Oak Bluffs selectmen had strong words of criticism for the Steamship Authority Tuesday after learning that the boat line terminal in their town might not be ready to open in time for summer.
The Oak Bluffs selectmen had strong words of criticism for the Steamship Authority Tuesday after learning that the boat line terminal in their town might not be ready to open in time for summer due to needed repairs on the wooden wharf.
“This is egregious, and I think we need to send a very firm letter and put as much pressure as we can on them. I think it’s important for us as a board to make a strong statement,” selectman Gail Barmakian said.
The remarks came at a meeting Tuesday, one day after Vineyard SSA governor James Malkin and general manager Robert Davis suddenly found themselves in hot water for quietly floating the possibility of delaying or not reopening the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority wharf and terminal this summer.
An exchange of emails showed that a conference call was held Friday that included Mr. Malkin, Mr. Davis, Oak Bluffs selectman Michael Santoro and town administrator Robert Whritenour.
The subject was the Oak Bluffs terminal, and recent engineering work apparently showing that the wooden pier would need major work, including some 35 pilings to be repaired or replaced. The summer terminal ordinarily opens in mid-May.
Speaking to the Gazette by phone Monday, Mr. Malkin said they had made it clear in the phone call that nothing had been decided, and that the boat line is committed to re-opening the terminal when it is safe.
But in a series of emails that followed the Friday conference call, Oak Bluffs selectman and board chairman Brian Packish lashed out at the boat line, among other things calling for Mr. Davis to be removed.
“I firmly believe the ship has run aground and it is past time for Mr. Davis to be escorted off the vessel,” Mr. Packish wrote to Mr. Malkin.
In his own email to Mr. Packish, Mr. Malkin outlined the dire financial situation facing the SSA, noting the possibility of a $50 million deficit as a result of the pandemic.
“While the SSA is closing runs, reducing staff, cancelling projects, etc, no one knows . . . where this Covid mess is heading and what it’s impact will be. Except we all know that it’s already terrible and will worsen as we go into our seasonal economy,” Mr. Malkin wrote in part. He also wrote:
“As with everything we are all dealing with, we seem to be in the midst of the perfect storm. It’s coming at all of us and all of our people and businesses from all directions.”
Mr. Packish fired back:
“The SSA has been calling their gross mismanagement a perfect storm for a long time and the excuse no longer holds water. The public has bent over backwards to endure the hardships placed on them repeatedly by the SSA. The lack of leadership that has now further jeopardized the safety of our residents and economy Islandwide that is now being blamed on Covid-19 is beyond acceptable.”
The heated exchange underscored the tensions now threading the Vineyard, with most businesses shut down due to the pandemic and widespread concerns about the coming summer season.
Mr. Malkin said he expects the Oak Bluffs pier repairs and engineering report to be a full topic for discussion at the monthly SSA meeting on April 21.
He said he found out about the engineering report on April 9, and immediately requested a phone call with Oak Bluffs officials.
“We got a report. I saw that. And I said we can’t wait for a meeting,” Mr. Malkin said. “We have a meeting on April 21 when this is going to get further examined, but we need to be proactive and reach out to the town where the pier is and tell them this is a serious issue.”
But Mr. Packish rejected the notion that the pandemic is a factor in completing repairs to the pier.
“They are trying to hide behind Covid-19,” he said. “They don’t think they can get the pier repaired in time. Listen, that’s your own mismanagement. If you had done your work, prepared and managed appropriately, it would be a different conversation.”
At the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, the lambasting of the boat line by town officials continued.
Town administrator Robert Whritenour updated the board on the Friday telephone conference.
“We had no idea why that work has not been completed already, but they indicated they still had a lot of work to complete,” Mr. Whritenour said.
“Right now, we’re still in the phase of trying to evaluate if that’s going to impact the operation of that facility this season. We certainly hope that’s not going to be the case,” he said. “The Steamship Authority has indicated they’re going to do everything in their power to identify what emergency measures can be taken to keep that facility operating during the upcoming summer period. They need to do a little more engineering work and get back to us, but I’ll tell you, in dealing with all of the issues with COVID-19 and all the emergency things, it really pains me to see something that should not be an emergency sort of lumped in there that could’ve easily been completed by now.
“We’re hoping that they’re able to make the adjustments that they need to do to get it open and operating.”
Ms. Barmakian and others added their pique.
“Going forward, this kind of communication where they go undercover, then say, oh by the way, is not going to happen. It’s more than this instance,” she said.
