Planning Board Minutes
PLANNING BOARD
TOWN OF TISBURY
P.O. BOX 602
TOWN HALL ANNEX
VINEYARD HAVEN, MASSACHUSETTS 02568
(508) 696-4270
Fax (508) 696-7341
www.tisburyma.gov
MEETING MINUTES
DATE: August 19, 2015
TIME: 6:00 PM
PLACE: Town Hall Annex, 66 High Point Lane
ATTENDANCE: Doble, Robinson, Seidman, Thompson
BILLS: MV Times…………………….$472.00
Impact…………………………$ 58.07
MINUTES: As referred in the August 12, 2015 Meeting Agenda
BOARD DISCUSSIONS:
1. Beach Road Improvements
D. Seidman attended the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on August 18, 2015 to report on the Subcommittee’s progress, and to advise them that the committee members had reached an agreement on the first one thousand feet of the road (5.5 ft – 4.5 ft. – 10.5 ft.)
B. Robinson inquired if additional discussions followed his report. D. Seidman reported that L. Gomez reiterated his preference for a sidewalk. He questioned their ability to accommodate a sidewalk on the north side of the road. B. Robinson replied that the state was going to build out to the revetment wall, right to the edge of the right-of-way.
C. Doble thought the Town had to hold discussions with R. Packer, because he tried working out some of the details. It was important to explain to R. Packer that they couldn’t guarantee that they would be able to get the utilities underground, but that they were still negotiating this. It was possible that they could finance the underground installation via funds from Economic Development once they completed a study.
D. Seidman informed C. Doble that the subcommittee was meeting with R. Packer. The issue confronting the subcommittee was that the Board of Selectmen were not listening and supporting the subcommittee’s recommendations. B. Robinson believed they had to be persistent about getting them to support their recommendations, besides reiterating their opinions.
Additional discussions ensued and D. Seidman indicated that they could accommodate the sidewalks on R. Packer’s property within the location of the rosa ragosas. C. Doble hoped that the landscaping and replanting would be part of the project, because it was her belief that they had to move the existing vegetation. D. Seidman did not think they would have any space for plantings if the state decided on the 43 ft. layout. B. Robinson thought the subcommittee had to ask R. Packer how he envisioned developing the Tisbury Wharf property, because there was a possibility that they would not need to run the sidewalk all the way to the Mone Insurance building. D. Seidman thought they had to have a sidewalk at least to the entrance of his property.
B. Robinson noted that it was important to remind everyone that the whole reason for this project was to create a bike connection.
D. Seidman thought the Board of Selectmen should conduct a hearing to listen to their constituents, because they’ve made it clear at their meetings that they did not want to ride their bikes on the road. C. Doble believed the Selectmen had to justify their decision to the community, if they ignored their comments.
D. Seidman indicated that he was going to contact Mr. Packer next week to schedule a meeting with him and the subcommittee members. He planned to contact the members first to check on their availability, before he arranged a meeting with Mr. Packer.
D. Hodsdon and H.S. Lee joined the Planning Board at 6:10 PM.
H.S. Lee understood that it may be premature to discuss the finer details of the project at this juncture. But he thought it important to raise the subject so that people did not forget their significance in the final design. He did not think they should not wait to explore their options until the last phase of the project, because there were many options to consider.
B. Robinson did not believe they should get bogged down on the details until they’ve made a decision on the layout of the road. D. Seidman agreed. B. Robinson understood that the road improvements were no longer slated for 2016, because we have not been able to come to an agreement.
2. Vision Council
Now that the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen have agreed upon the structure of the core group, C. Doble met with A. Ryan who offered the use of the town’s library for the council’s meetings. If the council met in the evenings, the library would be available on the second and fourth Thursday of the month for the discussion.
C. Doble advised the Board that the Vision Council was going to need the assistance of a recording secretary to prepare any correspondence, send emails, post meetings and to prepare the minutes, because it was important to keep people up to date on their activities to engage them. She did not think they could rely on the board or volunteers for this work. Board members agreed.
Discussions ensued about hiring a recording secretary, the availability of a recording secretary, town policy on hiring a recording secretary, the funds to pay for the person(s). All agreed that the record should be consistent. C. Doble had a list of the volunteers that participated in the workshops. Board members felt they should have a minimum level of consistency. It was a subject they wanted to revisit, once they’ve had the opportunity to investigate the town’s policy on hiring a recording secretary.
