Nantucket Commission on Disabilities reviews island accessibility projects, approves Jan. 31 minutes

At its April 3 meeting the Nantucket Commission on Disabilities received status updates on a series of island accessibility projects — from Land Bank properties and the high‑school stadium to the town fairgrounds and hospital entrances — and voted to approve open‑session minutes from Jan. 31, 2025.

The updates centered on design and near‑term work to create accessible parking, stable paths and small viewing or picnic platforms. Brenda McDonough, the commission facilitator, and commission member Mickey Roland reported progress after recent site visits and meetings with property managers and town staff.

Why it matters: the projects affect residents who use wheelchairs, walkers or other mobility aids, plus seniors who rely on accessible routes to public beaches, recreational sites and municipal buildings. Several projects are slated for work this year or for fall construction; others depend on a reworked state grant application.

Land Bank sites and golf courses: Commission members said the Land Bank plans to add accessible parking and paths at several properties. At the Sconset Golf Course, a New Jersey‑based golf management company agreed to install two new accessible parking spaces and to convert the frequently washed‑out route to the clubhouse into a stable, high‑pack surface (examples discussed included boardwalk sections or other nonshifting surfacing). The commission expects that to be a fall project.

At Long Pond Landing, the Land Bank intends to replace loose pebble “mold” surfacing with a stable access aisle and to install low, ground‑level boardwalks from the parking area to the pier and to two viewing benches uphill. The commission said designers plan a 5‑by‑5 platform adjacent to a picnic table so a wheelchair user can roll up to the table; that work was described as a high priority for completion by the coming summer.

Lily Pond and other Land Bank projects remain in earlier design stages; the commission said it will be involved in design review going forward.

High‑school stadium: The commission met with Chip Clooney, the school facilities manager, about access to the bleachers and snack‑shack area. The stadium currently has an accessible ramp to the bleachers but no accessible parking or a finished accessible route to that ramp; much of the existing surface below the ramp is grass or gravel. School staff and the commission discussed installing two parallel accessible parking spaces near the main lot, building an accessible route to the ramp and providing an accessible route to a portable accessible toilet by the snack shack. School officials also described longer‑range, multimillion‑dollar stadium redevelopment plans; in the short term the commission said the school intends to improve the path and parking before the fall season.

Fairgrounds and municipal offices: At the two‑fairgrounds municipal site the commission described a redesign of six accessible parking spaces. Town staff told the commission staff will remake two spaces near the main lot with a single access aisle leading to an accessible path and will relocate four additional accessible spaces nearby so the total will remain six (three access aisles and six spaces). Commission members asked that employees not occupy those designated spaces once they are restriped. The commission also discussed installing automatic door openers for the building entrance so a two‑door vestibule becomes a straight, accessible route once the parking and approach are completed.

Grant application and beaches: The commission reported it was denied a recent Massachusetts accessibility grant after an application‑form error. Brenda McDonough said the application sought roughly $48,000 to extend and enlarge boardwalks and platforms at Galley Beach, Jetties Beach and Children’s Beach and to add accessible paths at Halbert Avenue and a James Street path to the harbor. The commission met with Evan Deutsch, the grant compliance officer at the Massachusetts Office on Disability, who told them the town’s Community Compact selection box was not checked and the application therefore was not eligible. McDonough said the commission will refile the request as multiple, separate applications with more explicit drawings and a larger requested amount per site if needed; she also said the town’s Department of Public Works expected to perform much of the construction in‑house, which is why the previous budget was modest.

Hospital and urgent care access: Commission members discussed a recent incident in which a visiting person using Canadian crutches struggled to open an entry door to the Urgent Care vestibule because the entrance directed visitors to a manual door while an automatic door is located on the opposite side of the vestibule. The commission said the parking area had sand that interfered with crutch use; hospital maintenance (Lee Shaughnessy) planned a parking lot sweep April 4 and has a contractor scheduled to address threshold profiles. The commission said it will ask the hospital either to install an automatic opener on the frequently used entrance or to add clear signage directing ambulatory visitors to the automatic door located nearby.

Accessible housing and other items: The commission discussed the new Nantucket Housing Authority development on Fairgrounds Road (marketed as Wiggles Way). The housing authority notified the commission that a wheelchair user will occupy the three‑bedroom accessible unit and that the two‑bedroom accessible unit was allocated to a tenant referred by Martha’s Vineyard Community Services who receives disability services.

Other access concerns: The commission said it will contact VTT Property Management about a business complex on Old South Road (Candlewick Corner) where striping and curb cuts are missing; it plans on‑site measurements and photos before contacting the building department. Members also reported a possible town‑property fence near Millie’s at the rotary; town staff intends to survey the area and, if the fence encroaches on town land, ask the property owner to move it and create a widened asphalt route to the parking lot to provide a safer route to the accessible ramp. Brick sidewalk reset work near the Gaslight restaurant and other road and sidewalk repairs were noted as items for the town’s paving and public works program.

Votes at a glance: The commission approved the open‑session minutes for Jan. 31, 2025. Jeanette Hoffman moved to approve the minutes; the motion was seconded (second not named in the record), the committee voiced agreement and the motion passed (three recorded “aye” responses in the video record). The minutes approval was the only formal vote recorded in open session during the meeting.

Next steps: Commission members said they will refile the state grant applications (separating sites where advised), continue design review with Land Bank and school facilities staff, follow up with hospital maintenance on thresholds and signage, and work with town staff (Drew and Paul) at a scheduled April 14 meeting to finalize designs for boardwalk and platform proposals. Brenda McDonough said the commission will remain engaged in design review for any Land Bank and town projects going forward.

"I work at the Saltmarsh Center and I've been there for almost 30 years," said Nancy Swain, a newly seated commission member. "A lot of the folks that are senior citizens also have some disabilities…I can relay to my seniors any sort of helpful information that would make life easier for them." McDonough accepted responsibility for the grant form error: "That will not happen again. That was a huge error on my part," she told the commission.

The commission did not take new binding policy actions beyond the minutes vote; members framed most items as design or construction steps to be completed by town or Land Bank staff or through future grant awards.