Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTown Managers Newsletter - 2011 08 05 From the Desk of Town Manager Libby Gibson AUGUST 5, 2011 VOLUME 2, NUMBER 8 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 Department News Town Administration Departmental Consolidations - Update Three department consolidations were implemented in Fiscal Year 2011: the Park & Recreation Department was combined with the Department of Public Works. Jimmy Manchester, Park & Recreation Director will continue to handle playing field scheduling and maintenance and the concessions at Children’s Beach, Jetties and Surfside, among other duties. The Jetties tennis court operation is being handled this summer by the Community School. The departments of Our Island Home, Senior Center, Human Services, along with the Senior Day Center (formerly known as Adult Community Day Care) program were combined into one consolidated Department of Human Services. Pamela Meriam, former Island Home Administrator, is the Human Services Director and continues to be assisted by Ann Medina on a part-time basis. Their office is located at 2 Bathing Beach Road, in the former Park & Recreation office building. Pam is currently working with the Council for Human Services on developing recommendations regarding the process through which the annual municipal funding allocation to health and human services organizations is reviewed. A relatively new group, the Nantucket Healthy Community Collaborative continues to meet on a monthly basis, developing collaborative and coordinated efforts for specific community needs. The third consolidation combined the departments of Building, Health and Historic District Commission into a Code Enforcement and Regulatory Services Department, headed by interim Director Richard Ray. As was discussed throughout the development of this consolidation and, as expected, there has been an adjustment period with new limited hours. We are currently reviewing some physical changes to the 37 Washington Street building to make the office layout and administration more conducive to customer service. We hope people will understand and be patient with the changes our consolidations have created. The Conservation Commission administration has been put under the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Coordinator, Jeff Carlson (formerly Beach Manager). Jeff is also working on a Water Quality Plan for the Town, as well as Coastal Management Principles. Wastewater Action Plan Outreach Update The Nantucket Garden Club held a Water Quality Forum on August 3rd, where I provided a brief update regarding the Board’s wastewater action plan goal for 2011-12. Selectmen Rick Atherton and Whitey Willauer also attended. Presenters at the Forum were: Cormac Collier of the Nantucket Land Council; Bob Gardner of Wannacomet Water; Dave Fronzuto and Tara Riley of the Marine & Coastal Resources Department and Richard Ray, interim Code Enforcement Director/Health Officer. The event was very well attended and extremely informative. We thank the Club for including us in their meeting. We provided a similar update to the Tom Nevers Association on August 6th and are scheduled for the Rotary Club on August 17th. The first wastewater action plan newsletter is out and second is in the works. Special Visitor I was able to spend about an hour with Greg Fischer, Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky this week discussing municipal issues, including Nantucket’s renowned recycling program. We probably could have talked all day about this stuff but he was on vacation. Board of Selectmen At its August 3rd meeting, the Board voted to establish a mosquito control advisory committee which will, among other things: prepare special legislation for the 2012 annual town meeting and recommend a plan for mosquito control applications, locations, personnel and equipment. Special legislation to establish Nantucket as a Mosquito Control District would allow the Town to apply mosquito control measures to private property and would exempt the Town from Conservation Commission approval for certain measures. The $100,000 operating override approved at the June 14, 2011 special election, we hope, will help with mosquito control mitigation efforts in 2012. The extent of 2012 efforts is likely to be limited, however, until legislation is in place. Once the committee is appointed and begins to meet, more information will follow on this. We will begin advertising for the committee shortly and hope to have it in place by the end of September, 2011. Public Safety Personnel from the Police and Fire Departments were publicly recognized at the Board’s August 3rd meeting for their life-saving efforts during an incident in April where individuals at a house on Macys Lane were overcome by carbon monoxide. Thanks to the efforts of our personnel (and those of Nantucket Cottage Hospital, of course), no lives were lost. Individuals recognized were: Fire Captain Thomas H. Holden and firefighters Earl C. Eldridge and Christopher M. Beamish; Police Sergeant Daniel Furtado and police officers Michael L. Mabardy, Keith A. Mansfield, Michael P. Nee, and Michael J. Cook. They each received a plaque and lifesaving commendation bars for their uniforms. We are proud of and grateful to them. Information Technology Molly Sprouse and Nathan Porter of the IT Department each recently received a pin signifying 5 years of service to the Town. Shown are: Linda Rhodes, Information Systems Coordinator; Nathan, Molly, and Patrick McGloin. We thank them all for their hard work! Community Events/News Surfside-area residents have taken matters into their own hands regarding some much-needed repairs to the intersection of the Boulevarde and Lovers Lane. These and the other nearby private roads (which as we all know are heavily used by the public) have been in poor condition for many years. Town bylaws prevent the Town from making repairs to private roads without certain mechanisms being in place, which despite some efforts to secure them, have not been successful. An override to fund taking and some repair costs failed at the June special election. An effort headed by Chris Magee who also serves on the Town’s Beach Management Advisory Committee, yielded enough funds to repair this intersection, plus potentially some of the other worst areas along these roads (Boulevarde, Lovers Lane, Okorwaw, Monohansett). The Board of Selectmen is committed to pursing the acquisition of funds for the taking and repair (reconstruction) costs, with abutter contribution. This photo of the Boulevarde/Lovers Lane intersection actually does not do justice to its real condition, before this: New England Organ Bank On July 11, 2011, Matthew Boger of the New England Organ Bank which is the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) for Massachusetts and New England, along with the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, Rachel Kaprelian and Representative Timothy Madden were present for a presentation regarding the RMV’s work in registering organ donors. The Town was included as the Town Building houses the Nantucket branch of the RMV. The important work that the Registry of Motor Vehicles does each day was acknowledged with appreciation -- 99% of all people who identify themselves as a donor do so at the RMV. Nantucket Community Association/Advisory Committee of Non-voting Taxpayers Annual Forum An annual forum sponsored by the above groups will be held on Tuesday, August 16th beginning at 9:30 am in the Great Hall at the Nantucket Atheneum. Each Board member and I will give a short update on a selected topic, followed by a Question and Answer session. In Memoriam Bailey Hamilton-Pardee, the loyal border collie of Kate Hamilton-Pardee, Nantucket Visitor Services Director, was born November 14, 1994 and passed July 5, 2011 (of course being the great and intelligent guy he was, he waited until after the fireworks). Bailey loved the beach, hiking in New Hampshire with dips in the cool streams, cross-country skiing and catching Frisbees that he would never retrieve back to the thrower. He truly loved people and was especially kind to everyone. Monday through Friday in the late afternoon he sat at Kate’s sliding glass door at home to wait for her to return from work. He never missed a day. Bailey – gone but not forgotten AUGUST TRIVIA QUESTION Where is this: ANSWER to JULY TRIVIA QUESTION Name one or more of the coldest interior locations on Nantucket during the summer: Barbara Gookin – Nantucket Ice Linda Roberts – Stop & Shop Erika Mooney – Stop & Shop Jim Lentowski – Stop & Shop; Grand Union; Nate Thurston’s Icehouse Jason Graziadei – Nantucket Ice; Hatch’s walk-in beer cooler Diane O’Neil – Nantucket Ice; Stop & Shop (by the milk) All good and accurate answers – I was surprised no one mentioned the Candy Room at Force Five or the room in the Pacific Club Building where the ATM is!