The Oak Bluffs School may be the only building on the Island ready to serve as a regional emergency shelter, but Aquinnah residents may be better off sheltering in place during severe storms, the town’s emergency management director said this week.

In response to heavy storms in recent years, Island emergency management directors recently met with members of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross to evaluate the Island’s existing shelter plan. A number of factors, including physical limitations and the lack of personnel, led the group to begin looking for a single building that could serve as a regional shelter.

A study committee identified the Oak Bluffs School, at 50 Tradewinds Road, as the only suitable building in terms of size, showers, kitchens and other factors.

“Probably for the Island it’s a good choice,” Aquinnah emergency management director Gary Robinson told the town selectmen on Tuesday. “For Aquinnah, I’m not so sure.”

Even with adequate warning, he said, Aquinnah residents would likely not want to make the 20-mile trip across the Island. And he has told the committee that Aquinnah would be unwilling to share the cost of the new shelter equally with other towns. The study committee is still working on a funding arrangement.

“My opinion is that in most situations you’re probably not going to have anybody from Aquinnah there,” Mr. Robinson said. “In a major storm or something like that, you’re probably putting a lot more people at risk going down there than sheltering in place.”

The town should only have to pay by the person, he added, although he encouraged the selectmen to approve the town’s $200 contribution to opening the shelter, which the selectmen did by consensus. Mr. Robinson planned to meet with other public safety officials in town to discuss the funding issue.

In other business Tuesday, town administrator Adam Wilson reported that a new lighthouse advisory board has begun laying the groundwork for the Gay Head Light restoration project. The nine-member board had its first meeting last Tuesday, outlining its mission and electing former Gay Head lighthouse committee member Len Butler as chairman. Lightkeeper Richard Skidmore will serve as vice chairman.

Board members discussed retaining the services of Pomroy Associates of East Bridgewater, the general contractor for the lighthouse relocation project this year. They also highlighted the need for a more detailed accounting of income and expenditures to date.

Meg Bodnar and Mitzi Pratt, members of the former lighthouse committee, are wrapping up a $3.4 million fundraising effort, advisory board member Jim Pickman said last Tuesday. Some pledges will be spaced out over the next two years, he said. At least $280,000 in grant money has not yet been collected.

Over the next six years, the 1856 brick-and-masonry lighthouse will be restored to its original condition, although most of the work is expected to happen in the next two years. A deteriorated metal railing at the gallery level, and an interior layer of brick between the gallery and the light room that was added after 1856 and has also deteriorated, are the two main concerns.

Mr. Wilson said the transfer of the lighthouse from the federal government to the town this year still requires the town to complete a number of reports, including plans related to finance, maintenance and other aspects of the project.

“It’s all moving forward and it’s going at a good pace,” Mr. Wilson said. “But there will be a lot of work that needs to be done.” The lighthouse will remain open to the public through Columbus Day.

Also on Tuesday, selectmen welcomed Olivia Larsen to her new role as director of the Aquinnah Library. A native of Chilmark, Ms. Larsen has worked at the West Tisbury, Chilmark and Edgartown libraries and recently completed her master’s degree in library science.

“I’m really excited to bring some new ideas to the library and continue some of the traditions that are important to the library and the community,” she said.

Moving forward with their plans to offer two resident homesites at 45 State Road, the selectmen unanimously accepted a proposal by the Island Housing Trust, which would purchase and develop the two lots, which total 6.3 acres. IHT will oversee a ground lease to ensure the lots remain affordable. Michael Hebert, chairman of the town resident homesite committee, said the next step is to work with IHT to develop a timeline.

In another ongoing effort, the selectmen adopted two policies related to vehicle emissions that will help the town qualify as a Green Community. The state designation would open the door to funding from the Department of Energy Resources. One policy prohibits the idling of vehicles for extended periods. The other requires the town to purchase only fuel-efficient vehicles, although heavy-duty trucks are exempt. Police vehicles are also exempt, but only until fuel-efficient models become available.

State law already prohibits idling for more than five minutes, with some exceptions. Aquinnah police Sgt. Paul Manning said Tuesday that he had recently written an idling ticket for a vehicle that was left running for 45 minutes with the air conditioning on and a dog inside.

The selectmen have scheduled a fall special town meeting for Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.