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JULY in Town From the Desk of Town Manager Libby Gibson.

What's up in Town Administration?

This summer is proving to be very challenging with staffing issues, high activity levels across multiple areas (beaches, traffic, people! anxiety), COVID 19 refusing to leave us alone, and the concurrent need to get Town operations to a more proactive, less reactive place. We have vacancies in several Town departments and are reviewing our recruitment strategy. Despite the many benefits of a Town position (competitive compensation, excellent benefits including health insurance, the opportunity to make a positive difference in your community), we find that during an economic upturn, higher wage levels - with less long-term benefits - offered by the private sector can prevail when people are job hunting. Municipal government work can sometimes come with some “baggage” in the form of certain rules and regulations that do not apply to the private sector. The work, however, can be rewarding. And fun. Seriously. If you or someone you know is job hunting, please check here for current vacancies.

While trying to keep up with summer activities, we are also:

  • Beginning to work on our FY 2023 capital project requests
  • Have started FY 2023 budget planning
  • Working on the timeline for the 2022 Annual Town Meeting (scheduled to begin on Monday, May 2, 2022)

On Tuesday, July 13, the Nantucket Community Association held its annual summer forum with the Board and myself. Each of us had a particular topic to speak on and then a Question and Answer session. The forum was held remotely, and we believe we had more attendees than ever before.

On Friday, July 23rd, several Town officials travelled to the Vineyard to talk with our counterparts about housing.

I departed the housing group at noon, to meet with the Vineyard Town Managers in Oak Bluffs to talk over what we learned/took away from our COVID experiences and we agreed we should make this an annual event (not to talk about COVID! To meet and talk about our issues).

From left to right: Affordable Housing Trust Chair Brian Sullivan, Affordable Housing Trust Vice Chair Brooke Mohr, Nantucket Land Bank Executive Assistant Eleanor Antonietti, Town of Nantucket Housing Director Tucker Holland, Town of Nantucket Select Board Vice Chair Kristie Ferrantella, Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Executive Director James Lengyel, ACKNow Executive Director Julia Lindner, Nantucket Land Bank Executive Director Jesse Bell, Town of Nantucket Real Estate Specialist Ken Beaugrand, seasonal resident Dough Abbey, ACKNow Executive Chair Tobias Glidden, Nantucket Land Bank Chair Neil Paterson, Town of Nantucket Manager Libby Gibson.

Personnel Updates

Fire Department: We have a new Deputy Fire Chief! Sean Mitchell began in his new position on July 1, 2021, replacing Robert Bates who retired on June 30th. Sean was most recently the Fire Prevention Officer. During his time as FPO, Sean took established programs and improved them, including the SAFE (Student Awareness to Fire Education), Senior Safe programs and Child Car Seat Safety check. Congratulations on your new role as the Nantucket Fire Department Deputy Chief, Sean!

Deputy Chief Sean Mitchell and retired Deputy Chief Bob Bates

Financial and Budget Analyst Mariya Basheva: After two years as an accounting clerk in the Finance Department, Mariya has been promoted to the Financial and Budget Analyst position. She is originally from Bulgaria and has B.A. degree in Business Administration. Mariya is currently working on her Master’s in Accountancy from Boise State University.

What does Mariya love about living on Nantucket? Spending her free time on the beach and walking her dog Mars in the State Forest.

Financial and Budget Analyst Mariya Basheva

Human Resources Generalist Anja Durkovic: Anja works for the Town of Nantucket HR Department as an HR Generalist. She started visiting Nantucket back in 2011 and lived on Nantucket year-round for five years before moving to Northern Virginia to work for USAID, Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs as a Special Assistant. Anja has a Master of Law Degree from the University of Novi Sad in her native Serbia and a Certificate in Graphic and Digital Design from Parsons School of Design, NY.

What does Anja love about living on Nantucket? Its sunsets and exploring the island's beaches with her boyfriend and friends.

