After hearing nearly two hours of testimony on Nantucket’s large summer events yesterday, the Select Board committed to crafting a new policy direction for the town that could reimagine the island’s largest gatherings – including the annual Boston Pops concert and the Fourth of July activities – in light of public safety concerns raised by the police and fire chiefs.
Yesterday’s workshop meeting that was held via Zoom followed the cancellation of this year’s Pops concert and comments by Police Chief Bill Pittman and Fire Chief Steve Murphy last month stating that the island’s major events have grown too big, pose unnecessary safety risks, and that their departments simply do not have the staffing required to allow them to continue in the same manner.
During a recent Visitor Services Advisory Committee meeting, Pittman and Murphy described their departments as being at a breaking point, and said their staffs had little to no interest in working overtime to facilitate events like the Boston Pops given the challenges and lack of resources. During yesterday’s Zoom workshop, Pittman reemphasized his objections, and also cited another area of concern.
“We all see what’s going on at these events,” Pittman said. “They’re magnets for the underage drinkers on this island.”
While Select Board members appeared to have no appetite for canceling any of the island’s traditional summer gatherings, they were clearly open to suggestions on how to scale them back, identify new locations, and put a greater onus on event organizers to follow through on their commitments and support public safety measures.
“With limited resources, you can’t do everything,” Select Board member Matt Fee said. “I’m proposing we reimagine, scale down, and prioritize. Maybe some get moved, and then we just don’t have any more.”
Several island residents who participated in Tuesday’s workshop session urged the Select Board to address the safety concerns but in a way that would not gut the island’s beloved summer events or negatively impact the non-profit organizations that rely upon them for fundraising.
“The things people have missed the most over these past 20 months is the ability to gather in large groups,” said Aisling Glynn, the owner of ACKtivities, an island wedding and event planning business. “Please keep in mind the ramifications of any decisions made will have on our non-profit and business community, remembering that the majority of these events are for the most part family-oriented, have been around for decades, and over the course of those many years, hundreds of thousands of people have attended and enjoyed them, thankfully, without any serious incident.”
Island resident Linda Williams also spoke out in favor of preserving Nantucket’s traditional large events, specifically mentioning the track record over several decades without a major safety issue. Williams, a former volunteer for the Boston Pops on Nantucket event, reminded the board that the annual event at Jetties Beach used to be far larger than it is today, with upwards of 10,000 attendees, before being scaled back to its current size of roughly 7,000 people due to prior security concerns.
“I’ve yet to see any issues,” Williams said. “This is the tail wagging the dog. Nantucket is a destination, a tourist destination, and we have certain things that people get used to and expect – they’re highlights. I’d hate to see all this go away because we can’t adequately staff the fire and police. I’m beside myself that these things may be truncated or eliminated.”
