The Boys & Girls Club of Martha’s Vineyard is proposing to build a new, larger facility to meet what they see as a rising demand.
Meanwhile, some neighbors say the club has not been communicative of their plans.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission began public hearing for the Boys & Girls Club’s proposed 21,530-square-foot clubhouse on Thursday, planned for 110 Edgartown–West Tisbury Road in Edgartown. The new building would be 35 feet tall, and would have a parking lot with 51 spaces on the 2.38-acre lot. The new facility would replace the club’s existing space on Robinson Road.
Club leaders say the expansion is intended to accommodate more students and expand its programming. Barbara-Jean Chauvin, executive director of the club, said the nonprofit usually hosts around 100 students daily in its afterschool program, which consists of 180 students in total. Chauvin said while there is a waitlist of 15 children for the afterschool program, she estimates there are actually around 50 students looking for a spot, since many families don’t bother to sign up because of how quickly the roster fills up. The club also offers summer camps, dental clinics, and a food pantry, and its total membership list includes 422 students.
Edgartown also has the right of first refusal for the old building, according to Chauvin; the town is considering using the space as a new Council on Aging.
A point of contention during Thursday’s hearing surrounded some clear-cutting the club had already done on the project lot.
Several abutters said the clear-cutting caught them off-guard, and that the nonprofit’s officials were being uncommunicative. The neighbors pushed for certainty on a vegetative buffer.
“It makes us feel like we have no trust and no protection in this process,” Lauren Shatz, one of the abutters, said.
While stating that they favor the club’s mission, abutters wanted to see more information before the project goes forward.
Several commissioners also requested ways to mitigate the scenic impact of the new building.
Julia Tarka, former vice president of the club board, and one of the project representatives, said Edgartown building officials told her a permit was not required for the clear-cutting.
“We received an $850,000 federal grant, and as I’m sure most of you are also aware, there is instability in the grant market right now,” Tarka said. “We wanted to start spending … and start pushing the project forward.”
Norman Rankow, president of the Boys & Girls Club board, said club officials had reached out to abutters about the project, and they plan to be “good neighbors.”
There will also be no artificial turf used for the project, a material that has been a point of controversy before on the Island.
The club’s traffic study is under review by the commission’s staff, and the regulators are waiting on nitrogen output calculations and a final lighting plan.
The hearing will continue on May 8.
Thank you MV boy and girls club! This place was the spot for children of working parents in my day. Also they were the first organization on island to recognize the need for skateboarding facilities. They even had a winter skate night inside the gym. Coach T at the boys and girls club in the late 80s early 90s was also a sight! Thank you Boys and Girls club! Glad you are still helping the children of working parents on island. Seriously helped my mom out! Thank you!
Edgartown should purchase the old building and use it to expand the Edgartown School
Mike unfortunately that building is not safe and is barely passable for occupancy. If they Knock it down and start over that’s a great idea.
People complain about traffic and people yell about living locally, well this facility is going to do nothing to help the traffic situation or living locally, rather it will bring tons more traffic into Edgartown. Why not build satellite youth facilities in oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, maybe they could even be walkable.
As a former multi-year staffer’s parent, can confirm that it’s hard enough to find qualified staffers as it is for the one legacy B&G Club in Edgartown, so that idea’s not likely to be practicable.
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