News Briefs
Martha's Vineyard Commission declines review of Thai restaurant plan
The Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) declined to review a proposal for a new Thai restaurant at 18 State Road in Tisbury as a development of regional impact (DRI).
The 56-seat restaurant proposed by applicant Pissamai Laothong Green will be located in the building that has housed the Pisano-Belushi Gallery. An outside terrace will offer 16 additional seats in the summer. The kitchen will be on the basement level, with a take-out operation in the back of the building.
In 2007, building owner Sylvestro Schiavone received approval with conditions from the Martha's Vineyard Commission to build a new second structure at the rear of the property, which is located near an archeological site that dates back to approximately 8,000 B.C.
Tisbury building and zoning inspector Ken Barwick referred the project, which has received approval from the town's wastewater commission for additional flow and preliminary approval from the board of health, to the Martha's Vineyard Commission.
In a videotape of the meeting aired on MVTV, the commissioners agreed that traffic is the most pressing issue. Michael Mauro gave his first presentation as the Martha's Vineyard Commission's new transportation planner. Mr. Mauro, who has a degree in geography with a concentration in urban and regional planning, said that, based on studies, the restaurant's 11 to 12 parking spaces will be adequate, since many patrons will walk to it. Mr. Mauro also said he thought the restaurant would have minimal impact on traffic volume on State Road.
Recently elected Tisbury commissioner Holly Stephenson dismissed Mr. Mauro's opinion, and asked whether the Tisbury zoning board of appeals (ZBA), which will also review the project, has anyone with the expertise to do traffic studies.
After Ms. Stephenson went on at length about traffic and parking, Martha's Vineyard Commission chairman Christina Brown asked her to refrain from going into a lot of details, which will be dealt with by the ZBA.
"I agree with what Holly said," Chilmark commissioner Douglas Sederholm said. "It's quite obvious the traffic issue has the potential for regional impact." He made a motion for the project to undergo a full public hearing.
Tisbury commissioner Peter Cabana pointed out that Tisbury does not have a parking requirement for restaurants.
Bill Bennett, a newly appointed Chilmark commissioner who has been before the Martha's Vineyard Commission as an applicant, cut the debate short.
"So Peter mentioned before the town doesn't have any requirements for any parking for the restaurant, and Holly's main concern is micromanaging the traffic in the backyard of the restaurant," Mr. Bennett summed up. "Our own traffic expert has told us there will be minimal impact on the traffic flow on the main road, which is the only part that has any regional impact - and I think the town is fully capable of deciding how this thing should work out."
Mr. Bennett said his choice would be non-concurrence and not to review the project on the Martha's Vineyard Commission level.
Edgartown commissioner Jim Athearn agreed. "What could we do that the board of appeals can't do?" he said. "I think the board of appeals is going to have plenty of review. Our traffic man has said it will be negligible - we know what it's like up and down there. We wouldn't be able to discuss the traffic issue much clearer than we just did it now. We know there's going to be a lot of traffic, and we know how it works and when there are gaps."
Mr. Cabana added, "I cannot see the need for a public hearing to address the parking issue."
Mr. Sederholm's motion was defeated. West Tisbury commissioner Linda Sibley made a second motion not to review the project as a DRI, which was approved by 9 of the 14 commissioners, with Ms. Brown abstaining. The commissioners then unanimously approved another motion to allow the applicant's minor site design changes.
Blue Canoe Waterfront Café to open in May
Stephen and Susan Bowen, owners of the Waterside Market on Tisbury's Main Street, plan to open the Blue Canoe Waterfront Café the first week in May. The new restaurant will be located at the waterfront site of the former Mediterranean Restaurant on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven.
After launching the Waterside Market about a year ago, Mr. Bowen said he and his wife had plans to open another restaurant, long before the economic downturn.
"We've been looking for another place for quite some time, and nothing just felt right," he explained.
When the Beach Road site became available, Mr. Bowen added, "We loved the location, so we jumped on it - it's a million-dollar view. Plus, we love Vineyard Haven, and it's close to our other restaurant."
Waterside Market's chef Drew Egy will take over as the Blue Canoe's chef and oversee both restaurants, Mr. Bowen said. He anticipates employing about 14 to 16 people at the new restaurant.
Mr. Bowen said although the menu is in the development stages, it definitely will include daily fresh fish selections, prime rib, steak, and lobster. Mindful of the economy, Mr. Bowen said the same menu will be available at lunch and dinner, so that patrons may choose between sandwiches and higher-priced dinner entrees.
"Our goal is just to offer extremely high quality yet simple food," Mr. Bowen said. "We're going to try and use as many local products as possible."
Tentative summer hours for the Blue Canoe will be 11 am to 11 pm and 7 am to 4 pm for the Waterside Market.
