Town of Aquinnah

Gay Head Lighthouse Advisory Board
Notes of Meeting 11/7/2017
Aquinnah Town Hall Selectmen’s Meeting Room

Members present: Chairman Len Butler, Richard Skidmore, Elise LeBovit, Jim Pickman*, Kathy Rainey *, Betsey Mayhew
*on conference phone

Others Present: Town Administrator Jeffrey Madison, Selectman Gary Haley, Selectman Julianne Vanderhoop

- The meeting began unofficially at 4:11pm with no quorum.

- A quick discussion took place on the 10/5/17 minutes. With no quorum, the Board couldn’t vote. Approving the minutes was tabled until a quorum could be reached.

- Jim reported that there is approximately $14,000.00 in the bank account not including the $3,000.00 contribution with the Permanent Endowment. Jim hopes that there will be another $2,500.00 pledge coming in later this year. Jim noted that mostly all income and expenses are in from the 10k and that the profit from the event was roughly $9,000.00. Elise noted that Liz Witham will be coming to the next meeting with a T-Shirt sales report from this season. Elise asked for a total on wedding revenue and the total from all the donation jars. Jim hopes to send out a report of the total expenses for operating the Lighthouse this fiscal year by Thanksgiving.

- Richard gave a quick Lighthouse & Park report. He stated that the re-seeding that Landscope did 3 weeks ago has not taken well in the majority of the Park. Even though the property has been closed off to the public, people are still making paths around the barriers to get in. Although these paths are not destructive to the growth of the Park grass, they are a concern. Richard and Len will plan a meeting with Josh from Landscope to discuss the next step in remediating the growth of the grass, which will most likely include re-seeding in the Spring. Richard presented the Board’s recommendation to increase wedding rates to the Board of Selectmen. The Selectmen voted to increase the first hour of rental from $500.00 to $600.00. Going forward, the typical 2-hr. wedding rate with Lighthouse use will increase from $900.00 to $1400.00. Photographer Randi Baird will be sending Lighthouse wedding photos to Richard soon to post on the website. Lastly, Richard reconfirmed with the Board that the burying of telephone wires at the cliffs will begin tomorrow, November 8th.

- Jeffrey asked the Board if he could discuss a fundraising suggestion. He asked the Board about creating a brick walkway/pathway leading up to the Lighthouse where people could buy a memorial brick, similar to the West Tisbury Library walkway. He estimated the cost of a memorial brick to be around $150.00. Discussion took place on the idea and possible locations for it. The Board agreed that it was a good idea and that it had been discussed before. Ultimately, the Board felt that they were not ready yet to act on it and that they still need to give formal recognition to the donors who gave to the Lighthouse Relocation Project.

* Betsey arrived at 4:37pm making quorum for the meeting.

- Len gave a restoration update. Out of the 4 bids received, the Selectmen Appointed Committee choose International Chimney Corp. (ICC) for the project. MHC has sent a letter to the Town acknowledging that ICC’s bid was the most qualified and complete bid at the lowest price where all the requirements were met and fulfilled. They have authorized the Town to go forward with ICC. ICC is scheduled to begin work in March 2018. Richard made a motion to recommend ICC’s contract to the Board of Selectmen. Betsey Seconded. The Board voted 6-0. The motion passed.

- Next the Board reviewed minutes from the 10/5/17 meeting. Richard made a motion to approve the minutes of the meeting as amended. Betsey seconded.
The Board voted 5-0-1. The motion passed.

- Betsey gave a brief report on the season. She reported that there were just over 23,000 paying visitors for the season and a total of $90,077 in revenue. Betsey will send out a detailed admissions report to the Board. As for the Aquinnah Cultural Center joint/share ticketing, the total for 2016 and 2017 seasons combined was only $416.00. No tickets had been sold at the ACC, but Betsey is going to confirm this with Linda Combs. Betsey presented a report comparing 2016 actual, 2017 budget and actual and the 2018 budget. Total income for the Town for the 2017 season was $29,608.00 including the $15,000.00 licensing fee, which had been increased by $5,000.00 from the previous year. Discussion took place on the year total from the donation jars. Richard noted that he had collected the jar from the Lighthouse that day and was going to total it and turn it over to Sibel. The total income for the Town this season was $9,996.00 higher than the income for 2016. Betsey reminded the Board that that the threshold for revenue share was eliminated this year. Betsey gave Elise the money from the down island donation jars.

- Next on the agenda the Board discussed fundraising/grant research. Richard had spoken with Kathy Olsen and she is still interested in doing grant research for the Board. She will be attending the December meeting. Richard discussed the idea of an earmark for fundraising. He has reached out to Kaley More to discuss whether the Lighthouse would be an appropriate subject for an earmark. Discussion took place on the Mass Facilities Fund Grant. The deadline to state your intention for applying is November 17th, which the Board felt was too close. Len informed the Board that Derrill will be meeting with the CPC heads of all the towns this coming Thursday. The meeting is specifically about regional use of CPC funds, which has helped the Lighthouse in the past. Len hopes to go and represent the Town’s cultural and historical significance.

- Under New Business, the Board discussed the upcoming Planning Board Plan Review Committee (PBPRC) meeting where the permits granted for the siting of the Lighthouse and Lighthouse management/operations will be reviewed. Len noted that the Special Permit was to be reviewed after a full year of operations once the Lighthouse was moved to its new location. Discussion took place about the guardrail alongside the road which will become a permanent railing, conditioned in one of the Special Permits. The Board discussed the hours of operation and number of events and whether there is a need to expand. Discussion took place on extending the hours later in the evening and increasing the number of sunset days. Kathy stated that the Condominium Association would oppose any increase in the hours of operations. However, in terms of increasing the number of events, she stated that the Condominium owners would be willing to contemplate a slight addition to the number of events; however, again not to increase at all the actual hours of activity at/inside the lighthouse structure itself. The Board agreed to propose to the PBPRC that 4 weddings and 2 additional public events be permitted during the months of July and August.

- With no other business to discuss the Board agreed to meet again Thursday, December 7th at 4:30 pm. A motion was made and seconded to adjourn.
The Board voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

The meeting ended at 5:26 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Sophia Welch
Board Administrative Assistant