Mark Beale Resigns From ConCom With Sharp Criticism Of Select Board

The controversy surrounding the Nantucket Conservation Commission continued this week with the resignation on Monday of member Mark Beale.

It marked the latest shakeup on the Commission, following the recent ouster of two chairs - Ashley Erisman and most recently Ian Golding - who were not reappointed by the Select Board.

In a strongly-worded resignation letter, Beale did not mince words about the underlying reason for his departure after serving five years on the Commission.

"In all those years I’ve never witnessed a more concerted effort by the Select Board to sabotage a well-functioning board," Beale wrote. "Your recent action of not reappointing two sitting chairs, Ashley Erisman and Ian Golding, plus an experienced attorney, Maureen Phillips, all very knowledgeable and all asking for reappointment is beyond the pale. It’s easy to understand why with this sort of treatment it’s difficult to get qualified applicants to volunteer for Town Boards."

The seven-member Conservation Commission, appointed by the Select Board, is charged with reviewing and permitting proposed building and coastal engineering projects for compliance with the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, as well as the town's wetlands protection regulations.

Reached by phone on Tuesday, Beale expanded on his reasons for leaving the Commission.

"I have had a lot of friends who said 'I’m surprised it took you so long'," Beale said. "Other friends said 'I totally understand your position became untenable.' The Select Board wanted their own people on the board who were more agreeable to 'Sconset Beach (the 'Sconset Beach Preservation Fund's geotube project), is how I see it. They didn’t like Ashley, and Ian and Maureen Phillips and got people on there who I think will be more amendable to the geotubes.

"I guess I was so frustrated with the Select Board not appointing good people - and I'm not saying the ones who got on are not good people, but we knew Ashley and Ian and Maureen's commitment and they wanted to be reappointed," he added. "It was too frustrating for me to see them fall to the wayside."