Due to the pandemic, meetings are held remotely. Go to provincetown-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch.
Thursday, June 3
- Scholarship & Trust Administration, 2 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 8
- Licensing Board, 5:15 p.m.
Wednesday, June 9
- Local Comprehensive Planning Committee, 1 p.m.
- Recycling & Renewable Energy Committee, 10 a.m.
Thursday, June 10
- Planning Board, 6 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Should Pier Corp. Be Sunsetted?
Last month, after listening to the Public Pier Corp. discuss the cost of running MacMillan Pier, Bobby Anthony of the select board came right out with it: should the select board take over as manager of the pier?
For over 20 years, a group of volunteers appointed to the Pier Corp. board has managed the pier. They have set and collected the fees. They have hired and paid staff. It’s never been easy. Finger pointing between the Pier Corp. board, the select board, and users of the pier has led to confusion and inertia.
With the Pier Corp. operating independently of the select board, “I just don’t know where you’re going,” Anthony told Scott Fraser, treasurer of the Pier Corp.
Would it be better to appoint an advisory board, set up an enterprise fund, and put the select board in charge again? Anthony asked. This was the structure that existed before the creation of the Pier Corp. in 2000.
“I think that’s a question we have to ask,” Fraser said.
There are marine operations all over the Cape that are run as enterprise funds.
“It’s a reasonable idea,” Fraser said. “I can guarantee that it won’t save you money. There is no fat in the organization.”
Operation and capital costs of running the pier are over $1 million a year. Costly maintenance looms on the horizon, Fraser said. There is no way that the fishermen, ferry companies, and whale watch owners can afford to pay enough to keep it solvent without taxpayer support, he added.
Maintenance has been deferred and that cannot continue. “Our business model is not sustainable,” Fraser said.
A new management structure won’t bring in more money, he added, but it’s worth exploring.
The select board agreed to continue the conversation.
Walk for Homeless Prevention
The 2021 Homeless Prevention Council Walk for Home will be Saturday, June 12. The walk will happen both in person and virtually. Those participating in person will start and end at Provincetown Town Hall beginning at 10 a.m. Virtual participants can join from anywhere on their own schedules.
This year’s 2.2-mile walk marks the Homeless Prevention Council’s 30th anniversary. The council provides personal case management to people who need help finding stable housing.
For more information, see hpccapecod.org. —K.C. Myers