“Forest arguably knows more about the issues facing Cape Cod today than any candidate running for local or regional office.”
A Strong Advocate for the Cape
This is a critical time for Cape Cod. Today we are in the grips of a pandemic that is impacting the entire region and crippling our economy. The crisis has exposed serious weaknesses in our health care system, especially the poor training, low pay and weak standards in our nursing homes. Far too many of our people are at risk.
During this pandemic, the federal and state government - in typical fashion - have been gradually shifting a significant burden of the response to local communities. The Cape still needs equipment, better training and testing. All of these developments are unfolding with virtually no advance planning or any overall vision or strategy.
Fortunately, here on Cape Cod, our legislators have joined with leaders in government, health care and the business community to step up and fill the void. In spite of the wishful thinking coming from Washington DC, this crisis is not going away any time soon. We need to do more.
In the meantime, we have a range of big picture, long term issues we still need to address. I put climate change and clean water at the top of the list. But there are others too. We need to make the Cape "Age-Friendly" and "Business-Friendly". We need to help each town on Cape Cod that is struggling to meet the demand for affordable housing and transportation. We need to do more to help towns engage in "smart" economic development by expanding broadband and investing in cultural and heritage tourism. We need to sustain the fight against drug and alcohol abuse. The list goes on. It is almost overwhelming.
Equally important, is figuring out creative and affordable ways to address these challenges given that most Cape Codders live on fixed incomes, or paycheck to paycheck. While I don't have all the answers, I do know how to listen, how to build consensus, and pull people together from different segments of the community to get things done. As a former town manager on Cape Cod, an aide to two Congressmen and a teacher, I have had some practice at it.
I do know that Cape Cod is full of energy and talent. We are blessed with positive, creative leaders in virtually every segment of our community. We have all the ingredients for success.
With the right leadership in our county government, I think we can meet the challenges of tomorrow. Our time is now and I need your support.
Mark Forest: Background and Community Service
Mark Forest is a Barnstable County Commissioner and Yarmouth Selectman and a long time resident of South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, where he and his wife, Carol, live and raised their family. They have two children, Michael and Patricia, who are graduates of the Dennis-Yarmouth public school system.
Mark teaches American Government and International Relations at Cape Cod Community College. In addition, he works for Suffolk University, coordinating plans to bring a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) degree program to Cape Cod. It will provide graduate level education to local leaders, non-profit managers and municipal administrators. He is also a consultant to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and is playing an active role in preventing the Trump Administration from taking away the tribe's reservation lands.
Mark also serves as Chairman of the Cape Cod Conservation District which lobbies for federal funds to restore Cape Cod's salt marshes, shellfish and fisheries resources in towns all across Cape Cod. He recently served as Chairman of the Housing Assistance Corporation and was a founder of the Community Development Partnership which serves the Lower Cape. As a member of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Corporation Board, Mark has helped launch the region's Blue Economy initiative - designed to promote job creation and business opportunities in the region's marine industries.
Mark started his career in the Provincetown Town Manager's office. He started his service at the height of the AIDS crisis, and played a critical role in stabilizing the town's finances. After his five years in Provincetown, he became a top aide to our two former Congressman, Gerry Studds and Bill Delahunt. With our Congressmen he worked on creating the Waquoit Bay Estuarine Research Reserve in Falmouth, the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge, the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the 15,000 acre Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve - the largest open space conservation initiative since the establishment of the Cape Cod National Seashore. He was instrumental in resolving numerous groundwater pollution problems on Cape Cod and played a key role in creating health care clinics for veterans and the homeless. He has secured significant federal funding for a variety of local projects and last year, he was appointed by the Brewster Board of Selectmen as their Interim Town Administrator and tasked with straightening out the town's finances.
He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Boston and received his MPA at Suffolk University. Prior to pursuing his graduate degree he served as a VISTA volunteer in Boston during the de-segregation of the Boston Public Schools.
Vision. A Good Place to Start.
people
The Cape's greatest resource is its people. We have a strong sense of community and we share a common set of core values – family, education, community and inclusivity.
I think it's important to find ways to involve the community in all the major decisions at the town and county level. I am a strong supporter of improved communication within the government and within the community. We need to explore ways to use social media to keep people informed of our work - especially all the positive activities that are going on. I support more educational forums on specific "hot" topics that can be held well in advance of public hearings.
seniors
Our elderly population is growing and facing significant challenges of its own. Too many seniors are living alone and in isolation. Many are struggling to deal with the demands of dementia. A growing number are unable to keep up with property taxes and looking for affordable apartments or alternative living arrangements. I support making Cape Cod more "Age-Friendly". It is more than just a slogan - it's a necessity.