Mr. Packish concurred. “It stresses the importance that the Island representative to the Steamship Authority should be based in a port town,” he said. “Quite honestly, it highlights a lot of things.”
Aaron Wilson contributed reporting.
Comments
Compounding the significant
Doug West ChilmarkCompounding the significant cost overruns of the SSA’s Woods Hole project, now comes this most current example of the SSA’s ineffective management. The discovery of 35 critically unsafe pilings at the Oak Bluffs wharf would not be a surprise discovery to a well-managed organization responsible for the ongoing maintenance of its facilities. When informed of it, Jim Malkin, our new Island representative and SSA board chair acted immediately to bring this situation to the attention of Oak Bluff’s officials and the public. He didn’t allow it to become a “surprise” at next week’s regularly scheduled board meeting.
As we work to understand the possible solutions to this situation, let’s be careful not to shoot the messenger. In offering himself to the Dukes County Commission as a candidate for the SSA board, Mr. Malkin emphasized his commitment to the principle of accountability at all levels of the SSA. In my view, it is the near total absence of senior management’s accountability which, over years, has led to this state of affairs. Accountability up and down the organization must begin with the Board of Governors. Let’s do our best to support our new Governor as he brings new leadership in these difficult times and circumstances.
My great-grandmother bought
Bill A. New York & EdagartownMy great-grandmother bought our house in Edgartown 80 years ago and during World War II spent as much time there as possible with my then young mother. I grew up hearing how kind their islander neighbors were to my mother when she was a child. What a different tone I read now when I want to save my own small children from the deprivation and fear that pervade New York City today.
For four generations, in addition to the taxes we all pay, we have supported Island institutions like the Library, Historical Society/Museum, church, and land preserves. Maybe the terms "Islander" and "Off-Islander" are part of the problem. After all, my family has been here for 1/3 of every year for 8 decades, which is around 28 years total. Maybe we're all "Islanders" who come and go at different rates.
I understand the pandemic presents specific problems and moving from place to place is itself dangerous. But let's look at the larger picture. The health system in New York City is overwhelmed. Had my family stayed there, we might have contributed to overburdening NYC hospitals and endangered more lives. As it is, we've been in Edgartown safe and healthy for a month, keeping to ourselves. This is social distancing writ large.
And a final observation. It is an intellectually defensible position for year-round residents to say that the MV hospital is for them and should not be clogged up with the likes of me. But the corollary of that is that mainland hospitals are for mainlanders. Are those year-round residents wanting everyone else to stay away from "their" hospital willing to promise not to clog up Mass General or other specialist hospitals when they become seriously ill?
I think we'll all fare better if we are led by a little generosity of spirit.
Oh, and as for the OB terminal, there is likely to be a serious shortage of jobs this summer on the island with many people afraid to come here. Perhaps it would make sense to create construction jobs by rebuilding the wharf this summer so that when things hopefully return to normal in 2021 it will be ready to go.
Skip cars and freight. allow
Dave Oak BluffsSkip cars and freight. allow passengers only. Put extra late runs to VH. Get ready to start construction in September. Has there been a proper engineering review of the SSA findings.
To my fellow Islanders - you
Paulli D EdgartownTo my fellow Islanders - you reap what you sow. You don't want those rich seasonal people here you say? You want the SSA only for Islanders you say? Well watch what happens to all your kids scholarships, restaurants, marina's, hotels, construction, landscape. Hopefully the fisheries will rebound and you can all go and catch sea robins! Boycott VM will be next, and so will come the depression on the island. Wake up Islanders, we need to find a balance.
Didn't the Oak Bluffs SSA
A Puzzled Resident Oak BluffsDidn't the Oak Bluffs SSA terminal pier have a major re-build relatively recently? Why are 35 pilings already in need of repair or replacement?
Yup. And it’s received
Ed EdgartownYup. And it’s received repairs every year since during the off-season. This smells.
The SSA was running into money problems before the pandemic, they were going to ask the State for assistance due to the Woods Hole terminal being over budget. Now they have no ridership, they’re laying off employees and clearly don’t have the money to repair OB.
