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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-12-19Town and County of Nantucket ROADS AND RIGHT OF WAY COMMITTEE Meeting of 19 December 2017 Conference Room of 2 Fairgrounds Road FINAL AND APPROVED MINUTES 1. Call to Order, Approval of the Agenda, Approval of Minutes, and Public Comme4a. m A. Chair Allen Reinhard called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. In attendance were Rick Z Atherton, Nelson (Snookie) Eldridge, Leslie Forbes, Nat Lowell, Allen Reinhard, Lee Saperstein, and Stephen Welch; there was a quorum at all times. Guest: Merrily and John Crowell o 0 Absent: Bert Ryder and John Stackpole B. Public Comment. Lee Saperstein reminded the group that the DPW has announced two public meetings to review their plans for sidewalks on Easy and Broad Streets. The meetings will be in the Training Room (upstairs) at 4 Fairgrounds Road, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on January 25 and February 22, 2018. arC�) At Chair Reinhard's request, John Crowell introduced himself and his wife Merrily. They live at 3 Marsh Hawk Lane and their concern is with poor drainage and excess water on their road. Marsh Hawk Lane is accessed only by Somerset Road, which becomes a private road at the end of the paved portion closest to Hummock Pond Road. Somerset turns after the intersection with Friendship Lane, which is also private, and leads to Marsh Hawk; it becomes public again when it reaches the intersection with Somerset Lane and Raceway Drive. Twelve families use this access and they call themselves the Middle Somerset Road group. Although the map shows that Marsh Hawk Lane reaches the Austin Farm subdivision, this second access is blocked by a gate. After a rain event, water pools on the dirt road and does not drain away. The problem is exacerbated by pumping from the Barrett property. The families pay for grading but rainstorms wash out the work after one event. The Friendship Lane Assn. maintains the northern portion of Somerset Lane but that does not help the Marsh Hawk Lane problem. The Crowells are seeking help, perhaps by the committee's re -emphasis on the taking of Somerset Road. They had a copy of the committee's "Potential Road Taking List Matrix" that lists Friendship Lane first. Stephen Welch suggested that if there are enough abutters who petition the Town for relief, then the Town can organize a cure but the costs of the project will be distributed back to the abutters over time. Rick Atherton said that we would like to help; the important thing is to find a solution not just to define the problem. John Crowell asked that we push the road taking. Allen Reinhard related a bit of history; years ago, the Town wanted to take the road but neighbors objected. He perceives that these neighbors might now be willing to support a taking. Nat Lowell says that when the road was built some sort of drainage basin may have been installed and if that facility can be located and restored, there may be some benefit. He went on to say that the town should take Somerset and pave it from the end of the pavement off Hummock Pond to Meadow View Drive. John Crowells said that there are indeed two catch basins but they do not work very well. Allen Reinhard will contact Chuck Larson, Assistant Director of the DPW, about the problem and see what he recommends. Leslie Forbes asked if the Marsh Hawk abutters work together. The Crowells responded, "yes, the 12 families we mentioned earlier." She suggested that they, together, make a case for repairs with the DPW director. [ACTION: Allen Reinhard will contact the DPW to tell them of the condition and to find out if the DPW has any remedies.] C. Minutes. Without a quorum at the November meeting, the committee needed to approve the minutes from October 17, 2017. Rick Atherton moved and Snookie Eldridge seconded the motion to approve the minutes and all were in favor. 2. Harbor Walk Project discussion. In the past month, Remain Nantucket had a meeting on a proposed Harbor Walk that Allen Reinhard attended. According to him, Remain is very interested in the walk and will work towards its construction. Engineers from VHB Consultants were there, as well as Mike Burns, Transportation Planner. Allen Reinhard had asked Nathan Porter, GIS Coordinator, to draw up a map of the properties over which a walk would be placed. Many of them are controlled by the Town or the Land Bank but there are several properties in private ownership that interrupt the potential walkway. One of them is at the end of Goose Pond Lane, Number 5, and the other is immediately behind it at 10 Spruce Street. Although somewhat submerged, the Town has a right of way between the ends of Spruce Street and East Creek Road. East of East Creek Road, there are two more privately owned properties and then there are several that are all owned by the Nantucket Island Land Bank. Rick Atherton spoke about harbor walks and the apparent confusion of whether or not bicycles would be permitted on them. He felt that bicycles might well be permissible. Allen Reinhard said that the engineers had not seen such a problem in other jurisdictions and Rick Atherton then said that we need to do some research before going to higher authority. Allen Reinhard suggested