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SBPF, parking garage topics of ballot question Selectman Michael Kopko said he anticipates the board will act on the petition, which has the same appearance as a citizen's article and contains signatures of 11 registered voters, well ahead of the 2008 Annual Town Meeting which begins on Monday, April 7. The annual town election is Tuesday, April 15. A LINE IN THE SAND Last Friday marked the deadline for citizens' warrant articles. Besides sponsoring the non-binding ballot questions, Stover has written an article to amend the town code by adding a new section to Chapter 67 entitled, "Management of Coastal Properties Owned by the Town of Nantucket." It contains three sections, with the first outlining a temporary moratorium on the use of town properties for new coastal engineering structures, bluff armoring projects, hard or soft erosion control devices, bulkheads and the like, including new or added structures. Exceptions would be made for projects approved for town properties by the Conservation Commission prior to July 1, 2007.The second section relates to maintenance of projects on town land already approved by the ConCom, but notes that access for such work must have written permission from all legal landowners, including the town. The last section specifies that the moratorium will remain in place until Dec. 31, 2010 or until a comprehensive Coastal Management Plan for the town is completed. Exceptions would be made for emergency situations affecting public roads, buildings or other public assets threatened by destruction. NO ASPHALT IN TOWN Another article sponsored by Stover seeks to require that cobblestones be used in the Old Historic District whenever a road needs repaving. NEW BOARD OF HEALTH Curtis Barnes has submitted an article proposing that town health regulations be changed to establish a separate Board of Health composed of five members, three of whom will possess health or health-related expertise. Barnes said his research showed that the towns of Yarmouth and Barnstable are using a similar model. Though he describes the current Board of Health, which is the Board of Selectmen, as "good people," he does not believe they are competent to evaluate questions on health issues. "As we continue to grow I think the selectmen should focus on strategic planning and general management," said Barnes. CONSISTENCY IN GOVERNMENT Barnes submitted another article seeking to amend the charter and mandate that the Planning Director report directly to the Town Manager so the relationship is consistent with how all other town department heads report. Barnes said while he knows there is a level of communication between Town Manager Libby Gibson and Planning Director Andrew Vorce, the fact that Vorce does not report to her directly came to his attention after Vorce traveled to New York on Oct. 28 to meet with agents of the Schmidt Family Foundation which bought 10-12 Washington St. for a proposed bus hub. Barnes was not pleased that Gibson had not been notified of the meeting. "That's not the way I want to run the railroad," said Barnes, adding that he believes direct reporting creates better organizational structure. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PERSUASION The first of three citizens articles dealing with alternative methods of generating electricity, Karen Alence's idea is to compel the island to become more self-sufficient in producing power. Alence is asking Town Meeting voters to tell the town that it must employ "pro-active and clearly defined government polices" that facilitate all forms of alternative energy production for Nantucketers who want to construct them for personal and commercial use. Specifically, Alence is speaking of solar panels for the generation of electricity and hot water, geothermal, wind turbines and tidal generators. There are already solar panels in several locations around the island, and there could be more once the Brunswick, Maine solar power lease company, Citizenrë, begins installing personal solar power systems on the island. Although the Historic District Commission approved two wind turbine installations this year - one for Bartlett's Ocean View Farm and another for residential use - these projects have yet to gear up. And 61 percent of Nantucket voters already said they do not want wind turbines in Nantucket Sound via Question 8 on the 2006 annual election ballot. But tidal energy, also known as in- stream energy conversion, is still in its infancy in the region. Currently, the Nantucket Planning & Economic Development Commission is interested in pursuing tidal generators near Muskeget Island. ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT Joan Barnes, a former Planning Board member for 13 years, has submitted an article to amend the terms of Planning Board members from five to three years. She said she believes the board "needs new blood," and especially hopes to draw the interest of people 40 to 55 years old who might not want a five year commitment but would be attracted to government involvement if the term was trimmed to three years. PRESERVING RURAL CHARACTER An article sponsored by Grant Sanders seeks to maintain the island's rustic character by essentially maintaining the town's code on limitations for street and sidewalk work approved in 2004 but eliminating the exception that allows the Planning Board to require road paving as part of subdivision approvals. The code already prohibits traffic signals; road widenings for vehicle capacity; turning lanes; new public streets and paving unimproved public ways. Sanders wants the people of Nantucket to decide on covering dirt with asphalt. "The idea is to reinforce the original intent of the article written by Christine Silverstein. Paving dirt roads should be a community decision," he said. ANOTHER PITCH FOR PLAYING FIELDS Stephen Theroux sponsored an article seeking voter approval for $3.6 million to be used by Parks and Recreation for a 15-acre sports field complex on Land Bank property off Milestone and Nobadeer Farm roads. If the appropriation is approved, voters would give final approval through passage of a debt exclusion override ballot question for whatever amount is needed. Parks and Rec asked for a $1 million allocation towards the