The Aquinnah selectmen moved this week to take remedial action at the town library for public safety.

On Tuesday night, the selectmen passed a motion to pay engineer Kent Healy $200 for a thorough inspection, which is expected to confirm the need for emergency repairs.

If so, the board pledged to raise $50,000 immediately for repairs to the foundation and a floor that has reportedly sunk 10 inches in recent years.

A special town meeting would be held in mid-April to request taxpayer authorization for the repairs.

Library director Jennifer Christy said, “If we had a choice, April and May would not be our first time-frame choice for repairs but if the repairs are needed, we will live with that.” She noted that use of the facility rises dramatically in those months.

As a historic building, the library repairs are eligible for Community Preservation Act funding that could cover at least half of the costs. Much of the remaining $20,000 to $25,000 cost could be recouped from other sources.

Approval of the motion to bond the cost immediately reflects the potential urgency of a public safety issue, selectmen said.

Although safety issues at the library were first raised in 1999, no action has been taken since.

Chairman Camille Rose said, “Nothing has been done but now that the issue has resurfaced, we must take action immediately.”

In other developments:

• The selectmen approved a licensing schedule for a new taxi service in the town.

Ed Panek of Oak Bluffs recently received approval to operate an Aquinnah-based taxi service. He will pay Aquinnah $50 for the taxi license plus $25 for each of two vehicles annually. Selectmen noted the fees are less than 25 per cent of licensing fees in other Island communities, such as Oak Bluffs, and are designed to encourage the project and to promote lower fares.

At the meeting, the selectmen shared anecdotes about taxi charges of $40 to $90 per trip from the ferry in Vineyard Haven. “I have driven tourists to the ferry myself to (allow them to) avoid a second charge of $90 from the cliffs,” Ms. Rose said.

• Efforts to repair Old South Road fell deeper in a bureaucratic quagmire.

Resident Sarah Saltonstall has campaigned for months to repair a pot-holed and narrow roadway that town officials and abutting tribal neighbors agree is virtually impassable for emergency rescue vehicles. At issue is an eight-tenths of one mile section of Old South Road.

Town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport’s legal opinion that the town does not own the road brought repair efforts to an immediate halt last fall.

This week selectmen learned that, by Bureau of Indian Affairs regulation, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) probably owns 50 per cent of the roadway from the center line. That development adds another layer of bureaucracy, yet may provide financial resources for repairs, selectmen said.

They voted to table efforts until tribal member and selectman Spencer T. Booker retrieves bureau maps and documents that prove tribal ownership.

Selectmen were clearly frustrated. “I want this (issue) on the town warrant,” Ms. Rose said flatly.

• The selectmen called a meeting of the new beer and wine licensing board for March 17 at 4 p.m. The licensing board will discuss bylaws related to recently passed legislation allowing sale of alcoholic beverages in Aquinnah.

The Aquinnah Shop and the Outermost Inn qualify as beer and wine licensees under the new law.