Meetings Ahead
Thursday, June 18
- Board of Health, 4 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, June 22
- Select Board, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 23
- Public Landscaping Committee, 4 p.m.
Thursday, June 25
- Charter Compliance Commission, 12 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Covid-19 Update
As of June 16, Provincetown had zero confirmed active cases of coronavirus, one death from complications related to Covid-19, and 28 additional cases considered recovered.
Ferry Good News
The two Boston to Provincetown ferry services have announced their new schedules.
Bay State Cruises will start its usual roster of trips on June 22. Boston Harbor Cruises will be starting up on June 29 with a limited schedule, Pier Manager Doug Boulanger told the Pier Corp. on June 11.
The limited schedule is meant to keep crowds down during the phased reopening of the state due to the coronavirus, he said. But the Bay State ferry service owners hope by offering a full schedule of boats that crowds will be smaller aboard each ship, he said.
Town’s Emergency Manager Is Leaving
Eric Sussman, the town’s emergency manager and transportation coordinator, resigned to take a new job with the U.S. Dept. of Energy. He leaves at the end of June.
During his 14 months in Provincetown’s town government, Sussman coordinated with the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority “to ensure vital transport and service options for Outer Cape residents — which has been essential during Covid-19, and providing crisis communications during the pandemic,” stated Leslie Sandberg, who is a media strategist recently hired by the town for the summer.
Sussman also spent the last year managing a major technological upgrade for town parking lots with the installation of Parking Access Revenue Control System (PARCS) — an electronic system that will read automobile license plates, Sandberg stated.
Erin Ellis, currently the town’s project administrator, will take over parking duties, crisis planning, and communications when Sussman leaves.
Media Strategist Hired
Town Manager Robin Craver has hired Rose, Sandberg & Associates to be the town’s media consultant from June 1 to Aug. 31.
The contract calls for the agency to be paid $5,000 per month for 100 hours of work, which comes to a rate of $50 an hour. (This is discounted from the $100 per hour the agency normally charges and is charging the Pier Corp. for similar services.)
It’s highly unusual for the town to hire a media consultant. But Craver said she wanted help with communications due to the high volume of public education necessary during the coronavirus pandemic. Leslie Sandberg, a partner in the firm, said she will also do some staff training in media relations.
Pier Corp. Delays Appeals
The Public Pier Corp. on June 11 delayed a hearing on two fishermen’s appeals of the Pier Corp.’s change to their commercial status, effectively doubling their dock fees.
The hearing will now be June 25. The attorney for Jeff Souza and David Flattery missed the deadline to turn in all his paperwork.
The amount of paperwork filed by attorney Bill Henchy was such that “we need a wheelbarrow to carry it out,” said Pier Corp. chair Ginny Binder. —K.C. Myers
