2025 Annual Town Meeting Updates

We are live from the floor of the 2025 Annual Town Meeting and will be posting updates to this page as the meeting progresses.

The following warrant articles have been called for debate: 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 38, 42, 43, 56, 57, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 77, 80, 84, 85, 87, 88, 92, 100, 101, 102.

The uncalled articles passed according to the Finance Committee motions in the warrant.

Non-Binding Sense Of The Meeting Question: The meeting opened with a non-binding sense of the meeting question: Should convert from an open town meeting system to a Town Council / Town Manager form of government?

Yes: 251

No: 477

Article 8 - General Fund Operating Budget: An amendment offered by Toby Brown to strike millions in funding for the town Housing Office was defeated, with 134 in favor, and 596 against. The main motion on the town's $140 million general fund budget was then adopted on a vote of 630 - 97.

Article 10 - General Fund Capital Expenditures: Another amendment from Toby Brown to strike $2 million in funding from the article for the town's acquisition of 9 Goldfinch Drive for housing for a municipal department head was defeated. The main motion on $32 million in capital spending was then approved 624 - 122.

Article 11 - $14 Million Appropriation For Town Employee Housing On Waitt Drive: A proposal to allocate $14 million for the design and construction of town employee housing on Waitt Drive was defeated. While the article earned a simple majority, it required a two-thirds majority (499 votes) for approval.

Yes: 432

No: 317

Article 12 - $1.2 Million Supplemental Appropriation For New DPW Facility Design Improvements: This supplemental appropriation would have allowed the town to proceed with the final design and construction the proposed $67 million new DPW headquarters off Shadbush Road. The article required a two-thirds vote, and was soundly defeated.

Yes: 368

No: 370

Article 13 - $125 Appropriation For The New Our Island Home Skilled Nursing Facility: Island voters on Saturday defeated a proposed $125 million appropriation to build a new Our Island Home skilled nursing facility following an emotional debate on Town Meeting floor.

The final vote was:

• Yes: 450
• No: 283

The warrant article required a two-thirds majority for passage, which was 488 votes, meaning it failed by just 38 votes. The several hundred island residents in attendance voiced their desire to have a new facility to care for its elderly, while expressing deep reservations over the $125 million price tag, which would have been the largest and most expensive municipal project ever undertaken by the town.

Article 14 - $14 Million Supplemental Appropriation For Tom Nevers Road Bike Path: The funding would cover design, permitting, engineering, construction, and materials for a new bike path in Tom Nevers.

Yes: 287

No: 49

The article passed by the required two-thirds majority, but will still need approval on the ballot later this month.

Article 26 - Appropriation For The Community Preservation Committee: An effort by Toby Brown to strike funding proposals within the CPC's annual appropriation (for a rain garden at the Nantucket Lighthouse School and $350,000 for affordable housing) was defeated. The main motion was adopted:

Yes 451

No 52

Article 28 - Appropriation from the Community Preservation Fund to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund: A $5 million appropriation from the CPC to the town's Affordable Housing Trust for land acquisition and the development of affordable housing was adopted.

Yes: 363

No: 148

Article 29 - Rescind Unused Borrowing Authority For Affordable Housing Trust: A citizen petition from Toby Brown that was proposed to rescind the unused borrowing authority from the Affordable Housing Trust was deemed illegal by town counsel, and was voted down.

Yes: 89

No: 413

Article 38 - Zoning Map Change, ROH to CDT On North Water Street: A zoning map change proposed by the Planning Board on behalf of Blue Flag Partners, which owns a bed and breakfast on North Water Street, to rezone three lots on North Water Street from Residential Old Historic to Commercial Downtown district was defeated. North Water Street homeowner Dr. George Butterworth spoke out against the proposal, along with several others in attendance.

Yes: 25

No: 502

Article 42 - Zoning Bylaw Amendment For A Temporary Moratorium on Tertiary Dwellings: 

Yes 387

No: 104

Day one of Town Meeting concluded around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday without taking up any of the short-term rental articles. Those will be discussed when Town Meeting reconvenes on Monday at 5 p.m.