Municipal Needs Assessment
February 20, 2008

The major municipal facilities in Tisbury are currently located in makeshift, overcrowded and inefficient quarters that were not designed for these purposes. The Town Hall, The Town Hall Annex, Fire Department and Police Department buildings all have serious drawbacks stemming from their location and/or the limitations of the buildings.

Past attempts to address one or another of these needs on a case-by-case basis have not been successful. Any decision to expand, move or rebuild one or another of these facilities has consequences that seriously impact the others. If a facility is to be relocated, should we sell the old property to raise revenue to pay for the new one? Might the town need the land for some other purpose? If we sell the property will we ever find anything equivalent in the future? What options are available to us for each of these issues? Are there other problems that are being ignored? With so many needs confronting us, which should have priority?

In an effort to come to grips with these issues, the Planning Board and The Selectmen have undertaken a broad study of all of our municipal needs to see if a coordinated look at all our major municipal services will be more effective than dealing with them one at a time.
 

Study Methodology
   
• Over the summer and fall, the board conducted a survey of all town departments about available space, current needs and future projections,
    • At the same time, we have developed a Town Lands database showing all town properties, their acreage, number and size of buildings and assessed values. Beyond its immediate use. We hope to develop this database further so that, in future years, is can be a tool for monitoring these proposals, maintaining a full fledged Capital Budget and setting development priorities for the town.
    • GIS mapping of available town lands and potential private sites. These sites have been studied to determine their suitability and availability for various town uses.
    • Review of past plans and reports for municipal services needs.
    • Consultations with Selectmen and other town commissions and committees about town needs, options and priorities.

Findings – Building and Location Issues
   
• All of our major public buildings - Fire Department, Police & Ambulance, Town Hall and the Annex are in a poor location and/or in poor condition. Often, the existing structure simply is not large enough to accommodate their needs today, let alone in the future.
    • New Sites are hard to come by. Major Town functions should be in central locations with easy access to and from all parts of town. These are the areas that are already built-up and expensive.
    • The availability of parking Downtown is a serious municipal need of its own that is affected (and possibly improved) by the decisions we make about our municipal buildings.
    • We often find that the Town does have property that meets a Department’s specific location and space requirements but it is being used for some other, less appropriate purpose.
    • In order to arrive at an appropriate long-term pattern of use for these facilities, we will need to move some things around.

Findings – Department Needs
   
• Most departments at Town Hall and the Annex generally need about double the space currently available.
    • More meeting and conference spaces for both public and private meetings are needed.
    • More working storage and long-term storage areas for paperwork and records are needed
    • None of the departments surveyed expect a major increase in personnel in the future (One or two new employees at the most).
    • Major public meeting needs such as Town Meeting may be accommodated in existing facilities – Cornell Theater, the Tisbury Elementary School and the Senior Center.
    • Departments don’t necessarily need to be located in the same building with all the other town agencies but related functions should be grouped together.
    • For the convenience of the public, it helps to have all the administrative departments (the ones now split between Town Hall and the Annex) in one place.
    • The Police have unique security needs. They can, and to some extent prefer, to be separate from other emergency services.
    • The Ambulance Service operations are more related to Fire Department operations and should be separated from the Police and grouped with the Fire Department.
    • All the departments need a much more reliable, immediate and comprehensive communication system that would provide easy access to records and information (an intranet). Access to information is more important than physical proximity.

 

Town Owned Property
 

1ST Priority - Ambulance and Fire Department
   
• These two departments have the most critical needs.
    • Buildings are poorly located and in bad condition.
    • New equipment cannot be accommodated in the existing structures.
    • The two services, now separated, have overlapping responsibilities and should be combined at one location in an Emergency Services Facility.
    • The facility needs to have about an acre of land, be in a prominent location, on a major street, with easy access to all parts of town.
    • The one parcel of Town-owned land that meets these requirements is the current site of the Town Hall Annex.

However, to be relocated at that site there are three issues have to be addressed:
    1. A new location for the Annex has to be found.
    2. We would need to move quickly. The Ambulance service, like the Fire Department, needs to find quarters that can handle new vehicles that, literally, will not fit into the existing building.
    3. Since this site is directly across from the school, concerns about school safety, access and parking have to be resolved.


Step 1 – Resolve Safety, Playground and Parking Issues at the School
   
• Safety
        – Today pick-up and drop-offs occur along Spring Street directly across from the proposed Fire and Ambulance site. There is a concern that in an emergency there will be a dangerous conflict between vehicles coming to the school and the emergency vehicles
    • Playground
        – The existing playground is badly designed and wastes a lot of land.
    • Parking
        – There is very little space for arriving parents to park and pick-up children. Parents often park at the Annex or along the street.

