End of Summer Business Assessment: Season Analysis Results Are Mixed

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Summer had its winners and losers. The smart shoppers were definitely on the Vineyard, and how they spent their money is already the talk of the business community.

Linda Malcouronne, who serves on the board of directors of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, said Friday: "Summer is like Christmas. You plan and plan and then it is here and gone. I found it had its pluses and minuses." And to use the parlance of the stock market, some folks are saying this summer was a correction.

"I think the Vineyard runs in 10 and 12-year cycles," said Ms. Malcouronne. "There is always a time to come down before it comes back up. I felt there were fewer people here, so we were not so overwhelmed."

The Oak Bluffs harbor had its best year ever. The Edgartown harbor had the same income as last year but counted fewer boats.

Nonprofit organizations saw a rise in contributions over last year. The Martha's Vineyard Community Services Possible Dreams Auction, held early in August, surpassed $600,000 in donations from bidders, far above the previous year.

The Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust netted $175,000 with its Taste of the Vineyard stroll and auction. "It was the best ever," said Chris Scott, executive director of the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust.

If you want to measure how the season went from the perspective of Island children, you might consider that the Flying Horses in Oak Bluffs had its best summer. "When it is a good beach day it is a good day for Alley's General Store in West Tisbury and a poor day for the Flying Horses. When it is a poor day at the beach the Flying Horses have a good day and Alley's General Store doesn't do so well," Mr. Scott said. The preservation trust owns both properties.

Weather was a big factor this summer. Steve Morris of Dick's Bait and Tackle Shop in Oak Bluffs said: "Spring went right into fall. We never really had that good stretch of really good weather. There were days in July and early August that felt like November."

Boating activity was down in Vineyard Haven, but only by a bit, according to harbor master Jay Wilbur. It was also down in other places. Charlie Blair, harbor master in Edgartown, said the number of boats was definitely down.

"Our revenue was unaffected, but we had a lot fewer boats. We were way off when it came to outside anchorages. They were down at least 50 per cent off the Chappaquiddick Beach Club. Our price in the harbor has remained unchanged for five years, at $35 a night," Mr. Blair said.

Mr. Blair said he had expected the closing of the anchorage in Katama Bay, because of pollution concerns, might cause more anchoring off the Chappaquiddick Beach Club. But that didn't happen.

Pointing to another indicator, Mr. Blair said, "My garbage was down four tons in July." The harbor department, he explained, provides free trash pickup for boats in the harbor. Mr. Blair said he usually ships 600 pounds a day to the transfer station. "I usually handle 60,000 pounds of garbage a season. We were down to 40,000," he said.

The lighter boat traffic made for a lot fewer boat-related accidents and troubles.

The lackluster turnout of boats in harbors and at marinas was regional. Ron Ackman, who runs Oldport Marine in Newport and offers launch service to Newport, Block Island and Edgartown, saw a decline in business in all three ports. "There was a sort of general malaise in the intensity of the summer. It wasn't necessarily reflected in the bad weather, although it was cooler than normal. We've looked at our numbers," he said. "Our indicators are how many moorings there are and the amount of intensity of use. I think it was generally down. I am not sure whether people were not putting their boats in the water or if they were just being cautious."

Mr. Ackman said: "It was quiet in Newport; there were holes in the marina that never had holes."

Todd Alexander, harbor master for Oak Bluffs, said the numbers were up for his harbor, and last year was a record.

Bill Weibrecht, airport manager, said: "I can see that July seems a little bit off and that operations numbers will be down slightly, but we were up in fuel sales." The Democratic National Convention in July is being credited for slowing the traffic between Boston and the Vineyard. "It impacted the general aviation coming to and from Boston," Mr. Weibrecht said.

Mr. Weibrecht said there continues to be a trend toward private aircraft using the county airport.

Oak Bluffs and Edgartown municipal water suppliers had different summers. Deacon Perrotta of the Oak Bluffs water department reported that his town customers in June and July went through 83.9 million gallons of water; that was down from 93.7 million gallons a year ago. Oak Bluffs did have signs posted widely in town promoting a "voluntary water ban."

Fred Domont, water superintendent for Edgartown, has different numbers. Water use last year for June, July and August was 149 million gallons. This year, for the same three months, the usage was 155 million gallons. The 2,500 water users reached a summer peak of 2.693 million gallons on August 6 versus a peak usage of 2.511 million gallons on July 28, 2003.

Kerry Scott of Oak Bluffs runs three Good Dog Goods stores, one in each of the down-Island towns. "I had a wonderful summer. I heard from others reporting that times were tough and business was down. I heard that rentals were way off, bed and breakfast business was way down. I think that if you are in it for the quick buck and just make a quick sale, then maybe you need to think about what you are doing," she said.

Ms. Scott said she felt that those businesses that were specifically directed to the visiting tourist had a difficult summer. "Those are the people who are hurting the most," she said.

Judy Federowicz of Landmarks Real Estate of Martha's Vineyard had a busy summer. "We've had an exceptionally fine summer. Our rentals are up, but that is because we made changes in the office. We devoted a person to being rental manager. Sales are up, though anything over $1.5 million is soft. Anything below that is hot."

Much of the summer has yet to play out. Mrs. Federowicz said all those in her line of work are reporting a busy season: "It will be interesting to see what the figures are in the fall when we have our closings, 60 days from now. It will be interesting, not only the number of sales but the dollar value."

For Mrs. Malcouronne the Vineyard's position this summer is tied to the regional tourist economy. She said the budget of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism has been cut back heavily over the past five years. "I think the entire state of Massachusetts has felt the repercussions of this. We are not out there competing with other states and countries," she said. She said the international tourist market is highly competitive. "The international market was vying for the same tourist dollars. There were some incredible buys to go elsewhere," she said. What has sustained the Vineyard economy, she said, has been the community's faithful returning visitors.

Looking to the future, Mrs. Malcouronne said, Island merchants need to revisit their strategy and understand that consumers this summer were shopping for value. "The public is much more savvy today with the Internet and the programs on television. They are looking for the best value for their dollar. Merchants who assure their customers are getting the best value will always do well."