Following a road safety audit held earlier this month between state and local representatives regarding the dangerous intersection at State and County Roads in West Tisbury, the state has gone ahead and installed permanent reflectors in the area, without first informing town officials.

“We had just had a meeting with the state about what to do about that intersection, and then the state went ahead and did that,” said executive secretary Jennifer Rand yesterday.

The new reflectors were a topic of discussion at the selectmen’s meeting Wednesday, where the board also discussed a draft audit report which presented a number of potential safety enhancement options at the intersection.

One option would create a T intersection between Old County and State Roads. Other options included adding flexible reflective delineators on State Road, or a sign approaching the intersection, and removing several trees that could block visibility. The report also included an option to build an island along Old County Road.

Selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter said he did not think the island would be a good idea. “I think it’s going to add to more of a danger there,” he said. Mr. Manter said he liked the idea of delineators, but an island might impede vehicles with a large turning radius.

Selectman Cynthia Mitchell said the island might be a good or bad idea, but should remain in the plan for discussion. “I think I wouldn’t want to see it come off the list,” she said.

The board discussed the state’s recent addition of permanent reflectors in the pavement at the intersection, an option that Ms. Rand said was not discussed in the original audit. “I did not know they were going to do it,” said West Tisbury police chief Dan Rossi. “I found out the day after.”

Chief Rossi said he fears the reflectors, which make grooves in the pavement, will be hazardous to bikers and mopeds. But the reflectors are permanent, and because State Road is not a town road, Ms. Rand said it was ultimately a state decision. “They own the road, they can do whatever they want,” she said yesterday. “Do we hate [the reflectors]? I don’t think there’s a clear answer to that yet.”

The board agreed to draft a letter to the team responsible for drawing up the audit report, listing their questions and concerns, before a finalized document is approved.

In other business, selectmen voted a formal proclamation in support of the West Tisbury Library’s plan for expansion and the plan to apply for state grant funding. “The West Tisbury Free Public Library has always depended on the kindness of its friends and donors. The current facility is situated on land that was privately donated to the town, and was built and expanded largely with public funds. Generations past have handed down a library we can be proud of, one of the few in the nation to win five stars from the Library Journal last year,” said selectman and board chairman Richard Knabel.

Mr. Knabel listed several reasons for expansion. He said 85 per cent of the population holds a library card, and the collection at the West Tisbury library is the greatest of all Island libraries. Circulation is also highest, and the library has more open hours than any other on the Vineyard. In order to accommodate growth, the library needs a larger, more comprehensive facility.

“The board of selectmen declares that August 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011 shall be the year of the West Tisbury Library,” said Mr. Knabel.

The selectmen also agreed to seek more information following an e-mail from the town administrator in Tisbury which asked if the board would be interested in participating in a conversation about the possibility of combining the Tisbury and Oak Bluffs police departments.

Ms. Mitchell said she wasn’t sure if Tisbury was asking if the West Tisbury police department might be interested in being a third party in the proposed joint-police department. “I was under the impression that they were exploring a two-town potential,” she said.

Mr. Manter, who is a police sergeant in town, said he would be willing to at least explore the possibility. “I don’t see the harm in at least attending an initial meeting,” he said.

Mr. Knabel said the board should find out who is involved and what part West Tisbury might play in the conversation. “Let’s ask them for more information,” he said.