Dissenters on MVC Field Decide Not to File Report

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A week after praising the idea that six dissident commissioners would table a minority report “a first in the history of the commission” underlining their differences on a sports complex for Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) President Joan Malkin explained that these commissioners had changed their minds.

“The six dissenting commissioners, including myself, have given a lot of thought to whether we should include some kind of minority report,” said Malkin.

In a separate telephone conversation with The Times, Malkin was asked when these deliberations took place since the commission had not had a meeting between the two. She said the splinter group had repeatedly discussed their feelings when tabling the report and ultimately came to unanimous agreement, “and with great conviction,” that there would be no benefit in submitting it.

“We all knew we weren’t going to change the outcome,” said Malkin.

When asked if the deliberation took place at a public meeting, Malkin said the six dissenting commissioners do not constitute a quorum and do not feel they need to formally meet. She added that she was not aware of the open assembly law prohibiting this type of communication.

“If we broke any sort of open meeting law, it would be out of our own ignorance,” Malkin said.

The high school complex, which features a controversial synthetic turf pitch, was approved in a 10-6 decision.

Malkin said no minority report, to his knowledge, had ever been filed in the history of the commission, although this is permitted in MVC’s statutes.

As the dissenting commissioners discussed the possibility of tabling a report – which they created an unofficial draft of – Malkin said it became clear to them that the report would do more harm than good.

“Our biggest concern was that the report could harm this institution for which we are either appointed or elected,” said Malkin. “As we discussed it, it seemed to us more and more that it would prove to be divisive and polarized rather than inclusive.”

In the end, the commissioners chose not to table the report, believing it could set an unfortunate precedent, according to Malkin. “Whatever beliefs originally motivated us, we are looking to the future to make sure our voices are heard,” she said.

Talking about climate change

MVC’s climate change planner Liz Durkee said her approach to climate change is about addressing the challenges the island faces and turning them into economic, social and infrastructure opportunities that improve the quality of life here. .

“All of these impacts are linked,” Durkee said. “We have to tackle the whole puzzle, not just the individual pieces.”

Durkee highlighted two important projects for the island – the Tidal Trail Project and the Salt Marsh Migration Project.

The Provincetown Coastal Studies Center has completed the first year of a storm surge pathway study that identifies 700 canals where stormwater will flow as storm surges develop and sea levels rise. sea ​​will rise.

This data will be compiled into an easy-to-understand GIS map that will allow for real-time water level forecasting and, most importantly, critical data for first responders and municipal planners, said Durkee.

Although the Federal Emergency Management Planning Agency (FEMA) flood maps are the gold standard for predicting flooding, Durkee said it was possible to get much more detailed maps that are based on on the most recent data, as opposed to a compilation of historical data.

“FEMA flood maps are not accurate at identifying flood risk for several reasons: they use historical data, they don’t include sea level rise, and what they call the centennial flood now happens about once every 20 or 30 years, ”Durkee said. .

When she was an Oak Bluffs conservation officer, Durkee said, she started working on a project that measures and predicts salt marsh migration.

“Salt marshes will be inundated as the sea level rises, unless they can migrate inland. They cannot migrate if there are structures in their path, ”she noted.

She and a number of other conservation planners came up with the idea of ​​creating a Salt Marsh District of Critical Planning Concern (DCPC) to facilitate a managed retreat from the coast.

Coastal geologist Rob Young has been hired by the MVC to examine the science behind the data, as well as the economics behind some of these long-term plans.

Young and Durkee will identify at-risk properties to be included in the DCPC, and when those properties come on the market, the city is granted the right of first refusal to purchase.

The city would then sell the property to the Land Bank for its fair market value and remove all buildings and septic tanks, thus preserving the land and potentially saving the salt marshes.

“It’s a model concept that we’re looking at,” Durkee said.

In addition, the island and Gosnold have recently received nearly $ 174,000 from the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, which will be used to create a 20-year climate action plan for the two communities.

Some of that money will go to external consultants and a dashboard website to share information and updates with the community and city officials. The work revolves around seven themes related to how climate change affects our way of life.

Rob Hannemann of MVC’s Climate Action Task Force (CATF) said the remnants of Hurricane Ida and its impact on the vineyard explained why so many people on the island are interested in mitigating climate change.

“This is the new normal, but we don’t want the future normal to be even worse than it is today,” Hannemann said.

As chair of the CATF Energy Working Group, Hannemann said the work they have done provides a comprehensive picture of the island’s energy use and production and establishes a route to meet the energy goals set by the community.

In 2018, the task force developed a baseline for the island’s energy system, determining the amount and type of energy used here.

“We have also created a model of the energy system of the islands so that we can understand the different pathways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Hannemann said. The group also published a series of working papers on transport, heating and cooling of buildings, supply and use of electricity, and developed draft recommendations.

Currently, the island has around 20% renewable energy, but by 2030 this figure is expected to approach 60%, exceeding the island’s energy targets of reaching 50% energy. renewable by 2030.

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