May in Town From the Desk of Town Manager Libby Gibson.

Upcoming Select Board Agenda Items:

• June 7: Review of November 7, 2023 Special Town Meeting timeline
• June 12: Select Board, Planning Board, Planning Commission, Conservation Commission, Finance Committee and Capital Program Committee joint meeting for review of Select Board Strategic Plan (9 – Noon at 131 Pleasant Street Meeting Trailer)
• June 13: Select Board annual governance meeting (9 – Noon at 131 Pleasant Street Meeting trailer)
• June 14: Preview of Short-term Rental Work Group proposed warrant articles for November special town meeting
• June 21: No Board meeting
• June 28: Annual Committee appointments

Communications Office

We want to hear FROM YOU!

The Town's new Community Engage platform is our new municipal hub to share, discuss, and collaborate on creating sustainable solutions for important issues, challenges, and opportunities in our community. Thanks for taking part, joining with us, and making your voice heard! Projects and initiative pages, as well as surveys are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

These are our active surveys:

• Long Range Transportation Survey. The NP&EDC is updating its Long-Range Transportation Plan, and forging a path to what our transportation system will be in 20 years and needs your help!

• Police Chief Search. Police Chief William Pittman is retiring after 18 dedicated years of service, and the Town is looking for a qualified candidate to fill the position. Learn more about the Police Chief Search process here.

• Understanding the Needs of Nantucket's Youth: Your Input Matters! - The Town of Nantucket is conducting a survey to gain a deeper understanding of the needs of Nantucket's youth (aged 0-25). We are reaching out to Human Services providers who currently offer or plan to offer programs aimed at serving the island's youth.

Steamship Authority - Community Feedback Request

The Steamship Authority is looking for community feedback on their Strategic Plan. Their survey is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Public Meetings

• Give Feedback on the Short Term Rental Work Group DRAFT Policy Package - Nantucket's Short Term Rental Work Group (STRWG) is hosting a virtual public input session on June 1, from 6-8 pm to hear from the public about the Short Term Rental Work Group’s (STRWG) draft policies. Registration to this meeting is required.

Island Events

The 2023 Memorial Day Parade was held on Sunday, May 29th. The parade began at the American Legion at 21 Washington Street, and after a stop at the Federal Street Veteran's Memorial, reached the Prospect Hill Cemetery where a ceremony was held.

Energy Office

• MASS SAVE RETURNS TO NANTUCKET: JUNE 19-23, 2023 - Take advantage of a no-cost, Mass Save energy assessment and receive free LEDs, smart thermostats, 75% off insulation work, and a customized list of recommendations to reduce your home’s energy usage this summer and save all year long. New incentives for 2023 available, including increased incentives for airsource “minisplit” heatpumps! To sign-up for your free home energy assessment, please visit: ngrid.com/nantucket or call 1-844-615-8316. Questions? Contact Lauren Sinatra, Energy Coordinator, LSinatra@nantucket-ma.gov or 508-325-5379.
• Wannacomet Solar Farm: Environmental Justice Information Session - On May 25th, representatives from the Town and the solar project developer, TotalEnergies Renewables USA (former­ly SunPower), hosted a public information event on a proposed 3.8-megawatt AC ground-mounted photovoltaic solar array at 1 Milestone Road. The Project will occupy approximately 13.10± acres on a town-owned parcel that is 48.0± acres in total. The current use of the site is a municipal Public Water Supply facility operated by the Wannacomet Water Company, which is overseen by the Nantucket Board of Water Commission. This public project is expected to deliver significant sustainability/resiliency benefits to the community, and will serve as a clean renewable energy source on the Island for 25+ years. To view the presentation slides and recording, and to learn more about the project and its anticipated community benefits, please visit: www.nantucket-ma.gov/solarfarm.
• Photo highlight! All 236 solar panels were installed on the roof of the Surfside Wastewater Treatment Plant in May by local solar installer, ACKSMART. System energization is anticipated in late June on the 106.2KW photovoltaic system, which is estimated to offset 6% of the facility’s electric load, saving the Town ~$35,000 in electric costs per year. The project is primarily funded through a $200,000 MassDEP grant secured by the Energy Office.

