Economic Development Council
Minutes
Meeting: October 11, 2005, 7 pm
Judge Welsh
Room
Joint Meeting with Board of Selectmen.
TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN - BOARD OF SELECTMEN
REGULAR MEETING -TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2005
Chairman Cheryl Andrews opened the meeting at 6:00 PM noting the following
attendees:
Board of Selectmen members: Cheryl Andrews, Sarah Peake, Michele Couture, Richard Olson, David Nicolau
Other attendees: Town Manager Keith Bergman, Acting Assistant Town Manager Michelle Jarusiewicz
Recorder: Cheryl Andrews
The following are meeting minutes, in brief.
1A CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE
Joint Meeting with Superintendent George Price: CCNS GMP IAC
Cape Cod National Seashore attendees: Superintendent George Price and Natural Resources Director Nancy Finley
CCNS GMP IAC Members Present: John Thomas, Kerry Adams, Barbara Prato and Provincetown’s Alternate Rep. to CCNS Advisory Committee Alix Ritchie
Keith Bergman gave a briefing of the relationship between the Town of Provincetown and the CCNS and what is unique about our situation and our concerns. Preserving our way of life for our community. Alternate/redundant water supply - well source. Wind energy- how it can work for this area. Opposition to Wilderness Area designation. Enjoying an excellent staff level working relationship with the CCNS especially on water.
Sarah Peake – Highland Center property – let’s look at it for affordable housing/workforce housing. Status of Dune Shacks. Issue of Hunting. Quality time on wind issues. .
John Thomas – Change in energy in the way CCNS works with the town and the issues we all share. We are doing the CCNS staffs work. There is this undertow of a feeling in town, in the last five years, that you are not actively trying to hurt us but you are not doing anything to help us – and we have to work way too much and should not really have to do it at all as volunteer citizens. We would like to see the Seashore more proactive.
Kerry Adams - I can trace my family back seven generations. And I am unhappy with the way people are being treated by CCNS personnel. We especially find that it is not that you cannot do the things you use to do – it is that there is no longer access to the areas you use to access in order to do the things you used to do or enjoy doing. Hunting is just one example. Enforcement issues by personnel need to be addressed. “Our way of life and cultural ways of life that we’ve enjoyed our whole life are eroding and being taken away by the CCNS.”
Alix Ritchie – A lot of positive changes have happened over the years. At the same time, there are really serious new issues that keep coming up. This town is held hostage by the Seashore in many ways. You surround us. You control our resources. You’re a big Federal entity and that’s a little scary. Sometimes you are not as benign as you should be and that gets even scarier. I’m very sensitive to the issues that John raised that we can’t count on the Seashore to look out for our rights – we’re left to try and scrabble and do it ourselves.
Superintendent Price - Spoke on cultural issues and how the Park Services changed when the Seashore was established. When the Seashore was established it focused on the natural resources and not the cultural resources. Only recently has the Seashore done a better job. They finally have a Cultural Resources Division. The good and the bad that you get with us is that we are a National Organization. I’m interested in working with all six towns on the Cape. You are not going to be let off the hook … we need you to continue to be involved.
There are recognitions of those things changed and we all have to deal with and react to. My hope is, especially with your goal of keeping better and more open communications that at least we will all be able to dialogue about it.
Cheryl Andrews – For me, just listening to Kerry’s story, I think the message should be … display a little bit of sensitivity. When the Seashore treats someone who has lived here all their lives or generationally exactly the same way that they may treat someone say from Europe who is here just for the day – it hurts. If you, as the Superintendent, when you are bringing new folks in or are even now and then are talking to folks who have been here awhile – if they could learn just a little sensitivity, I think that would go a long way.
Michele Couture – I am also concerned over the way the CCNS personnel address enforcement issues and the way they treat people. With your new stewardship I think we do need to have a few changes and some better training and little less heavy handiness. There have been some missteps along the way but certainly there are always opportunities to correct them and to work towards bettering relationships with the town.
Cheryl Andrews - Superintendent Price – we will keep the emails flowing. Next meeting will be scheduled for March of 2006.
1B ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
Grant Applications: MCC Adams Arts, Cape & Island License Plate
MOTION: Move that
the Board of Selectmen vote to authorize the submission of a grant application
in the amount of $50,000 to the Massachusetts Cultural Council under its Adams
Arts Program and an application for $25,000 under the Cape & Islands
License Plate Small Grant Program for a project to stimulate cultural tourism
in Provincetown through the development and implementation of a strategic
long-range plan.
Motion by:
Michele
Couture Seconded
by: Sarah
Peake Yea 5
Nay 0