Meetings Ahead
Meetings are held remotely. Go to provincetown-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch.
Thursday, Oct. 29
- Economic Development Committee, 1 p.m.
- Public Pier Corp., 2 p.m.
- Harbor Committee, 5 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 2
- Select Board, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 3
- Shellfish Committee, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 4
- Historic District Commission, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 5
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Covid-19 Update
As of Oct. 27, Provincetown had zero active cases of Covid-19, 32 cases considered recovered, and one death.
Head Hunting on a Roll
The select board has added two people to the town manager search committee, following complaints by two board members and some applicants that the earlier appointment process was not inclusive.
On Oct. 13, select board members David Abramson, John Golden, and Robert Anthony voted to put Rick Murray, Mark Bjorstrom, and David Wilson on the search committee, along with the already-selected Acting Town Manager Charles Sumner and Marianne Clements of the personnel board.
Board members Lise King and Louise Venden criticized the way the appointments were handled. King noted that none of the women who applied — aside from Clements— were chosen.
On Oct. 26, Venden moved to add two other candidates, and the rest of the board agreed. The two additional members are Elaine Anderson and Ngina Lythcott.
The select board also settled on the salary and the wording of advertisements for the new town manager. (The last manager, Robin Craver, left after six months in July.) The pay will be between $175,000 and $195,000, with the potential for a housing allowance as part of the negotiations.
The town hired Groux-White Consulting of Lexington to manage headhunting. The consultant wrote up a brochure for the manager search, which includes a paragraph titled: “Current Issues for the Town Manager: Select Board Effectiveness.” It then states, “The next town manager will need to assist a talented board in developing consensus, strategic direction, and community outreach … The board needs a leader who can develop inclusive systems to enhance their policy making role.”
Venden touched on the select board’s effectiveness later on Oct. 26, when she moved to hire another consultant to help the board get along better.
She quoted from staff interviews conducted by Groux-White, which were done to help the consultant come up with the right manager profile. The town staff, according to a memo from Venden, told the consultants that “internal management of the board’s business process was identified as an issue needing the attention of the next town manager. Provincetown has had a volatile political history. The current processes and procedures leave many impacted interests feeling disenfranchised.”
Her motion to hire a consultant to address that issue failed to get a second.
Economic Subcommittee Formed
Seven people were appointed to the town’s new Economic Stabilization and Sustainability Subcommittee. They are Dara Onofrio, Wiebe Tinga, Robert Davis, Patrick Patrick, Lawrence J. Mitchell III, Patricia Miller, and Kiumars Q. Amiri.
The select board created the committee in August as a way to help the community recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and to look at improving the town’s infrastructure to stimulate economic opportunities. —K.C. Myers.