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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning and Economic Development Commission Minutes - August 4, 2008_201402060750257470MINUTES REGULAR MEETING NANTUCKET PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 7:00 PM, MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2008 2 FAIRGROUNDS ROAD 12 Members Present: Andrew Bennett, Brian Chadwick, Jack Gardner, Sylvia Howard, Bert Johnson, Michael Kopko, Nat Lowell, John McLaughlin, Barry Rector, Don Visco, Jeff Willett, Linda Williams Staff Present: Andrew Vorce, T.Michael Burns, Leslie Snell, Tom Broadrick, Jeromette Hicks Audience Present: Melissa Philbrick, Rachel Hobart, Michelle Whelan, Jack McGrady, Peter Brace (Independent), I. Call to Order Chairman Lowell called the meeting to order at 7:00PM. II. Establishment of Quorum The Chairman declared a quorum was present. III. Approval of Agenda The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby approve the agenda of Aug. 4, 2008, as submitted. The vote was unanimous. IV. Approval of Minutes: Approval: Meeting of June 2, 2008 Approval: Meeting of July 14, 2008 The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby approve the minutes of June 2, 2008. The vote was unanimous. The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby approve the minutes of July 14, 2008. The vote was unanimous. V. Public Comment - None VI. Action / Discussion Items A. Action / Discussion: Acceptance of Membership Appointments 1. Housing Authority / Bert V. Johnson Jr. 2. ConCom / Andrew Bennett The motion was made by John McLaughlin and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby accept the membership appointments of Bert Johnson from the Housing Authority and Andrew Bennett from the ConCom. The vote was unanimous. B. Discussion: Urban Land Institute / ReMain Nantucket Melissa Philbrick gave a brief over view of the ReMain Nantucket Project. They hope that the NP&EDC and the public will participate in giving input. Other than the interviews the deadline for comments is Aug. 22, 2008. The Urban Land Institute is coming to Nantucket to hold interviews and give recommendations the week of Oct. 12, 2008. Staff did make some constructive comments on questions 1-7. This will be an agenda item for the Oct. 6, 2008 meeting. C. Action / Discussion: TIP, FY 2009 – 2012 ` A power point presentation was given by Transportation Planner T. Michael Burns. These projects, Cliff Rd, 4-Corners & Hummock Pond Rd, were adjusted on the TIP schedule due to their readiness. The major discussion of the 4-Corners intersection realignment included: Options #2 was the consultants & staffs’ recommendation County roads are not governed by the Town Bylaws. The queuing up from all directions and the best way to handle the flow The ability of trucks turning through this intersection in reference to all options Some liked the turning lane and some did not Phasing of the project may be possible School parking lot cannot afford to lose any spots, whatever decision is made The traffic back-up in the mid-area was looked at with a 3-part phase to ease that situation. Only 1-part has been completed, the Sparks Ave. roundabout. The roundabout was never an anticipated cure-all for traffic congestion in this area. A specific recommendation by the Commission must be made at the Oct. 6, 2008 meeting. This item is an out-year project of 2010. The vote tonight is for the basic TIP. Commission Linda Williams brought up, what she considers, the safety factor for the children trying to cross. She said that due to the increased speed that would be created the children would become “grease spots” all over the roads due to the “cars whipping along”. We need stop signs to keep the traffic slowed down. The sidewalks in the school area are terrible as well. Public Comment: Jack McGrady: He did agree with Commissioner Williams safety concerns as a parent, grandparent, former police officer and resident of the area. He did like the alignment option and not the turning lane idea. Peter Brace: Stated he feels it is difficult to ride a bike through a roundabout or even walk through one. The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby close the 30-day public review period for the draft FFY 2009 – 2012 TIP. The vote was unanimous The motion was made by Barry Rector and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby approve the draft FFY 2009 – 2012 TIP, and authorize the Chairman to sign the documents endorsement page. The vote was unanimous D. Action / Discussion: UPWP, FY 2009 Q. Where do the Town of Nantucket financial yearly audits stand? A. Staff - They are not up-to-date. As a result of that situation the 3-C Transportation Grant has been suspended and has lost approx. ½ of its value. The grant itself going forward maybe in jeopardy. A. Commissioner Kopko – The Town administration has made this one of its priorities, has hired an audit firm, is re-organizing the finance dept. and said that D.O.R. is happy with the direction the Town is now going. Our working with the NRTA was discussed. The NP&EDC works well with the NRTA. Paula Leary attends our meetings when a pertinent topic is on our agenda and she also receives the agenda for the meetings. A federal award was received by the NRTA working with the Planning Board concerning businesses providing shuttle passes for their employees. The NP&EDC also worked on getting the transit center downtown. The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby close the 30-day public review period of the draft FFY 2009 Unified Planning Work Program. The vote was unanimous. The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby endorse the draft FFY 2009 Unified Planning Work Program, and authorize the Chairman to sign the endorsement page. The vote was unanimous. E. Discussion: Capital Budget Projects Nobadeer Farm Rd. Sidewalk was discussed. Especially as to it being brick, since the rest of the sidewalk is brick and it looks very nice and looks like a “village” area. The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby approve to leave item “Sparks Roundabout Maintenance / Improvements” in the NP&EDC Capital Budget Requests for 2010. The vote was eleven (11) in favor and one (1) Jack Gardner opposed. The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby approve the NP&EDC Capital Budget Requests for 2010, as amended and to be submitted to Town Administration by the deadline of August 15, 2008. The vote was eleven (11) in favor and one (1) Jack Gardner opposed. F. Action / Discussion: Bylaw Committee Recommendations The motion was made by John McLaughlin and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby accept the recommendations of the Bylaw Committee for the changes to the NP&EDC Bylaws, with one technical change. The vote was unanimous. G. Action / Discussion: 2008 Annual Report The motion was made by Barry Rector and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby approve the 2008 Annual Report, as submitted. The vote was unanimous. VII. Report Items* A. Director's Report The motion was made by Barry Rector and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby direct staff to prepare a draft Home Rule Petition to amend the NP&EDC enabling legislation to give the NP&EDC jurisdiction over our coastal waters to be sponsored by the NP&EDC for submittal to the 2009 ATM. This draft is to be reviewed by Town Counsel prior to the NP&EDC Oct. 6, 2008 meeting and be included on the agenda for that meeting. The vote was unanimous. The motion was made by Linda Williams and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby approve to sign-on to the Planning Board letter of opposition to House Bill # 1770, An Act Relative to Eminent Domain Takings. The vote was eleven (11) in favor and one (1) Don Visco opposed. The motion was made by Michael Kopko and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby direct staff to discontinue monitoring the MMS / Cape Wind process concerning any “adverse visual effects” on Nantucket. The vote was unanimous. The motion was made by Barry Rector and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby direct staff to write a letter of thanks to Pete Prugh of PIN, upon his retirement, for the chairman’s signature. The vote was unanimous. There was a question about the official Nantucket population figures, where they differ from the Town Clerk’s estimates. The Director stated that any official population counts must be based on the official counts by the Miser Center. New and hopefully accurate figures will be generated at the next census. B. Transportation Planner's Report VIII. Other Business A. Please Review NP&EDC Mailing List B. FYI / Housing Demographics Report / PIN Student IX. Adjournment The motion was made by John McLaughlin and seconded that the NP&EDC does hereby adjourn the meeting. The chairman adjourned the meeting at 10:00PM. The vote was unanimous.