Human Resources

April & May 2023 Personnel Changes

• DPW: Sean Kearns joined the DPW as a Laborer. Welcome, Sean! On May 30th, Christopher Lowe, the Town's new Solid Waste Manager started work. Welcome, Christopher!
• Finance Department: Tom Blake joined the Finance Team as the Contract Administrator. Tom attended the University of Richmond and Suffolk University Law School. His previous employer was UConn. Welcome, Tom! Additionally, Cindy Hsu joined the Finance Department this month as Purchasing Clerk. Welcome, Cindy!
• Heath Department: Erin Schrader is the Town’s new Community Clinical Heath Administrator. Erin has been working for the Town as Per Diem RN since June 2021. Good luck in your new role, Erin!
• Our Island Home: Sean Anderson and Kevin Gordon joined Our Island Home Maintenance team. Welcome, Sean and Kevin! Additionally, Emilie Worthington joined OIH as a new Activities Assistant Director. Her family moved from New York to Nantucket in 2020 where her husband is the pastor at Summer Street Church. They have three adult children pursuing careers and going to college.
• Natural Resources: Griffin Harkins started a new position as Assistant Biologist for the Town. Griffin was an intern at Natural Resources for the past three summers. Good luck in your new role, Griffin! Natural Resources also welcomed several seasonal employees this May. Welcome Jamison La Barge, Morgan Nelson, Skye Flegg, David Berry and Peter Brace!
• Town Administration: Hayley Cooke transferred from the Real Estate/Housing Office Manager to the Public Outreach Coordinator position within the Communications Office of Town Administration. Good luck in your new role, Hayley!
• Information Technology & GIS: Chief Technology Officer Karen McGonigle is retiring after 15 years of service to the town. Karen started working for the Nantucket Public Schools in 2007 as the Director of Technology. In July, 2018, she became Chief Technology Officer at the Town's IT Department. Happy retirement, Karen. We will miss you!

Health & Human Services

• Public Health Protection – STE(A)M - The Health Department and other Town Departments including Nantucket Memorial Airport, Natural Resources, Fire Department, Waste Water, Wannacomet Water, Public Works are currently developing a program with the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club and Nantucket High School guidance office to promote the principles Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) to the diverse community and student populations on the Island. Learn more about this program HERE.
• The Contract Review Committee is issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for a grant to support behavioral health collaborations on Nantucket that address youth between the ages 0-25. Learn more here.
• Ask a Nurse at the Saltmarsh Center - Every third Tuesday of the month, the Town's new public health nurse, Erin Schrader, will be at the Saltmarsh Senior Center from 11:15 am to noon to answer your health-related questions. While Erin cannot diagnose conditions or illnesses, she can check your blood pressure or talk to you about skin care and even check your skin for ticks. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Erin at eschrader@nantucket-ma.gov.
• Saltmarsh 2023 Seniors of the Year - Jim Richard and Mary Malavase are the Saltmarsh Center 2023 Seniors of the Year. Congrats, Jim and Mary! There will be a celebratory luncheon at the Faregrounds in June.

Historic Preservation

On March 19, 2021 the National Park Service approved Nantucket’s application to participate in the Certified Local Government (CLG) Program under Section 101(c) of the National Historic Preservation Act. The Certified Local Government Program is a Federal Preservation Partnership between local, state, and national governments focused on promoting historic preservation at the local level. The CLG program gives Nantucket: (1) eligibility to apply for grants under the Federal Historic Preservation Fund; (2) have a stronger role in nominating properties to the National Register; (3) increased technical assistance from the Massachusetts Historical Commission (State Historic Preservation Office); and (4) is an official acknowledgement of the Town of Nantucket’s commitment to historic preservation.

Since 2021, the Town of Nantucket has been awarded 3 consecutive Survey & Planning grant awards. Nantucket was awarded $22,500 grant in FY21 to create a Pilot Survey of historic and cultural resource forms within the Fish Lots neighborhood and produce the Nantucket Community-wide Historic Properties Survey Plan. The Survey Plan provides a list of ranked priorities for a phased comprehensive survey of neighborhoods with an action plan for implementing priority survey goals for inventory by neighborhood. It also includes a preliminary identification and assessment of the nature and location of historic, cultural, and architectural resources.

Nantucket was awarded a $20,000 Survey & Planning Grant award for FY22. For this project, PAL is finishing up surveying the Fish Lots Neighborhood and started surveying in the Brant Point neighborhood, which will be completed in September. The Town received a FY23 Survey & Planning Grant Award that will be used to continue this important survey work of the Brant Point and downtown neighborhoods. The Town of Nantucket is grateful to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for granting these consecutive grants to our historic island community, as a CLG with the National Park Service! Check out the Survey Plan on the Town’s website.

The Nantucket CLG, comprised of commissioners from both the Nantucket HDC and NHC, will have their required annual meeting this Thursday, June 1, 2023 via Zoom. Meeting ID: 895 2945 2151, Passcode: 781215. Any questions, please contact Holly Backus, Preservation Planner & Local CLG Coordinator at hbackus@nantucket-ma.gov.

Natural Resources

• 2023 Beach Driving Map - Permits are required for beach driving. Read the complete guide to beach driving Rules & Regulations for info on how to safely and legally drive your vehicle on the approved beaches.

