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Nantucket's Select Board had a busy final stretch of September, and several threads from those meetings still have loose ends. This two-week municipal roundup, updated May 9, 2026, covers the board's actions from September 20 through October 1 on the Valero property, rental-car medallions, a new Sconset Beach Preservation Fund dispute, the African Meeting House procurement group, and more.
The biggest behind-the-scenes moment involved 64 Old South Road. Developer Alan Worden had reached a long-term lease with the Valero family to turn the piece of land into the private Hensdale Club. The Select Board then met in executive session on a Friday morning to talk about the "purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property" tied to that same address.
In practical terms, the board was probably deciding whether to waive Nantucket's first-refusal rights under the state's agricultural-tax classification law. Because the property gets a break as farmland, a sale or a change of use can trigger the town's option to buy it first.
If the board waives that right, Worden can keep moving with the club. If it doesn't waive it, he could still wait out the clock. The Valero family can simply skip applying for the agricultural classification this year, meaning the parcel loses the tax status next July. One year after that, the town's right of first refusal goes away, and the club could move forward without that particular legal obstacle.
Worden did not respond to a request for comment. Because it was an executive session, the public did not learn what, if anything, was said.
The SBPF already had two fights going over its geotube project along the Sconset Bluff. One was about expanding the erosion-control installation; the other was about repairing a damaged section. During the roundup window, a third dispute surfaced.
This one is over coir fabric, a less controversial piece of the overall setup. A section of the coir array washed away during a storm, and the group wants to replace it. The Conservation Commission, which issues the permits, is okay with the work but thinks the replacement counts as a new installation on town-owned land. That would need approval from Town Meeting. The SBPF sees the job as simple repairs and says no Town Meeting vote is required.
Town Counsel was expected at the time to issue an opinion soon. That answer would determine whether this stays at the commission level or gets kicked to the Town Meeting floor.
The coir fabric dispute is separate from the larger geotube fights, but it shows how many moving parts the bluff project has. The Conservation Commission has been the permitting authority for the work, and its position on the new replacement could affect how future storm repairs are handled.
Two rental-car companies left the August process with provisional awards for eight rental-car medallions. They came back before the Select Board to make those awards final and got the okay. Board members Matt Fee and Bob DeCosta again raised the same themes that slowed the medallion process for over a year: traffic and whether the peer-to-peer platform Turo is a legitimate rental-car operation under the town's rules.
The final approval means the companies could move forward with their allotments, but the underlying policy questions around Turo and parking did not get settled.
The Select Board also voted to dissolve the African Meeting House procurement work group. That group had been set up to pick an outside firm to investigate the town's response to the hate crime at the African Meeting House. The recommendation was made some time ago, the firm finished its report in July, and the board's move during the roundup window formally closes the group.
Not all members wanted it shut down. Clifford Williams, in particular, had been pushing for additional meetings, including one with the investigator. The vote to dissolve cuts off that possibility. The investigation itself is complete, but the conversation about how the town acts on it continues.
The town's response to the hate crime and the subsequent investigation have been a source of tension for months. The Select Board's vote does not change the report's findings, but it changes the group's ability to keep pressing for additional oversight.
The Select Board gave its approval for utility work at the Sparks Avenue development known as "New Downtown." There was some confusion about the construction plans, but the board still signed off. The developer will need to coordinate with multiple town departments before crews can actually start digging.
The Sparks Avenue project has been pitched as a pedestrian-focused commercial center, and utility work is an early step. Town departments will still need to sign off on details like drainage, traffic, and connections.
Several bigger stories also ran in full during that period.
The Select Board cut more than $600 million from the town's ten-year capital improvement plan. It is already signaling that more cuts could be on the way. The argument from some board members is that voters will not support additional borrowing, but that assumption may get tested as the budget calendar moves forward.
The capital plan decisions in particular carry a long tail: ten-year projections affect bond planning, roadwork schedules, and water infrastructure priorities. More cuts could shift those timelines.
The board did not hold back on Sherburne Commons, the nonprofit senior-living community. Members criticized the organization for asking for an additional $200,000 in mitigation payments before it would allow construction of the new Our Island Home skilled nursing facility.
There is also friction between the Community Preservation Committee and town staff over hiring a new employee for the committee. The Select Board got drawn into that fight, though the issue appears far from resolved.
On coasts, the board voted along split lines to endorse the idea of creating coastal resilience districts on Nantucket. That gives the proposal some momentum, but the details will need to be worked out.
The town's Nobadeer Farm Road athletic complex is one step closer to getting a new field. But every bid came in over budget, and Department of Public Works director Drew Patnode has already cautioned that parts of the project may need to be trimmed.
Beachside concessions could be in line for major changes, but the board punted on most of the substantive choices. Anyone waiting for big adjustments will need to keep waiting.
Looking at the aftermath, three items are worth watching.
First, the Valero property: until the board states whether it will exercise its right of first refusal, or until the land's tax classification expires, the Hensdale Club remains in limbo. The lack of any public decision only adds to the uncertainty.
Second, the Sconset coir replacement: at the time, a Town Counsel opinion was still pending. The outcome could determine whether the next fight happens before the Conservation Commission or at Town Meeting.
Third, the African Meeting House report: while the work group is gone, the findings are not. The question now is what the Select Board does with the completed investigation and how much public follow-up will be allowed.
This roundup was compiled on May 9, 2026.