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
For years, county governments in Massachusetts has been a haven for patronage. It's the major reason why most county governments in Massachusetts were abolished thirty years ago. When the state tried to abolish Barnstable County, however, a bipartisan chorus of political and civic leaders on Cape Cod rose up in opposition. Barnstable County was spared because of the vital role it plays in helping our communities and in protecting our environment.
Our county government also provides important region-wide services in a number of areas - regional and local land use planning, wastewater planning, child protection, housing, health and human services collaboration and in police and firefighter training. The county dredging program provides important benefits to mariners and huge savings to our towns. Our towns save even more through the county regional purchasing program. Looking ahead, the county can help Cape Cod tackle new challenges, such as protecting our drinking water from new and emerging contaminants, securing more grant funding for our towns, and developing strategies to address sea level rise and climate change.
Affordable Housing
The development of affordable housing has to be a an integral part of Cape Cod's economic development strategy. No region can prosper without an adequate supply of affordable housing. It's that simple.
The first question we need to ask is why is the inventory of affordable housing shrinking so fast? There are many reasons. Retirees are leaving the suburbs and moving to the Cape in droves. Investors are buying more housing and creating more lucrative Air BnBs. Second homeowners have stopped renting their homes to local families and are getting ready to retire. All these forces are shrinking our housing inventory and driving up prices.
The consequences are significant, Businesses are at a loss to find seasonal workers, and when they do the housing is not there. It get worse each summer. In this real estate market, young professionals and working families simply can't make enough money to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of housing and seniors can't find affordable retirement housing to transition into. Waiting lists are getting longer and longer.
But creating more affordability does not always mean building new large-scale projects that can take away from the character of the Cape. Communities can create more "capacity" and explore options such new zoning allowing multi-generational housing, accessory apartments, co-housing, shared housing. Greater density in village and urban centers needs to be allowed. The list of ideas keeps getting longer.
When I worked in the Town Manager's office in Provincetown, I created a Community Development office and established a housing rehabilitation program to make it easier for working families and the elderly to stay in their homes. When I left and joined the staff of Congressman Studds, I founded the Lower Cape Community Development Corporation - now known as the Community Development Partnership - to develop affordable housing for the entire Lower Cape region.
I also worked with County officials to create the HOME program which provides an ongoing pot of funding for housing projects. I also helped the Towns of Barnstable and Yarmouth become CDBG entitlement communities making them eligible for federal grants for housing.
More recently, as the Chairman of the Board of the Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) in Hyannis, I have made affordable housing a top priority. We recently issued a compressive report called - "Housing - the High Cost of Doing Nothing". It is a comprehensive report that provides a clear and up-to-date analysis of the problems and the impact on our community. It outlines solutions, and strategies.
I would like to see the County and our towns do more to address this crisis - and I believe that the plan we developed at HAC is an excellent blueprint to guide our efforts.
Economic development
The Cape's environment, its beaches, its history and cultural resources are all important assets and should play a vital role in any future economic development initiatives.
Cape Cod boasts great outdoor recreation opportunities, but it is also emerging as a cultural and heritage tourism center. I would like to work with the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups to create more small business incubator space, and develop a broadband spur off the OpenCape system. We need to work with the state on new approaches to address the blighted areas along Route 28. One major deterrent to business investment along this highway is the lack of wastewater infrastructure - yet another reason why clean water must be a priority.
I would also like to see better communication with our small businesses, and more consensus on how to resolve problems. At the same time, I also think we need to continually search for ways to ease the burden of running a business.
COASTAL RESTORATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Our environment is our economy. The Cape's water resources are threatened - and the situation gets worse with each passing year. Virtually all our coastal eel grass habitat has now vanished. Meanwhile, our water supplies face the threat of escalating septic system waste, and newly discovered contaminants of emerging concern.
I am a strong supporter of a regional approach to solving our wastewater problems. I also strongly support looking at more innovative approaches like expanded shellfish aquaculture and innovative technologies. But at the end of the day, none of this will work without the state and federal governments being financial partners in this effort. As a community, we need to look at how we can address sea level rise, and promote more use of renewable technologies like solar energy.
