Your Monthly Update
from the Community Development Partnership
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A Word from Jay...
For many year-round residents of the Lower Cape, winter is known as the “quiet time” as many seasonal businesses are closed and you can easily make left turns. Not here at the CDP!
The winter months are the time when our small business programs are in full swing, when our housing rehab program is lining up projects for our new grant round and we are busy supporting housing advocates as they bring requests for funding to spring Town Meetings.
In this month’s update you will read all about two unsung hero’s at the CDP, our dynamic maintenance duo Ray and Steve. With 100 affordable and community housing apartments to maintain, these guys never rest. Over the past 2 months, we had five units “turn-over” requiring Ray and Steve to work long hours getting the vacant units ready for new residents.
We have a great team here at the CDP of professionals committed to creating opportunities for people to live, work and thrive on the Lower Cape. I’m inspired by their dedication and grateful to be able to work with them every day.
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Jay Coburn
Chief Executive Officer
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More than just Maintenance
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“It’s really wonderful to know that Steve and Ray are so much more than maintenance men; they have both been contractors and their skills enable us to do projects in-house such as a gut rehab of a bathroom or kitchen.''
David Abel
CDP, Chief Property Management Officer
The Community Development Partnership manages 100 housing units from Brewster to Provincetown. Managing this many units is no small task for the CDP’s property management team. Behind the scenes the CDP staff is responsible for marketing vacant units, processing applications and signing leases, collecting rents, and complying with state and federal standards. What is often overlooked is that, as the property managers, the CDP is also responsible for maintaining the properties and providing repairs and renovations as necessary.
Like any home, the CDP housing units experience the wear and tear of day to day life. When a resident moves out, each unit is inspected and repairs needed to get the unit ready for new residents are made as necessary. While some maintenance work has to be contracted out, the CDP employs two full time maintenance staff, Steve and Ray, who handle many of the repairs and upkeep on the units the CDP manages. They do much of the work to create a comfortable living environment as well as ensuring that our properties are maintained for the long term. “It’s really wonderful to know that Steve and Ray are so much more than maintenance men; they have both been contractors and their skills enable us to do projects in-house such as a gut rehab of a bathroom or kitchen,'' says David Abel, the CDP’s Chief Property Management Officer.
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Supporting Local Business
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Rooter Ryan: Building a Business through Connections
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“It’s really important to understand the community. Clients like to work with someone that they know”
Ryan Hazel
Owner, Rooter Ryan
Cape Cod is a great place to start a small business. Like many small communities, people on the Outer Cape value the personal touch that comes along with choosing a small local business over a large corporation.
Despite this, starting your own business is a daunting task. “It’s a big jump to go out on your own,” says Ryan Hazel, the owner of Rooter Ryan. Although he never thought he would end up in the drain cleaning business, Ryan started his own drain cleaning company in the spring of 2019 with the help of the CDP. “I always knew I wanted to start my own business, but I thought it would be in retail,” Ryan remarks.
Ryan grew up in New York City, but would come to the Cape to visit his uncle who owns a retail shop in Provincetown. In 2014 Ryan decided to relocate to the Lower Cape permanently. At the time he was working in the restaurant industry, but when a friend introduced him to the owner of a drain cleaning business Ryan made an unexpected career change. For the next five years Ryan honed his skills as a rooter and made connections that would lead to early success after setting out on his own.
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Supporter Spotlight: Bill and Nina Opel
Sharing a Vision of What is Possible
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“Our major concern at this point is will the people we need to help us be there when we need it… We couldn’t survive without the young people in our community.”
William Opel
CDP Supporter and Eastham Resident
For Eastham residents, Bill and Nina Opel, developing solutions to affordable housing, looking out for our children and making it possible for people to live, work and prosper, are fundamental concerns. “The CDP is an organization that embodies the same values we value in a way that is quite remarkable,” reflects Bill. “We need to take care of our young families so that they can have a future. Our future depends on theirs.”
The Opel’s lives can be characterized as ones dedicated to service and to helping others.
The daughter of a Harvard professor, Nina grew up in Cambridge and summered in Eastham where her family owned a house on a lake. Bill was born in 1926 in Kansas City, MO. His father was a WWI veteran who went to work at the Ford plant following the war. When the depression came, however, life was upended as his father lost his job and the family moved to Leavenworth where his father worked as a prison guard.
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CDP to Offer Scholarship to Nauset High School Graduate
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This year, in continuing our commitment to support the local community, the CDP has established a scholarship to be awarded to one graduating senior at Nauset High School.
This $1000 scholarship is to be awarded to a student who is a resident of the Lower and Outer Cape and who intends to further their education with an interest or course of study in community development. Students with interests in creating housing that is affordable, supporting entrepreneurs in developing businesses and serving the needs of LMI (low to moderate income) individuals are eligible to apply for the scholarship.
This is the first year that the Community Development has offered this scholarship, and hopes that it encourages students to consider a career in community development.
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Business & Credit Workshops
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Save the Date! Upcoming Small Business Workshops
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QuickBooks Help Sessions
February 13
3:00 - 5:00
CDP Offices, Eastham
February 24
1:00 - 3:00
CDP Offices, Eastham
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Do you use QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop? Are you having trouble, stuck on something or are things just not working right? Where do you go for help? Come to the CDP’s QuickBooks Help Sessions on Monday or Thursday afternoons and get your questions answered. The CDP will run these sessions September - December. Get your records together now, be ready for tax season, and start off the new year on the right foot!
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Stop the Chaos: 3 Tips to a Successful Busy Season:
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March 3rd, 5:30 - 7:30 pm, $25
It may be cold outside right now, but before you know it, the height of the summer season will be underway! If you’re like many local business people, you love the rush of the crowds on the Cape during the summer because the financial rewards are what sustain you through the year. However, when it comes to staying sane during the busy season, well, that’s another story.
Join
Helen Kosinski
for her workshop “Stop the Chaos: 3 Tips to a Successful Busy Season”. Learn simple, yet powerful, tips to increase your productivity AND your sanity during the upcoming Cape Cod busy summer season.
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SCORE Individual Business Counseling
February 12
9:00 - 1:00
CDP Offices, Eastham
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Upcoming small business assistance office hours
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Chatham Works
February 4
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
323 Orleans Rd
CDP Offices, Eastham
February 11
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
3 Main Street Mercantile Unit 18A
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Harwich Cultural Center
February 13
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
204 Sisson Road
Provincetown Commons
February 27
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
46 Bradford Street
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Preservation Hall, Wellfleet
February 27
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
335 Main Street
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Drop in or make an appointment to talk with CDP staff to address a variety of topics including record keeping, QuickBooks, business planning, cash flow projections, steps to starting a business, setting goals and much more.
Drop-Ins are welcome, but those with a scheduled appointment will be given preference. These sessions are free to Lower Cape small businesses.
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CDP Partners with WE CAN to bring programs
to the Outer Cape
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This Place Matters
our bi-weekly radio & television show
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Tune in
92.1 WOMR & 91.3 WFMR
Wednesdays 12:30pm
Join host Jay Coburn & guests to learn more
about activities affecting the people and places on the Lower and Outer Cape.
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February 12
: Join
Jill Stauffer Executive Director
for
The Commons
in Provincetown
and
Fred and Lindsey Bierwirth founders
of
Chatham Works
as they discusses coworking on Cape Cod.
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February 26
: Join
Jill Scalise
Housing Coordinator
for
The Town of Brewster
as she discusses housing projects in Brewster.
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Thank you
for supporting the work we do to make the Lower Cape a place where we can all
live, work
and
thrive
!
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