Mediterranean owners Doug and Leslie Hewson relocated their restaurant to the former site of Lola's Southern Seafood in Oak Bluffs, where they plan to reopen this spring.
Carlos Colley named super of Westport schools
Carlos Colley, an Oak Bluffs resident and currently the assistant superintendent of the Nantucket Public Schools, has been appointed superintendent of the Westport, Mass., public schools. The appointment was announced March 27.
Mr. Colley is a former principal of the Chilmark School and was assistant to the superintendent for business in the Vineyard public school system.
Mr. Colley's wife Joanne is a speech and language pathologist serving the West Tisbury School and community preschools. She will continue in that position.
Coast Guard Station Menemsha photos wanted
In preparation for a story, The Martha's Vineyard Times is seeking service photos of Island men and women who served at Coast Guard Station Menemsha.
Please email photos to photos@mvtimes.com, or stop by The Martha's Vineyard Times office with a copy of a photo, which we can scan. Please include name, date of photo and rank information. Photos are needed prior to Monday, April 6. For more information, call managing editor Nelson Sigelman at 508-693-6100, ext. 13.
Edgartown Yacht Club buys Chappy property
The Edgartown Yacht Club (EYC) last month bought a single-family, one-bedroom house on a 1.5-acre lot on Chappaquiddick Road to be the site of a new junior yacht club.
Owners Michael and Eric Zizza of Rhode Island sold the house for $4,192,500.
The buildings, which include a shed as well as the house, are assessed for $212,900. The land, which includes frontage on Edgartown Harbor, is assessed for $3,212,800.
Bill Roman, EYC executive director, said the completion of the sale, which awaited final permitting for a new junior yacht club, closed on March 19.
The property is a short distance from the On Time ferry landing and adjacent to the Chappaquiddick Beach Club. The location has many advantages for a junior sailing center, Mr. Roman said, primarily safety.
Currently, in order to leave the harbor, junior yachtsmen must navigate past the ferry and around other pleasure craft in the swift current created by the Norton Point cut.
Mr. Roman said the club will be able to store small sailboats under the deck of the house and launch right from the beach into the more open waters of Edgartown Harbor. The deck will provide space for discussions and instruction.
"It's perfect, really," Mr. Roman said.
The club's junior sailing program began in 1923, to encourage young people to learn sailing, seamanship, racing rules and tactics, and other phases of yachting.
Island police join in "Road Respect" campaign
The Massachusetts State Police and local police departments will team up this month in an effort to reduce aggressive and distracted driving, according to a press release issued by the Chilmark Police department.
The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security is providing $1.2 million of federal grant funds for the "Road Respect" mobilization, a statewide coordinated effort involving additional directed traffic enforcement and public information that runs through April 26.
A police press release provides the following advice to drivers who encounter an aggressive or distracted driver: "Control your emotions to avoid escalating the situation. Attempt to safely get out of his or her way. Avoid eye contact or obscene gestures."
For information, go to mass.gov/highwaysafety.
Late-night accident razes utility pole
Shortly after midnight Sunday, Deidre Brown, 44, of Oak Bluffs, behind the wheel of her 1996 Buick Regal, was driving east on New York Avenue, when she struck and razed a utility pole and left the scene of the crash, according to Oak Bluffs police.
Passersby reported the accident, and police soon located Ms. Brown. Police arrested Ms. Brown on charges that included operating under the influence of drugs, leaving the scene of an accident, and possession of stolen property.
Squash Meadow Construction certified LEED
Bill Potter, owner of Squash Meadow Construction Inc. of Oak Bluffs, recently passed a new construction exam to become accredited in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, according to a press release.
The U.S. Green Building Council developed the LEED program.
With the LEED certification, Squash Meadow Construction is now available to build green residential and commercial buildings according to the LEED point system. This process ensures an environmentally sustainable structure with the smallest possible carbon footprint.
For more information, call 508-693-7451 or go to squashmeadow.com.
Photo by Susan Safford
Business Briefs
East Chop Sleep Shop celebrates
Pat Chmura, co-owner with husband Mike of East Chop Sleep Shop, demonstrates the benefits of a Tempur-Pedic massage and lift bed. Martha's Vineyard's long-time full-service bedding specialist celebrated 25 years in business with an open house Saturday. For more information go to eastchopsleepshop.com.
Local energy aficionados attend Boston conference
Diane Hartmann of West Tisbury and Tim Twombly of Oak Buffs recently attended a building energy conference and trade show to update their knowledge about advances in the industry. The Northeast Sustainable Energy Conference Association (NESEA) held the event at the World Trade Center Exhibit Hall in Boston.
