One man's vision for Nantucket.

How far can you see into the future?

The Board of Selectmen of Nantucket recently went through the exercise of writing vision statements and comparing them before the TV audience. I was not able to attend the meeting nor watch it on TV but I thought I would take the time to write my own vision statement for the island — aligned with the Board’s main goal and objective themes.

For those not familiar with he term “vision statement,” it is essentially a snapshot of where we want to be. It includes a time period. Usually five or ten or twenty years. And it is often an internal document used as reminder to management of an organization where it should be headed. The idea, basically, is to write a vision statement and then hold it up against all of the organizations tactics to see if what the organization is doing is furthering it’s goal to achieve that vision. I write these for clients all of the time. Simple.

One man's vision statement for Nantucket in ten years and twenty years.

In ten years and even twenty, I envision an island that is, in many ways, very similar to today. And in other ways very different. I see an island that has held onto its community character and maintains a vibrant, close-knit local community with a mix of newcomers and those whose families have been here some time. I envision a societal structure that is similar to today’s structure with seasonal workers, year-rounders and visitors playing important roles. I see an island that is, for the most part, physically unchanged from today with a community that values maintenance of rural dirt roads and historic structures.

On the other hand, I envision changes that truly benefit the island in many ways. I see an evolution of the building trades from being an industry of demolition and new construction to being one of renovation, preservation and maintenance. I see the emergence of new service industry businesses that utilize technology to reach a larger audience off island and drive dollars to the local economy instead of away from it. I see a school system that is the envy of surrounding communities for its ability to produce strong-minded individual with the tools to succeed and attend top colleges. I see an island where locally owned businesses thrive and are valued. I see a reversal of years of ecological abuse of the island and a return to healthy bodies of water, harbors and beaches.

Administrative Management

In ten years I envision the emergence of a management system that is clearly aligned, from top to bottom, under the direction of the town manager. Every department head answers to the manager and is compensated based on performance. I also envision a weakening of control by labor unions as more and more department heads voluntarily leave the union in a desire to realize higher incomes through performance based pay. In twenty years, the fruits of this change will be very apparent as trust and respect for town government and what it does becomes common island-wide.

Fiscal Management

In ten years I see a finance depart that, having completed a stringent fiscal analysis of growth tied to current zoning five years previously, is working on a five-year update to the data and is using the information uncovered in this analysis to assess fees and taxes equitably and manage our finances with a keen eye on future costs and how to pay for them. Our taxes will be higher, due to costs already voted upon and ear-marked today, but still low enough to ensure that the added cost of living and working in an island does not create a disincentive to maintaining property here.

Infrastructure

In ten years I see an island infrastructure of sewer lines, cobbled streets in the OHD and town owned buildings that is close to new or like-new. In twenty years, I see a focus on preventative maintenance and forethought employed by the town to ensure that the most cost effective methods for delivering infrastructure services is employed and infrastructure improvements are not put off until such time that they are more expensive than if they had been properly maintained in the first place.

Ground Water and Coastal Resources

In twenty years I see the beginnings of a reversal of water resources problems. In twenty, I envision Nantucket’s Harbors, ponds, estuaries and beaches to be cleaner than they have been in six decades.

Quality of Life

I see an island that is safer than today in ten years. I see a return of a time when we could leave our doors unlocked. When our kids could jump on a bike and ride to a friend’s house without worry or danger. I see a life that is still more expensive that the mainland but not onerously so. I envision a year-round population that consider itself immensely fortunate to have conserved open spaces and free, universally accessed beaches. Yes, it will still be busy here in the summer. This is how most of the island will earn its keep. Tourism is not going to end if we maintain the island and keep the locals happy and prosperous. We will continue to be a Mecca for the leisure class and we will continue to offer world-class food, shopping and water-dependent activities.

Housing

In ten years I see a housing crisis that can see the light at the end of the tunnel thanks to the housing bank, the housing office, an expansion of the housing needs covenant to include rental covenants, an ernest attempt at creating more ffordble houses in established neighborhoods with a dozen or more “pocket 40B developments” underway, and housing stock owned by the town that makes it possible for the town to hire and house the people it needs in key positions. In twenty years, I envision time when there is no affordable housing problem to speak of. Not everyone will be able to afford market-value homes at this time as home values will remain high. But the available rentals and covenant homes will take up the slack. With regard to other housing, I see, in twenty years, a Baxter Road with 90% fewer homes on the eastern side of the street.

Manage Growth

In ten years I see the result of a community tapping the brakes for several years to bring growth to a manageable pace. I see growth that pays its own way thanks to the town conducting fiscal analysis tied to current zoning. This information will inform the Finance Department as to how much each bedroom in each home built costs the town in services and infrastructure. Individuals who are building their own year-round homes will receive a sizeable reduction in these fees which will be paid by new growth of seasonal homes and subdivisions. In twenty years I envision growth that is fully managed and pays its own way. The number of lots available for subdivision would be very small — with many of the available lots of today either built upon or preserved — and there would be a sizeable financial disincentive to build rather than renovate or maintain private property.

Does anyone share my vision?

Nantucket First.

YACKon.com stats for January 2008

Here are a few interesting stats regarding YACKon.com for the new year. I posted these on the site the other day. Let's see where we are in a year's time, shall we?

In the past 30 days, well over 75 people have posted to the site (and those are just those who included the word "Nantucket" in their post — the system will not allow me to search for all posters on all subjects, but the word Nantucket is the best search term I can think of).

Last month people came to the site from 9,874 separate server addresses. We averaged 3,500 visits per day last month. This month we are averaging over 4,000. Total visits in December equalled 109,595. With well over half a million pages viewed.

(How many readers does it take for the I&M to have half a million of its pages viewed?)

Exactly 514 people have posted to YACKon.com in the past two years, 249 people have 10 posts or more. 101 People have over 100 posts.

In 2007, yackon.com had just under 6 million page views. Give or take a few.

We currently have 1298 registered members. Non-registered users outnumber registered users by approximately five to one.