Existing Elementary School Playground

 

Sketch of reorganized access, playground and parking at the school

Vehicle circulation in and around the Tisbury Elementary School is both confusing and dangerous. Lacking adequate on-site parking, parents who drive their children to school often conflict with school busses, use the spaces across the street at the Annex or double-park. Teacher parking is also inadequate. There is no adequate outdoor assembly area where children can queue-up to wait for parents and busses. Finally, the recreation spaces available for the younger children are so unattractive as to be practically useless.

With or without the added concern of an Emergency Services facility being located nearby, we need to find a better arrangement for school access, recreation and parking.
The above sketch suggests an arrangement whereby we insert a sidewalk directly from the crosswalk at Spring St, West Spring and Pine Tree to the school entries on the west side of the building and create an assembly plaza on that side. To the north we can construct a +30-car parking lot separated from both the Spring St. traffic and the bus loading area. To the south we can create safe and attractive play area with as much or more workable play area than the children now have.
The sidewalk also provides a through corridor for pedestrians so that it is not necessary to follow along the edge of Spring St. if you don’t want to.



Step 2 – Relocate the Annex Departments (Building Inspector, Health Department, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals)
   
• Build a small office building at the DPW to house the annex departments.
    • Include both office space and additional spaces for:
        – Archival storage of municipal records
        – Impounded bicycles
    • When Annex functions are consolidated with the rest of Town hall functions in a permanent location, the building can be taken over as a HQ for the Water Department.

 


DPW

 

Temporary Annex Offices and Records Storage Facilities


Step 3 – Construct a New Emergency Services Facility at the Annex

 


Town Hall Annex

 

Site Plan for an Emergency Services Building


Step 4 – Build a parking lot at the former Fire Department site.
   
• This is a holding action until a permanent use is agreed on.
    • It is possible, however, that we will want to keep this lot permanently. There is a need for more parking Downtown and this site will serve both businesses and park users.
    • A parking facility here would also open up a view of the park from Beach St. create better access to the park from Beach St. and Cromwell La. and improve the sidewalks, landscaping and overall look of Beach St.
    • There are several long-term possibilities for this property that we should look into but there are no specific recommendations to be made at this point.
    • The property is currently valued at $1,118,200 dollars
 



Proposed parking lot at the former Fire Department property

 

Parking Policy
There are several options for the use of this lot we may want to consider:
    1. Open for general public use
    2. Metered or gate-controlled parking
    3. Designated downtown employee parking
    4. Leased space




Police Department


Current location of the Police Department and Ambulance Service.

    • Today, the Police Department occupies a building at the rear of the Water Street lot which they share with the Ambulance Service.
    • This site, in the most congested part of Downtown, is very problematic especially for the Ambulance Service.
    • The building is quite large but laid out in an inefficient and wasteful manner (A good portion of the first floor is devoted to garage and storage space).
    • A police desk or small office should remain downtown but it is not necessary to locate the entire department there.
    • Ten or more parking spaces are reserved at the lot that could be available to the public.
    • The building has considerable commercial value that the town could take advantage of (it is assessed at $2,111,000).
    • A better location for the Police would be near the school which is the designated shelter in an emergency.
 

Step 1 – Relocate the Spring Street Storage Garage to the DPW site.
a. Relocate Shellfish Hatchery equipment
                   
Construct a lean-to shed at the DPW property store Shellfish Hatchery equipment. [Estimated cost +/- $20,000]
                    This will free up the Spring St. storage site for a more appropriate use.
                    This move will also be helpful for the Hatchery since their equipment can be better kept and monitored at the DPW site.



b. Clean up Spring St. Storage site to a level where it can be used for new construction.

This property consists of ½ acre of land directly opposite the school. It is currently being used to store equipment belonging to the Shellfish Hatchery. It also includes an abandoned garage that was formerly used by the ambulance service and is now used to store impounded bicycles. All these functions would be better served if they were located at the DPW where they can be combined nicely with other storage and maintenance functions.




Step 2 – Construct a smaller and more Efficient Police Department Building at the former garage site.

    • This is a very good location for the Police; like other emergency services the site has easy access to all parts of town. It is also easy to reach.
    • It offers enhanced security at the school (The school is the locus for shelter in storms or other crises so there is a great advantage in having police and other emergency services nearby).
    • The Civil Defense Officer can also be included in this space.
    • The site can accommodate 5,000 sq ft of building or more of building and an 18-car parking area.
    • The relocation also frees-up space for 14 vehicles at the Water St. lot that are currently reserved for the police.




Sketch of new Police Department facilities at the former DPW garage site.



Step 3 – Lease the current building for retail commercial uses.

