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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-7-17Ni,-ITUCKE T Ct'VN C L E R Town and County of Nantucket AUGOADS AND RIGHT OF WAY COMMITTEE 2018G 24 A ��' ' 2 Meeting of 17 July 2018 Conference Room of 2 Fairgrounds Road FINAL AND APPROVED MINUTES 1. Call to Order, Approval of the Agenda, Approval of Minutes, and Public Comments. A. Chair Allen Reinhard called the meeting to order at 4:10 pm. In attendance were Rick Atherton, Nelson (Snookie) Eldridge, Nat Lowell, Allen Reinhard, and Lee Saperstein (by telephone); the Chair declared that there was a quorum. Absent: Leslie Forbes, Bert Ryder, and Stephen Welch. B. Approval of the Agenda. The agenda was approved unanimously. C. Minutes. The minutes of 19 June 2018 were approved unanimously. D. Public Comments. There were none. 2. Annual Committee Reorganization. Inasmuch as there was another competing meeting in which some committee members were in attendance, the reorganization of the Roads and Right of Way Committee was deferred until they could join the meeting. 3. Saperstein Motion to Advise the Select Board to Petition the Commonwealth for Delegation of Authority to Manage the Chapter 91 licensing program. It was unanimously agreed that the motion for Nantucket to seek delegation of authority and responsibility for Chapter 91 Licenses should be forwarded to the Select Board for action; the motion is attached to these minutes. [Action: Lee Saperstein to forward the motion to the Town Manager and Allen Reinhard to contact Erika Mooney and Libby Gibson to put this action on the Select Board calendar.] 4. Master List of Public and Private Ways Update. Rick Atherton reported that he had visited the office of the Town Clerk and that they had found a card file in their vault with a list of streets showing ownership status, private or public, but it is not up to date. It was agreed that we should ask Andrew Vorce to advise on how this file should be brought up to date and, then, subsequently, how it can be broadcast on the Committee's web site. Committee members felt strongly that the Director of the DPW should be responsible for archiving this list and for displaying it on their web site [Allen Reinhard to contact the DPW to maintain and advertise the site.]. 5. Pleasant Street, Prospect Street and Cliff Road Sidewalk Improvements, Update. Mike Burns, Transportation Planner was not present so there was no update presented. Nat Lowell spoke at length on the high curb along Prospect Street and near to Mill Street that damages tires when vehicles scrape up against them. 6. Somerset Road and Friendship Lane Update. Allen Reinhard reported that, after the last storm, there was a huge puddle in the intersection of the two roads but, inasmuch as they are still private roads there was nothing that we could do about it. Lee Saperstein asked if there has been has been any interaction with the Town, either on fixing this or on a taking? The answer was "not yet." 7. Progress report: New Downtown Sidewalks at Straight Wharf. Allen Reinhard reported that the Sidewalks look good but they are now inviting to moped drivers who use them to skip around traffic.. 8. Committee Annual Report and Updated Potential Takings List to Select Board and Department of Public Works. Allen Reinhard said that he would be compiling the Annual Report from the minutes of the various meetings. It was suggested by Lee Saperstein that the Potential Takings List be included in the annual report and presented to the Select Board. 9. Old, New or Other Business: Cemetery Access, Member Comments. Under old Business, Rick Atherton spoke about the takings on James Street and his concern that a wide enough strip of land in the middle of the way be retained for Town purposes. He said that the normal process is for the Town to take a private way and then convey it back at 50 percent each to the abutters while retaining a five-foot easement for pedestrians to use as a way to the beach. Thus, on a 20ft way, each abutter would be able to purchase a ten -foot strip and the Town would retain a five-foot easement in the middle. On James Street, he hoped that the Town would retain ownerhip of a ten -foot strip in the middle of the way and convey only five feet to each of the abutters. [Action: Allen Reinhard to discuss this possibility with Andrew Vorce.] Nat Lowell told the committee that he believed that the northeast side of Quaker Road (on the Town side) could be expanded by a foot or two so as to accommodate the trucks making their way to Madaket. Allen Reinhard offered to check with Rob McNeil on the possibility of 2 widening Quaker Road opposite the cemetery. [Action; Allen Reinhard to discuss with Rob McNeil the widening of Quaker Road alongside the Quaker Cemetery.] 