Town of Aquinnah

Gay Head Lighthouse Advisory Board
Notes of Meeting 5-23-19
Aquinnah Town Hall Selectmen’s Meeting Room

Members present: Chairman Len Butler, Richard Skidmore, Tom Murphy, Jim Pickman
Members Not present: Bettina Washington, Kathy Rainey

- The meeting began at 4:30pm

- First on the agenda was a review of the 4/29/19 minutes. Richard motioned to approve the minutes as revised. Motion was seconded by Tom. The Committee voted 4-0, the motion passed.

- Under Old Business, Jim gave a review of accounts. He reported that there were no changes from the previous month. There is approximately $66,362 remaining in the account, $15,000 remaining in CPA FY’19 funds and $20,000 approved for FY’20 CPA funds (available July 1st). The Committee is expecting to pay International Chimney Corp. (ICC) approx. $80,000 for recent restoration work (to be paid in the coming months).

- Next, Richard gave a Lighthouse and Park report. ICC has completed restoration work on the roof and stressed the construction of a jack support under the light room (currently there is no support column and the outside lantern deck is sagging which is causing water issues). A leak in the ceiling has been fixed with the recent restoration work. Pathway has been fixed and old post and fencing have been replaced with metal staking. There will be an article in the MV Gazette covering the recent restoration work, recent Cliff erosion and work that still needs to be done. On May 7th, the red light went out. When resetting did not work, Richard informed the USCG of the failure. On May 9th USCG arrived and replaced another defective 1000watt bulb. Richard has gotten the clearance from the Coast Guard for the light to go out for two days to allow for interior painting. The missing “no unauthorized vehicles” sign is apparently at the Tribe and Richard will be contacting them to get it erected again. Richard informed the Committee that there had been a recent drone retrieval from the lantern deck.

- The Committee discussed the pedestrian guardrail. Because the guardrails could not be buried as originally planned due to electrical lines, Bartlett has submitted a $2,000 change order on the bid to cover manufacturing of the new brackets for mounting the posts and lodging (lodging prices have increased due to the season). The change order cost would decrease if the project was delayed to the off season, however, the Town would have to construct temporary metal fencing which would cost approx. $4,000. In addition, the poles to be used are taking up space in the parking lot. The Committee discussed the options. Richard motioned to recommend the recent Bartlett bid with the $2,000 change order to the Selectmen. Motion was moved by Jim. The Committee voted 4-0, the motion passed. There was brief discussion concerning cars driving through the Lighthouse gate. Richard felt that once the sign is erected again, this shouldn’t be an issue.

- The Committee briefly discussed the next phase of restoration: lantern room repair (approx. cost of $300,000). The Committee discussed the bond bill. If the money from the bond bill is approved, it could help in covering the cost of the lantern room repair. Tom is reaching out to a friend to check on the bond bill status.

- Next, the Committee discussed fundraising. MV Savings bank has been using an image of the Lighthouse for advertising and Richard is going to contact the bank to see if there is a possibility of receiving annual funds for the use of the image. The Committee felt that this may be a larger avenue to look into. There was mention of Deb Meddors doing a Lighthouse raffle fundraiser. There was brief discussion concerning donation totals from the donation box.

- Next, Len updated the Committee on the Vineyard Wind project and mitigation grant. Nantucket is disputing the legitimacy of Section 103 process and has stated that the project was not properly presented to them. Nantucket is now requesting for more to be done in terms of alleviation of visibility and impact. Due to this dispute and because all parties need to sign the MOA, approval of funds is delayed (MOA was to be completed by the end of the month). At the request of Vineyard Power, Len has written a letter to BOEM stating that the process has been fair, and the project was adequately presented.

- The Committee discussed the temporary shed for the Lighthouse tour guides. The 6’x8’ temporary shed has been approved by the Planning Board with the request that the height of the shed be lowered. The shed will be erected from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. Shed will be ready for delivery by June 6th. Matt Tobin will be delivering the shed free of charge.

- Lighthouse will be open this coming weekend and will continue to be open on the weekends. The first Monday opening will be on June 17th.

- Tom is still waiting on a response for the sail around the Island. He will be reaching out to the Edgartown Yacht Club again.

- The Committee scheduled their next meeting for Tuesday June 25th, 2019 at 4:30pm.

- With no other business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The Board voted unanimously in favor, the motion passed.

- The meeting ended at 5:16pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Sophia Welch
Board Administrative Assistant