Begin night two: 7:32

Reconsideration of Article 8.

Motion Defeated.

Article 9. Home Rule Petition/Property Tax Exemptions for Properties Deed Restricted as Affordable Housing.  To see if the Town will vote as follows:

     WHEREAS, housing costs in Provincetown continue to escalate due to the pressure created by the tourist/second home market, which threatens the ability of local residents to remain in Provincetown and the ability of businesses to access the labor force they need; and

     WHEREAS, the Provincetown's median residential sales price of $375,000 for 2000 is the highest of any town on Cape Cod, according to Banker & Tradesman; and represents a 19.5% increase from 1999, and a 202% increase from Provincetown's 1992 median sales price; and

     WHEREAS, the Town of Provincetown considers it a top public policy priority to preserve the owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing which is affordable; and

     WHEREAS, the Town desires to increase the number of housing units in Provincetown which are affordable;

     THEREFORE, the Town votes to instruct its representative in the General Court to file a home rule petition for a special act entitled, "An Act Relative to Property Tax Exemptions for Properties in the Town of Provincetown Deed Restricted as Affordable Housing," to read as follows:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, residential real estate in the Town of Provincetown that is subject to an affordable housing restriction under chapter 184, sections 31 through 32 of the general laws which shall provide a right of first refusal to the Town of Provincetown or the Provincetown Housing Authority and shall be exempt from taxation under chapter 59 of the general laws.

SECTION 2. Such exemption shall be equal to the tax otherwise due on each parcel based on full and fair assessed value, multiplied by the square footage of the housing units that must, pursuant to such affordable housing restriction, be sold to or rented to and occupied by persons or families of low or moderate income, divided by the total square footage of the structure(s) located on each parcel and provided that, for rental housing, assessment of such property, if by an income approach to value, shall assume fair market rent for all units.

SECTION 3. The date of determination as to the qualifying factors required by this act shall be July first of each year.

SECTION 4. This act shall be submitted to the voters of said town at the next annual or special town election in the form of the following question which shall be placed upon the official ballot to be used at said election: "Shall an act passed by the general court in the year 2001 entitled, 'An Act relative to property tax exemptions for properties in the town of Provincetown deed restricted as affordable housing', be accepted?" If a majority of the votes cast in answer to said question is in the affirmative, then sections 1, 2, and 3 of this act shall thereupon take effect, but not otherwise.

SECTION 5. Section 4 of this act shall take effect upon its passage.

The General Court may only make clerical or editorial changes of form to the bill, unless the Board of Selectmen approves amendments to the bill before enactment by the general court.  The Board of Selectmen is hereby authorized to approve amendments which shall be within the scope of the general public objectives of this petition; or to take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen,

the Provincetown Housing Authority and the Provincetown Housing Partnership]

FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS: 8-0-0

BOARD OF SELECTMEN RECOMMENDS: 4-1-0

HOUSING AUTHORITY RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

HOUSING PARTNERSHIP RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

Elizabeth Steele-Jeffers moved that the Town vote to instruct its representative in the General Court to file a home rule petition for a special act entitled, "An Act Relative to Property Tax Exemptions for Properties in the Town of Provincetown Deed Restricted as Affordable Housing," to read as printed in the warrant with the requirement that the affordable housing deed restriction be for a period of not less than ten years; so that Section 1 would read as follows:

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, residential real estate in the Town of Provincetown that is subject to an affordable housing restriction for a period of not less than ten years under chapter 184, sections 31 through 32 of the general laws which shall provide a right of first refusal to the Town of Provincetown or the Provincetown Housing Authority and shall be exempt from taxation under chapter 59 of the general laws.

Alan Gallant moved to amend Article 9 by adding the following to the end of section 2.  At the time of sale of exempt property, the seller or buyer may buy out the previous dollar value exemptions (scaled for inflation), thereby bringing the property to full tax status for the new owner.

Amendment Defeated.

Motion Defeated.

Article 10. Home Rule Petition/Provincetown Public Pier Corporation/Perfecting Amendments.  To see if the Town will vote to instruct its representative in the General Court to file a home rule petition for a special act to amend Chapter 13 of the Acts of 2000, An Act Relative To The Provincetown Pier Corporation, to read substantially as follows

     SECTION 1.  A new subsection (g) is hereby added to Section 3 of Chapter 13 of the Acts of 2000 to read as follows: "(g) The pier corporation board of directors shall be subject to the Open Meeting Law, Chapter 39, section 23B of the General Laws; and shall hold all its meetings in the town of Provincetown unless otherwise approved by a prior vote of the Board of Selectmen."