project from the Community Preservation Committee, which settled on a $500,000 grant for FY09. SAFETY IN NUMBERS An article sponsored by Frank Spriggs seeks to amend a town bylaw pertaining to the regulation of street numbers. Currently, numbers visible from public or private ways are required on improved lots and provided by the owner and/or occupant. The amendment would stipulate owners provide numbers on every building that serves as a dwelling or place of business and that numbers on buildings set more than 15 feet from a public way are no smaller than four inches high. Under display of numbers, the amendment changes the current wording 'improved lots' to 'buildings,' adding that buildings more than 50 feet from a public way have numbers at least four inches high displayed at the intersection of the driveway and public way visible in both directions. Under violations and penalties, the article changes the penalty from $20 per offense to $50 per offense, but eliminates the current wording that each day is a separate offense. LIMITING ACCESS FOR MOTORIZED DEVICES An article submitted by Heather Peroni seeks to amend a town bylaw pertaining to motorized passenger devices such as scooters and skateboards by prohibiting them on any town-owned or controlled public way, sidewalk, park, playground or beach without written permission from the appropriate town officer. Exceptions would be made for Segway personal transporters to an extent authorized by the town. A HELPING HAND Deborah Timmerman wants the town to set the example of going green by requiring that all new town-owned and town-sponsored buildings built after her article is adopted - both residential and non-residential - are equipped with renewable energy mechanisms for electricity, heat and hot water. Timmerman also wants future town buildings to be constructed per the conservation and environment-friendly guidelines of the Green Building Council so that all of these buildings are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified. To ensure that this gets done, the second half of Timmerman's article would require that the Board of Selectmen appoints a committee to stay on top of this issue by providing the selectmen with renewable energy systems information and helping them choose the right system for each building. SUN POWER NOW! Singling out solar panels from other forms of nonfossil fuel energy, a third alternative energy article, also authored by Karen Alence, is an attempt to get the Historic District Commission to make it easier for island property owners to have solar panels approved for their buildings and land. As a necessary caveat, Alence stipulates that whatever the HDC does to encourage islanders to add solar power systems to their properties, that it not compromise the integrity of its own historic preservation measures already in existence. The HDC is already approving around a half dozen solar panel installations each year. MUSICAL SLIPS As any boat owner already knows, pier and boat basin slips are priceless during the summer. Currently, the 80 slips at the town pier are assigned each spring via a lottery held in the selectmen's office on the last Friday of April. The annual slip permits are for the period from May 30 through Sept. 30. Any boat owner can enter the lottery by submitting a copy of their vessel's registration to the Marine & Coastal Resources Department anytime after the first of the year. Recreational slips are doled out in the lottery to any Massachusetts resident with a boat registered in the state, but commercial boat owners entering the lottery must provide proof of year-round residence to enter the lottery. Two handicap slips are also chosen each season. Nantucketer Leo Asadoorian is sponsoring an article to limit all 80 town pier boat slips - including recreational, commercial and handicap - to Nantucket residents who can prove that the island is their primary residence. CONTRACTOR SUPERVISION Apparently, contractors working on historic structures need closer supervision than Deborah Timmerman believes the Historic District Commission can provide, and she is sponsoring a citizen's article to give the HDC some help from the Nantucket Historical Commission. If Timmerman's article is adopted, before contractors can initiate work on island structures built before 1900 they would have to register with NHC and reregister once a month for the length of the project. They would also be required to hand over copies of all their approvals and permits from the HDC and the Building Department, and copies of their worker's compensation and liability insurance. The NHC will be able to review the project at any time. Contractors would also have to pay a $250- monthly-fee to work on the project for no more than 24 months. Island-based contractors could have this fee waived if they comply with all other tenets of this article. Should contractors detour from the parameters of any of their permits, NHC would have the power to order the Building Department to issue a stop-work order for noncompliance, punishable by a fine of $1,000 for every day that they remain in violation with an additional 12-percent interest compounded monthly. EASING LEASH RESTRICTIONS Articles submitted soon after the selectmen's office first began accepting them in October include one sponsored by Dr. John West to alter the town leash law by eliminating wording that currently prohibits dogs from running at large beyond their owners' property unless restrained by a leash. Instead, the amendment states that a dog may not run at large unless it is "under the control of the owner" who indicates "responsibility" for the animal's behavior. SEEKING LEASE EXTENSION The Veterans of Foreign Wars submitted an article asking the town to extend its lease on Bunker Road by another 25 years. The current lease has 22 years remaining, but the veterans are asking for the threeyear extension to secure a mortgage to finish construction of its new post. If the selectmen approve an extension prior to Town Meeting this article probably will not be called. SEWER MAP CHANGES One of the earliest submissions is for an article sponsored by Richard Glidden seeking to amend the sewer map for 'Sconset by adding 11 parcels to it. I |
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