    • The building is in a valuable commercial location in the heart of Downtown
    • It is assessed at $2.11 million dollars
    • There is a potential to create approximately $6,000 sq ft of rental space which would generate about $120,000 per year income to the Town.
    • If the Police and Ambulance Services leave we would gain an additional 14 parking spaces at the Water St. lot.


Sketch of First Floor of the Police Department Building converted to retail uses with fourteen additional parking spaces made available to the public at the Water St. Lot. The Second and Third floors could be used as a restaurant or as office space


Parking / Recreation
Church Street Tennis Courts - 12 spaces existing - 48 spaces proposed

 

Church Street Parking Lot and Tennis Courts

    • The two tennis courts, located between Church and Center streets just west of Main Street, have often been cited as a site for a municipal parking lot (There is a small twelve-car lot on the site today).
    • The lot would serve both downtown needs and also provide off-street parking for Cornell Theater, the Playhouse and Churches in the neighborhood.
    • Past proposals however have recommended a lot holding eighty or more cars. To accommodate that many cars, the site would have to be completely paved over, destroying the ambience of a historic neighborhood.
    • Moreover, an adequate alternative site for the courts had not been offered.

Step 1 – Relocate the Tennis Courts

    • A large field, to the rear of the Annex and just a few blocks away from the current courts can be developed to accommodate the relocated tennis courts and a couple of new basketball courts as well.
    • The courts would be easily reached by the William Street neighborhood as well as other nearby neighborhoods.
    • They would also serve as recreation facilities for the school
 


Sketch of new tennis and basketball courts
in back of the Annex

Step 2 – Build a medium-sized parking lot and vest-pocket park at the former tennis court site.
   
• A parking lot of approximately 42 to 48 cars would fit comfortably into the space vacated by the tennis courts.
    • At that scale, we can preserve and augment the surrounding topography and vegetation, include seating areas and provide pedestrian pathways between Church and Center Streets, through the cemetery to Cornell Theater and Spring St.
 




Parking Policy
There are several options for the use of this lot we may want to consider:
    5. Open for general public use
    6. Reserved for Vineyard Haven residents only. This option would allow Vineyard Haven residents to access to a downtown lot without circulating through Main Street.
    7. Designated downtown employee parking
    8. Metered or gate controlled parking
    9. Long-term leased space

Town Hall and Annex Facilities
a. Develop location, parking and space requirements for a new Town Hall.
As a practical matter, our greatest need is for office and meeting space for the Town’s administrative functions. With Cornell Theater, the School, and, to some extent, the Senior Center available we already have space for medium and large-scale gatherings.

Consequently, our new town hall needn’t have to include a large auditorium but can be primarily a municipal building with offices and meeting rooms.

Options include:
   
a. Purchase of private land such as the Catholic Church property at Franklin and Clough.




    b. Renovate Police Department building at the Water St. lot.


    c. Construct a new Town Hall at the Church Street Lots.


    d. Construct a New Town Hall at the Former Fire Department Site
 

 

b. Work with the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust to develop a coordinated plan for the transfer ownership of the Town Hall building (Cornell Theater) as soon as a new location for Town Hall is found.
       
The original intention for renovating this building was to use it as a theater. The downstairs spaces now used for town hall were meant to be supporting spaces for the theater.

        No matter what the projected use for the building, the site would benefit from a parking facility at the current tennis courts on Church St. The building is in a residential area and street parking is limited.
        A pathway can lead directly from there through the cemetery to the building.
Town Hall (Cornell Theater)

Alternatives Involving the purchase or rental of private property

Purchase the Catholic Church Property as a site for Town Hall and possibly Police Department
If available, purchase the Catholic Church property at Franklin and Clough. Combine Town hall and Annex at that site.
This would be an excellent location for these functions, a large site on a prominent street adjacent to downtown Vineyard haven. It is not, however, a good site for the Fire Department since the property is narrow and access from there is awkward and limited by narrow streets.

The question is whether or not the property would become available in the near future and what the asking price for it would be. The assessed value of the property is currently $2.141M and the market value is probably in excess of $3M.


Office / Storage Rental
If space is cannot be made available in a public facility we may choose to lease private space for a short time while permanent facilities are constructed.

Suitability of available town lands for municipal or other uses.
 





Town Hall (Cornell Theater)
The structure is not suitable for town hall functions. It is too small, crowded, lacking meeting rooms, storage and work area. Spaces are organized for an incompatible purpose (theater support). It is hard to maintain. It is a historical structure that was restored in order to function as a theater. Town Hall uses rooms that were supposed to support that function. The building should be returned to its intended use.

Town Hall Annex
The building is overcrowded and separated from the administrative functions at Town Hall.

