Amid Turf Field Controversy, Multiple Candidates Seek Appointment To Board Of Health

The Select Board is set to make a series of appointments to local government boards on June 10th, including what could be a highly consequential pair of appointments to the Board of Health.

Amid tense Board of Health debates on how to handle a proposed artificial turf field and whether to allow variances from bedroom caps in certain areas of the island, two incumbents will see their terms expire this June. Those incumbents are chair Ann Smith and vice chair Meredith Lepore, both of whom have faced backlash during the Board’s debates on artificial turf.

The two Board of Health positions have drawn a total of six applications, including the two incumbents, an unusual level of community interest that is perhaps unsurprising given the crowds that have packed recent Board of Health meetings.

The applicants span the full breadth of positions on artificial turf, from Lepore, who is one of the community’s most outspoken opponents of turf, to emergency room nurse and soccer coach Kate Garrette, who has emerged as a vocal proponent of turf and a sharp critic of the incumbents on the Board of Health.

Several Select Board members have been openly critical of how the Board of Health has handled the artificial turf issue, which may reduce the usual advantage incumbents enjoy during the appointment process.

The Select Board voted Wednesday for Matt Fee to temporarily serve as the Select Board’s voting member of the Board of Health. The previous Select Board representative, Tom Dixon, has left the island, and his seat on the Select Board will be filled in next week’s elections. In a typical situation, the Select Board might have waited to fill the spot, but given the potentially pivotal votes looming at the Board of Health, it moved quickly to replace him.

The Board of Health is currently considering whether to ban or restrict artificial turf as the Nantucket Public Schools attempt to move forward with an athletic complex renovation plan that includes a turf field at Vito Capizzo Stadium, behind the Nantucket High School. The plan received the endorsement of Town Meeting last week, but still needs to pass at the ballot next Tuesday. Even if it does, efforts to install the turf field could be cut short by a ban or strict regulations. But if the Board of Health doesn’t act in the next month, the Select Board may have the chance to shape what policies the Board of Health institutes by choosing two of its members.

During one recent Board of Health meeting, Lepore proposed a moratorium on all turf and synthetic track installations across the island. Town Counsel John Giorgio informed Lepore that such a moratorium could not be implemented without a public hearing process, which had not occurred, and after pushing back against his arguments, Lepore eventually relented. That hearing process has not yet begun, which could indicate the Board of Health is moving toward testing requirements and restrictions on turf, rather than a ban or moratorium.

“I have worked diligently with the board and health department in navigating our experience with COVID, PFAS, and protecting our sole source aquifer,” Lepore wrote in her application. “I think protecting our water and limiting our [community’s] exposure to chemicals, including PFAS and plastics, will continue to be an issue.”

Smith has drawn controversy for appearing to disparage the testimony of student-athletes speaking in favor of turf, and claiming, despite evidence to the contrary, that the Board of Health had “never considered” a ban on turf and that a motion she proposed, which would have stopped the installation of a proposed synthetic track around the field, would not impact the track. She has also faced claims that she violated a state law intended to ensure open access to the deliberations of government boards by sending proposed motions to the rest of the Board of Health before one meeting.

“Having served on the [Board of Health] for the past [three] years, I recognize its importance in safeguarding the health and safety of the whole community,” Smith wrote in her application. “My medical background and concern for the overall well-being of Nantucket’s citizens make serving on the [Board of Health] an important and gratifying contribution of my time.”

Three Select Board members, a majority of the appointing body, intervened to stop her from making the potentially problematic motions at the subsequent meeting. One of the Select Board members who intervened, Dixon, will not vote on whether to reappoint Smith, but at least one of the candidates vying for his seat at next Tuesday’s elections, Finance Committee chair Jill Vieth, is a staunch supporter of the turf field.

One of the new candidates for the Board is Garrette, who has spent much of the last nine months advocating for the turf field and filed one of the two opening meeting law complaints lodged against Smith.

“As an emergency room nurse, former pediatric ICU nurse, coach, and parent, I care deeply about the health and well-being of the Nantucket community,” Garrette wrote. “My clinical experience has trained me to evaluate evidence, assess risk, communicate clearly under pressure, and make thoughtful decisions in complex situations. In addition, my involvement as a coach and active member of the youth sports community has given me insight into how public health decisions impact youth well-being, recreation, environmental health, and community trust.”

Another candidate is Nantucket Cottage Hospital chief nursing officer Amy Beaton. Beaton indicated that her husband works in the school system and that she would recuse “when appropriate.” It’s unclear if that would impact her ability to vote on the turf field proposal.

“I am interested in serving on the Board of Health because I care deeply about the health and well-being of the Nantucket community and would welcome the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to public health work on the island,” Beaton wrote. “I am committed to thoughtful, evidence-informed decision-making that supports the health and safety of residents, visitors, and the broader island community.”

The other two candidates are island resident Kit Murphy and licensed septic installer Ernest Strang.

“Our health and safety issues continue to be a challenge, and I think my experience as a resident here for 40 years brings some knowledge and perspective to these issues,” Murphy wrote. “I’ve learned the importance of listening, focusing, and respecting diverse opinions. It’s important to ‘agree to disagree’ but not be disagreeable.”

Strang wrote that he hopes to “bring local knowledge to the board to create fair practices for island residents.”

The Select Board will also have to fill three seats on the Finance Committee. All three incumbents are applying for another term. They are Maria Mitchell Association executive director and Finance Committee vice chair Joanna Roche, Martin McKerrow and Rob Giacchetti. Two newcomers have also submitted their names for appointment: retired attorney Cindy Bortman Boggess and Benjamin Reppert.

Reppert has also applied for the Conservation Commission. There are two available seats, and both incumbents, Tim Braine and RJ Turcotte, have applied for reappointment.

Other key appointments include Historic District Commission alternate, where incumbent Joe Paul is facing off against David Gray; three seats on the Affordable Housing Trust and two on the Zoning Board of Appeals, where in both cases there are currently more open positions than candidates; and Planning Board alternate, where incumbent Stephen Welch, Clay Evans—also an applicant for the full Planning Board seat vacated by John Kitchener—and town of Nantucket deputy housing director Dylan Metsch-Ampel have all applied for one seat.