     SECTION 2.  A new subsection (h) is hereby added to Section 3 of Chapter 13 of the Acts of 2000 to read as follows:  "(h) The corporation shall manage the pier in such a manner as to encourage and support the commercial fishing industry, and shall, at a minimum, give first priority to Provincetown based commercial fishing vessels in the assignment of dockage space on the town owned finger piers and floating dock slips on the northeasterly side of the pier as well as to the provision of adequate loading and off-loading facilities for commercial fishing vessels."

     SECTION 3. The twelfth sentence of Section 4(a) of Chapter 13 of the Acts of 2000 is hereby amended to read as follows: "Members of the board of directors shall have education and experience in one or more of the following fields: commercial fishing, law, finance, marine operations and real estate and the board as a whole shall include persons with education and experience in several of these fields."

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

The General Court may only make clerical or editorial changes of form to the bill, unless the Board of Selectmen approves amendments to the bill before enactment by the general court.  The Board of Selectmen is hereby authorized to approve amendments which shall be within the scope of the general public objectives of this petition; or to take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager]

FINANCE COMMITTEE HAS NO RECOMMENDATION

BOARD OF SELECTMEN RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

CONSERVATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

Elizabeth Steele-Jeffers moved that the Town vote to instruct its representative in the General Court to file a home rule petition for a special act to amend Chapter 13 of the Acts of 2000, An Act Relative To The Provincetown Pier Corporation, to read as printed in the warrant.

Chris Snow moved to amend the motion under Article 10 Section 3. The twelfth sentence of Section 4 (a) of Chapter 13 of Acts of 2000 is hereby amended to read as follows:  “Members of the board of directors shall be residents, registered voters of the Town and shall preferably but not necessarily have education and experience in one or more of the following fields: commercial fishing, law, finance, marine operations and real estate and the board as a whole shall include persons with education and experience in several of these fields.”

Amendment Defeated.

Motion Carried.

Article 11. Authorize Conveyance of Provincetown Heritage Museum Property to Board of Library Trustees/Borrowing Authorization for Rehabilitation of Property as Provincetown Public Library.  To see if the Town will vote to transfer care, custody, control, and management of the Provincetown Heritage Museum property at 356 Commercial Street (Assessors Map 12-1-127), lot area 14,972 square feet, Commercial Class R zone, to the Board of Library Trustees for public library purposes; and, further, to see if the Town will vote to appropriate and borrow the sum of $1,050,000, to be expended under the direction of the Town Manager, the Director of Public Works, the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Library Trustees, and the Building Committee for the rehabilitation of the Heritage Museum property at 356 Commercial Street as the Provincetown Public Library, including, but not limited to, design services, construction bids, and reconstruction, rehabilitation, remodeling, and renovation of such facilities and for other expenses related thereto and, that to raise said appropriation the Treasurer, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, is hereby authorized to issue bonds and/or notes of the Town therefore, pursuant to Chapter 44 of the General Laws or any other enabling authority; and to the extent that any State, Federal or other funds are or become available for the purposes set forth above, to authorize the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Library Trustees to apply for and accept such funds; or to take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Board of Selectmen, Board of Library Trustees, and Town Manager]

FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS subject to: limit town borrowing to $1,050,000 in FY 2004; conveyance subject to Board of Library Trustees receipt of at least $1,878,456 in State grants and raising a minimum of $1,072,000 in private donations and other grants: 7-0-0

BOARD OF SELECTMEN RECOMMENDS THE MOTION: 4-1-0

BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES RECOMMENDS THE MOTION: 5-0-0

FINANCE COMMITTEE CHANGED THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS TO NOT RECOMMEND: 7-2

Elizabeth Steele-Jeffers moved that the Town vote to approve Article 11 as printed in the warrant, subject to the following conditions: (1) that Town borrowing hereunder shall be limited to $1,050,000 in Fiscal Year 2004; and (2) that conveyance hereunder shall be subject to the Board of Library Trustees' prior receipt of at least $1,878,456 in state grants and to said Trustees raising a minimum of $1,072,000 in private donations and other grants for said project.

