Aquinnah voters will decide at a special town meeting Thursday whether to approve the purchase of two parcels of land near the site where the town hopes to relocate the Gay Head Light.
The special town meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Aquinnah old town hall. A quorum of 37 voters, or 10 per cent of the town’s registered voters, is needed. Moderator Michael Hebert will preside.
There are seven articles on the warrant. To fund the $590,000 purchase of the two lots, known collectively as the Manning-Murray property, the town would appropriate $290,000 from Community Preservation Act funds and borrow $300,000. The lots consist of .37 acres, just east of the current lighthouse property, which is owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and is in the process of being transferred to the town, along with the lighthouse. The lots would be used for open space and recreation, among other municipal uses.
The Aquinnah selectmen voted unanimously last week to approve a $12,269 archaeological survey of the area surrounding the lighthouse and relocation site, which may contain Wampanoag artifacts. Preparations for the lighthouse move are expected to begin this fall. The town plans to move the lighthouse move sometime in the spring.
Another article on the warrant asks voters to approve up to $2.5 million for restructuring the Martha’s Vineyard Refuse Disposal District, which serves Aquinnah, Chilmark, West Tisbury and Edgartown. The district hopes to improve traffic flow at its transfer station in Edgartown by creating a separate drop-off location for residential trash, a new road for residential traffic, and a second garbage scale for pickup trucks and commercial use.
Chilmark voters approved a similar article at their special town meeting Oct. 20. All four towns will need to approve the spending before the project can go forward. Based on its use of the transfer station, Aquinnah’s contribution to the project would be three per cent, or up to $75,000. The district hopes to begin work next fall.
The last article asks voters to approve $5,000 in CPA funds for the repair and restoration of a stone wall behind the town hall (including the addition of at least one traditional gateway), and $20,000 in CPA funds for the emergency repair and restoration of the old parsonage building at 3 Church street, which serves as affordable housing.
The remaining four articles seek approval for the payment of four maintenance bills totaling $8,865.26. Because the bills are from past years, each article will require a nine-tenths majority vote to pass.
An earlier version of this article, which appeared in the Oct. 31 print edition of the Gazette, incorrectly stated that the lots were for relocating the lighthouse. The lots proposed for purchase are next to that lot. The archeological survey will be conducted on the area surrounding the lighthouse and not the lots proposed for purchase. The Gazette regrets the errors.
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