All meetings are held remotely. To watch a meeting go to provincetown-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. Follow the link to the agenda for instructions on how to watch and participate.
Thursday, May 14
- Board of Health, 4 p.m.
- Library Board of Trustees, 6 p.m.
- Planning Board, 6 p.m.
- Public Pier Corporation, 10 a.m.
Tuesday, May 19
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20
- Historic District Commission, 4 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Covid-19 Update
As of May 11, Provincetown had one confirmed active case of coronavirus, one death, and 26 additional cases considered recovered.
Town Meeting Sept. 21
Forget a spring town meeting this year. Provincetown is joining Wellfleet and other communities in making the special and annual town meetings a fall affair. This will give the town staff a better idea of how much (or how little) revenue the town has to work with for the year.
Town Manager Robin Craver said the staff is planning for two scenarios: one where the town loses 50 percent of normal room, parking, and meals tax revenue, which would amount to $1.7 million. Or, if the virus makes the summer really bleak, the meals, rooms, and parking revenue could be down by 75 percent, or $2.6 million.
A town ballot, however, will go ahead on June 30. It will include a question to raise $64,000 to increase the compensation of select board members to $15,000 a year, as well as a select board contest for two seats. Incumbents Louise Venden and Bobby Anthony are running again, along with challenger Austin Knight.
To avoid overcrowding at the polls, early voting is encouraged.
Absentee ballot applications can now be found on the town website.
On the Pier
Alongside various reports set to be made at the Public Pier Corp. meeting on Thursday, May 14, are two agenda items of special interest: a discussion of pier reopening plans, and a proposal for a floating art gallery on the F/V Bearded Maiden.
Policing Those Masked Men and Women
Provincetown has extra mask-wearing requirements on top of the governor’s advisory to wear masks if you cannot stay six feet away from others. In Provincetown, visitors and residents must don masks from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Commercial Street between Bangs and Pleasant streets.
Police Chief James Golden told the select board it’s a difficult order to enforce, and so he has instructed his officers to educate citizens and give out masks to those who don’t have them, rather than attempting to issue warnings for a first offense and $100, $200, and $300 fines for subsequent violations.
“The governor’s order mandates that the first offense is a warning,” Golden said. “And I don’t know how I’ll know that a person has been encountered and received their warning. Some logic has to prevail, some patience, some understanding, and some common sense.”
Select board member Lise King pressed the chief to commit to helping business owners whose customers become rude and argumentative about wearing masks. Canteen co-owner Rob Anderson wrote on social media on May 4 that police officers had walked right by a conflict at his restaurant.
“When things were at their worst here,” Anderson wrote, “with a lot of people standing around at too close a distance (after not listening to us ask them to distance) Provincetown police officers walked by, saw what was happening, and did not say or do anything.”
Town Manager Robin Craver said if anyone has a problem they should call the police for help. —K.C. Myers