I summered on the Vineyard
The grass is greener Formerly OBI summered on the Vineyard for 37 years. 25 years ago I was lucky enough to buy a place on the island. Over the years I was able to spend more time on the island. Sadly I also got to see the real under belly of the year rounders. Many of you really don't like us. Our wallets, though, you love. To you we're locusts that descend on your paradise and screw up your July and August. Bar drinks with names like "Summer People, Summer are not" add to the disrespect. Well, last fall my house was on the market for a few weeks. A lovely couple bought it. The law makes you disclose a lot of things as a seller. But I didn't have to disclose the nasty attitudes I've seen and felt over the years. I hope the new couple loves the house I had. As for me, I bought a new vacation home in Vermont on a lake. No one scowls at my out of state plates. A neighbor brought over some freshly baked bread. Visit the Vineyard again? Nope. Been there, done that.
I apologize for all of the
AB OBI apologize for all of the negative comments towards our seasonal residents. Of course we need you, of course you're welcome if you want to be here. I'm sure if I lived in NY City with my children, I would want to be here. We can't let this disease tear us apart.
Thank you, AB, for those kind
Jason FloridaThank you, AB, for those kind words. The reality though is that these negative feelings directed at seasonal visitors (including seasonal residents) has been around well before the pandemic struck. The pandemic has just exaggerated what was already present. This negativism on the part of so many locals is so very strange for an economy that revolves around one industry – tourism. MV has no other economic activity of substance that I can think of. Indeed, many tourist destinations actually compete on the basis of friendly locals making visitors feel welcome (think Bahamas, Jamaica and Florida to name a few). Due to the pandemic, state and town budgets will face dramatic budgetary shortfalls which will affect standards of living on MV (and everywhere). Visitors have a choice about where they choose to visit and spend their dollars. My advice is that you now need these off-Island visitors and their dollars more than ever before. MV residents should be thinking about how to attract them, not how to keep them away. Without the money they bring into the Island, the town and nonprofit budgets will look very bleak indeed. Getting the OB terminal operational has to be a priority, in addition to an attitude adjustment towards seasonal visitors. Local leaders would do well to more actively seek out the views of the seasonal crowd on which the MV economy so critically depends to learn what more can be done to make MV a more attractive destination in this strange environment that we now find ourselves in.
I know that this situation
AB OBI know that this situation has existed for years. I have never understood it. I have been involved in several businesses and have always enjoyed the summer season. We are so insulated in the winter that I have always enjoyed the spring openings and the summer people coming. My children had year round friends and summer friends.I also liked it when Labor Day came and the Island started quieting down. MV was such a popular destination that I guess it didn't matter how the summer people were treated. The upside of this pandemic might be that we will appreciate your coming more.
I'm disgusted by the
Doug Doesn't Matter Where I LiveI'm disgusted by the polarization and X versus Y dialog. The article was about failing pilings and the SSA, not all the antagonistic vitriol above. Clearly, this "anti" mindset was barely under the surface and didn't take much to erupt. Reminds me of the LA riots and Rodney King without any racism. Can't we just all get along" people? This is about the SSA.
Us v them is real everywhere
Philip Hart LA and EdgUs v them is real everywhere and MV is no different in this regard. I have been a seasonal visitor and homeowner for 50 + years and understand this summer is going to be different due to our global public health crisis. Hopefully the SSA, OB public officials, and islanders both permanent and seasonal can solve this issue and say to each other, “Can’t we all get along?”
Well, a few people got what I
Edgartownite EdgartownWell, a few people got what I was trying to make evident.
Sadly, the animosity towards "washashores," "summer people some are not," and other visitors is real and while certainly not universal among all full-time Island residents, is accepted or adopted by more than a small minority. These feelings didn't start with recent events either.
It's such a shame that such a beautiful place has so many (not all) unfriendly residents.
As a seasonal visitor who has
Seasonal Visitor USAAs a seasonal visitor who has spent more money over the past several years on MV island then any other vacations in my lifetime I am more than happy to take one for the team and STAY OFF the island this summer. Enter problem not being addressed. We as renters are UNABLE to get refunds. We are being forced to pay the entire amount on our rentals regardless of whether or not we will be able to come to the island. Why are we not seeing this addressed? I believe many others in my situation would be happy to stay away for everyone's safety. I've attempted to ask this question several times but it never seems to get posted....hmmmmmm
Vineyarders can learn a
Charles Hodge EdgartownVineyarders can learn a lesson from Aruba, another isolated island. It has recognized its dependence on transient visitors and made a conscious decision to make them as welcomed as possible and to make their stays, long or short, joyful and non-confrontational. It is such a pleasure to go there. On our island where we have lived full time for 10 years, we still frequently feel unwelcomed wash ashores and that "real vinyarders" would rather us leave. The island should decide what it wants to be and how it plans to survive the stress of our new world. The "us versus them" approach is not the way to go.
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