Parking, Taxes And Funk Bus Topics Raised At Summer Town Meeting

CHATHAM – Downtown parking, tax exemptions and the Funk Bus were all topics on the minds of summer residents at the 79th annual summer town meeting.

 Held Aug. 12 at the annex, the session was hosted by the town’s summer residents’ advisory committee (SRAC), an official town body that represents the interests of seasonal property owners. Chatham is the only town on the Cape, perhaps in the state, that gives summer folks a voice in town government, said Town Moderator William Litchfield, who also moderated last Tuesday’s meeting.

 “We’re fortunate to have an active and concerned and forthright committee,” he said. 

The committee has sponsored the summer town meeting since the late 1990s, but the session itself has a much longer history, going back to the 1940s, Litchfield said.

“That developed into a longstanding tradition of a healthy dialogue between town officials and nonvoting taxpayers,” he said.

Downtown traffic and parking were topics of those early summer town meetings, and the problems are still with us today. Responding to a question about parking, select board Chair Dean Nicastro noted that the parking safety commission endorsed a Cape Cod Commission report that recommended paid parking in the major downtown parking lots.

“Most seaside communities in New England have paid parking,” he said, estimating that Provincetown earns $1 million or so in revenue from parking annually. While there is revenue to be made, the real impetus, he said, is to alleviate congestion downtown by encouraging visitors to park, at no charge, in parking areas just outside of downtown, such as the community center and elementary school.

The commission study concluded there is adequate parking downtown and that charging “would encourage some turnover,” Nicastro said, adding he feels the traffic situation has gotten worse in recent years.

“It’s not just cars,” he said, “the pedestrians have been overwhelming.” The select board will take up the situation in September.

A summer resident was concerned about buses carrying partying passengers through town, citing how mobile bars were a major problem in other locations. She specifically cited the Funk Bus, a colorful repurposed school bus run by Cape Destinations of Harwich that can be hired for reunions and parties. The town can’t regulate who uses public roadways, Town Manager Jill Goldsmith said, and Police Chief Michael Anderson added that officers can intercede if there are noise or parking complaints. He said he wasn’t aware how the Funk Bus was licensed but agreed to look into the details.

The SRAC is monitoring discussions about a residential tax exemption, said chair Jeff Spalter, a topic which was expected to be taken up at Tuesday’s select board meeting (after The Chronicle’s deadline). The committee has opposed a tax break for year-round property owners in the past, said member Thomas Garvey.

“It just shifts some of the tax from full-time residents to part-time residents,” he said. It would create an additional administration layer for the assessing department and would be unfair to seasonal property owners, who already pay personal property taxes from which year-round residents are exempt, he noted. The personal property tax raises about $425,000 annually.

“From a fairness perspective, that’s a consideration in our minds,” Garvey said. “Overall we think the exemption is kind of a blunt tool, applied without regard to the financial condition of the resident or owner.” There are alternatives to help year-round residents who may have trouble paying property taxes, he suggested, such as exemptions or deferrals for low-income or disabled seniors and veterans. “We think this is something that really needs to be looked at thoroughly,” he said.

The SRAC is also working on developing a position on regulation of short-term rentals, comparing Chatham’s approach with other towns on the Cape, Nantucket and elsewhere in the country, said member Ron Manderscheid.

“By this time next year we hope to be back with a series of formal recommendations to put forth from SRAC to the select board for their consideration,” and input of summer residents is welcome, he said.

Spalter said the group is working on assembling information to help seasonal homeowners understand the process of connecting to town sewer, noting that neighbors may want to work together in hiring engineers and contractors to perform the necessary work.

Summer residents are a “big part of what makes this community special,” Goldsmith said, and Nicastro assured the committee and those attending the session that their voices are heard by officials.

“If you take nothing else away from tonight’s meeting, please be assured that SRAC’s recommendations on town policies, programs and projects, and the views of summer residents in general, are very much valued, appreciated and taken seriously,” Nicastro said. “You are all a very important part of the Chatham community and experience.”