This is a large property (3.4 acres) that is not being put to its best use. There are several potential uses for the site.

Our recommendation is to locate the Fire and Ambulance services at the front of the site and to use the rear of the site for recreational facilities (tennis and basketball)

Fire Dept. Building at Beach Street
The site is problematic partly because it is located in a congested area of downtown. The building is too small for the Fire Department’s existing equipment (e.g. the ladder truck is currently stored at the DPW garage). The structure is in very poor condition and probably beyond repair.

The site could be used to create a 30-car parking lot to augment parking for downtown and the park perhaps as a temporary use until a longer term function is agreed on. In the future it may be used as a new site for Town Hall or it could be leased or sold for private development. The property is currently valued at $1,118,200 dollars.

Police and Ambulance Building
There are two services that share this building but neither is particularly well served. The building is at the rear of the Water Street Lot, probably the most difficult and congested location in the town.

Ambulances barely fit into their garage bay. In the future new trucks will not fit at all.
For the police, the building is poorly laid out with much space wasted.

Both services reserve valuable parking spaces that might otherwise be available for the public.

Spring St. Storage Garage
This is a very inefficient use of a valuable site. We have 20,000 sq. ft. (approx ½ acre) of land on Spring Street directly across form the school.

The storage facilities should be relocated to the DPW complex.

The site would make an excellent location for the Police Department. The ½ acre site is adequate for their needs.
Being adjacent to the school enhances their security.

DPW – Building complex
This is the location where we should try to locate as much of the Town’s storage and mechanical equipment as possible. Maintenance and repairs are done here.

Equipment from the Spring Street storage garage should be relocated to this area.

DPW – Reserve area for new Leaching Field.
In the past, this territory (approximately 1 acre of land) was considered as a possible site for an Emergency Services facility. However, we may have to expand our sewer capacity and this site is the only land in the area that can function as its leaching field. This reduces the useable vacant land to a degree that a Fire Department building won’t fit on it.

DPW - Water Tower area - Compost yard
A ½ acre of land is available here that may be used as a temporary space for the Ambulance service and Annex departments while permanent facilities are being built.

The structure can then be used as a permanent site for Water Department facilities.

DPW - Landfill
Landfill area is capped and cannot be used for building construction. However open land may be used for other purposes:
Ball fields and other recreation facilities
Wind turbine

Council on Ageing Building
The building is well-suited for its present purpose. The facility also provides much needed meeting space for mid-sized gatherings.

The parking area is lightly used and a portion of it may be considered for additional meeting room and ancillary spaces.
 

South-west quadrant of the Cemetery
Small building ???
 

Water Department
The Facilities are not large enough for Water Department.
The building could be converted to facilities that support the park functions being introduced with the restoration of the Spring Building

Water Department operations should be relocated to the DPW complex.
 

The Spring Building at the Waterworks
The building is being renovated to incorporate a small museum and otherwise serve as a center for park users.
Special events such as weddings are expected to generate revenue for maintenance and operations.

If the Water Department were not using their building at this site, it could be used as an adjunct to the park for activities, meetings and educational spaces.

Water Department – North-East quadrant of West Spring St.
This site lies outside of the water protection zone and may be developable for housing.

Church Street Parking Lot and Tennis Courts
There are two tennis courts and a 12-car parking lot at this site. However, the shortage of parking to serve the Cornell Theater, the Playhouse, churches and the Downtown area creates a priority need.

The courts can be relocated to the nearby field behind the Town Hall Annex. The property can then be converted to a medium-sized parking lot of about 40-48 cars. Care has to be taken to retain the trees and vegetation in and around the courts and maintain a park-like ambiance for the site.






Reports:
   
1. Municipal Departments – Space Needs
        a. Existing space
        b. Current need
        c. Projected need – five years

2. Municipal Buildings
        a. Current Space available
        b. Building Condition
        c. Assessed Value
        d. Replacement Cost
        e. Maintenance and Operating cost

3. Town Land Report
    a. List of all town land
        i. Location
        ii. Size
        iii. Assessed value

4. Potential Sites
    a. All Lands currently used by Town depts.
    b. Priority Needs:
        i. Fire,
        ii. Ambulance,
        iii. Police,
        iv. Town Hall
        v. Annex
        vi. Downtown Parking

c. Value of town properties
        i. Assessed value
        ii. Replacement cost
        iii. Sale or lease potential

d. Private Sites
        i. Catholic Church Property – Clough & Franklin
        ii. DeBettencourt Property - State Road & Surveyor’s Way
        iii. School Superintendent’s Office – Spring & Pine

5. Maps
    a. Map of the Town showing all Town-owned land classified by functions
    b. Map of Town Land showing those properties affected by this report.

