Nantucket Town Government Roundup

This addition of the Current’s government roundup includes updates on a controversial turf field slated for installation at Vito Capizzo stadium and Nantucket’s long-sought housing bank transfer fee.

• State Senator Julian Cyr told islanders that he intends to push the state once again to allow towns, perhaps specifically those covered by the state’s new seasonal communities designation, to implement a small transfer fee on high-value property transactions to fund affordable housing. Nantucket has asked for this for over a decade, often passing related home-rule petitions at Town Meeting without success, even though the governor now supports it. But Cyr added that “if we’re not successful this session, I really think, as a community, we should go back to the drawing board and think about other creative ways around this issue.” Soon after his statement, a number of housing leaders from Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard sent a letter to the state advocating for the transfer fee once again.
• The Select Board will soon take a close look at Nantucket’s capital improvements plan, prioritizing around $1 billion in spending over the next 10 years.
• The School Committee tabled a plan to restructure how the Nantucket Public Schools calculate GPA. Brought forward by a trio of high school students, the proposition would have increased the value of taking challenging courses, such as Advanced Placement classes. It was initially included in the School Committee’s agenda for a vote, but the Committee wanted more time to review the proposal and its possible impacts, and it now seems likely it could be around a year before a decision is made.
• Shantaw Bloise-Murphy is now the chair of the School Committee. Vince Murphy is vice chair.
• Little progress has been made in the last few weeks on a pre-testing agreement for a turf field set to be installed at Vito Capizzo Stadium, according to an update given to the Board of Health at their last meeting before incumbent chair Ann Smith and vice chair Meredith Lepore are replaced by newcomers Kate Garrette and Ernie Strang.

And here are the local government stories the Current has covered in full over the last two weeks:

• The teacher’s union has reached an agreement with the Nantucket Public School administration and the School Committee on a new three-year contract.
• A draft audit of the largely town-funded Wiggle’s Way affordable housing complex, reviewed by the Affordable Housing Trust, raises concerns about the project's transparency and the use of public funds by the initial contractor, Fairgrounds Common.
• The Sconset Beach Preservation Fund has outlined a repair plan for its damaged geotube installation along the Sconset Bluff to the Conservation Commission, the first concrete indication since the geotubes were allegedly vandalized last January of how the non-profit plans to address the partially collapsed erosion-control project. The response from the Commission was mixed.
• Jim Cooper has resigned from the Board of Health in protest after the Select Board ousted chair Ann Smith and vice chair Meredith Lepore amid a controversial debate over a proposed artificial turf field slated for installation at Vito Capizzo Stadium.
• It's uncertain whether Nantucket will increase the residential tax exemption next fall after Select Board members expressed differing opinions on the topic.
• The Select Board approved funding for a UMass Amherst study that will seek to determine Nantucket’s population.
• The Select Board hesitantly but unanimously approved around $129 million in spending at its most recent meeting, much of it related to the massive Our Island Home nursing facility project backed by voters at Town Meeting and the ballot box last month.
• The Select Board has indicated that Nantucket will likely not be extending the closing time for local bars this summer, despite a state law allowing towns to opt in to an additional hour of service through the end of July.
• The town’s short-term rental registry has started to yield data, some of which was recently reviewed by the Select Board.
• Select Board member Brooke Mohr was honored as a Heroine of the Commonwealth.