VISION FOR NANTUCKET

My vision for Nantucket is an integrated management team of Town Administration and the Board of Selectmen. We have a strong Town Administration; it manages the Town’s business efficiently. The BOS should set policy and develop goals and objectives. Together this team can lead Nantucket to be a thriving year-round community.

First: Maintain and upgrade our infrastructure. That includes roads, wastewater and solid waste treatment, health, harbor, police, fire, schooling, affordable housing, airport, water department, telecommunications, and government. This calls for careful management of our FY12 budget process, which will commence shortly after Town Meeting. It will be a step-by-step process that demands BOS leadership in setting the long term goals for the Town Administration and Finance Department so that we can stop delaying necessary upgrades. Growth must pay for itself.

Second: Create a stable Island economy. The BOS should begin by creating an Office of Economic Development and partnering with the private sector to rejuvenate our economy. New opportunities must be developed. We need to promote the initiatives to “buy local,” to “hire local,” and to keep dollars circulating within the local economy.

The BOS can take additional steps to enable residents to compete effectively for jobs and contracts. Assist local workers to become fully licensed and qualified. Encourage people to build new marketable skills through the Community School. Streamline and simplify the permitting process to counter the perception that doing business on Nantucket is “difficult”.

Third: Make short-term and long-term plans to strengthen the economy. Examples are the Shellfish Management Plan; the Wilkes Square downtown revitalization concept; increasing affordable housing; human service collaboration; and energy management, including land based wind turbines and out-of-town bulk fuel facility. With good planning, we can produce and conserve energy so that we never need a third cable to the mainland. These initiatives can draw funds into the economy and reduce the cost of doing business on Nantucket.

I stand ready to help strengthen the process of economic development, budget management, and goal setting as soon as I am elected.