HomeMy WebLinkAboutManagerNewsletter20140414
From the Desk of Town
Manager Libby Gibson
APRIL 14, 2014 VOLUME 5, NUMBER 1
Town of Nantucket
16 Broad St. Nantucket, MA 02554
P: (508) 228-7255 F: (508) 228-7272
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Newsletter Archives
Regrettably, my e-newsletter took a
fall/winter hiatus, but it’s back!
Town Administration News and Updates
At the April 2, 2014 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, I provided the Board with
my monthly overview of current and recent Town Administration activities.
The overview was not meant to be all-inclusive, just highlights, including:
meetings with the Finance Committee about the Fiscal Year 2015 budget and
2014 Annual Town Meeting warrant articles; completion of an easy-to-
understand Voter’s Guide to the Town Meeting warrant articles and motions;
attention to the Sconset Bluff erosion control project and the coordination of
a second public information session about the project held on March 27th;
collective bargaining; discussions about a fast ferry shuttle service for this
summer; review of proposed cemetery regulations; work on an amendment
to the Town’s Committee Manual pertaining to a Code of Conduct for board,
committee and commission members.
2014 Annual Town Meeting
The 2014 Annual Town Meeting was held on Saturday, April 5, 2014. Turnout
seemed a little on the low side. The warrant contained 107 articles of which
19 were called for discussion. Some of the most discussed included: Article
10 (General Fund Capital Projects) and whether or not funds should be
appropriated for solar-powered compacting trash cans – the article passed,
with the proposed expenditure; Article 33 (Local Room Occupancy Tax
Dedication Request) – this was a citizen-sponsored article with a non-binding
request, which passed; Article 77 (Request for Town Meeting Warrant Articles
to be Presented in “Common Conversational English”) – this was a citizen-
sponsored article which was defeated. However, this article prompted the
Town to prepare an easy-to-understand Voter’s Guide to the Warrant Articles
and Motions. Article 80 (Charter Amendment to Make the Town Manager
Elected) – this was a citizen-sponsored article which was defeated; Article 90
(Home Rule Petition Relative to Retirement Benefits for Nantucket Town and
County Employees) – another citizen-sponsored article which did pass;
however, the Board of Selectmen at its April 9, 2014 meeting agreed to hold
the article for the time being (rather then send it to our legislators for filing)
until some additional analysis and evaluation can be done. The Town Meeting
began at about 9:15 am and concluded around 4:00 pm.
Projects
Phase II-B Downtown Sewer Rehabilitation Project
This project is a continuation of Phase I-B which replaced sewer and water
lines in a number of other areas of the downtown several years ago. Phase
II-B was originally bid in 2008, bids came in above the appropriation,
economic conditions were in a down turn and the project was put off. In
2012, voters at the annual town meeting approved an increase in the
appropriation and bids came in well within the available funding. The first
phase of the II-B project began in the winter of 2012-13. The project
continued over the fall/winter of 2013-14. It made for interesting driving
around Town all winter. As of this week, the project, thankfully, wrapped up
and repaving of the streets began. We expect the downtown to look 100%
better by (or before) Daffodil Weekend. Some limited work remains to be
done and will resume in the fall; however, it will not be anywhere near as
disruptive as it was this winter.
Sconset Footbridge
The 2013 Annual Town Meeting appropriated $90,000 to repair and repaint
the footbridge. The project began this spring and is nearly complete; AND
came in well under budget ($19,800). It will look quite nice in time for
Daffodil Weekend.
Wage and Classification Study
Several months ago, we initiated a wage and classification study for Town
employee positions. Many towns conduct such studies every 5 years or so.
We haven’t done one in approximately 20 years, so, it’s time. The consultant
(DIJ Consulting) has revised position descriptions and is in the process of
finalizing development of a consistent classification system (which will
ultimately have to be bargained with the affected unions); and, conducting a
comparative review of Nantucket employee compensation vs. other
municipalities. Completion of the study is expected in early May.
Of Interest
Back in the fall, our Energy Coordinator, Lauren Sinatra received a citation
from Representative Tim Madden at a Leading By Example Awards ceremony
at the State House. Click here for an article on the award which appeared in a
MassDOT (Massachusetts Department of Transportation) newsletter.
Congratulations, Lauren!
Last fall, we added two new staff members:
Heidi Bauer – Procurement Officer
Heidi comes to us from Colorado; however, has summered on Nantucket for
many years. She is thrilled to finally make a permanent move to a place she
holds dear. Professionally, Heidi worked over 20 years as a state prosecutor,
has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Government and History, as well as a
law degree. Welcome, Heidi!
