PROVINCETOWN – Coastal resiliency and climate change planning, and the construction of a new police station will highlight Provincetown’s Town Topics Forum Saturday.
The goal of the winter forum is to inform the public about topics that will come before town meeting in the spring or in the future and to help town staff by gathering public input.
Town Manager David Panagore said the coastal resiliency discussions will focus on the future following the severe flooding from storms last year.
“I think we want to hear from folks about what they see as the concerns, what we are responding to well and what they think we are not responding to well,” Panagore said.
“And how do they see themselves in the picture so that when we put an action plan together it is really speaking to the needs of the community.”
Conversations on a town climate change plan will include energy and power outages.
“We have a community battery that we are looking to put in at the transfer station that would reduce power outages out here on the Outer Cape by 50 percent,” Panagore said.
Other coastal resiliency plans include beach nourishment.
The focus of police station discussions will be on the building program and the project’s budget, according to Town Manager David Panagore.
The project received backlash from the public after the Select Board approved a proposal to move forward a modern design that increased the project’s price tag to $12.5 million.
That price tag was roughly $4 million over the amount allocated by the town for the project in 2017.
“It is really talking about the mechanics of the building’s size which really drives the budget,” Panagore said.
“And also the budget and the reasons and explanations for how cost increases have happened over the last two years requiring the request of additional funding.”
A warrant for additional funding will likely be before town meeting voters in the spring.
“What we are looking for this weekend is folks input and folks also listening and understanding and asking questions, so when we get to town meeting folks are informed and the dialogue can be better at town meeting as well on the question of the police station funding,” Panagore said.
Other topics include communication and community dialogue, and an update from the Year-round Market Rate Rental Housing Trust.
The forum is at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Town Hall Auditorium.
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