More Than $200 Million In Town Projects On The Ballot Tuesday

In addition to offices up for election on Tuesday, voters will decide seven ballot questions asking for a total of more than $200 million in funding. For a look at how these debt exclusion overrides could impact property taxes, click here.

Here’s a rundown of each question on the ballot:

Question One: Our Island Home

Question One seeks $119 million in borrowing for a new Our Island Home facility at Sherburne Commons. It would be the largest capital project in Nantucket's history. Town Meeting voted 959-321 to approve the project one year after defeating it, but it still needs majority support at the ballot box. Read more about the Town Meeting vote and the history of the debate here.

Question Two: School Athletic Facilities Improvements

Question Two encompasses a broad array of renovations slated for the athletic complexes at Vito Capizzo Stadium, but an artificial turf field at the center of the proposed plan accounts for the vast majority of the controversy that has hounded the project. Town Meeting voted 719-281 to approve the project, but it needs majority support at the election to go forward. Read more about the Town Meeting vote and the history of the debate here.

Question Three: Town Employee Housing

Another spending proposal that was defeated by Town Meeting last year but passed this year is Question Three, an override request for the design and construction of town employee housing on Waitt Drive. Last year's article would have allocated $14 million for up to 20 bedrooms. This year’s article seeks $7 million for nine bedrooms. Town Meeting backed the project on a 432-137 vote, and majority support is needed for the article to pass Tuesday. Read more from the Current here.

Question Four: LORAN Barracks Improvements

Tied to the only funding article voters rejected at Town Meeting, Question Four seeks $5.4 million for the next phase of repairs at the LORAN barracks, which serve as dormitory housing for seasonal community service officers. Amid multiple reports of poor conditions at the barracks, Town Meeting voters backed the repairs in a 324-218 vote, but two-thirds support was needed for the article to pass. No margin at the election will be enough for the project to go forward, but a majority vote could be a signal to the town as they plan the project’s future. Read more about the Town Meeting vote and the background of the project here.

Question Five: Somerset Sewer Expansion

Question Five asks for $44.8 million to bring sewer to the Somerset sewer needs area. Town Meeting voted 304-116 to approve the project after removing a clause empowering the Select Board to pay for a portion of it using betterment fees assessed on impacted homeowners. Majority support is needed from the electorate. Read more about the Town Meeting vote and the background of the project here.

Question Six: Tom Nevers Debris Removal

After passing on consent at Town Meeting, phase two of debris cleanup at the abandoned Navy base in Tom Nevers, which will involve reconstructing the multi-use Tom Nevers playing court and will continue debris removal at the site, is headed to the ballot as Question Six. It needs a majority of the vote to pass. Read more from the Town here.

Question Seven: General Fund Capital Expenditures

Question Seven seeks $2,274,300 for investments in Town infrastructure, including fire engine replacements, vehicles and equipment, facility repairs and upgrades, and recreational improvements. That funding is a portion of the roughly $16.5 million in general fund expenditures that Town Meeting approved. It will take a majority for the question to pass. Read more from the town here.

See a sample ballot by clicking here