Present: Eileen Fox, Kerric Harvey, Bill Hathaway, Elizabeth Jackson, and Mark Thurston. Tracy Canty, Property Manager, also attended. A quorum being reached, Bill Hathaway called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm.
Absent: Gloria Kunz (medical), Marty DeMartino
PROPERTY MANAGER REPORT:
- Nantucket is starting to get busy and Mariner House along with it. Tracy anticipates an 84-85% occupancy rate this for month (June).
- The island’s COVID-19 statistics are improving dramatically, too. No new cases have been reported in the last (5) days and the current testing positivity rate is .8% — the lowest in months.
- Tracy reported on several items of interest to Mariner House that were voted down at the recent (Saturday, June 5) Nantucket Town Meeting.
- The first item to be voted down was the proposal to add extensive limitations and requirements to on-island short-term rentals.
- Also voted down was a proposal to re-direct a portion of Nantucket’s Land Bank money to help fund “affordable housing” projects.
- Regarding the recent computer hack at the Steamship Authority (SSA) and subsequent ransomware demands, the SSA is rebuilding their digital system completely rather than give into the hackers’ payment requirements. This is a complicated process that may take some time. Fortunately, no SSA employee data was compromised.
OLD BUSINESS:
- Tracy has contacted Joe Guay about the “page 27 issue,” and has asked him to put together a memo explaining the need to incorporate the Mariner House covenants into the by-laws in time for the Annual Owners’ Meeting in October 2021.
- Bill asked Tracy if there were any problems or issues still lingering with the Mariner House building itself as we go into the summer season.
- Tracy reported that the humidifier in Columbia has been replaced, the dryer vents have been cleaned, and that a couple of the dryers need new belts, which are on the way. Other that, the house is looking good.
- A discussion then followed about creating an option by which Mariner House owners can elect to receive their communications by electronic rather than paper means.
- This would be a voluntary option and not a unilateral move to paperless management. Owners could choose to continue receiving their communications by paper if they so wished.
- Bill suggested that if we do move to electronic communication, even partially, that we make sure to incorporate a way for owners to acknowledge their successful receipt of any email or file that is sent to them through online means. Kerric supported that idea.
- There was also a lively discussion of the technical problems surrounding the transmission of large files via email. The notion of using Drop Box as a means to end-run limitations on file size emerged from the conversation, although it was also noted that not all members might “have” Drop Box or know how to use it. Not all owners have email, either.
- Tracy pointed out that the current Mariner House service, Comcast, is especially bad with large files: several people concurred, while also noting that the challenge is not limited to any one service, although Comcast is, as Tracy said, notoriously bad about this.
- Mark Thurston offered to get one of his Information Technology (IT) folks to work with Tracy to develop a procedure for sending MHA material to members electronically.
- Bill suggested that before anything is offered to the Mariner House owners, it be tried out on the Board first.
- Having been asked about recent sales and rental activity at Mariner House, Tracy reported that Joe is working on a number of owner transfers and/or sales right now, none of which involves MHA-held units.
- The Essex/Defiance owner rental/contingency purchase deal discussed at previous recent BOD meetings is still in process.
- The Mariner House Association is now down to owning (6) intervals: B-11, B-12; B-18; B-19; D-11, and; B-11.
OTHER BUSINESS:
- Eileen shared information about a feature of the online Inquirer and Mirror called “Above the Fold,” which gives expanded information about island affairs such as the nine hours of conversation and deliberation at the most recent Town Meeting.
- This feature is free of charge and does not require a subscription to the Inquirer and Mirror in order to be accessed online. As Eileen explained, “The Fold just gives short updates via email of current events and encourages folks get fuller info through subscription. It is still very helpful to the many who love ACK and are off island to know what is going on in Nantucket.”
- Construction continues at The Robert House, although they have already opened for guests. Traffic and noise impact seem manageable thus far.
- Island coffeehouse legend, The Bean, will probably remain in its current location within the mid-island Stop and Shop rather than return to its pre-pandemic status in its own building.
- The Brotherhood of Thieves remains closed, with no news about the eventual disposition of the building itself or the resurrection of the restaurant in a different location. Great distress and outcry greeted this news.
There being no BOD business beyond this, and a motion to adjourn having been seconded and passed, Bill adjourned the meeting at 5:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Kerric Harvey
July 9, 2021