Human Resources Generalist Anja Durkovic

IT Generalist Yordan Petkov: Yordan earned his Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations in his native Bulgaria. He first came to the island, early 2010, participating as a student in the Cultural Exchange Program J1, working as bus boy at the beloved Even Keel Café on Main Street! Yordan has been a year-round resident since 2014 and started working for the Town of Nantucket IT Department in June 2021.

What does Yordan love about living on Nantucket? The sense of familiarity that Nantucket has, everyone seems to know each other; Nantucket's perfect views where you can see for miles and miles away; and its plentiful supply of kindness - we come together when a person is in a time of need and we always work together for the greater good.

IT Generalist Yordan Petkov

Select Board Notes

The Select Board went to a “hybrid meeting” structure starting on July 14th. The hybrid meeting is a mix of people present in the meeting room and others participating remotely on Zoom. Thanks go to Town Administration Operations Administrator Erika Mooney; Chief Technology Officer Karen McGonigle and everyone at NCTV for getting us to the hybrid model – despite preliminary concerns to the contrary, it has been going remarkably well - Until... an Island-wide Indoor Mask Advisory was issued on July 21st. To avoid associated difficulties with sound when all participants are masked during an in-person meeting, the Select Board meeting of August 4 will revert to a Remote Meeting. Meetings beyond that will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The Board held a discussion about Outdoor Dining at its July 21st meeting and heard from the public and each other about pros and cons. Licensing Administrator Amy Baxter will be putting together a task force to come up some recommendations for the Board’s consideration if outdoor dining is to continue into the future.

In August, the Select Board will be holding a couple of workshops dedicated to specific topics:

  • Tuesday, August 10 at 10:00 am: Large-scale Events. Over the last 10-20 years, some annual events have grown and/or we are seeing additional large events. The amount of Town resources needed to safely manage these has been called into question by our public safety departments. Quality of life issues have been raised by residents; and non-profits have concerns as well as to maintaining their ability to utilize events for necessary fundraising. The Select Board determined that a workshop meeting to receive public input and ideas would be appropriate.
  • Thursday, August 19 at 1:00 pm: Facilities Master Plan. In November of 2020 and January of 2021, the Board held facilities planning workshops relating to all Town facilities (except School, Airport, Water and Sewer) and what needs to be considered when developing a Facilities Master Plan, including space needs, sustainability/coastal resiliency/energy, operational efficiency, historic preservation, cost and taxpayer impact. The August 19th workshop will focus mostly on municipal administrative space, and the Public Works facility. Separate initiatives are, or will be underway shortly, for concessions, Our Island Home and Senior Center.

Also under consideration and/or active discussion by the Board are:

In Memoriam

At its July 7th meeting, the Select Board held a moment of silence for two important people in our community who passed away:

Nancy J. Sevrens: Nancy served on the Board of Selectmen for three terms. She also served at various times on the Zoning Board of Appeals, Finance Committee, Council for Human Services, Scholarship Committee and other community organizations. When I started working for the Town in 1988, Nancy was a Board member and I was always a bit intimidated by her but respected and admired her as well. She was a strong woman who did not put up with “nonsense”. Thank you for your contributions, Nancy.

Jim Lentowski: Jim served as the Director of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation for 47 years. In my time with the Town, Jim has always been someone I could go to for advice, information or help. Not to mention, the not infrequent email about …. Whatever he found interesting. Jim’s impact on conserving the beautiful open spaces that make Nantucket, Nantucket is immeasurable. You are missed, Jim.

Celso Caro, an employee of the School Department, passed away in July as well. Celso was a beloved crossing guard who always had a smile and helpful attitude. As School Facilities Director Diane O’Neil said to me: “He made my day, every day. He had such a positive attitude and always greeted me with a huge smile. We all need to take a page out of his book”. Thank you for that, Diane and we miss you Celso.

