The town of Tisbury has repossessed two small truckloads of timber left over after work on the Owen Park pier and taken home by harbor master Jay Wilbur.

The action followed a heated scene at last week’s selectmen’s meeting, in which Gene Decosta accused Mr. Wilbur of having “defrauded the town.”

Mr. Decosta accused Mr. Wilbur of having put his assistants to work at $14 an hour, pulling nails from the timber.

“That planking is up at Jay’s house, piled up nice and neat. That’s fraud,” Mr. Decosta told the selectmen.

He also claimed Mr. Wilbur’s time sheets show him claiming pay when he was not at work.

The allegations are fueled by a longstanding hostility between the two men. Mr. Decosta admitted as much, saying he was hitting back at Mr. Wilbur, who had suggested at a previous meeting that Mr. Decosta had used inferior timber the last time he built anything for the town.

“He insulted me on TV [the meetings are televised] that’s why I’m going right back at him,” Mr. De Costa said.

Mr. Wilbur at first denied the claims outright, saying: “Of course it’s not true.”

Said Mr. Decosta: “If you want pictures, I have pictures.”

Mr. Wilbur then said: “I freely admit the wood’s at my house. Saved the town disposal fees is what I did.”

The selectmen promised to have the allegations investigated.

Later town administrator John Bugbee said he had spoken to Mr. Wilbur and believed the removal of the timber was an honest mistake.

“These were serious allegations that were made, and I have started an investigation. The wood is now back under the control of the town,” Mr. Bugbee said.

He also said he was satisfied that Mr. Wilbur had not used town staff improperly.

Mr. Bugbee said that during the construction work on the pier, some timbers had been reused. This meant they had the nails taken out of them so they could be replaned. Then the contractor decided which ones were fit for reuse, and Mr. Wilbur took what was left.

The town Department of Public Works was tasked with getting the wood back. Director Fred LaPiana said yesterday: “A couple of small truckloads had been moved from Mr. Wilbur’s place back to the DPW. A lot of it is pretty rotted. It’s joist-sized 2-by-6, 2-by-8, that sort of size.”

Mr. LaPiana was unsure whether the timber was of any further use, but said now that the issue had become political, the town would make sure to establish whether the wood had any value, by offering it for bid.