PAY RAISE QUESTIONS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

During a time where everyone is being asked to tighten their budgets, I find it interesting that the Oak Bluffs fire chief is asking for a $30,000 raise. Remember, this is not a full-time position. The department is still a volunteer department, meaning that the members receive yearly stipends, including the chief.

The department as a whole is asking for $67,546, 90 per cent of which is being requested for the chief and his deputies. A $30,000 raise for the chief is a 300 per cent increase. There are currently three deputies who to the best of my knowledge make approximately $2,500 per year. This means they are looking for nearly 400 per cent increases as they would be receiving approximately $9,000 each. (Of note, that would mean each of the deputies would be making the same salary as the previous chief made during each of his 10-plus years of tenure.)To me it seems quite unfair that the upper echelon is requesting 90 per cent of the money, while the rest of the department would get the remaining 10 per cent.

I am not sure how many firefighters there are, but for the sake of argument let’s say 50. The stipends vary by rank, and again, I do not have exact numbers. I believe the current stipends are about $1,200 for captains, $750 for lieutenants, and $600 per year for the rest. If we take the remaining ($10,546) and divided it evenly everyone would get a little over $210. Again, these figures are not exact, and the amount of increases would be correlated with their respective rank. Do they deserve increases? Absolutely! Should their increases be contingent upon the outrageous amounts being requested by the chief and deputies? Absolutely not! The finance and advisory board voted 4-3 against this article. Could it be because of the inequitable treatment being given to the majority of the department?

These are the men and women that get up in the middle of the night, leave their jobs in the middle of the day, no matter the weather, and save your houses and businesses, and maybe your lives. They keep flooding under control in our streets when we have torrential rains, and failing that, will pump out your basement. They are on scene at every motor vehicle accident, helping victims who are trapped in cars. They are the backbone of the department. Unfortunately for the majority of the firefighters, the way the article is currently structured it ties their small increases together with the chief’s and deputies. I wonder how they feel about the article?

One of the chief’s duties used to be oversight of the ambulance department. The present chief does not have oversight of the ambulance department. Also, the present chief has a schedule that alternates with some of the other officers in the department to be on call nights and weekends. In other words, the chief is not on 24/7 — which I think is a good idea and very fair, as no one should be expected to always be on call. Taking that into consideration there has been a decrease in workload. A cost-of-living increase is overdue, but 300 per cent?

At the risk of repeating myself, the department is not currently a full-time department. At a future date, the town may choose to make the department full-time, but as it stands right now it is still a volunteer department. If we vote these increases in, there is no taking them back. There is a reason that the finance and advisory board voted against this article 4-3. The job may become full-time in the future, and one has to wonder how much of an increase will be requested at that time.

Mary Alley

Oak Bluffs

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STAY DRY

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

As a longtime seasonal resident (12 summers), I would like to express my strong disapproval of the proposed wine and beer licensing in Vineyard Haven. However well- administered and policed, the availability of wine and beer at restaurants will lead to yet more traffic and congestion in what is already a busy place, hard to drive through and hard to park in. It is inevitable that opening the door will lead to an even more unregulated environment in the future, with bars and taverns and all that comes along with that.

One of the many glories of the Vineyard is its diversity, and the quiet, family-oriented nature of Vineyard Haven is an important part of that mosaic. I have no doubt that it is also an important part of sustaining property values there. Those who want bars and taverns need only drive across the bridge.

Paul Attanasio

Vineyard Haven

and Los Angeles, Calif.

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BALLOT EXPLAINED

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

After last week's work session pertaining to the pending beer and wine vote in Vineyard Haven, it is clear to me that there needs to be more clarity on the ballot question that will be before the town of Tisbury on April 27 .

In 2008 the ballot question read in part, “Shall the board of selectmen be authorized to grant licenses, without quota and for seasonal or annual terms as the board shall determine, for the sale of wines and malt beverages . . .”

In 2010 the ballot question reads in part, “Shall the board of selectmen of the town of Tisbury be authorized to grant 19 licenses for the sale of wines and malt beverages to be drunk on the premises to restaurants and to grant seasonal licenses for the same as the selectmen may determine.”

The difference in the language from 2008 to 2010 is the cap on the number of annual licenses that may be issued by the town, which is stated as being 19. As I explained at the work session, and as has been explained in various articles in the Vineyard Gazette and Martha’s Vineyard Times, upon submission to the legislature of the proposed 2010 ballot question, counsel for the state senate informed the town that they would not accept the language “without quota.” When informed that this language had passed through the legislature in 2008, senate counsel responded that there had been a mistake, and the language without quota would not be approved. Senate counsel informed the town that it had two options. First, we could request a specific number of licenses. Second, we could request the number of licenses permitted by the so-called quota system under the general laws of the commonwealth.

