiving their orders of personal protective equipment such as mask, shields, gloves and infrared thermometers. These items have been offered to the towns prior to the State sending material out for surplus. 

Parking

• Camper/RV Permit Lottery: The annual camper/ RV permit lottery is now closed. 25 out of the 27 spots have been assigned.
• Flash Parking Equipment: The new PARCS equipment has been delivered safely and stored.
• Commercial Street Ban: The parking ban on Commercial Street has been enacted for the season. 

Planning

• Planning & Zoning: The Town Planner and members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals recently participated in an online workshop hosted by Community Development Partnership on the History of Cape Cod Land Use.
• Local Comprehensive Planning Committee: The Committee is compiling the final draft plan. All components are available for review and comment on the LCP Committee’s website: https://www.provincetown-ma.gov/1001/Local-Comprehensive-Plan-Update

Public Works

• Spring Projects: Highway crews are out working on Spring projects. Last week they finished wrapping up a guard rail installation at the Transfer Station. This week they will work to create additional parking spaces at the West End Rotary. The following week they will work to get the beach mats installed.
• MassDOT – Shank Painter Road: A construction schedule has been worked out with DOT officials for Shank Painter Road. The Project would be bid out in Winter 2023, awarded in Spring 2024, with construction starting in Fall 2024. DPW will meet with the Select Board soon to discuss the project as it advances through the DOT process. 
• Spring Flushing: The Water Department will be out for the next two weeks flushing water mains. This fast- moving water flow scours and cleans out mineral deposits and sediment that have built up over time in the pipes. Residents may experience a temporary discoloration of water during and after the water main is being flushed.

Recreation

• Cannery Wharf Development Project: Thank you to the Town voters for supporting article 8 at Town Meeting with this vital and unique opportunity to develop a waterfront park. Please continue to support the park development project on the May 10^th annual elections. In the meantime, the working group will reconvene and start to develop the final planning stage in the hopes that the project will be given full approval after May 10^th. Also the group will be discussing interim improvements to the park for the upcoming season, such as adding portable tables and benches which can be moved to other parks if/when construction begins. Along with those improvements, we will engage the Water Department in looking at the possibility of adding water service to the site, to be able to provide a public water bubbler, which has a hand wash and bottle filler available. The unit has already been purchased by the recycling and renewable energy committee and awaits a water service and installation. 
• Spring Celebration Event: Provincetown Recreation, Provincetown Schools, the PTA, Seashore Point and the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum are excited to announce that we will be hosting the annual Spring Celebration for the first time in over two years.  This celebration will be the “4th Annual” and it will take place on Saturday, April 9th, 2022 from 9AM until 12PM. Pre-Registration for this event was recommended this year to give participants the best experience. As of right now, we have well over 75 families joining us. Upon arrival guests will be greeted with coffee and pastries provided by Seashore Point and then children will have the opportunity to participate in an egg hunt for prizes. Photo opportunities with the Bunny will also be available. This is an awesome FREE community event for all ages, and we look forward to seeing everyone again! If you are interested and have not registered yet already, please do so by visiting the recreation Department Webpage or Facebook page.

School

• COVID: We have an uptick in COVID cases with a number of staff and students who are symptomatic and a few who have tested positively and are asymptomatic. So, we have returned to using masks in the school for the next couple of weeks.
• MCAS: Testing is underway and we look forward to receiving results in the summer. We expect to see gains by many students post-COVID with others still in the recovery phase.
• Summer Programming: A summer program is in the planning stages and, thanks to ESSER funding, will include transportation so that students can attend both enrichment programs at the school and recreation programs afterwards.

Tourism

• Filming in Provincetown: 1916 Films LLC (Arthur Egeli) applied to film Art Thief, a theory on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist. They are filming in Town from March 23^rd – April 19^th. The filming takes place across the town including Town Hall, Pilgrims’ First Landing Park, Public Library, Public School grounds, Pilgrim Monument and in front of the Freeman Street Building. 
• Social Media: Instagram continues to be a focus. The last 30-day reach was up 148% reaching 11,648 unique accounts. Profile visits are up 8.4% and new followers are up by 87 for a 10.1% increase.   Instagram followers are 9,490 and Facebook followers have reached 39, 244.