PFAS

UMass/MassDEP private well testing for PFAS

A UMass/MassDEP project team has informed the Town that the selection of owners for a private well testing program for PFAS was completed on July 27th. A total of 40 well owners have been identified from more than 200 applications that were received by MassDEP since the program was announced last fall. The UMass project team selected wells to provide a distribution of locations across the island to assist in statewide and local efforts to characterize and investigate potential sources of PFAS. Notifications are being sent to selected applicants this week by email.

The applicants will be required to read and sign and return (electronically) the MassDEP Sampling Program Agreement Form. For general information, the form is posted on the Town’s website and may be accessed here. The Agreement Form must be signed and returned within two weeks (14 calendar days) from the date of the notification letter/email to avoid losing placement in the testing program.

The Agreement Form includes information about the methods to be followed for water sampling and testing, the reporting of test results and information about what can happen if the test results find PFAS in the water sample. As a measure for privacy, MassDEP will assign an anonymized sample ID number and will retain the sampling results in an anonymized system that does not include Owner names and addresses. MassDEP will maintain Owner names and addresses associated with the anonymized sample ID numbers separately from the sampling results associated with that number.

Harbor Master

USLA August 2021 Agency Spotlight: Nantucket Lifeguard Program

The Nantucket Lifeguard Program is being honored by the United States Lifesaving Association as their August 2021 Spotlight Agency. For a lifeguard program to be a certified USLA Agency, they must meet and maintain a number of difficult training and equipment requirements. The USLA represents over 150 programs throughout the country. The Nantucket Lifeguard program is the only small town agency in Massachusetts to achieve this prestigious certification, and is one of only 3 programs certified in New England. August is the busiest month of the year in the lifesaving business and we are honored that the USLA has taken the time to highlight our program among so many impressive lifesaving agencies.

Nantucket Junior Harbor Master Program 2021

Each summer the Nantucket Harbor Master Department runs a Junior Harbor Master program in which local kids train with Dock Staff and Lifeguards for two weeks learning about what we do. Participants are trained in many lifesaving skills and surf rescue techniques. They review basic first aid and CPR; tube tying, back boarding; water extrications for an active victim; rescue board skills; preventative lifeguarding tactics and get underway on one of Nantucket's rescue boats. They learn to operate one of our fire pumps and work with the United States Coast Guard, our primary partner agency. They went to the Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum and learned knot-tying skills. They took a tour of the Public Safety Dispatch Center and the Nantucket Fire and Police Stations. They also successfully completed the Massachusetts Junior Operators Course. The Junior Harbor Master program is the perfect recruiting tool for the Harbor Master Department, developing young local talent and generating interest in working on and around the water.

Health Department News

Face Covering Advisory

On Wednesday, July 21, and as a result of increasing cases across the Cape and Islands, the Health Department issued a Face Covering Advisory for all residents and visitors, regardless of their vaccination status. The increased virulence of the Delta variant, and its high ability to infect even those vaccinated in some cases, means that masking and distancing are strongly recommended at this time.

Town of Nantucket COVID Vaccination Programs

Other sites offering COVID vaccines on-island

  • ACK Dental Arts: Offering Johnson and Johnson. Visit their website for more information: https://ackdentalart.com/.
  • Dan's Pharmacy: COVID vaccine wait-list open. Currently providing Moderna vaccine. Wait list available on the website, call in requests at (508) 825-9100.
  • Health Imperatives: Offering Johnson and Johnson. Call (508-228-9189) or visit www.healthimperatives.org/Nantucket to schedule an appointment.

COVID in Numbers

Every week, we report the total number of vaccinations administered on Nantucket (on Mondays), the results of COVID Presence in Nantucket's Wastewater (on Thursdays), and the Testing Positivity Rate (reported daily). Visit COVID in Numbers for updated information.