For a town with a year-round population equivalent to that of Tisbury that issues alcohol licenses based on the general laws, the quota system would allow for a minimum of 14 full, i.e., all-alcohol, on-­premise licenses. In addition, the quota system would allow for five additional on-premise licenses for the sale of beer and wine only.

The ballot question for Tisbury, consistent with the vote of town meeting, is for on-premises licenses limited to beer and wine. As a board, we believed that there were probably more than 14 potential year-round operations that would apply for a license if this ballot question were successful. Therefore, we did not want to limit the amount of licenses from the outset. Such a limit would undoubtedly guarantee that we would be in a position of having to choose certain businesses over others without any fair process to do so. The number 19 was the number of restaurants we felt could possibly obtain a license, assuming all the potential sites met all the other guidelines for obtaining a license to operate a restaurant and serve alcohol.

Our objective was to provide the maximum number to the state, to show that the board was seeking to cover all the potentially eligible sites, and therefore not choosing some businesses over others.

If the state came back with a lower number, then we would have abided by that decision and found a way to fairly implement the regulation. The state, to our surprise, permitted the figure of 19 to be placed on the ballot. Because that language is what was approved by the legislature, that language must be contained in the ballot question. The board then has the authority to grant up to that number of year-round licenses. Each license application must be reviewed on its own merits, and the board has the right to either grant or deny each license application based on those merits.

Seasonal licenses “can be issued effective from April 1 to Jan. 15 or any portion thereof and to the number that the local licensing authority deems to be in the public interest.” This is the exact language from the ABCC's published explanation of the quota system that is set forth in Chapter 138, section 17 of the general laws.

The question has been raised as to why the ballot question seeks to permit the issuance of seasonal licenses without a quota. The simple answer is that the legislature will not approve a quota for seasonal licenses. The legislature's intent is to give the local board the authority to determine what is in the best interest of the town when it comes to seasonal licensing. The reason behind this is that certain towns in the commonwealth have much different seasonal populations than other towns. The legislature recognizes this, and has taken the position that the individual town is in a better position to oversee seasonal licensing than it is. That is why the ballot question does not include a specific number of seasonal licenses.

Should this ballot question pass, the board of selectmen will review each and every application on its own merits. The board must approve or deny applications based on those merits as well as on what the board “deems to be in the public interest.” The townspeople's expression of what that best interest is will be heard, and will be taken into account by the board should this measure succeed at the ballot.

Geoghan Coogan

Vineyard Haven

The writer is a Tisbury selectman.

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EMPTY STOREFRONTS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

I love the Vineyard, and I sure hope that the numerous vacant stores in our towns are rented out and filled with new viable tenants.

It is absurd to hear major landlords deny that high rents are not the major reason for companies filing bankruptcy and others just closing their doors after many years in business. To reason that it is a good thing when long-term stores are forced to close their doors to allow and encourage new retail outlets to appear is unrealistic and cruel. The vast majority of the stores leaving all seem to say that their present rents are intolerable from their ever unreasonable, demanding landlords.

The landlords in the Gazette article say that their units are now being renovated, something they say is long overdue, and then they blame former tenants for that failure. The landlords have long been milking their rentals without addressing the need for renovations. The article states that their expenses are higher than usual due to paying mortgages, but it neglects to state that most of these commercial properties were purchased at low prices decades ago. Everyone is entitled to a profit, but scores of retail merchants cannot be entirely wrong when they all complain of enormous yearly rents for a short summer tourist season.

The high unreasonable rents have forced local merchants to price their goods high in order to cover their costs, and so we should not be surprised when we see UPS and FedEx trucks flooding our towns to deliver packages purchased at lower prices on the Internet. It is also naive to suggest that our local economy is recovering when the Island food bank cannot keep up with demand by unemployed residents. This calls to mind that famous line, “Let them eat cake.”

Commercial landlords should cut their tenants a little slack in these tough economical times.

Jack Cunard

Edgartown

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MAKE WIND EASY

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Oftentimes the transition from old energy technologies to clean energy sources is made difficult by the complexity or expense of renewable energy infrastructure. Not so with wind power in the state of Massachusetts. In this case the conversion to wind energy is hindered not by the complexity or expense of the technology, but by outdated, inefficient and unfair permit legislation. With the current permitting process in the state it can take almost three times as long to get permitted to build a wind farm as a coal-fired power plant.

We can no longer depend on dirty sources of energy. In order to move toward a brighter energy future in the state of Massachusetts we need to urge the state legislature to pass the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act. There is enough energy in the wind blowing over the state to power one million homes, at three-quarters the cost of coal power. The preparation, building and maintenance of these wind farms will create 10,000 new jobs for the state. This is the kind of energy we need to be producing, and these are jobs we desperately need. Strongly urge your legislator to support the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act.

Gregor Burriss

Edgartown

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MEMORIES OF OZ

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Sheer coincidence drove me to Google Tom Osmers, Martha’s Vineyard. Not only was I shocked that there was a connection, but I was saddened to see that he’d just passed away.

