HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-07-23
ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF NONVOTING TAXPAYERS
Meeting at 10 A.M., Friday, July 23, 2004, in the High School
Conference Room.
1. Present: Lou Bassano, Howard Blitman, Roger Ernst, Bill Sherman,
Jay Strauss, Duncan (Terry) Sutphen, Jim Treanor, Helene Weld,
Joan Wofford, and guest Mike Burns, Transportation Planner, .
NP&EDC. ~
2. The Chairman called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.~:with a
quorum present. The minutes of the 7/9/04 meeting we~~ appro~.
3. Chair Roger Ernst introduced Mike Burns. (Before theJmeeting,UJ
Mike's e-mail was forwarded to ACNVT members with links to a~
discussion of the Act to Regulate Motor Vehicles on N~ntucket,
Senate S1368; afterwards, he sent for distribution the draft ~
---"
"Framework for 5-year Work Program to Reduce Auto-dependence on
~
Nantucket"). Mike offered the following: ~
. Nantucket's home rule petition resulted in S1368 in third
reading, perhaps to be enacted in 2005. As with any
legislation, it is subject to veto by the Governor.
. If enacted, Nantucket could adopt a bylaw requiring a permit
to operate a motor vehicle (motorcycles and mopeds included)
on Nantucket and setting a limit on the number of permits.
. Past discussion, e.g., within the Traffic Congestion Advisory
Work Group, centered on fairness and practicality of setting
limits. However, the legislation could allow the town simply
to charge for issuance of permits in an effort to restrain
growth of on-island vehicles and to fund alternatives, such as
the NRTA shuttle, bike paths, etc. (The proposal of Bill
Sherman was noted of a no-cost permit for a first vehicle per
household, a second permit for a one-time fee, and increasing
annual fees for 3d, 4th, etc. permits. Since the town gains
from the excise tax paid on vehicles registered on island, a
lower fee for them might be warranted. The Steamship Authority
could refuse to transport cars to Nantucket without permit and
not exempted. Fees for visitors' cars might be roughly
comparable to average on-island car rental costs.)
. Mike noted efforts to favor development which is not auto-
dependent, e.g., in the mid-island area and to make the mid-
island more workable for pedestrians as well as vehicles,
e.g., by roundabout where Hooper Farm Road intersects Sparks;
also to educate the public about transportation alternatives -
as done by the Chamber of Commerce. [See also
www.wheelsheelsandpedals.com/.] Traffic is growing about
10%/year as a function of dwelling and population growth.
Cars-per-household is also rising.
. The BOS considered paid parking for the in-town area, both a
Bermuda-type scratch card system and the electronic pay-and-
display system. Decision was deferred. Aspen leadership took
the heat in introducing paid (pay-and-display) parking,
credited with a remarkable improvement in traffic and parking.
. The NRTA is a proven success and includes park and ride to
come into the core district. But state funding is weakening,
so local alternative funding is needed. Less wait time at bus
stops and subsidized taxi service linking to shuttle routes
could help if funding allowed. The airport-subsidized NRTA
route has proven a success.
4. ACNVT member responses included:
. Lou questioned why Nantucket couldn't solve its traffic
problem when NYC could solve theirs and urged Keep it Simple,
Stupid (KISS) in adopting any solution here. He suggested one
transferable permit per household so that only a chosen one of
the household's cars would be allowed access to the core
district at any given time.
. Jay Strauss questioned whether a restriction of vehicle access
to the island would violate the federal Constitution.
. Roger noted that increased size of SUVs and trucks compounded
our traffic problems.
. Development of the in-town bike path was urged. Mike said that
priority has been given the Old South Road and Fairgrounds
paths, with construction hopefully in spring '05.
5. Shifting to the upgrading of the Surfs ide Waste Water Treatment
Facility, Howard Blitman said that chemical treatment should be
incorporated for a lower cost solution. As urged by MIT Prof. Don
Harleman (a summer resident), widely accepted use of aluminum
sulfate to remove solids is the best for Nantucket. It's use is
supported by a Water Environmental Federation expert. Without
chemical treatment, the plant will be more costly to build and
more noisy blowers needed with their higher energy cost.
. While respecting the support given by DPW head Jeff Willett to
the Earth Tech CWMP recommendation of new chemical treatment
and Davis & Zimmerman echo, members expressed support for
giving Prof. Harleman the opportunity to challenge their
experts in person. The Community Coalition is understood to be
exploring ways to arrange that.
. Also of concern is the potential for scaling down the Surfside
WWTF by eliminating inflow and infiltration into the waste
water collection system.
6. Terry Sutphen, representing the Nantucket Community Association
in the Community Coalition, and Bill Sherman for ACNVT) reported
that contacts ere being made with the selectmen to exchange views
- theirs and summer residents'.
7. Jim Treanor agreed to speak for nonvoting taxpayers at the
10/19/04 Special Town Meeting.
8. Jay proposed inviting Town Assessor Debbie Dilworth to a future
ACNVT meeting to discuss pros and cons of reassessing at the time
a Certificate of Occupancy is issued on new construction, thus
quickly to add to the tax levy. Debbie Dilworth's report of April
29, 2002, titled "Supplemental Property Taxes" was distributed
before the meeting.
9. Howard called attention to the Nantucket Land Council's project
to acquire the 178 A. Linda Loring property at Eel Point for
public benefit and conservation.
10. The next ACNVT meeting is set for August 6, 2004, same
time, same place. Then we will meet August 20th and September 10th
(not 3d), likely at the Town Annex building.
11. Roger Ernst adjourned the meeting at 11:22 a.m.
Respectfully submitted