Selectmen to vote on housing week proclamation
Because he believes Nantucket needs the people who need affordable housing, and because many island residents struggle to find reasonably priced, quality housing, Aaron Marcavitch, Executive Director of the Nantucket Housing Office, is asking the selectmen to proclaim the first week of May Affordable Housing Solutions Week.

Marcavitch submitted a multi-point proclamation to the board that members will vote on tonight. Some of the points are that the steady increase in the median sale price of a single family home has placed ownership beyond the reach of many working families. Marcavitch notes that Nantucket is now seeking new and innovative ways to solve its housing problem, which must continue in order to retain a diverse population and create an adequate and diverse housing inventory to benefit the island's economic and social well-being.

The proposed week runs from April 29 through May 5, which includes a day when Daniel O'Connell, the state's Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, will be visiting the island in response to an invitation from the selectmen. Though the exact itinerary is still a work in progress, at this time plans call for a housing forum with O'Connell at Sherburne Commons where Nantucket's housing situation and needs will be discussed and O'Connell will meet local business people. Following that session, Marcavitch, Legislative Liaison Tim Madden and others hope to have time to show O'Connell some of Nantucket's housing initiatives.

- Mary Lancaster