Plotting a Course

Thursday, April 16 2020 - 5:34pm

It has been clear for some time that summer 2020 would be different, but the picture came into sharper focus this week with the announcement that the Agricultural Fair has been canceled.

It is by no means the first event to be shelved in this year of the coronavirus. The Beach Road Festival has been called off, the Best of the Vineyard party has been scratched, the Playhouse will go dark for the season, the Yard has canceled performances through June and Taste of the Vineyard is canceled, to name just a few.

But the Ag Fair is in many ways the season’s capstone event, always held the third week of August. Fair week traditionally marks the last hurrah of summer. Crowds begin to thin on the Island after the ferris wheel and carnival rides come down. College students start leaving for school, and the evening light takes on a deeper hue.

Trapped in the uncertainty of the present, it has been difficult to plan for the future. Now the Ag Fair decision has forced us to think about the waning days of August, and it is time to start plotting a course from here to there.

There are so many practical questions. Should any group events be held at all, and if so under what conditions? Can bars and restaurants be safely reopened, and what steps can be taken to minimize risk? What restrictions should be placed on beaches and other public spaces where crowds tend to gather? What role do the airport and Steamship Authority play in educating and perhaps controlling the flow of visitors to the Vineyard?

There is still much uncertainty as Massachusetts remains a week away from what is expected to be the peak of the pandemic. But as the weather warms and thoughts of summer intensify, organizations that hold fundraising events are looking for guidance, as are the many seasonal businesses who must decide how to staff and prepare for a season with so many unknowns.

Our balkanized Island government — six separate towns and various regional entities — complicates any efforts to create an Islandwide plan, but that is what is needed at this critical time. Selectmen and boards of health showed remarkable unanimity when the stay-at-home orders were first imposed in mid-March. More recently, cracks have developed in that alliance, as evidenced by the recent standoff over exactly when to relax the construction ban.

The Island is looking for direction how to proceed. The same group that found a way to agree on stay-at-home orders would be well advised to get to work on a set of shared guidelines, putting aside personal agendas and focusing on the good of the whole.

Much as the United States does not have a supreme leader to dictate how the country will reopen, the Vineyard must rely on its locally elected officials and hope they can model the best traits of collaboration.

Comments

The island business community

facts not fiction edg

The island business community will have to adapt to the 'new normal' if they expect to survive this summer season. If a restaurant must keep patrons 6 feet away from other tables, many will lose 50% of their capacity. If you have to keep bar seats 6 feet part they will lose the majority of their business. Chances are, summer renters won't be willing to spend thousands of dollars per week if they are to be quarantined in their rental homes, unable to enjoy the beaches, restaurants, bars and other usual venues. Also,, many of those who used to rent won't since they lost their jobs off-island. The only way to save some sort of revenue is to hope that seasonal residents (off-island home owners) come to their place, bring some friends, and be willing to spend some of their money, if they have any left. Restaurants need to plan ahead to promote home delivery of the food on their menus. Since servers won't be making tips, they could recapture some of that revenue as drivers delivering food, and getting tips for that. Off island restaurants have been surviving by doing this, using Uber eats, door-dash, grub-hub and their own delivery employees. As a second homeowner I'm looking forward to supporting our local restaurants this way (if necessary). Time to plan for this now so they can take advantage of the short summer season that will be difficult.