• Beach Vehicle Access Closures - Due to the presence of State and Federally protected species, and to maintain compliance with state and federal guidelines, certain beaches will be closed to vehicle traffic throughout the summer months. The beaches will still be open to pedestrians, and we ask for beach goers to remain outside the symbolic fencing and to keep pets leashed. When beach accesses are closed, sites are still monitored on a daily basis in an effort to minimize the duration of restrictions.

In other Coastal Resilience news:

• Bathymetric and topographic surveys, as well as, a wetlands delineation was conducted at Sesachacha Pond this past month for the Sesachacha Pond Ecological Enhancement and Resilience Strategies project. This project is part of a recommendation in the CRP and will include reef balls to serve as wave attenuators to reduce erosion at the interface of the pond and Polpis Rd while providing habitat for oysters. This project has 2 phases so the first phase is installing an oyster reef and the second phase is potentially installing a living shoreline along Polpis Rd. The Natural Resources Department is working alongside Mass Audubon to complete this project.
• Leah Hill, the new Coastal Resilience Coordinator, attended the Stone Living Lab’s Nature-Based Coastal Resilience in Urban Settings which was held at the UMASS Boston campus. The presentations were very interesting and information gleaned will be applied to projects around Nantucket.
• The public hearing for the updated Wetlands Regulations (CRP Priority 1-3) is being held on June 1st at 4pm via Zoom.
• The Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee took a site visit to Sconset. They started in Codfish Park and ended at Sconset Bluff to see the physical conditions along the length of the bluff from a ground level view. They learned about the landscape, if the site was eroding or accreting, coastal threats to the site, coastal engineered structures, and the history of the site.

Coastal Resilience Coordinator Leah Hill

Public Works

• Nobadeer Bathrooms Open - The new public restrooms at Nobadeer Fields are now OPEN. Special thank to the building department for expediting their work to open the bathrooms ahead of schedule!

• Installation of new boardwalks at Jetties Beach and grading at Clifford Street off Nobadeer Avenue.

Sewer Department

• 8th Grade Class Takes Sewer Department Tour - The Nantucket Sewer Department, as part of its public outreach and education initiative, provides tours of its facilities to individual visitors and to groups of all ages. Recently, a group of 8th graders from the New School visited the Department and got an up-close look at how Nantucket handles and treats wastewater. Thank you to the staff at Sewer for providing these educational experiences for our community!

• Sea Street Pump Station Force Main No. 3 - Significant progress was made on the Sea Street Pump Station Force Main No.3 project on portions of Lily Street and Surfside Road in the months of April and May. Sewer force main testing and final cleanup of the downtown area between Sea Street and Lily Street will occur through the beginning of June. Restoration work on Sea Street will also take place in the beginning of June. Learn more about this and other sewer projects here.

Sustainability

• Sustainability & the three E’s – looking at our local farmers and producers - Environmental, Economic and Equity concerns are the three base elements of Sustainability. Rather than use examples from a college textbook, a Nantucket example is in order. There are a great many local examples ranging from planning for the future with Coastal Resilience Plans or energy security like solar projects around the island. These are great forward-thinking projects responding to large scale global threats like sea level rise and reducing carbon emissions at the local level. There are older and more established sustainable enterprises on Nantucket that tick all the boxes: our local farms and small producers. Learn more about MIRACLES (Making Island Resources A Collaborative Local Effort for Sustainability) HERE.

• Nantucket Harbors Sediment Transport Study & Dredge Plan

In April 2023, a new project got underway to look at sustainability and resilience measures in our harbors. The focus areas are Nantucket Harbor, Polpis Harbor and Madaket Harbor including Hither Creek. The idea is to undertake a sediment transport study in the harbors using bathymetric surveys and specific programs to determine the movement of sands and sediments over time. Movement of sand over time can lead to siltation and sand bars that are a hazard to navigation. Over the last few decades, the Town and private entities have undertaken dredging efforts in specific areas in response to localized problems. Dredging has been done at the entrance to Polpis Harbor, Madaket Harbor channel and the Steamship dock for example. The Sediment Transport Study is part of a greater sediment transport study initiative and came from the Coastal Resilience Plan. This study will help make informed decisions regarding shifting sands and navigational hazards.

Safe navigation is a key component of the project. Previous dredging efforts looked at sand and dredge materials as disposal problems. Now sand is worth more than ever with sand shortages also a local factor, and this project will look at the “Beneficial Reuse” of sand and other dredged materials from our harbors. If suitable, this could be to nourish beaches, make and nourish artificial dunes for resilience projects, and possibly use finer materials as an additive for compost or topsoil manufacture. The “Beneficial Reuse” of materials from dredging can also go to satisfy other projects in the Coastal Resilience Plan in an effort to make this a “Win-Win” set of projects.

Sustainability Programs Manager Vince Murphy