The Lighthouse Keeper
CHOICES, CHOICES
BY DANIEL W. DRAKE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
This year, more than most it seems, there is a focus on plans - not on planning as such, but on developing the blueprint for future planning. The works in progress include the 41-81D Master Plan and the Downtown Traffic Study. The recently completed include the Harbors Plan and the Tom Nevers Area Plan.

Now the Planning Department is embarked on another exercise which is updating the Open Space and Recreation Plan. Indeed, the update is part of the 41- 81D Master Plan effort but has taken on a life of its own through a survey that the Planning Department has promulgated and from which it hopes to obtain at least 400 responses.

Reading the survey provokes some interesting thinking. The first section covers "Open Space and Conservation." What are one's priorities for open land acquisition? Would one consider giving or selling one's land to the Town or the Land Bank? What sort of land and natural resources are in the most need of protection? How should conservation land be used - actively or passively - if at all?

The second section of the survey relates to recreation. How does one feel about the town's current recreational facilities? What are one's personal recreational priorities? What are one's broader priorities for recreation facilities for the town as a whole? How are the facilities and programs to be paid for? Do we have adequate information about the facilities and programs that are available?

The survey forces the making of choices. They are not easy choices for people who care about this wonderful island in a holistic fashion.

How do we think available funds should be spent for new open space land acquisition? Should it be for drinking water protection? Maybe, it should be for the protection of habitat for endangered species and biodiversity. How about beach access or the protection of wetlands?

Wait a moment. Doesn't the protection of wetlands fall within the category of biodiversity protection? Then, how does beach access fit with active and passive recreational use? Is it separate, or is it a subcategory of recreational use? Or, maybe a part of "scenic views and vistas"?

This is not to fault the consultant who prepared the survey, but rather to underscore the difficulty one encounters in trying to set one's own priorities. Many of us want as much as we can get, so "…if I give this one a high priority and that one a low priority, they are really the same thing so I won't be hurting anything by giving that a low priority and I can bump something else up." So, having made our choices, in whatever convoluted fashion, we move on.

Or do we? Perhaps, after giving it more thought, we revisit the land acquisition question. Is there enough open space on the island now? With close to half the island's land in some sort of conservation, have we already done what we need to do to protect the land that needs to be protected? Does every shadbush really need its day? Is the aquifer safe - for my lifetime and a few more? Do we have adequate recreational facilities? What more do we need?

Choices are the bane of our existence. The yes/no questions are easy, relatively. Those that ask one to prioritize are the psyche twisters.

Just when one is feeling somewhat pleased with oneself for having finally gotten through the first part of the survey without having done too much damage to ones principles, one turns to the first page of the recreation section and is faced with a list of more than 40 recreational facilities from which one is to choose - and prioritize - 10 which are deemed to be of the greatest importance.. That's as bad as asking a kid which 10 of Baskin & Robbins 29 or so flavors he wants to take home and eat after supper.

Maybe like the kid, one can't come up with 10, even out of such an array of choices, but the analogy helps. One prioritizes first what one really likes: public access to water bodies equals coffee ice cream; more golf courses go with butter crunch; beach access and amenities equates to mint chocolate chip. Mmm! Beyond that, though, it gets tougher and by the time one gets to number 10, "extreme sports" might relate to something more bizarre like "Chunky Monkey." If one had to prioritize all the way to 40, passion fruit marshmallow ice cream might have found its way into the cone to match up with snack bars as the lowest, town-developed, recreational priority.

In the context of the upcoming Special Town Meeting, it is noteworthy that a cultural center is not one of the options listed for prioritization. Maybe this is because not so long ago, another survey indicated that folks didn't want the town financially involved in such an effort.

One aspect of the implementation of both the conservation and recreation portions of the survey does merit further comment. The survey alludes to cooperative land conservation efforts with private conservation groups and asks the respondent's thoughts about sponsored ("Adopt-a-Facility") programs. The concept of public/private partnerships is one that needs to be brought to the forefront of the implementation effort.

Whether it is land acquisition, the recreational use of conservation land or the development and operation of recreational facilities, the town has to work closely with private not-for-profit groups and for-profit entities in order to get done much of what needs to be done. Clearly, there has been cooperation between the Land Bank and private conservation groups on several fronts, but there needs to be a joint, concerted effort on a long-term property management plan and the use of public and private conservation land for recreational purposes. The town itself can continue its tradition of woefully under funding the operation of recreational facilities if it is successful in attracting more business sponsors for such efforts.

There is also a question in the survey asking the respondent's view on user fees. Based, in part, on recent experience in the newspaper business, there is always a hardcore of paying users, but without user fees, they will really come.

If you are interested in having your brain stretched and your opinion counted, there is still a little time to participate in the Open Space and Recreation Survey. The responses are due by 4 p.m. today, but you can download it from the Master Plan website, www.ackmasterplan.org (click on "Final Open Space Survey), or, stop by or call the Planning Board Office at 2 Fairgrounds Grounds Road (228- 7233). It's a worthwhile effort.

The "Lighthouse Keeper" reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Nantucket Independent. Please send any ideas or comments to drake@nantucketindependent. com.