Over $20M in spending on Tuesday's ballot

(May 16, 2024) Voters on Tuesday will be asked to ratify six spending articles that recently passed Town Meeting, as well as see ballot questions on three articles that were rejected.

The appropriations range from the reconstruction of the Jetties Beach tennis courts to the expansion of a cell at the landfill. In total there is just over $20 million in spending to be decided at the ballot.

If all six appropriation articles pass it would add $281.89 to the annual tax of the average Nantucket home assessed at $2.7 million, with a residential exemption, according to the town’s tax-rate calculator.

There are also ballot questions 1, 2 and 3, spending articles that were already rejected at Town Meeting and therefore non-binding. They will not go into effect even if they receive a majority vote at the polls, but would if they pass a subsequent Town Meeting. To pass, debt exclusion articles need approval at Town Meeting and on the ballot, but the order in which that happens doesn’t matter.

Of the failed articles, Question 1 was seeking to appropriate $3 million for a town employee housing feasibility study, Question 2 asked $6 million for the acquisition of the former youth hostel property in Surfside and Question 3 was for $1.2 million in supplemental funding for the design of a new Public Works facility.

Here’s a brief rundown of the articles that did pass at Town Meeting and require a majority vote at the ballot to be implemented.

• Question 4: The town is seeking $2 million for transportation improvements on Newtown Road, which would include most noticeably a multi-use path along one side of the road, and road and drainage improvements. It is part of the Select Board’s strategic plan to improve sidewalk routes from the mid-island area to downtown.

If passed it would add $7.60 to the tax bill of the average Nantucket home assessed at $2.7 million with a residential exemption.

• Ballot Question 5: The town is seeking $2 million for debris removal, erosion control and dune restoration at Tom Nevers Park. A storm in January eroded the bluff at Tom Nevers to the point of revealing structural remnants from the Navy base that once stood there over 50 years ago, including large hunks of concrete, metal and piping.

Town manager Libby Gibson said there is a lot of permitting to do in the area and this likely won’t be the last monetary appropriation.

“It’s unclear if $2 million will even cover the permitting, the debris removal and erosion control, it’s quite a significant project,” she said.

If passed it would add $7.60 to the average Nantucket home assessed at $2.7 million with a residential exemption.

• Ballot Question 6: The town is seeking $5.065 million to expand landfill cell 3B at the dump on Madaket Road. This would provide more space in the landfill ’s only active waste-holding unit.

If passed it would add $19.01 to the average Nantucket home assessed at $2.7 million with a residential exemption.

• Ballot Question 7: The town is seeking $1.9 million for reconstruction of the Jetties Beach public tennis courts. The reconstruction will also include pickleball courts within the current footprint.

“We have in the past discussed (removing them), but I think at this point, they are continuing to get a substantial amount of usage so we need to get them in shape,” finance director Brian Turbitt said.

Parks and Rec director Charlie Polachi said the town can expect to get at least 20 years of use from the reconstruction.

If passed it would add $7.22 to the average Nantucket home assessed at $2.7 million with a residential exemption.

• Ballot Question 8: The town is seeking $5 million for a public safety auxiliary building located next to the current police and fire department buildings at 4 Fairgrounds Road.

“This is a repair facility and a place to store equipment so it doesn’t have to sit outside,” Turbitt said.

If passed it would add $18.82 to the average Nantucket home assessed at $2.7 million with a residential exemption.

• Ballot Question 9: The town has laid out $16.2 million in debt exclusion overrides, although it is only asking for a $4.3 million override from voters. The remaining $11.9 million would come from free cash and the 2025 tax levy. The list includes everything from replacement of first responder vehicles and other town vehicles, upgrades to public safety technology and new computers, and island-wide road improvements and maintenance.

If passed it would add $221.64 to the average Nantucket home assessed at $2.7 million with a residential exemption.

The polls are open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday, May 21 at Nantucket High School, 10 Surfside Road.