Community Resiliency

Coastal Resilience Plan

With only about 2 months left in the development stage of the Coastal Resilience Plan (CRP), there was been a notable uptick in activity from the Project Team. The project team is using all the information available to it from the Risk Assessment undertaken in the spring, with refinements, to the public opinions and interests collected in public Virtual Open House meetings that have been held during 2021. Now the team is starting to look at what solutions may work for some of the highest scoring risk areas and what the community had to say about their ideas.

Public input is still needed and it’s not too late. There are a numbers of ways to get information into the still developing CRP and raise concerns about areas you want to see made more resilient for coastal flooding, erosion and sea level rise.

Left: Storm surge flooding on Easy Street on September 22, 2020. Right: “Sunny day” flooding at high tide on East Street on November 16, 2020. An early indication of sea level rise affecting Nantucket.

Ways to get involved in the developing CRP

  • IRYS app: More info on app here. Drop a pin or use GPS to give location specific feedback.
  • Story cards for all ages: Available in English and Spanish.
  • Email: Contact Vince Murphy, Coastal Resilience Coordinator vmurphy@nantucket-ma.gov.
  • Attend a Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee (CRAC) meeting and give public comment: Meeting dates are August 10 & 24, September 14 & 28. Meetings start at 10 am via Zoom.
Public feedback and engagement help make this process work.

Culture & Tourism

It’s a busy summer at Visitor Services. Walk-in guests are near 2019 levels. They are coming in looking for maps, suggestions for dining, and information about tours. Tour vans and buses are running this summer, but they are sold out nearly every day. A revised Historic Walking Tour brochure has been handed out to dozens of visitors as a guide to the beautiful homes on upper Main Street. We direct many visitors to the Greenhound Bus Station to catch the WAVE for a trip to Sconset. And, 25% of the questions each day are along the lines of “Where do I catch the van to Cisco Brewery?”

Telephone calls are near 2019 levels, too. Most calls are requesting information about room availability at inns, hotels and B&Bs. The staff compile a list of available rooms daily and it is posted each evening. There haven’t been too many rooms available this summer and several weekends have been sold out – a phenomenon we usually only see in mid-August.

Our digital information aide (visitnantucketisland.org) has seen a tremendous increase in hits on the restaurant list. In 2019, between Memorial Day and mid-July, the list had 3,528 hits; in 2021 for the same time period, the list had 12,504 hits! Visitors are very interested to know if their favorite establishments are open.

The shelves are stocked with maps, events guides, non-profit and business rack cards, the restaurant guide, and weekly papers with stories and information about Nantucket. Come on in and pick up the most current information for your guests.

The Life of Arthur Cooper

The Nantucket Historical Commission, the Nantucket Land Bank, and the Museum of African American History invite the public to attend the unveiling and dedication of a monument to Nantucket resident Arthur Cooper.

Arthur Cooper was an African American who freed himself from slavery, came to Nantucket in 1820, and lived on Angola Street.

The community will honor and remember his life with a memorial plaque, installed in the Land Bank’s Garden By The Sea park. The plaque is a gift of Angola Street resident Ms. Maureen Searle. The unveiling and dedication of the plaque will occur on August 12th at 4pm, in the Land Bank Park at North Mill and Angola Streets.

Energy Office

Beat the Peak!

Did you know that last year, Nantucket’s electricity demand hit a record high 50 Megawatts on July 28th at 6:30pm?

Help the island reduce its peak load this year by conserving electricity between the peak hours of 5-9pm.

Ready to do your part? Start using less with these energy smart tips:

  • When you go out to enjoy the island, please raise the AC temperature to 74-78° and shut outside doors and windows
  • Fire up the grill and cook dinner outside instead of using your stove or oven
  • Set your dishwasher to delayed start to run overnight
  • Charge your electric vehicle during off-peak hours
  • Save 75% on water heating costs by washing clothes in cold water instead of hot
  • Schedule your no cost Home Energy Assessment today. Visit ngrid.com/Nantucket or call 1-844-615-8316

Solar Power!

