Good view equals a security problem

NANTUCKET -- Senator John F. Kerry's summer home has a commanding view of Nantucket Harbor, which means that any boat on the water has a commanding view of his house.

That's just one of the problems Nantucket officials are wrestling with, as they decide what popular places will be closed, which areas will be restricted, and how the island will deal with increased security when the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee visits the island this summer.

The sprawling, $9.9 million, cedar-shingled house on Hulbert Avenue that Kerry shares with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is on a thin beach along the harbor and faces the heavily traveled channel through which most boats traveling to and from the island must pass.

That makes drafting a security plan extremely difficult, Nantucket officials say. One official said the Secret Service, which is guarding Kerry, has been talking to officers at the Coast Guard Station on the island about preliminary security plans.

"Nothing's been determined yet; all discussions have been very preliminary," Harbormaster David Fronzuto said. "The main problem is the proximity to the channel. It's going to be a difficult scenario for everyone."

Steven Ricciardi, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Boston office, declined to comment, saying only that "we haven't completed a security plan yet."

But town officials are already cautioning those picking up marriage licenses to avoid planning a wedding or taking photographs at Brant Point lighthouse this summer, because it might be closed whenever Kerry is on the island. The popular lighthouse is about a quarter-mile from the house, which is owned by a trust for Heinz Kerry's children.

"We're cautioning them that if their plans included Brant Point, it would be a good idea to consider other venues," said James Grieder, the assistant town clerk.

A public beach just a few houses away from Kerry's might also be closed when the senator visits, officials said, and some neighbors could be asked to remove their moorings and move their boats.

"It's going to be difficult, because the property's hard to secure," Larry Breakiron, a summer neighbor on Hulbert Avenue, said by telephone from his home in Connecticut. "I don't know how they're going to protect it."

Kerry's house is just a few yards from tony Hulbert Avenue and is flanked on both sides by houses so close, residents say, that the senator could open a window and yell next door to invite a neighbor for cocktails.

The impact on residents and sites close by is only part of what might be in store. Some island residents were bracing for the possibility that a Kerry visit could further complicate the already congested streets near the harbor if security officials set up detours.

"It will be a massive inconvenience to residents," said John Weeks of Marblehead, another Hulbert Avenue neighbor. "But there's probably nothing we can do. I hope they make some allowances for residents."

Merchants, meanwhile, are debating whether the attention Nantucket will get when a presidential nominee visits will boost the local economy or simply result in headaches for the tourists they count on during the summer.

"I'm worried," said Kim England, a Main Street jewelry store owner. "Everyone's a little bit frightened."

But Tracy Bakalar, executive director of the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, said the anxiety level in town is low so far.

"Some people are looking forward to the added exposure," Bakalar said. "A little boost in business couldn't hurt. Maybe there will be some inconveniences, but Nantucketers are very adaptable. It takes a lot to throw us off."

Bakalar said she has been told by a Chamber of Commerce colleague on Martha's Vineyard that the business community benefited from the visits of President Clinton and his family.

"She told me that from a marketing standpoint it was great," Bakalar said.

Clinton visited during his presidency and President George H.W. Bush visited last summer. Officials said security perimeters were set up for those visits, along with other measures that were not disclosed.

"We've had presidents and former presidents visit here," said Deputy Police Chief Charles Gibson. "We've done security before and we'll do it again."

"When Bill and Hillary [Clinton] visited, it shook up everything," said Selectman Bruce Watts. "They stopped airplanes for landing for an hour and a half."

The several visits made in 1988 by Michael S. Dukakis, then the Democratic presidential nominee, required security measures that are now being discussed for Kerry.

"What we're going through now is what we went through with Dukakis," Watts said. "It's difficult, yes, but can you do it? Yes."

While Nantucket officials contemplate a Kerry visit, the candidate himself has not been mulling the possible impact his presence would have on neighbors and other island residents.

"I don't know," he said while traveling through Washington's Dulles International Airport yesterday. "I haven't thought about it yet."

One question on the minds of Nantucket officials is who will provide the beefed-up security during a visit and who will pick up the cost.

"The budget is tight," said Fronzuto. "We don't have a lot of extra money."

Glen Johnson of the Globe staff contributed to this report.