that, to move forward, we need a concrete vision of what we're seeking with a Harbor Walk. He said that the vision should be illustrated and with a potential route. Nat Lowell said that there is a potential joint project between the Town and the Land Bank. Stephen Welch agreed that creating a vision is a great idea but then what? Where do we go with the plan? Allen Reinhard said that, "yes, we do need more information, including from the Conservation Commission." Then we can put a plan together that we can offer to Remain and to the Town. He did ask the VHB engineers to see if they have more information about walkways on wetlands. H will follow up with VHB. There may be a second meeting sponsored by Remain. Meanwhile, all committee members should consider what the walk should look like. Nat Lowell said that the New Bedford representative to the Steamship Authority might have a lot of 2 information about harbor walks because he was involved with the planning for New Bedford's. He will contact his colleague about their experience with a walkway. [ACTION: Allen Reinhard will follow up with VHB engineers; he will also contact the ConComm to ask for information or to arrange a meeting; Nat Lowell will contact his colleague in New Bedford.] 3. Chapter 91 Update. Lee Saperstein related that there is no new news on Chapter 91. He reminded the Committee that the goal is to make available to the public on the Natural Resources web site the list of Nantucket licenses and the property to which they pertain. This would help us to identify properties that need licenses. Rick Atherton suggested that we should ask the Department of Natural Resources to notify us routinely when they receive an application for a Chapter 91 License. 4. Cliff Road sidewalk project: next steps. AR has recently walked Cliff Road to see where sidewalks could be installed from Coffin Park to the existing bike path at Sherburne Turnpike. Mike Burns suggested that we should put a plan for these sidewalks into the Transportation Improvement Program, TIP. Nat Lowell said that funding from this program is too slow; we should create a public-private partnership and have the abutters help pay for it. The Town should pay up front for engineering and planning documents that each owner could use. Allen Reinhard related that, according to Mike Burns, the place to start is to make a formal case for the sidewalks and then ask the Town to move forward with formal planning. Allen Reinhard will follow up with Mike Burns on these steps. Leslie Forbes said that we should highlight the partnership sidewalk on North Liberty St. Stephen Welch said that there a number of new houses being constructed and that we should not wait for owners to take possession but that we should the identify builders from HDC files and work with them. [ACTION: Allen Reinhard to talk to Mike Burns about next steps.] 5. Mill Hill bike path connector update. Allen Reinhard reported that construction of the Mill Hill Bike Path is on the drawing board for this spring and should be done by this coming summer. He will continue to monitor its progress. Nat Lowell asked whether we will be making a recommendation on Winn Street. We need to create a vision here also. Allen Reinhard said that reconstruction of the public portion of Winn Street was high on the potential project list of the former DPW Director. He will check on the current status of this project. [ACTION: Allen Reinhard to ask DPW Director about Winn Street.] 6. Old, New or other business: Access to Historic Coloured Cemetery. 3 Allen Reinhard reported that the access to the Historic Coloured Cemetery remains clear; the new hospital project is moving forward. Nat Lowell reminded us that the hospital project included a commitment on their part to support road improvements at the "Four Corners" intersection of Sparks, Atlantic, Surfside, and Prospect, which means that this road project can move forward. Stephen Welch agreed that it is underway but actual construction may not be for a couple of years. 7. Adjourn With the agenda completed, the meeting was adjourned at 5:41 pm. Next meeting: 4:00 p.m., January 18, 2018. (Thursday); we are checking to see if the conference room will be available for us on that date. R&ROW Committee Outstanding Projects List: Projects in need of advancement, completion or encoura e� ment • Installation of sidewalk from Prospect St. multi -use path to Upper Vestal Street. • Installation of Public Way Monuments: Sconset, Hulbert Ave, Eel Point, Surfside. • Chapter 91 Public Access License Enforcement. • Work with DPW on maintenance plan for public way monuments. • Maintenance Plan for West Chester St. Ext. and Crooked Lane. • Harbor Walk. Projects Underway and need only oversight until completion • Boulevarde to Airport road reconstruction as Public Ways. • Bike route linking Surfside, Hummock Pond & Madaket Bike paths via Mill Hill. • Downtown Sidewalk Project. Long Term Projects and projects on hold • Nantucket Central Railroad Trail Project. • Nantucket Greenway and Footpath System. • East Creek Road viewing platform and CPC grant. Completed Projects • First Way Pedestrian/Bike Access and Road Improvement Safety Project: Complete 9/17 • In Town Bike Path from Washington St. Ext. to Orange Street, Phase 1: Complete 11/17 4