I understand that you’re

David WTis/ New England

I understand that you’re trying to thread the needle of perfection - where no one ever gets sick again and people can be gainfully employed and live their lives. However, I think your suggestions are wildly unrealistic. As you point out, restaurants can’t stay in business seating half of their tables with no bar service. How could a couple go out for a cocktail at the bar and not talk to each other? Restaurants don’t make money on food - they make money in alcohol service. It’s not a crime it’s a fact. And most food on menus isn’t suitable for take out, especially when driven 20 minutes upisland - almost anywhere takes 20 minute to get from here to there. That framework isn’t working now - why would it work in the summer? And gas is expensive on island. How many summer servers have cars and can afford the liability for being delivery drivers? I’ve no interest in having a lukewarm meal delivered that will not improve when reheated. I want to go out to eat with my wife and friends. I don’t want to sit in a restaurant with people wearing masks and not making eye contact. And I for sure don’t want someone in the stop and shop lot yelling at me for my New England license plate.
So I submit there’s no perfect just right all OK solution to keep everyone from ever getting sick again. The people who are at risk are old(er) and fragile and should be suitably protected by people who help or care for them. People who run restaurants should be more attentive to who they hire and hygiene. Kitchens are notoriously dirty, even in the best of cases. But allow businesses to make their decisions and individuals to make their decisions about their health. As you point out, a lot of people won’t be able to afford their summer “vacations”- they’ve already had them and more. So the population on island will already be way down. Let it go. I think there’s no perfect plan.

Right, we have owned for 26

Mike WT

Right, we have owned for 26 and I have been coming for 67 years. That's exactly what we are going to do. Have the house to ourselves for the whole summer, for the first time EVER! We do what we can when we are there to hire local, donate where we can, patronize the Islands great agricultural and seafood resources. Who knows, maybe we will have a garden this year - because we will be there. I am hoping everyone who needs to get back to work can do so as soon as possible in a safe and healthy way. We need avoid any kind of resurgence and set back because we rushed together to quickly. Can tests be made available to test everyone to see if they have the antibody? This is what is really needed for everyone: - get tested - come back negative - go back to work.

There’s a big snowball - no,

Matt Edgartown

There’s a big snowball - no, it’s more like a giant boulder, which is already rolling slowly toward the island, gathering a little bit of speed every day. On May 20 the Sea Streak ferry starts service from New Bedford. The fast ferry from RI starts up June 22 (per their websites). And there may have been some house rental cancellations and postponements till 2021 (I myself have moved three renters till 2021), but plenty of folks will be on the SSA ferries with their cars once school is out. My hunch is that the US will see a drastic reduction in air travel this summer, perhaps inclining those who won’t fly to just jump in their cars. The Gazette masthead points out that a typical summer sees the island population swell in excess of 100,000 vs 16,000 year round. So if only half of those people show up - no let’s say a quarter - that’s 25,000 summer guests. The hospital management team is already screaming loudly that off-island visitors (mostly second homeowners since the hotels are closed) need to stay away. So as the giant boulder gets closer, what is to be done? We may be on the right side of the curve by then but until a vaccine exists no one is risk-free. Does having a negative COVID 19 test result get you a spot on the ferry? As of today no such requirement exists, and the testing capacity (a national disgrace which needs to be remedied before the NEXT pandemic) would have to see a miraculous uptick to screen 25,000 summer guests. Or do we just let them come and say what the hell. Maybe Trump will tweet “Liberate the Vineyard” and really stir things up. The council of first selectmen needs to give this matter it’s utmost attention. The clock is ticking.

“ The hospital management

Mainlander

“ The hospital management team is already screaming loudly that off-island visitors (mostly second homeowners since the hotels are closed) need to stay away.”.

For the summer? Hospital management wants homeowners to stay away? But not from the fundraising events.

matt, "once school is out"?

annie

matt, "once school is out"? as far as i know most schools (45 states) have closed the schools for the rest of the academic year. just sayin

Realtors and home owners need

Rich Boston

Realtors and home owners need to be legally responsible for refunding 100% of people's deposits and rents for summer 2020. I am sure this is going to hurt the homeowner who needs the rental income. But there are many people who saved a long time for their vacation who are going to go if they cant get their money back. Not refunding people has to potential to contribute to a huge disaster. How many covid beds can the hospital handle?

This is the time to stop

Scott West tisbury

This is the time to stop complaining, the pandemic will be here until a vaccine is discovered. We will go back to work, so September will be the reset. So how do we get from here to the end of summer. So, we stay 6 ft apart, save your parents, so we loose 50% of our income, better than all of it....we’re physically well and healthy, we can beat this, can any of us imagine what the health Crisis of this island would be if Dr. Fauci had not spoken out? He’s a hero, We don’t know all the other heroes yet, be one.