A grant for renewable energy has flummoxed the West Tisbury selectmen who say that the terms of the grant are too restrictive and that the amount is too small to achieve anything worthwhile.

“We have $8,526.56 that I don’t have the slightest idea how to spend,” said executive secretary Jennifer Rand at the board meeting Wednesday. The grant is from the Renewable Energy Trust, an organization administered by the state’s development agency for renewable energy.

Although the original plan was to use the grant to make town buildings more energy efficient, Ms. Rand said the Renewable Energy Trust will only allow the money to be spent on new energy systems, not energy upgrades.

Selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter rued the restrictions.

“The energy committee has tried very hard to replace all the street lights with LED lighting, which would be about 30 times more efficient than what is there now and would be an easy thing to do. However with this grant, the way they’ve written it, they won’t pay for it. It’s really a conundrum,” he said.

The grant allows for a few other unappealing ways to spend the money such as on solar powered trash compactors, which the board called both impractical, as they are designed to manage enormous amounts of trash, and unnecessary, as they would require a battery, upkeep and would cost $3,500 compared with $100, no battery and no upkeep for the town’s current trash cans.

“Solar-powered trash compactors don’t resonate with me, particularly at that price,” said Mr. Manter. “I saw them, they look like ordinary trash cans.”

The grant also allows for money to go toward renewable energy education programs. This was more appealing to the board. The rest may be spent on solar-powered lighting.

In other business, selectmen reacted with dismay to an announcement this week by the nonprofit Island Affordable Housing Fund that it will eliminate rental assistance subsidies effective Dec. 1. The revelation inspired shock and dismay in some committee members.

“It’s clearly reflective of the economic system overall,” said selectman Richard Knabel. “The people that were giving them money are simply not giving them money anymore. It’s the same reason Bridge Housing wasn’t able to continue. It’s too bad.”

Ernie Mendenhall, a member of the county regional housing authority, agreed, “This one hurts people very directly,” he said.

Finally, Mr. Manter read “with deep regret” a letter of resignation from Kent Healy of the Mill Pond committee over the recent vote by the selectmen to authorize testing for a possible dredging project in the pond.

“I’m disappointed by the Oct. 28 vote of the board to go ahead with the dredging of the pond. I could not in good conscience participate in such a wasteful and environmentally degrading project,” Mr. Healy wrote.