Stronger Financial Planning
Cape Cod is facing a fiscal "perfect storm". We have a large number of capital projects in the works - and all headed to the taxpayers at the same time. We need to review them, find ways to bring the price tags down, and come up with an overall fiscal plan that works for the taxpayers. I also want to make sure we receive more state and federal funds to help contain the impact on taxpayers. We also need to explore more regional collaboration on services and purchasing.
Mark Forest: Background on Lower Cape Issues
In discussions with new voters in Provincetown and Truro about the County Commissioner's race, I was asked to post on Facebook and website a little bit about my experience working on Lower Cape issues. So here it goes....
First, I started my career in the Provincetown Town Manager’s office. I worked in town from 1980-85 and helped stabilize and straighten out the town‘s finances and resolve a host of audit problems. I guided the planning of the redevelopment of MacMillan pier, secured funds for the project, as wells as funds for the town's water system & for housing. I also worked to protect the drinking water in Provincetown and Truro by securing funds for a new well field and the clean up groundwater contamination in North Truro.
At the time, Provincetown was on the front lines in fighting AIDS. The federal and state governments were MIA. I was inspired by people like Alice Foley, our town nursing staff, our volunteer firefighters and EMTs. Provincetown is where I learned about the critical role that local communities and governments can play in people’s lives.
In 1985, Congressman Studds asked me to join his staff. I shared Gerry's passion for the fishing industry and I worked on securing federal funds to dredge Wellfleet, Chatham, Harwich and Provincetown harbors. Helping our fishermen ... and saving millions for local towns. I was a co-founder of the Lower Cape Community Development Corp, now called the Community Development Partnership in Eastham. We started it to create affordable housing and provide support to entrepreneurs & help create small businesses.
I worked on the designation of Stellwagen Bank as a National Marine Sanctuary and helped broker a land transfer between Provincetown and the Cape Cod National Seashore. The deal would end a long battle over over solid waste disposal. I helped secure federal funding for AIDS support services and housing in Provincetown.
Studds asked me to coordinate the funding and the planning for the relocation and restoration of Highland Light in Truro and Nauset Light in Eastham. No easy task at the time.
When I joined Bill Delahunt's staff I helped secure stimulus funding for several new water and sewer projects in Provincetown, Truro and Chatham, as well as funding several land acquisitions, including North Truro campground in Cape Cod National Seashore. I also worked to secure stimulus funds for the high speed broadband service called "OpenCape", which we need to finish on the Lower Cape.
When politicians in Washington DC tried to kill the Seashore Advisory Commission, I would help figure out a way to keep it alive. We batted 1,000 on that issue.
In Provincetown, after fire destroyed Whaler’s Wharf, Delahunt asked me to work with the town and owners to secured state Economic Development funds to bring it back to life.
Delahunt appointed me to be the Co-Chair of the Cape Cod Public Transit Task Force, which first proposed the Flex bus system. Nobody thought it would happen...but it did. I helped secure the federal funding for it as well.
When budget cuts in DC threatened the Provincetown and Chatham Coast Guard stations we never gave up, and we came up with a strategy to save them both.
In more recent years, for a number of reasons, the outer cape businesses have become much more dependent on seasonal labor, meaning a constant vigilance on H2B visas & the J1 program.
Today, as Chair of the Cape Cod Conservation District, I am proud of all the funding and staff support we've provided -from the beginning - for the restoration of the Herring River in Wellfleet. We've supported shellfish aquaculture growers in almost every Cape Town including Wellfleet.
We’ve done salt marsh restoration projects around the Cape including Harwich & Brewster, stormwater treatment projects - to protect shellfish beds- in Provincetown & Wellfleet and have several new ones in the works for the Town of Truro.
In Brewster, I had the honor of serving as Interim Town Administrator from 2018-19. The Select Board asked me to help straighten out the town’s finances and guide the successful search for a new Town Administrator.
On the Lower Cape, my priorities have always been the priorities of the people living in the communities that I served or worked in. Each challenge can’t be faced alone but requires strong community support and sustained public involvement. These are the keys to success.
For those of you who are new to the Cape and still learning about the candidates, I hope this helps. I am available to discuss my work at 508-776-3246. Thank you.
Contact Mark Forest. A Leader Who Listens.
Having an open conversation with you, the residents of Yarmouth, is important to keeping our community moving forward. Mark would like to hear from you, and learn more about the issues that are important to you.