Work Group Meetings #1

Fri.  Sept. 29th 10:30 a.m. – noon                

Community Center - 44 Bradford St

Implementation

 

Present: Maria Kuliopolis, Patrick Manning, Michelle Jarusiewicz, Candice Collins-Boden, Elizabeth Bridgewater, Elaine LaChapelle, Bill Dougal, Chuck Silva

 

Next Meeting

Fri. October 20th

10:30 a.m. – noon                

Community Center - 44 Bradford St

 

Priorities

  1. Create an appropriate, accountable, independent, fully-funded entity with a full-time executive director, accountable to a representative board to implement the action plan

 

Much of the discussion focused on the functions of an effective entity to implement a plan that would include both large and small scale new development projects, greater utilization of existing housing to serve a year-round population, and changes in the town’s funding and regulation of housing.  We recognized that this does not need to be a new entity but may be a function held within one or more existing body, like the Provincetown Housing Authority, town government, or the Lower Cape CDC. The key issues include providing enough specific focus, resources and accountability to be effective regardless of the entity. The key functions outlined by the work group include:

 

v     Facilitation: provide a unifying point person or “honest broker” to keep moving forward those development opportunities identified by the Action Planning process and those that are subsequently brought to the Town by Boards or the private sector.

 

v     Entrepreneurship: generate and evaluate new opportunities to create more community housing.

 

v     Technical Support: work with individual property owners who may want to utilize the incentives provided by the Town to add to the community housing stock.

 

v     User Support: Working with people in need to help them navigate the process from a tenant or prospective homeowner’s prospective.

 

v     Advocacy: work to build community support for various measures that will need Town Meeting approval and regulatory change. This function includes both marketing and outreach tasks on behalf of the Action Plan.

 

v     Qualification: to insure that the community’s standards for fairness and enforcement are consistently applied in the qualifying and occupancy of those who receive the community housing created.

 

v     Fundraising: work with the granting sources as well as with the seasonal and year-round communities to raise funds in support of this Action Plan.

 

The group also discussed the idea generated by the Regional Approach sub-group that suggested jointly funded this entity to help each of the Outer Cape communities implement their individual Action Plans. The Implementation sub-group thought some of the specific tasks such as Technical Assistance, User Support, and Qualification made sense to be administered regionally; while others like Facilitation, Advocacy and Fundraising may best be done locally. Members pointed out that each town, but especially Provincetown, would want this entity actively working on their behalf. Concerns were raised about how the entity would serve four or five (including the CCNSS) demanding masters. One suggestion was to establish the entity and allow it to contract services to each of the towns independently.

 

Possible Topics for the Meeting on October 20th

 

v     Continue the discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of a regional approach to implementation. Try to come to some agreement on how that might best be handled.

 

v     Identify the skills needed to be effective for each of the tasks listed above. Discuss the amount of time and level of position needed to perform these tasks in Provincetown.

 

v     Given the tasks we have identified, continue the discussion on the best location(s) of such an entity: a) part of town government; b) an extension of an existing non-profit like the Lower Cape CDC; c) part of the PHA; or d) a separate not-for-profit solely focused on housing. Try to come to some agreement on how that might best be handled.