Did you know that in 2020, the Nantucket HDC approved 77 solar applications, which is nearly double the amount of solar permits approved in 2019 (39) and almost a 150% increase over the number approved in 2018 (31)?

Between 2007-2020, there have been more than 145 solar installations on Nantucket, with a combined capacity of 3805 kW-DC!

The Town of Nantucket is proud to have supported the development of solar energy on Nantucket through its Solar Rebate Program. Since program launch in 2018 to date, the Town has issued $194,640 worth of incentives to 58 Nantucket residents who have installed solar energy.

Funding for the Solar Rebate Program is provided by the Town’s municipal electric aggregation program, Nantucket PowerChoice. Rebates up to $4,000 are available to program participants on a first come, first served basis, as funds are available.

Photo courtesy of Cary Hazlegrove, the first recipient of the Town’s Solar Rebate; Installation by Cotuit Solar.

Would you like to learn more about saving energy or generating your own power?

Contact: Energy Coordinator Lauren Sinatra, LSinatra@nantucket-ma.gov, 508-325-5379.

Natural Resources Department

Summer at the Brant Point Hatchery

This week, NRD achieved the goal of releasing 170 million bay scallop larvae between Nantucket Harbor and Madaket Harbor. The team is now busy conducting dive surveys to evaluate larval releases and adult stocks as we move into the bay scallop recreational and commercial fishery season. This year, everything seemed to warm up quickly in the harbor making the hatchery schedule fairly intense in May and June.

Currently, the hatchery flow through tanks are the home of oyster castles awaiting their new home in Polpis Harbor for a restoration project in collaboration with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. In the hatchery outdoor tanks there are maturing eelgrass seeds from reproductive eelgrass shoots collected in Nantucket and Madaket Harbors. This experiment is a collaboration with Nantucket Land Council.

This year, researchers from Stony Brook University will be conducting the annual dive survey in Nantucket Harbor, and they hope to evaluate the long term trends in eelgrass beds and scallop stocks to make the best decisions involving the sustainability of our bay scallop fishery.

Sewer Department Remider

Wipes Clog Pipes!

Wipes are Non-Recyclable-Non Compostable waste. They should be disposed as such, never flushed down the toilet. Next time you are about to flush a wipe, remember even wipes labeled as ‘flushable’ can lead to toilet and pipe blockages!

A Day In the life of a Water Professional: Sewer Director David Gray shared this video with us so we can all understand the importance of protecting our most valuable resources, WATER, at every step of the way.

Meet Our Summer Interns (part 2)

Finance Department

Ben Lombardi: Nantucket native Ben Lombardi graduated from Nantucket High School in 2018. He is attending Syracuse University where he hopes to obtain his Major's Degree in Finance and Real Estate. This summer he is a financial intern for the Finance Department.

Financial Intern Ben Lombardi

Public Works

Nahomi Shantel Garcia Brito: A 21 year-old architecture student at New York Institute of Technology. Naomi moved to Nantucket from the Dominican Republic when she was 17 years old. She graduated from Nantucket High School in 2018 and moved to New York to pursue her dream career. Working for DPW this summer has allowed Naomi to discover her passion for carpentry and hands-on jobs.

Public Works Intern Nahomi Shantel Garcia Brito
Our Island Home backyard

Our Island Home

Our Island Home is implementing some changes to its visit schedule to protect the health of its residents. At the moment, visitations are only allowed outdoors and must be scheduled. The Wheelers Program has been suspended as well as resident's outings while the staff monitors COVID numbers and updates from the Health Department.

Saltmarsh Senior Center News

Masks are now required at the Saltmarsh at all times. All classes remain the same, except the Low Impact Aerobics on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays is now via zoom. Call 508-228-4490 to have the link sent to you. Equipment is available for lend. See August Calendar HERE.

Thank you for reading the Town of Nantucket Monthly e-News. We hope you enjoyed it!
Town of Nantucket - 16 Broad Street Nantucket, MA 02554

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Public Outreach Manager Florencia Rullo
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