The Martha’s Vineyard Commission voted 10-6 to approve the regional high school athletic field project at a dramatic meeting Thursday night, capping a long-running and often acrimonious debate over synthetic turf fields.
Looking to quell a persistent dispute among constituents, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee this week voted to ask for a written legal opinion on the longstanding school district practice of accepting cash donations without requiring identification.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional School committee is seeking a commitment from Oak Bluffs not to appeal a judge’s ruling in the ongoing dispute over a proposed artificial turf playing field.
In a 13-page ruling Tuesday, judge Kevin Smith ruled the Oak Bluffs planning board went beyond its authority when it denied the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s application for an artificial turf field on the basis of ground water protection.
The two-year period of validity for the commission’s approval was set to expire August 27 because no work had begun on the project.
A Martha’s Vineyard Commission subcommittee is backing the regional high school’s request for an extension of the MVC’s two-year approval of a track and field overhaul, originally issued in August 2021.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee will use donated money to pay the attorney who has been handling its ongoing artificial turf litigation against the town of Oak Bluffs.