I knew Tom only briefly back in 1974. We attended St. Francis College in Biddeford, Me. I remember him as quite a character. He would always talk about Martha’s Vineyard and back then I had no idea what MV was. “Who’s this Martha?” I would ask myself, thinking I had no idea wine was made in Massachusetts. Tom liked to be called Oz. He said it wasn’t just a play on his name but also on his proboscis or shnoz. He loved telling stories.

Visiting the Vineyard during the summer always started things off. He’d also talk about his brother back in Brooklyn before they moved to Queens. I too started in Flatbush and made my way further out onto Long Island, so we had that in common. While at school Tom wrote a short story and tried to convince anyone who’d listen that it was a novella. It was about a truck driving job he had back here in New York. He described the route he would take through the city at night. It was either a bakery or butcher, if I remember correctly. He ended the piece by saying that the route ended up on Utopia Parkway. We thought that was clever. He loved singing Amazing Grace for no apparent reason. And no matter what, he would think of fishing. The school was at the delta of the Saco River so it was always calling the guy. Anyway, it’s kind of scary that I’d find this item in your paper after Googling Tom’s name for no real reason. I’m sorry that he’s passed but it sounds like he did have a good time although it was too short.

Kevin Kelly

West Islip, N.Y.

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SCHOOL BULLIES

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

I read the March 26 article, “Bullies Exploit Tech to Augment Their Torment” with great interest. It is a terrible tragedy that a child was put through such torment by her peers, pushed to the point of such despair that she felt there was no way out but to take her own life. I read the words of members of the Martha’s Vineyard public school system and the thought that perhaps it wouldn’t happen here.

It could happen here. Such abuse of a child by their peers has happened here on the idyllic Island of Martha’s Vineyard. When my oldest daughter was in fifth grade in the Oak Bluffs School she was subjected to abuses, mental, emotional and physical by her peers on a daily basis. Technology had nothing to do with it. Her bullying was old-fashioned, hands-on abuse. It went on day in and day out, month in and month out with the full knowledge of the public school system from the office of the superintendent to the office of the principal of the Oak Bluffs School. They would not do a thing about it, would not do a thing to stop it.

My daughter would come out of school in tears at the end of every day and I would go right back into that office and raise hell. Nothing was ever done to put an end to it. Not even when I told the school that if they were not there to protect my child then she had my permission to defend herself. I was told it might cause problems. I responded that it might get someone’s attention. Two weeks to the day in a crowded cafeteria, after seeking help from two different teachers to no avail, trying to use her words to stop the abuse from another student, she was left with no other choice but to defend herself. This other student repeatedly thrust a custodian’s mop in her face, roughed her up, groped her and pinned her against a wall, grinding his body into hers while their peers cheered him on. She stuck him with a pencil three times and that put an end to his actions.

The school tried to place the blame on me until I brought an attorney into the school and put a fear of another kind into them.

By the following school year I had pulled both of my kids out of that school and out of that school system.

My greatest regret is that I had waited too long before pulling them out, that I had even let them start in that school system in the first place.

Let’s just hope the words coming out of the Martha’s Vineyard public school system about bullying are not the same old lip service that my children and I endured for so long.

David Whitmon

Oak Bluffs

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NO HARD SELL

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

As a member of the board of Women Empowered, (yes, I’m a male), I plan to attend this Sunday’s dinner at the Mediterranean Restaurant in Oak Bluffs. Yes, it’s a fundraiser, but a painless one, to be sure.

You see, all you do is call in your reservation, (508-693-1617) for any time between 5:30 and 7 p.m. this Sunday, April 11, come and dine and pay and leave. No hard sell. No additional charges.

I am pleased to promote this function because it supports the endeavors of Women Empowered. (They get a share of Sunday night’s proceeds.) Women Empowered offers free, confidential coaching to people (women and men) who need life skills advice in issues from finance to relationships.

It’s a good program. It helped my daughter years ago. I support the efforts of Women Empowered, and I hope you will too.

See you Sunday at the Mediterranean.

Thomas Dresser

Oak Bluffs

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POSTCARDS, PLEASE

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

I am a fifth grade student at the Oak Point Intermediate School in Eden Prairie, Minn. I have adopted your state as a class project. Please send me one postcard from your state (do not send anything except a poscard; we are unable to accept packages due to safety precautions).

I am writing in hopes of getting a postcard from as many different people as possible. It would be great if some would take the time to write a short note on a postcard telling me something interesting or special about your state.

I hope readers can help me with my project. My classmates are also doing the project. Each of us has chosen a different state. I would like to become an expert on your state.

Please accept my thanks in advance for your help. The mailing address for the postcard is Oak Point Intermediate School, 13400 Staring Lake Parkway, Eden Prairie, MN 55347-1800.

Sam Willey

Eden Prairie, Minn.