C. Doble thought they should have an article in the local newspaper about their efforts to get the Vision Council to start meeting. D. Seidman thought they could draft a letter to the Editor. C. Doble thought they needed something much more prominent. D. Seidman recommended language clearly stating that they were starting the group. It could be entice the local news-papers to send a reporter to the meeting.
C. Doble indicated that she wanted to compose an overview of the Vision Counsel’s mission, meeting schedule, etc. to send out to all of the participants that attended the workshops via email, and to engage them by asking them for topics. Their responses would give her a good sense of the topics people want to discuss the most. She added that people have suggested to her that the meeting should be conducted in the same format that was used for the workshops.
C. Doble understood Owen Park is an issue many people in town were interested in, and thought they could invite The DPW’s interim director to the first meeting. She thought they could also have the Board of Selectmen attend to provide them with an update on their progress since their last vision workshop.
H.S. Lee recommended asking the public for the topics they wanted to address, and prioritizing them by category (short-term, mid-term, and long- term). He thought the Planning Board should take the lead in structuring the first meeting agenda to avoid any complications. Board members agreed. D. Seidman thought it was important to include short-term projects (i.e. Owen Park) where they have the funds to repair or reconstruct the gazebo, the momentum and support of the community.
C. Doble, as a member of the Community Preservation Committee has seen applicants submit incomplete applications because they were uncertain about their requirements, or the type of information that was required. She thought the Vision Council could help them to develop their ideas, so that they could be presented to the Committee and at Town Meeting. She thought of speaking with the Committee about the Vision Council’s purpose and offer of assistance with the application process. The idea is to help the applicants prepare their applications for the CPC’s review. She thought they could coordinate the referrals with the Committee’s secretary. ME Larsen also noted that many of the goals generated at the Visioning process could be accomplished with CPA funds.
H.S. Lee believed applicants applying for CPA funds should be proposing projects that truly benefited the public. He felt they should commit to completing their projects within a certain time frame, or risk forfeiting the funds so that the money could become available for other projects.
Discussions ensued with regards to the Vision Council’s structure, and C. Doble thought they should keep things informal . She thought that the council would give people a venue to express their opinions, volunteer on helping applicants with their proposals, or to initiate projects. They should start by emailing everyone about the meeting, and use emails to communicate with one another or send information. The idea was to have the Council report to the public and to provide resources for some projects.
3. Chilmark Planning Board
RE: September 30, 2015 All Island Planning Board Meeting
D. Seidman thought the suggestions were good, except for the idea of delegating some of the topics to subcommittees. He’d rather see the board members take on the work, because he felt that the subcommittees would be difficult to coordinate.
B. Robinson liked the idea of splitting off into smaller groups, so that it gave them a chance to work on a specific topic with board members from other towns. He also thought that it would help them move on to other equally as important topics, other than affordable housing. D. Seidman agreed, and offered to email the board the attachment no one received from the Town of Chilmark.
D. Seidman offered to contact Brian Packish to ask him to come to the next meeting or to have one of the board members represent the Town of Oak Bluffs at the meeting on September 23, 2015.
4. Island Cove Miniature Golf Inc.
RE: Lawsuit (notice) – Access to legal counsel approved 8/11/15
The board secretary just learned that A. Jones did not sent the information she had prepared for counsel’s review. She scanned the documents and planned on sending them to counsel first think in the morning. Time was an issue, and they had to respond to the complaint.
5. Annul Fire Department’s Antique Car Show
H.S. Lee complained of the Board of Selectmen’s discussions pertaining to the antique car show. The car show did not present an issue for all of the retailers. He suggested using an alternate site, but was dismissed. H.S. Lee thought the subject should be pursued further. The Board thought the town could list it on survey monkey to find out what people liked or disliked of the venue, hours, etc. It was a subject the Vision Council could work on for the coming year.
6. Paul Adler, AP 24A24
D. Seidman advised the Board that Town Counsel was drafting a response for their review.
B. Robinson informed the Board that the applicant had contacted him to schedule an appointment with him sometime next week to walk the subdivision road. He also noted that the applicant was required to record the definitive plan within 6 months of endorsement, or risk having the decision rescinded. D. Seidman noted that the applicant had time.
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED:
1. MV Commission
A. 14 August 2015 Extended Schedule
B. 10 September 2015 Agenda
2. Thomson Reuters
RE: 25 July 2015 Zoning Bulletin
PRO FORM Meeting opened, conducted and closed in due form at 7:05 PM (m/s/c 4/0/0)
Respectfully submitted;
____________________________________________
Patricia V. Harris, Secretary
APPROVAL: Approved and accepted as official minutes;
______________ _________________________
Date Daniel Seidman
Chairman