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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTown Managers Newsletter - 2010 06 21 From the Desk of Town Manager Libby Gibson JUNE 21, 2010 VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3 Town of Nantucket 16 Broad St. Nantucket, MA 02554 P: (508) 228-7255 F: (508) 228-7272 Contact Us! Town of Nantucket Website Newsletter Archives Subscribe to the Newsletter The First Editions… This new monthly e-newsletter is meant to convey information to the public about current Town projects, programs, initiatives and accomplishments in a timely, easy-to-access manner. This is a new initiative for Town Administration and comments and suggestions about this newsletter are welcome. Board of Selectmen Goals 2010-2011 At its meeting on June 2, 2010, the Board of Selectmen adopted several goals for 2010-11. The goals can be viewed at http://www.nantucket- ma.gov/Pages/NantucketMA_BOS/FY11BOSGoals.pdf. Town Administration is in the process of developing an action plan for each associated task and we will be updating the Board with regular progress reports, probably monthly. These goals help the Board and Town Administration to focus on issues important to the functioning of the Town, community quality of life and infrastructure improvements. The goals were unanimously adopted by the Board with full support from Town Administration. We look forward to working with our departments and the Board on implementation. PEG Channel Access Update The Board has been discussing the implementation of a PEG channel (Public Education Government, a local access cable channel) for several months. Most recently at its June 2 meeting, the Board agreed to schedule a workshop meeting later in June to review some of the issues in more detail. A PEG channel, which is common in municipalities around the country, is funded through (in our case) a 3% surcharge on your cable television bill. A town itself can operate the PEG or a non-profit group can do it. We are looking at the non- profit group arrangement. The “P” part of PEG would allow the public to televise its own programming (within certain specified guidelines), the “G” component would allow for the Government use – with all or most board/commission meetings being televised as well as other public information purposes; while the “E” would be available for the local educational purposes for the public and private schools. The new police station will contain an area for the “G” component to take place. July 4th Fireworks T-Shirts for Sale Special edition Fourth of July 2010 fireworks T-shirts are available in limited supply from the Visitor Services office – revenue from the sale of these cool shirts will go into a fund for the annual fireworks display. Speaking of which: this year’s fireworks will be held on Sunday, July 4 at approximately 9:00 pm. In the event of fog, we wait to see if it disperses. If, after an assessment (with everyone’s jaws clenched) it does not appear to be dispersing quickly enough, the fireworks will be postponed until Monday, July 5. If there is extreme bad weather on July 4th, a decision will be made by 6:00 pm that day as to postponing until the next day. Let’s hope for the best! Landfill Wind Turbine Grant Approved As mentioned in my prior newsletter, the Board of Selectmen recently approved the submittal of a grant application to the state for nearly $400,000 for the construction of a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine at the landfill where a communications tower was located. The total cost of the turbine is estimated at approximately $4,500,000. Payback is expected to be made within 8-10 years. Subsequently, on-going savings would be realized through the energy generated by the turbine. Last week, we received word from the state that our application was…..approved! We are in the process of engaging a project manager and will soon begin to plan for a potential special town meeting in the fall for a debt exclusion override. As the project develops further, more information will follow. We would appreciate receiving public input on the prospect of this wind turbine. New Airport Parking System The Airport’s new “Chip Coin Parking System” will be on-line, beginning on June 21. The system involves receiving a small poker-like token from an automated station at the entrance of the parking lot which records the date and time of entry. If your vehicle is in the lot for only the day, you simply deposit the Coin Chip upon exit with no charge. If your vehicle is in the lot for longer than a day, there is a charge which can be paid for with cash or credit card. A more complete overview of this system is found on the Airport’s website at http://www.nantucketairport.com/index.html.