Nobody can cut the Chappy Ferry cut line — but Edgartown selectmen can suspend it, as they unanimously voted to do at a public hearing Monday.
With the diminutive ferry’s second boat coming out of the water for its annual round of repairs and maintenance later this month, ferry co-owner Peter Wells requested that selectmen suspend the ferry’s so-called cut line from Oct. 20 to Nov. 30 to ease the frustration for weekday workers who already often experience long waits to get from Chappaquiddick to Edgartown. The ferry service is the only means of vehicle access between Chappaquiddick and the main Island, acting as a lifeline for those on both sides of the harbor.
The cut line allows postal vehicles, highway department vehicles, electrical and cell phone company vehicles, as well as concrete, trash, delivery and fuel trucks to get on the ferry in a separate line. Although cut line vehicles are required to see the ferry depart once before being loaded, the line often diminishes their wait in comparison to those of regular vehicles. School buses and emergency service vehicles are always loaded immediately.
During the hearing Monday, Mr. Wells said the waits for regular ferry users would only be longer if the cut line remained in place during the ferry maintenance period.
“If you’re a person who gets to use the cut line, you love the cut line. If you’re a person who doesn’t, you’re irritated and frustrated by it,” Mr. Wells said. “So I would suggest that during this time that we just have one boat, if we could stop using the cut line . . . Because everything will take longer with just one boat.”
Edgartown police Lieut. Chris Dolby said the department would be amenable to the decision of the selectmen. Although the ferry is a privately-owned business, it is regulated and overseen by the selectmen.
Other ferry users had minor concerns with the proposed suspension of the cut line. Sydney Mullen, the general manager of the Chappaquiddick Beach Club, said the club was doing a construction project that involved pouring concrete. Mr. Wells said he would consider making an exception if Ms. Mullen scheduled the concrete pours for the weekend.
Selectmen voted unanimously to adopt the cut line suspension. School buses and emergency service vehicles will still be allowed to board the ferry immediately.
“It only seems fair at this time,” Mr. Wells said. “And it’s only for five weeks.”
In other business, Gerrett Conover from Landvest updated selectmen on the Yellow House renovation project. Last spring, selectmen finalized a 30-year lease agreement with Summer and Main LLC to refurbish the decrepit property in the heart of Edgartown. Preliminary plans include commercial space on the first floor and rental units on the second and third floors. Christopher Celeste, owner of Rosewater, is a principal in the LLC.
The town took the property by eminent domain for $3 million in 2017 from the former owners, the Hall family. This past spring, a two-story structure that now houses a children’s clothing store replaced a small retail shack on the Summer street side of the property.
At the meeting Monday, Mr. Conover said preparation for construction would begin on the larger three-story structure the Tuesday after Columbus Day with foundation work and the installation of fencing. Mr. Conover said he would begin work on the building deck by Nov. 1.
“Our goal is to have it tight by New Year’s, and have it ready and completely done by mid-May,” Mr. Conover said. “That gives incoming tenants a week or 10 days to get ready by Memorial Day.”
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