6. Illustrations






 

Municipal Needs Assessment
February 20, 2008

The major municipal facilities in Tisbury are currently located in makeshift, overcrowded and inefficient quarters that were not designed for these purposes. The Town Hall, The Town Hall Annex, Fire Department and Police Department buildings all have serious drawbacks stemming from their location and/or the limitations of the buildings.

Past attempts to address one or another of these needs on a case-by-case basis have not been successful. Any decision to expand, move or rebuild one or another of these facilities has consequences that seriously impact the others. If a facility is to be relocated, should we sell the old property to raise revenue to pay for the new one? Might the town need the land for some other purpose? If we sell the property will we ever find anything equivalent in the future? What options are available to us for each of these issues? Are there other problems that are being ignored? With so many needs confronting us, which should have priority?

In an effort to come to grips with these issues, the Planning Board and The Selectmen have undertaken a broad study of all of our municipal needs to see if a coordinated look at all our major municipal services will be more effective than dealing with them one at a time.
 

Study Methodology
   
• Over the summer and fall, the board conducted a survey of all town departments about available space, current needs and future projections,
    • At the same time, we have developed a Town Lands database showing all town properties, their acreage, number and size of buildings and assessed values. Beyond its immediate use. We hope to develop this database further so that, in future years, is can be a tool for monitoring these proposals, maintaining a full fledged Capital Budget and setting development priorities for the town.
    • GIS mapping of available town lands and potential private sites. These sites have been studied to determine their suitability and availability for various town uses.
    • Review of past plans and reports for municipal services needs.
    • Consultations with Selectmen and other town commissions and committees about town needs, options and priorities.

Findings – Building and Location Issues
   
• All of our major public buildings - Fire Department, Police & Ambulance, Town Hall and the Annex are in a poor location and/or in poor condition. Often, the existing structure simply is not large enough to accommodate their needs today, let alone in the future.
    • New Sites are hard to come by. Major Town functions should be in central locations with easy access to and from all parts of town. These are the areas that are already built-up and expensive.
    • The availability of parking Downtown is a serious municipal need of its own that is affected (and possibly improved) by the decisions we make about our municipal buildings.
    • We often find that the Town does have property that meets a Department’s specific location and space requirements but it is being used for some other, less appropriate purpose.
    • In order to arrive at an appropriate long-term pattern of use for these facilities, we will need to move some things around.

Findings – Department Needs
   
• Most departments at Town Hall and the Annex generally need about double the space currently available.
    • More meeting and conference spaces for both public and private meetings are needed.
    • More working storage and long-term storage areas for paperwork and records are needed
    • None of the departments surveyed expect a major increase in personnel in the future (One or two new employees at the most).
    • Major public meeting needs such as Town Meeting may be accommodated in existing facilities – Cornell Theater, the Tisbury Elementary School and the Senior Center.
    • Departments don’t necessarily need to be located in the same building with all the other town agencies but related functions should be grouped together.
    • For the convenience of the public, it helps to have all the administrative departments (the ones now split between Town Hall and the Annex) in one place.
    • The Police have unique security needs. They can, and to some extent prefer, to be separate from other emergency services.
    • The Ambulance Service operations are more related to Fire Department operations and should be separated from the Police and grouped with the Fire Department.
    • All the departments need a much more reliable, immediate and comprehensive communication system that would provide easy access to records and information (an intranet). Access to information is more important than physical proximity.

 

Town Owned Property
 

1ST Priority - Ambulance and Fire Department
   
• These two departments have the most critical needs.
    • Buildings are poorly located and in bad condition.
    • New equipment cannot be accommodated in the existing structures.
    • The two services, now separated, have overlapping responsibilities and should be combined at one location in an Emergency Services Facility.
    • The facility needs to have about an acre of land, be in a prominent location, on a major street, with easy access to all parts of town.
    • The one parcel of Town-owned land that meets these requirements is the current site of the Town Hall Annex.

However, to be relocated at that site there are three issues have to be addressed:
    1. A new location for the Annex has to be found.
    2. We would need to move quickly. The Ambulance service, like the Fire Department, needs to find quarters that can handle new vehicles that, literally, will not fit into the existing building.
    3. Since this site is directly across from the school, concerns about school safety, access and parking have to be resolved.


Step 1 – Resolve Safety, Playground and Parking Issues at the School
   
• Safety
        – Today pick-up and drop-offs occur along Spring Street directly across from the proposed Fire and Ambulance site. There is a concern that in an emergency there will be a dangerous conflict between vehicles coming to the school and the emergency vehicles
    • Playground
        – The existing playground is badly designed and wastes a lot of land.
    • Parking
        – There is very little space for arriving parents to park and pick-up children. Parents often park at the Annex or along the street.

