Sports club opposed by Madaket residents
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Proponents of the Nantucket Sporting Club seemed to be playing the role of the hunted at the Planning Board meeting on Monday night as Madaket residents turned out in force to condemn the project.

In addition to the 48 letters of opposition to the proposed west end retreat for hunters and fishermen at 324 and 326 Madaket Road, the board also heard verbal complaints. There were, however, several oratories from islanders, who said the club would benefit Nantucket's hunting and fishing community.

Club developers Jamie Feeley, owner of Cottage & Castle, Inc., and Greg Cohen, came to the Planning Board meeting with changes they hoped would allay some of the concerns the board and Madaket residents had about the club. The Nantucket Sporting Club is planned to accommodate up to 300 members, a 60-seat restaurant and a three-lane bowling alley, and also to store ammunition and provide areas for gutting deer, fish and other game.

But neighbors of the project and other Madaket residents, armed with qualityof life concerns, aimed criticism at the developers.

"I think that it's really important that the board pay attention to the neighbors," said island attorney Rhoda Weinman, representing the 300 members of the Madaket Conservation Association. "I have never in my time here seen 48 letters in opposition to something. You've got the entire Madaket neighborhood in opposition here."

Madaket residents are nervous about the amount of traffic and parking problems the club could generate. There are only 36 proposed parking spaces, which could be especially troublesome during the summer when beachgoers jam the area with vehicles. Residents are also anxious about perceived noise levels they believe will increase due to traffic, early morning hunting and fishing excursions embarking from the property, along with restaurant use and other functions at the club.

Additionally, when summer comes, some residents lamented, the need for restrooms and a small general store - a store like the now-closed West End Market slated for demolition as part of the project - has almost become a necessity for beachgoers. The Nantucket Sporting Club, Madaket residents said, is not offering any help for this situation.

"I really feel that this would be a public benefit if this were open to the public," said Leslie Johnson, of 51 Washington Ave. "I don't think anybody is against a facility for the restaurant and a place to gather, [but] this inhibits this by having it be privatized - the privatization scares people away."

Sylvie O'Donnell of 259 Madaket Road agreed, spelling out Madaket's need for summertime amenities.

"People do come to Madaket to enjoy the beach, and in the past there's been a place to get some drinking water or something to eat, and now that facility will not be available to beachgoers anymore," she said.

Health Inspector Richard Ray addressed the topic of clean water. With the club now permitted by the town to pump 1,700 gallons per day for its septic system, with the potential for that to be doubled to 3,450 gpd by state Title V standards, but with a capacity for 3,980 gallons, Ray noted a very real potential for saltwater intrusion into Madaket's fresh water aquifer. He also asked whether the club would be reducing its septic system pumping to the Title V limit, but received no answer.

"My concern is still very simple - water in is water out," he said. "Why do we have such a large septic system?"

Feeley and Cohen's new offers to soften the blow on Madaket residents includes the Nantucket Fire Department's requirement of a 20,000-gallon water tank for fire suppression and contributing an additional 20,000-gallon water tank for the village of Madaket itself. The club also would allow public access to its bowling alley on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from Oct. 1 to Feb. 1 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.; host hunter education and fly-tying courses; and refrain from performing exterior construction from July 1 to Labor Day.

"Our primary target is Nantucket homeowners and primarily homeowners west of town," Feeley told the board.

Feeley and Cohen's case for their club was bolstered by several outdoorsmen in the audience, who said that such a sporting club is needed on Nantucket and would benefit year-round and seasonal residents.

"I believe that for me, a regular working guy on the island, this is the first thing on the island that I might be able to be a part of," Michael Watson said. "It really could benefit the entire community rather than a small portion of it."

The Planning Board shared its own reservations with Feeley and Cohen.

"Parking out there is a major issue, and once you exceed your capacity, that poses a problem and I think there will be plenty of watchful eyes out there," said Planning Board member Barry Rector. "I think the Westender hasn't been open for quite a period of time, so we've kind of forgotten what it's like to have that out there and it sort of posits a lot of questions."

Planning Board Chairman Frank Spriggs agreed.

"I do have some concerns and I'm not leaning toward this project right now dealing with water and parking and the whole thing," he said.

The board continued the public hearing to its

March 10 meeting. I