Town of Provincetown

Provincetown Public Pier Corporation

Open Meeting Minutes

 

 

Meeting Time and Date:                        3:08pm February 7, 2004

 

Meeting Location:                        Provincetown Police Station

 

PPPC Members Present:        Robin Haueter, Nancy Howard, George Hitchcock, Martin Michaelson

 

Others Present:                        Rex Mckinsey, Pier Manager

                        David Dutra, Profish Member and Provincetown resident

 

RH called the meeting to order at 3:08pm.

 

 

Statements from the Public

 

David Dutra told the Board that he would like to know what the vision of the PPPC is.

 

Martin Michaelson discussed the PPPC existing under a law that sets out what the PPPC has to do, the present work on the leases with the Town and with Profish, and the ongoing work to help make the Pier an attractive place where people would like to visit.

 

Robin Haueter spoke about the vision as being essentially the mandate of the law and the goal to get the Pier to financially break even, preventing the Pier from becoming a drain on the Town while fostering the diverse businesses that use the Pier. He noted that the Memorandum of Understanding constrains somewhat in this regard and that the Board is working on developing further opportunities for revenue.

 

Nancy Howard discussed the issue of the obligation of the PPPC to service $3.8 million of debt which was raised out in the market on the assumption that the Pier would be run as business, the need to raise a maintenance fund and to expand the sources of cash flow through tour ships and more activities on the Pier.

 

George Hitchcock spoke about the the maintenance of the Pier as an important issue to stress.

 

Rex Mckinsey spoke about the Pier as a mature facility in a business sense and the challenges of finding new sources of revenue.

 

Members encouraged David Dutra to refer to the minutes of Board meetings available in the Pier Manager’s office at the Pier in order to find out more about the work of the Board.

 

 

 

 

Pier Operations Report

 

Rex Mckinsey presented his report, updating the Board on the status of scheduling the Birdman event which is to be held on May 30th this year, the auditor report that will be ready within the next few weeks, the Town of Plymouth’s market survey for their business development plan, and a request from Bay State Cruises that their rent payment be put off until April due to the construction of a new high-speed ferry this spring.

 

 

Motion that the Board extend from April to June the due date of Bay State Cruises’ rent payment, provided that the Bay State Cruises assures the Pier Manager that the rent payment will be made in June whether or not Bay State Cruises’ new vessel is constructed by June and further assures the Pier Manager that a fast ferry will operate during the season whether or not the new vessel is completed by June

 

Motion:                        Martin Michaelson

Second:                        George Hitchcock

Vote:                            4-0

 

 

On the issue of signage, Robin Haueter reported that he has received recommendations for the graphic design work, and explained that the development of the identity design logo is the first step in in a process which will further involve the fabrication of the signage itself and the development of a set of guidelines for tenant signage, with attention to not having a conflict between directional signage and tenant signage.

 

Rex Mckinsey reported that the Water Department did an excellent job of dealing with the freezing water pipes at the Pier and that the area which is leading towards the floating docks is currently shut off, with the repair work to be done in the spring. He also discussed his work in finding a less expensive way to replace the lights on the Pier.

 

Plans for the new booth requested by the Dolphin Fleet were distributed and discussed.

 

Motion that the Board authorize the Pier Manager to approve a new booth for the Dolphin Fleet provided that the booth is not deeper than 6 feet and longer than 10 feet and further provided that the Pier Manager cause there to be architectural variation among the booths at the west side of the Pier and further provided that the approval be subject to approval by Town authorities

 

Motion:                        Martin Michaelson

Second:                        Nancy Howard

Vote:                            4-0

 

 

Rex Mckinsey further reported that the Town is trying to pass an amendment to allow logos of the sponsors of non-profit events to be displayed.

 

Nancy Howard suggested that exploring ways for the Pier to find additional revenue through the new interest of Provincetown as a wedding venue should be a topic of a future meeting.

 

Floatowners Lawsuit

 

Robin Haueter reported on his discussion with PPPC Counsel Lawrence Uchill, who said that the Town is in compliance, that the Town has filed for extensions, and that Lawrence Uchill’s firm, Brown Rudnick, has assigned Greg Arnold to the case.

 

 

Employee Evaluation

 

The Pier Manager evaluation has been postponed and the Board discussed having a procedure where Rex Mckinsey would have the opportunity to discuss his view of working with the Board.

 

 

Enforcement Regulations

 

The Board discussed proposed changes to harbor regulations as put forth by the Town, with attention to the need to have someone out on the Pier who has authority to control permit ticketing.

 

Motion that at least pending the execution of a lease between the Town and the PPPC that the PPPC Board requests the Town to take appropriate enforcement action to insure that no unpermitted persons conduct seafood offloading operations on the Pier.

 

Motion:                        Martin Michaelson

Second:                        George Hitchcock

Vote:                            4-0

 

Release of the Budget

 

Members discussed the release of the Budget, with the completion of the review by the auditor as a first step. Given that the release is a proforma action that is required once a year in July,  and also that the request for the release involves the floatowner’s lawsuit where the absense of the budget may give the impression that the PPPC has something to hide, members agreed to first consult Lawrence Uchill before deciding on a course of action.

 

 

Approval of Minutes

 

Motion to approve the minutes for the Open Session on December 20th as written

 

Motion:                        Nancy Howard

Second:                        George Hitchcock

Vote:                            3-0  Martin Michaelson abstaining

 

 

Motion to approve the Executive Session minutes of December 20th as written

 

Motion:                        Nancy Howard

Second:                        George Hitchcock

Vote:                            3-0  Martin Michaelson abstaining

 

 

David Dutra leaves the meeting.

 

 

The next meeting was scheduled for February 21st at 3pm.

 

 

Motion to close Open Meeting to go to Executive Session

 

Motion:                        George Hitchcock

Second:                        Martin Michaelson

Vote:                            4-0

 

 

Robin Haueter called the meeting to a close at 5:25pm.

 

 

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Mira Yamaoka

 

 

Approved at a meeting on Feb. 21, 2004 by a vote of 2-0.  Joyce Guide, Chair