Chilmark selectmen this week took up a request from a town resident to dredge a creek in Chilmark Pond.

Mary Jane Pease said Intern’s Creek in the westernmost section of the pond needs to be dredged to restore proper drainage from Pease’s Brook. She said dredging the creek would lower the risk of a breach at Lucy Vincent Beach and suggested the work could be done with an excavator.

“Sediment can’t get out; it’s seeping through the grasses and there’s little place for it to flow,” Mrs. Pease told the selectmen at their meeting Tuesday. “The beach is extremely important to the town of Chilmark and important for Chilmark Pond to get water from Pease’s Brook,” she said.

Selectman Warren Doty said more information is needed, including the size of the area to be dredged and a cost estimate before it could go to voters for consideration.

Mrs. Pease said she was certain the Chilmark Pond Association could contribute some money to the project.

Selectman Jonathan Mayhew also had questions.

“So the idea is to get the town to help you?” he said. “Or not stand in our way,” Mrs. Pease said.

Selectmen recommended she visit the town conservation commission and the pond association and report back to them. Board chairman Frank Fenner said a site visit would also be necessary with the selectmen.

In other business, selectmen agreed to contribute $2,700 as the town’s share of a Martha’s Vineyard Commission housing needs assessment study. The money will be used to hire a consultant who will evaluate current housing needs Islandwide. The entire project cost is $30,000. The commission has committed $1,800 and the Martha’s Vineyard Housing Fund has committed $6,000. The commission will facilitate the project.

The assessment is used in part for state grant applications for the Community Development Block Grant program.

The selectmen’s approval is contingent on approval from the other five towns to contribute money to the study. To date West Tisbury and Tisbury are have agreed to participate; Aquinnah will vote on the question at a special town meeting in September.

The selectmen also approved a request from the Tri-Town Ambulance Service to sponsor paramedic training for two EMTs. The tuition for the program is $10,500. The money has already been appropriated by the three up-Island towns. Chilmark selectmen are the fiscal agents for the ambulance service.

If the EMTs do not complete the 18-month program, ambulance chief Paul (Zeke) Wilkins said the money will be returned to the town.

Selectmen also began drafting a warrant for a special town meeting set for Sept. 26. Town accountant Emily Day said there would be around $250,000 in available free cash for spending articles. Mr. Doty said the amount is significantly lower than past years due to the Menemsha boathouse fire last summer; he suggested spending articles should be kept to a minimum.

A draft list of potential articles includes harbor repairs, work on the Chilmark School bathroom and the Tea Lane Farmhouse restoration plan.