Election Preview: Questions For The Nantucket Land Bank Commission Candidates

In the lead-up to Tuesday’s annual elections, hear more from the candidates for the Nantucket Land Bank Commission.

The following questions and answers were transcribed from the Civic League’s annual Meet the Candidates forum. They have been edited for clarity and brevity. Watch the full forum at this link.

Do you think the Land Bank should stay focused primarily on conservation and open space, or should it begin to shift its focus? And if you think it should shift its focus, what would you say to people who say that shifting its focus would take away from its core conservation mission?

Neil Paterson

We're the crossroads of where we go. We've become incredibly successful under the [Land Bank’s enabling act], which I would really counsel against going to Beacon Hill to open up, because you don't know what you're going to end up with when you go to Beacon Hill. I'm really proud of what we managed to do…I'm always open to talking to people about it, and I have a position, I'm willing to think about it.

Graham Veysey

I actually think that there can be a balance between community investment and conservation, and the Land Bank is very good at getting creative in that area. You can look at: are we doing something on land that already has a structure on it, and things like that. But I think that the way that the act was written, there are certain things in it that can be open for interpretation. And so you could find a lawyer who's going to tell you that you can't do it, but then you're also going to be able find a lawyer who could tell you that you can do it. And so, to me, it's all about engaging the public and really getting a feel for what the community wants, where are their priorities?

A huge thing for me is recreation. I do know that if I'm honored enough to get elected, that at times, I have to check my priority at the door, and if the community has a bigger priority than mine, I have to respect that. And if the community is urging us to take a look at housing and try to get creative with it, I support that. I support what the community wants, and I think we just have to really engage them to get a finger on the pulse of what we're missing right now and what we’re not seeing.

In 2023 the Land Bank Commission adopted a policy that prohibits its properties from being used for indoor recreation. In your opinion, is that policy well-founded, and should it stay in place, or should the Land Bank Commission revisit that policy in light of recent community discussions about the need for additional fields and recreational opportunities?

Neil Paterson

We felt that there was a need at that time, and I backed it at the time, to [block indoor recreation], but I'm totally open to looking at collaborations…if we could get a collaboration [where] the Land Bank, say, supplied the land, then somebody else built it…If I'm lucky enough to be reelected, I would definitely take a look at this again, but…historically, apart from the golf courses, we don't charge for any use of our properties. What concerns me as a businessman as well is: how would you build this, and finance it, and heat it, and keep it free? I think that would be a dramatic change to the Land Bank, and we still have to remember, one of the three legs is conservation. But we've had some really good collaborations…and I'm proud of my participation in that.

Graham Veysey

[The act] does not call out indoor recreation and say that you can't do indoor recreation, so, to me, when the policy was written in 2023 that they're not going to pursue indoor [recreation], and it's outdoor only, that, to me, is an interpretation of how the act was written, and I don't necessarily agree with it, and I would strongly urge us to take a look at it again.