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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 Contact Us! Town of Nantucket Website 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!