Motion Carried. 2/3^rd Vote Required  Favor: 300 Oppose: 118

Article 12. Authorize Conveyance of Provincetown Heritage Museum Property.  To see if the Town will vote as follows:

WHEREAS, the Board of Selectmen supports the reuse of the Heritage Museum as the Provincetown Public Library; and

WHEREAS, in the event Town Meeting does not support that reuse, the Board of Selectmen desires to have another option available to Town Meeting;

THEREFORE, the Town votes to transfer care, custody, control, and management of the Provincetown Heritage Museum property at 356 Commercial Street (Assessors Map 12-1-127), lot area 14,972 square feet, Commercial Class R zone, to the Board of Selectmen for purposes of conveyance; and further, to authorize the Board of Selectmen to convey said property in accordance with the public bidding procedures of MGL C.30B, the Uniform Procurement Law, upon terms and conditions agreeable to the Board of Selectmen; or to take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Board of Selectmen]

FINANCE COMMITTEE RESERVES RECOMMENDATION

BOARD OF SELECTMEN RESERVES RECOMMENDATION

Elizabeth Steele-Jeffers moved to indefinitely postpone action on Article 12.

Motion to Indefinitely Postpone Carried.

Article 13. Interest Repayment on Land Bank Borrowings.  To see if the Town will vote to appropriate from the Land Bank Fund the sum of $72,000 as interim interest payment on the purchase of the Shankpainter Pond Uplands property authorized by Article 71 of the April 5, 1999 Annual Town Meeting, or to take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen]

FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS: 8-0-0

BOARD OF SELECTMEN RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

CONSERVATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

Elizabeth Steele-Jeffers moved that the Town vote to approve Article 13 as printed in the warrant.

Motion Carried.

Article 14. Maintenance and Improvement of Land Bank Property.  To see if the Town will vote, pursuant to section 5 of Chapter 293 of the Acts of 1998, to transfer from the Land Bank Fund the sum of $11,427, representing three percent (3%) of Provincetown's FY 2001 Land Bank proceeds under Sections 6 and 8 of said Chapter 293, to be expended under the direction of the Director of Public Works for maintenance and improvement of property purchased with Land Bank funds; or take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Board of Selectmen, and the Town Manager]

FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS: 8-0-0

BOARD OF SELECTMEN RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

CONSERVATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

Elizabeth Steele-Jeffers moved that the Town vote to approve Article 14 as printed in the warrant.

Motion Carried.

Article 15. Pre-acquisition Expenses for Proposed Land Bank Property.  To see if the Town will vote, pursuant to Chapter 293 of the Acts of 1998, to transfer from the Land Bank Fund the sum of $10,000, to be expended under the direction of the Board of Selectmen, the Open Space Committee, and the Town Manager, for pre-acquisition costs for properties proposed to be acquired with Land Bank funds, including appraisal costs and expenses for title searches, and costs related thereto; or to take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen]

FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS if STM Article 8 fails; Indefinite Postponement if STM Article 8 passes: 8-0-0

Elizabeth Steele-Jeffers moved that the Town vote to approve Article 15 as printed in the warrant.

Rick Holland moved to indefinitely postpone.

Motion Carried to Indefinitely Postpone.

Article 16. Fund AFSCME Town-wide Unit Collective Bargaining Agreement.  To see if the Town will vote to transfer from available funds the sum of $38,450 to fund the first year of the collective bargaining agreement reached with AFSCME Council 93, Local 1462, Town-wide Unit "A" for FY 2001, or to take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen]

FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS: 8-0-0

BOARD OF SELECTMEN RECOMMENDS: 4-0-0

Elizabeth Steele-Jeffers moved that the Town vote to transfer $35,080 Article 6, Item 1 of the April 3, 2000 Annual Town Meeting and $3,370 from Article 2, Budget 512-B of the April 3, 2000 Annual Town Meeting, for a total of $38,450 to fund the first year of the collective bargaining agreement reached with AFSCME Council 93, Local 1462, Town-wide Unit "A" for FY 2001.

Motion Carried.

Article 17. FY 2001 Budget Transfers.   To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $160,500 from the following Fiscal Year 2001 budgets established under Article 2 of the April 3, 2000 Annual Town Meeting and other available funds, as follows:

to increase the following Fiscal Year 2001 appropriations:

or to take any other action relative thereto.

[Requested by the Town Manager]

FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS: 7-0-0

Keith A. Bergman moved that the Town vote to transfer the sum of $160,500 from the Fiscal Year 2001 budgets established under Article 2 of the April 3, 2000 Annual Town Meeting and other available funds, as printed in the warrant to increase the certain Fiscal Year 2001 appropriations as printed in the warrant.

Motion Carried.

Meeting Adjourned