Existing Elementary School Playground

 

Sketch of reorganized access, playground and parking at the school

Vehicle circulation in and around the Tisbury Elementary School is both confusing and dangerous. Lacking adequate on-site parking, parents who drive their children to school often conflict with school busses, use the spaces across the street at the Annex or double-park. Teacher parking is also inadequate. There is no adequate outdoor assembly area where children can queue-up to wait for parents and busses. Finally, the recreation spaces available for the younger children are so unattractive as to be practically useless.

With or without the added concern of an Emergency Services facility being located nearby, we need to find a better arrangement for school access, recreation and parking.
The above sketch suggests an arrangement whereby we insert a sidewalk directly from the crosswalk at Spring St, West Spring and Pine Tree to the school entries on the west side of the building and create an assembly plaza on that side. To the north we can construct a +30-car parking lot separated from both the Spring St. traffic and the bus loading area. To the south we can create safe and attractive play area with as much or more workable play area than the children now have.
The sidewalk also provides a through corridor for pedestrians so that it is not necessary to follow along the edge of Spring St. if you don’t want to.



Step 2 – Relocate the Annex Departments (Building Inspector, Health Department, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals)
   
• Build a small office building at the DPW to house the annex departments.
    • Include both office space and additional spaces for:
        – Archival storage of municipal records
        – Impounded bicycles
    • When Annex functions are consolidated with the rest of Town hall functions in a permanent location, the building can be taken over as a HQ for the Water Department.

 


DPW

 

Temporary Annex Offices and Records Storage Facilities


Step 3 – Construct a New Emergency Services Facility at the Annex

 


Town Hall Annex

 

Site Plan for an Emergency Services Building


Step 4 – Build a parking lot at the former Fire Department site.
   
• This is a holding action until a permanent use is agreed on.
    • It is possible, however, that we will want to keep this lot permanently. There is a need for more parking Downtown and this site will serve both businesses and park users.
    • A parking facility here would also open up a view of the park from Beach St. create better access to the park from Beach St. and Cromwell La. and improve the sidewalks, landscaping and overall look of Beach St.
    • There are several long-term possibilities for this property that we should look into but there are no specific recommendations to be made at this point.
    • The property is currently valued at $1,118,200 dollars
 



Proposed parking lot at the former Fire Department property

 

Parking Policy
There are several options for the use of this lot we may want to consider:
    1. Open for general public use
    2. Metered or gate-controlled parking
    3. Designated downtown employee parking
    4. Leased space




Police Department


Current location of the Police Department and Ambulance Service.

    • Today, the Police Department occupies a building at the rear of the Water Street lot which they share with the Ambulance Service.
    • This site, in the most congested part of Downtown, is very problematic especially for the Ambulance Service.
    • The building is quite large but laid out in an inefficient and wasteful manner (A good portion of the first floor is devoted to garage and storage space).
    • A police desk or small office should remain downtown but it is not necessary to locate the entire department there.
    • Ten or more parking spaces are reserved at the lot that could be available to the public.
    • The building has considerable commercial value that the town could take advantage of (it is assessed at $2,111,000).
    • A better location for the Police would be near the school which is the designated shelter in an emergency.
 

Step 1 – Relocate the Spring Street Storage Garage to the DPW site.
a. Relocate Shellfish Hatchery equipment
                   
Construct a lean-to shed at the DPW property store Shellfish Hatchery equipment. [Estimated cost +/- $20,000]
                    This will free up the Spring St. storage site for a more appropriate use.
                    This move will also be helpful for the Hatchery since their equipment can be better kept and monitored at the DPW site.



b. Clean up Spring St. Storage site to a level where it can be used for new construction.

This property consists of ½ acre of land directly opposite the school. It is currently being used to store equipment belonging to the Shellfish Hatchery. It also includes an abandoned garage that was formerly used by the ambulance service and is now used to store impounded bicycles. All these functions would be better served if they were located at the DPW where they can be combined nicely with other storage and maintenance functions.




Step 2 – Construct a smaller and more Efficient Police Department Building at the former garage site.

    • This is a very good location for the Police; like other emergency services the site has easy access to all parts of town. It is also easy to reach.
    • It offers enhanced security at the school (The school is the locus for shelter in storms or other crises so there is a great advantage in having police and other emergency services nearby).
    • The Civil Defense Officer can also be included in this space.
    • The site can accommodate 5,000 sq ft of building or more of building and an 18-car parking area.
    • The relocation also frees-up space for 14 vehicles at the Water St. lot that are currently reserved for the police.




Sketch of new Police Department facilities at the former DPW garage site.



Step 3 – Lease the current building for retail commercial uses.