Silvio Genao – Town Engineer
Silvio comes to Nantucket from Barnstable, MA where he worked for 5 years
for the Town of Barnstable. He lived on Nantucket previously and worked for
Nantucket Surveyors. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, is a
Registered Professional Engineer and also a Massachusetts Certified Public
Purchasing Official.
Welcome, Silvio!
Both Heidi and Silvio are already well immersed in the activities of their
departments.
Pedestrians and Traffic
Click here for an interesting article from a publication put out by the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts about the direction in which pedestrians
should walk in relation to traffic.
Recognitions
Special thanks to Bill and Kathy Grieder and Louise Swift for their work to
scrape and repaint the Madaket Road mile markers. Until Bill brought the mile
markers to my attention as needing work, I’m sorry to say I did not even
notice them…. (I kept saying to him “are you sure you are talking about the
right road?”) These three citizens did a fantastic job – below is an example of
Mile Marker #4:
Before
During
After
Thank you Grieders and Weezie!
Board of Selectmen Activities
The Board’s meeting of April 2, 2014 was one for the most lengthy meetings
list. Due to the “Spring Blizzard of March 26, 2014” the Board meeting
scheduled for that day was cancelled and many of the items moved to the
April 2nd agenda which already contained a number of items. April 2 agenda
items included: the presentation of a new brochure prepared by Visitor
Services, called “Nanetiquette”; a Proclamation for World Autism Awareness
Day; appointments to the Conservation Commission (Bam LaFarge) and the
Airport Commission (Neil Planzer); an HDC appeal (it’s never a good idea to
try to explain one of these); an update about the possibility of a fast ferry
shuttle for this summer; a review of the Hummock Pond opening protocol;
Town Administration monthly activities update; adoption of a Code of
Conduct to the Town’s Committee Manual; review of several 2014 Annual
Town Meeting warrant articles.
The Board held its monthly workshop meeting on April 9. The Board first
renewed my employment contract (thank you Board) and also the Chair read
a summary of the associated performance evaluation. The Board had a good,
detailed discussion about the findings and recommendations of a bulk fuel
tank farm relocation feasibility study. I expect more discussion on this in the
coming months. The Board also discussed some of the actions to be taken on
votes of the April 5, 2014 Annual Town Meeting.
In Memoriam
Sadly, due to its health and condition, the stately and beautiful tree next to
the Brotherhood on Broad Street had to be removed over the winter. A new
tree will be planted in its place at some point, but we will all miss the
presence of this great tree (photo by Ray Sylvia, Jr.).
Get to Know Your Town Volunteers
This monthly feature highlights a member of a Town board, committee or
commission, their interest in serving and some other information about them.
This month, I interviewed Dylan Wallace, an appointed member of the
Agricultural Commission.
Q: How long have you lived on Nantucket?
A: Born and raised, 28 years and counting
Q: Where are you from?
A: Our fair island
Q: What is your job?
A: Farmer & Chocolatier
Q: How long have you served on the (committee, board, commission,
volunteer position)?
A: Since 2009
Q. Have you served on any other Town boards or committees besides that
one?
A: No
Q: What interests you about serving the Town makes you want to be
involved?
A: Our unique opportunity to be involved with making positive changes to
how our town operates. With involvement and dedication we can work
together to keep what we treasure about Nantucket and also at the same
time work towards improving aspects that need to change with the times.
Q: What is the most rewarding part about serving?
A: Working with a diverse group of volunteers that really do care about how
our town operates and are dedicated to moving our thinking forward.
Q: What is the most challenging part?
A: The most challenging part is really organizing meeting times that
everyone can attend and getting everyone to make it on the day. Everyone
has one or two or three jobs, families and responsibilities that make it difficult
to make meetings.
Q: If you could change one thing about Town government, what would it be?
A: I would have more of our multicultural community involved in volunteer
committees & town meetings.
Q: What is your favorite spot on Nantucket?
A: That’s a hard one...my top three would be surfing around Cisco, sailing in
the harbor or walking my dog in the moors. All places that still have a
timeless beauty.
APRIL TRIVIA QUESTION
Who discovered the Island of Nantucket and in what year?
JULY/AUGUST TRIVIA QUESTION
In what year was the Civil War Monument erected?
Answer: 1875
CORRECT answers:
Can you believe NO ONE responded to this?! Not even my stalwart, Jim
Lentowski….
As always, ideas for future e-newsletter topics are welcome!