"There are more companies exhibiting now," Ms. Hartmann said in an email sent after the conference. "The advances in technology and the current financial incentives are going to entirely change the way we build and use energy."
Mr. Twombly, who founded American Independence Energy (AIE) in West Tisbury in 2006, is certified as an installer of Apricus evacuated tube solar hot water collector systems. Both he and Ms. Hartmann have the collector systems installed on their homes.
As Mr. Twombly explains, evacuated tubes are non-circulating Thermos-bottle type tubes that can absorb 97 percent of sunlight that strikes them, convert it to heat, and deliver that heat to a circulation manifold.
"Every application is different, but the clear advantages reaffirm out commitment to the evacuated tube technology, and our commitment to bring this technology to homeowners and businesses on Martha's Vineyard, to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels," Mr. Twombly noted after attending the conference.
For more information about evacuated tube technology, contact AIE at 508-693-4592 or visit the website www.sunwatermv.com.
State House News Service
February foreclosure deeds down
The 823 foreclosure deeds recorded in Massachusetts during February were down 4.3 percent from February 2008 and down 16 percent from January 2009, according to the Warren Group. Still, foreclosure deeds rose 8.6 percent during the first two months of 2009. Petitions to foreclose, the first step in the foreclosure process, were up 17 percent in February from January numbers but down 19 percent compared to February 2008. In a statement, Warren Group CEO Tim Warren Jr. said, "While it's positive that fewer homes were lost to foreclosure in February, the number of foreclosures initiated by lenders month to month has been steadily increasing since last November. In addition, the pace of foreclosures has remained fairly steady over the last six months, despite the fact that several large lending institutions have introduced temporary moratoriums on foreclosures in recent months."
House delays move on transportation reform
House action on a transportation system overhaul bill, expected this week under a schedule outlined by Gov. Deval Patrick and legislative leaders, will be pushed off until at least next week, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Monday. The delay comes a week after the Senate passed its own version of a bill to consolidate the state's transportation bureaucracy. "What we want to do is to make sure that we have a full appraisal in terms of what the Senate had done, make sure we have the proper time to read it, digest it," DeLeo told reporters after a press conference on changes to the state pension system. "When I say delay, I'm talking about four or five days. There's no question that we're going to do it." Rep. Louis Kafka (D-Sharon) told the News Service after a Monday informal House session, that the bill totaled more than 500 pages and discussions were ongoing to determine whether to work off the Senate bill or a new House draft. It's also possible that the House, which meets in a formal session on Thursday, will consider an order laying out special rules for the House transportation debate, Kafka said. He said House leaders were looking to Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. Joseph Wagner for indications concerning the best way to proceed.
Mutual bank access to TARP still up in air
Six days after Massachusetts Congressmen demanded that the U.S. Treasury take steps to allow mutual banks in Massachusetts to access Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, there are few answers available. Communications aides to Reps. Barney Frank and William Delahunt could not say Monday whether Treasury officials had responded. A Frank aide referred questions to House Financial Services Committee press aides, who said they would look into the matter. Frank aides then forwarded a March 25 letter from the delegation to the Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in which the lawmakers said they were "pleased to learn that you intend to act promptly" to allow mutual bank and savings association access to TARP funds. In their March 24 letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, all 10 members of the Massachusetts House delegation said the Treasury since October 2008 had issued term sheets for participation in the capital purchase program by publicly held institutions, privately held institutions and S corporations, but not for mutual institutions, which play a prominent role in Massachusetts. They said the Treasury's "disappointing delay" in issuing a terms sheet for mutuals had prompted them to include in legislation passed in January a provision directing the Treasury "to promptly make funds available for smaller community institutions."
Rep. DeLeo cool to meals, hotel taxes
House members support increased regionalization, municipal health insurance changes, and eliminating the telecommunications industry's property tax exemption, but are cool toward new meals and lodging taxes, Speaker Robert DeLeo said Monday.
Gov. Deval Patrick wants to generate nearly $400 million from new telecommunication, meals and lodging taxes next fiscal year. Patrick also wants $122 million from repealed sales tax exemptions on candy, sugared drinks, and alcohol, proposals that have found little traction in the Legislature.
"The tax which I perceive as having some legs to it, so to speak, is the telecom tax," DeLeo told the News Service. "In terms of meals and hotels-motels, I'm not as certain in terms of where the support is on that."
Pressed on the lodging and meals taxes, DeLeo said, "I'm not going to say doubtful, but I don't think it's something that's been brought to the forefront by the members."
Corrections
Photo credits on pictures accompanying an article in the March 26 edition of The Martha's Vineyard Times, "Two Navy officers bring history to life at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School," were mixed up. High School View photo editor Taylor Smith took the photo of Lt. Mason Berry and the lieutenant provided the helicopter photo.