    • The building is in a valuable commercial location in the heart of Downtown
    • It is assessed at $2.11 million dollars
    • There is a potential to create approximately $6,000 sq ft of rental space which would generate about $120,000 per year income to the Town.
    • If the Police and Ambulance Services leave we would gain an additional 14 parking spaces at the Water St. lot.


Sketch of First Floor of the Police Department Building converted to retail uses with fourteen additional parking spaces made available to the public at the Water St. Lot. The Second and Third floors could be used as a restaurant or as office space


Parking / Recreation
Church Street Tennis Courts - 12 spaces existing - 48 spaces proposed

 

Church Street Parking Lot and Tennis Courts

    • The two tennis courts, located between Church and Center streets just west of Main Street, have often been cited as a site for a municipal parking lot (There is a small twelve-car lot on the site today).
    • The lot would serve both downtown needs and also provide off-street parking for Cornell Theater, the Playhouse and Churches in the neighborhood.
    • Past proposals however have recommended a lot holding eighty or more cars. To accommodate that many cars, the site would have to be completely paved over, destroying the ambience of a historic neighborhood.
    • Moreover, an adequate alternative site for the courts had not been offered.

Step 1 – Relocate the Tennis Courts

    • A large field, to the rear of the Annex and just a few blocks away from the current courts can be developed to accommodate the relocated tennis courts and a couple of new basketball courts as well.
    • The courts would be easily reached by the William Street neighborhood as well as other nearby neighborhoods.
    • They would also serve as recreation facilities for the school
 


Sketch of new tennis and basketball courts
in back of the Annex

Step 2 – Build a medium-sized parking lot and vest-pocket park at the former tennis court site.
   
• A parking lot of approximately 42 to 48 cars would fit comfortably into the space vacated by the tennis courts.
    • At that scale, we can preserve and augment the surrounding topography and vegetation, include seating areas and provide pedestrian pathways between Church and Center Streets, through the cemetery to Cornell Theater and Spring St.
 




Parking Policy
There are several options for the use of this lot we may want to consider:
    5. Open for general public use
    6. Reserved for Vineyard Haven residents only. This option would allow Vineyard Haven residents to access to a downtown lot without circulating through Main Street.
    7. Designated downtown employee parking
    8. Metered or gate controlled parking
    9. Long-term leased space

Town Hall and Annex Facilities
a. Develop location, parking and space requirements for a new Town Hall.
As a practical matter, our greatest need is for office and meeting space for the Town’s administrative functions. With Cornell Theater, the School, and, to some extent, the Senior Center available we already have space for medium and large-scale gatherings.

Consequently, our new town hall needn’t have to include a large auditorium but can be primarily a municipal building with offices and meeting rooms.

Options include:
   
a. Purchase of private land such as the Catholic Church property at Franklin and Clough.




    b. Renovate Police Department building at the Water St. lot.


    c. Construct a new Town Hall at the Church Street Lots.


    d. Construct a New Town Hall at the Former Fire Department Site
 

 

b. Work with the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust to develop a coordinated plan for the transfer ownership of the Town Hall building (Cornell Theater) as soon as a new location for Town Hall is found.
       
The original intention for renovating this building was to use it as a theater. The downstairs spaces now used for town hall were meant to be supporting spaces for the theater.

        No matter what the projected use for the building, the site would benefit from a parking facility at the current tennis courts on Church St. The building is in a residential area and street parking is limited.
        A pathway can lead directly from there through the cemetery to the building.
Town Hall (Cornell Theater)

Alternatives Involving the purchase or rental of private property

Purchase the Catholic Church Property as a site for Town Hall and possibly Police Department
If available, purchase the Catholic Church property at Franklin and Clough. Combine Town hall and Annex at that site.
This would be an excellent location for these functions, a large site on a prominent street adjacent to downtown Vineyard haven. It is not, however, a good site for the Fire Department since the property is narrow and access from there is awkward and limited by narrow streets.

The question is whether or not the property would become available in the near future and what the asking price for it would be. The assessed value of the property is currently $2.141M and the market value is probably in excess of $3M.


Office / Storage Rental
If space is cannot be made available in a public facility we may choose to lease private space for a short time while permanent facilities are constructed.

Suitability of available town lands for municipal or other uses.
 





Town Hall (Cornell Theater)
The structure is not suitable for town hall functions. It is too small, crowded, lacking meeting rooms, storage and work area. Spaces are organized for an incompatible purpose (theater support). It is hard to maintain. It is a historical structure that was restored in order to function as a theater. Town Hall uses rooms that were supposed to support that function. The building should be returned to its intended use.

Town Hall Annex
The building is overcrowded and separated from the administrative functions at Town Hall.

