The birds that swim on the Mill Pond are not crossing the road to get to the other side.

“They are looking for me when they are hungry,” West Tisbury animal control officer Joan Jenkinson told selectmen Wednesday, following a request to seek approval for building an entrance gate at the park next to the Mill Pond.

Mrs. Jenkinson said swans and ducks leave the pond and sit on the street too often and it poses a threat to their safety.

Since the police department moved out of the building next to the Mill Pond, she said, people are no longer obeying the posted speed limit and birds are getting injured, sometimes killed.

“I am the police who has to pick up swans and dead ducks,” she said. “I would like some support on this.”

The solution, she proposed, would be putting up a wood gate with latches, built low enough to the ground so that no ducks or swans could squeeze out and tall enough to make it impossible to climb over. People, however, would be able to enter and exit the park freely, she said. Mrs. Jenkinson could not provide an estimated cost but told selectmen it wasn’t much and that her husband would pay for it. Her husband would also build the gate, she said.

Mrs. Jenkinson said her desire to take action now was sparked by concern she has for one particular cygnet, Rocky, who was seriously injured this summer after being attacked by a snapping turtle.

“I don’t want him going out into the world,” she told selectmen. “He will fly around some day, but we’ll have more swans that will have cygnets.”

Selectmen said they were sensitive to protecting the wildlife, but voiced concerns regarding the message a gate would send people in the town.

“Some people think gates are to keep people out,” selectmen Richard Knabel said.

“I’ll make a sign that says come on in,” answered Mrs. Jenkinson.

In the end, selectmen supported the request to build the gate and told Mrs. Jenkinson to provide an estimated cost so that the town, not her husband, could pay for it.

There was still a question of whether or not the historic district commission needed to approve the request too, and town administrator Jennifer Rand said she would find out and follow up with Ms. Jenkinson as soon as she hears.

In other business, the selectmen briefly looked at a second draft of the Mill Pond building lease request for proposals, but wanted more time to look at it. The board will discuss the revisions again at their next meeting.

Selectmen also voted to name Bradley Cortez as a full time police officer, following a routine probation period.

The date for the annual holiday party at the Agricultural Hall is Dec. 11. Mr. Knabel said a number of people had raised the question of possibly serving oysters, a tradition that ended in 2010 after fisherman Tom Osmers died. Selectmen agreed to discuss the issue again, and keep the holiday party on their agenda each week until the party.