10. Adjournment Adjournment came at 5:10 pm with the completion of the agenda. The next meeting is at 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 21, 2018. Roads & ROW Outstanding Projects List: Public Way Monument Project: (Lee & Allen & Snookie) • Install remaining monuments at Sconset Footpath, Hulbert Ave. • Update file of existing monuments. • Move monuments at Westchester St. Ext. & Crooked Lane. • Sidewalk Projects: (Allen & Stephen) • Prospect St. (bike path to Upper Vestal St.) and on to Madaket bike path. • Cliff Rd. Coffin Park to bike path at Sherburne Tpk. • Pleasant St. Gardner Perry Lane to Williams St. • Follow implementation of downtown sidewalk improvements. • Bike/Pedestrian connection from Surfside to Hummock Pond to Madaket paths. Harbor Walk Project: (Rick) • Identify route and identify sections needing constructed walkway. • Concept drawings of construction required. • List permits and approvals needed and process to obtain. • Funding. Spruce Street (East Creek Rd.) Viewing Platform: (Rick) • Choose site. • Review requirements of CPA grant. • Develop concept and plan. • Permits and approvals. • Bids. Chapter 91 Monitor Project: (Leslie & Lee) • Define goals for project. • Make local license information available on line. • Chapter 91 licenses along route for the Harbor Walk. • Locate other locations on Nantucket and Madaket Harbors requiring licenses. 3 Nantucket Greenway and Trail System Project: (Allen, Lee, Bert) • Nantucket Central Rail Road trail. • Map existing island trail and footpath systems and identify missing links. • How should aps and information be shazed? Date Lee W. Saperstein, 4 X -el g Nantucket Committee on Roads and Right of Way PROPOSED MOTION TO THE SELECT BOARD REQUEST DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS FOR MANAGEMENT AND ENFORCEMENT OF CHAPTER 91 LICENSES Motion: At its meeting of Tuesday, July 17, 2018, the Committee on Roads and Right of Way voted five to zero (unanimously) to recommend that the Select Board seek delegation of authority, by whichever means is appropriate, from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for management and enforcement of Chapter 91 licenses in and around Nantucket waters. Justification: • Water quality is of paramount importance to Nantucket. Recent expenditures on sewers, water company, and sewage plant show the Island's willingness to fund infrastructure improvements that support this quality. New regulations on septic systems, fertilizer application, protection of great ponds, and well -water testing are of equal importance in support of water quality. • The Harbor Overlay District within Nantucket's zoning regulations also supports Nantucket's interest in its waters. • The Conservation Commission rules on wetlands and waterside land protection are a vigorous manifestation of the interest in water quality. • Chapter 91 of the Massachusetts General Laws is a broad section of state law. Of particular interest to this motion is the issuance of licenses for structures ancillary to land- based structures, as explained in Section 18 and others. Although first formalized in 1866, the origins of the waterways protection go back to the colonial ordinances of 1641- 47. • Geographic isolation means that Nantucket has not had vigorous support from the Chapter 91 License office. This motion is meant to increase surveillance of licensing activity and enforcement of individual licenses. Background: Licensing is done now by the Mass Department of Environmental Protection. Experience shows that this department does not have a presence on Nantucket and has not spent much time on Nantucket enforcing this law. License applications are filed in the department's office and are available to the public but only on one day of each week and only after an appointment has been made to view them. Digital searches of their license file is not possible. The license itself must be recorded with the deed for each specific 5 property; if it has, then it can be found on-line with the recorded deed. There is no master file of Nantucket Chapter 91 licenses. • In response to earlier requests from members of the Select Board, the committee has researched these licenses and found that the Department of Natural Resources keeps an informal file on those of which they know. There is a broad gap of knowledge, however, for those properties that should have a license and do not. • A report on the committee's interaction with the Coordinator of Natural Resources, Jeff Carlson, was submitted to the Board of Selectmen on July 20, 2016. The report and the letter of transmittal are appended to this motion. • Mr. Carlson has indicated that he welcomes this motion. For the committee, Lee W. Saperstein, Secretary July 17, 2018. 0