This is a large property (3.4 acres) that is not being put to its best use. There are several potential uses for the site.

Our recommendation is to locate the Fire and Ambulance services at the front of the site and to use the rear of the site for recreational facilities (tennis and basketball)

Fire Dept. Building at Beach Street
The site is problematic partly because it is located in a congested area of downtown. The building is too small for the Fire Department’s existing equipment (e.g. the ladder truck is currently stored at the DPW garage). The structure is in very poor condition and probably beyond repair.

The site could be used to create a 30-car parking lot to augment parking for downtown and the park perhaps as a temporary use until a longer term function is agreed on. In the future it may be used as a new site for Town Hall or it could be leased or sold for private development. The property is currently valued at $1,118,200 dollars.

Police and Ambulance Building
There are two services that share this building but neither is particularly well served. The building is at the rear of the Water Street Lot, probably the most difficult and congested location in the town.

Ambulances barely fit into their garage bay. In the future new trucks will not fit at all.
For the police, the building is poorly laid out with much space wasted.

Both services reserve valuable parking spaces that might otherwise be available for the public.

Spring St. Storage Garage
This is a very inefficient use of a valuable site. We have 20,000 sq. ft. (approx ½ acre) of land on Spring Street directly across form the school.

The storage facilities should be relocated to the DPW complex.

The site would make an excellent location for the Police Department. The ½ acre site is adequate for their needs.
Being adjacent to the school enhances their security.

DPW – Building complex
This is the location where we should try to locate as much of the Town’s storage and mechanical equipment as possible. Maintenance and repairs are done here.

Equipment from the Spring Street storage garage should be relocated to this area.

DPW – Reserve area for new Leaching Field.
In the past, this territory (approximately 1 acre of land) was considered as a possible site for an Emergency Services facility. However, we may have to expand our sewer capacity and this site is the only land in the area that can function as its leaching field. This reduces the useable vacant land to a degree that a Fire Department building won’t fit on it.

DPW - Water Tower area - Compost yard
A ½ acre of land is available here that may be used as a temporary space for the Ambulance service and Annex departments while permanent facilities are being built.

The structure can then be used as a permanent site for Water Department facilities.

DPW - Landfill
Landfill area is capped and cannot be used for building construction. However open land may be used for other purposes:
Ball fields and other recreation facilities
Wind turbine

Council on Ageing Building
The building is well-suited for its present purpose. The facility also provides much needed meeting space for mid-sized gatherings.

The parking area is lightly used and a portion of it may be considered for additional meeting room and ancillary spaces.
 

South-west quadrant of the Cemetery
Small building ???
 

Water Department
The Facilities are not large enough for Water Department.
The building could be converted to facilities that support the park functions being introduced with the restoration of the Spring Building

Water Department operations should be relocated to the DPW complex.
 

The Spring Building at the Waterworks
The building is being renovated to incorporate a small museum and otherwise serve as a center for park users.
Special events such as weddings are expected to generate revenue for maintenance and operations.

If the Water Department were not using their building at this site, it could be used as an adjunct to the park for activities, meetings and educational spaces.

Water Department – North-East quadrant of West Spring St.
This site lies outside of the water protection zone and may be developable for housing.

Church Street Parking Lot and Tennis Courts
There are two tennis courts and a 12-car parking lot at this site. However, the shortage of parking to serve the Cornell Theater, the Playhouse, churches and the Downtown area creates a priority need.

The courts can be relocated to the nearby field behind the Town Hall Annex. The property can then be converted to a medium-sized parking lot of about 40-48 cars. Care has to be taken to retain the trees and vegetation in and around the courts and maintain a park-like ambiance for the site.






Reports:
   
1. Municipal Departments – Space Needs
        a. Existing space
        b. Current need
        c. Projected need – five years

2. Municipal Buildings
        a. Current Space available
        b. Building Condition
        c. Assessed Value
        d. Replacement Cost
        e. Maintenance and Operating cost

3. Town Land Report
    a. List of all town land
        i. Location
        ii. Size
        iii. Assessed value

4. Potential Sites
    a. All Lands currently used by Town depts.
    b. Priority Needs:
        i. Fire,
        ii. Ambulance,
        iii. Police,
        iv. Town Hall
        v. Annex
        vi. Downtown Parking

c. Value of town properties
        i. Assessed value
        ii. Replacement cost
        iii. Sale or lease potential

d. Private Sites
        i. Catholic Church Property – Clough & Franklin
        ii. DeBettencourt Property - State Road & Surveyor’s Way
        iii. School Superintendent’s Office – Spring & Pine

5. Maps
    a. Map of the Town showing all Town-owned land classified by functions
    b. Map of Town Land showing those properties affected by this report.

6. Illustrations