West Tisbury selectmen on Wednesday approved a new policy for the police department’s use of nonlethal weapons, gave the roads and byways committee a green light to nominate two ancient ways as districts of critical planning concern (DCPCs) and again debated who should sit on a police headquarters study committee.
The topic of the study committee has been a sticky one.
Selectman and board chairman Richard Knabel feels the committee should not be created until after a new permanent police chief is appointed. Mr. Knabel has also called for selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter 3rd, who is also a sergeant on the police force, to abstain from voting on matters concerning the study committee.
So far six people have sent letters expressing interesting in joining the study committee: acting police chief Dan Rossi, recently retired police chief Beth Toomey, Norm Perry, John Christianson and Susan Wasserman. Selectmen have discussed a five-member study committee, although nothing has been decided.
On Wednesday they clashed over the membership of the new committee. Mr. Knabel said he would like Mr. Rossi to serve as an ex-officio member, who would serve on the committee but not have a vote. Mr. Knabel also wants to ask fire chief Manny Estrella to serve as an ex-officio member.
Mr. Manter said he doesn’t like the concept of ex-officio members, and prefers to keep the option open of making the police chief a full voting member. “In general terms, I don’t like ex officio members, just because they are on the committee but can’t vote,” he said.
Mr. Knabel said he worried that having two or three members of the police department on the committee would not represent a wide sample of the community. “The issue is how many representatives the police department should have. The way it is set up, we could have as many as three: the retired chief, the current chief and we might have the new chief,” he said.
He also argued for the fire chief to be a nonvoting member.
“The reason is pretty obvious; one area this committee will have to review is the public safety building. You will want the person in charge over there to be involved in the process,” he said.
Mr. Manter said Mr. Estrella has no interest in joining. “I don’t understand,” Mr. Manter said. “The fire chief didn’t apply, but you are going to ask him to be ex-officio even though he has shown no interest to be on the committee?”
In the end selectmen agreed to table the appointments for another week.
In another police-related matter, Mr. Rossi, the acting chief, asked the board to back a new policy on the use of nonlethal weapons. The police department has two such weapons that shoot a four-ounce beanbag.
“As an extended use weapon, unlike a close range level four weapon like a baton or a night stick . . . there is not room for [an officer] to get injured . . . this should stop a violent subject prior to the use of the next level of force, level five, which is lethal force,” Mr. Rossi said, adding: “We never want to see anyone use that unless they absolutely have to, and hopefully never will.”
He said the policy requires that officers using nonlethal weapons must be certified, and sets regulations involving the storage and care of the weapons. Selectmen voted 2-0 to approve the new policy, with Mr. Manter abstaining.
Selectmen also heard a request from Rez Williams of the roads and byways committee to nominate roads as DCPCs: Pine Hill Road and Shubael Weeks Road, and Red Coat Hill Road/Motts Hill Road.
Mr. Williams said the committee tried to nominate the roadways last year, and held a meeting with abutters in November. But due to a miscommunication between the committee and selectmen, the nomination application did not get to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in time for the annual town meeting.
He said the committee wants to reach out to abutters again before applying.
Mr. Manter agreed. “When it comes to DCPCs, people get nervous to a degree because they don’t understand what [your committee is] trying to accomplish, so that’s why it is important to get a hold of them before the commission gets involved,” he said.
A letter will be sent inviting abutters to an upcoming selectmen’s meeting.
The board also disbanded the town hall building committee, as the new town hall is now complete.
Comments
Comment policy »