The last time Oak Bluffs built a town hall was in April 1966. Abandoned in 2000 (as a town hall) it lasted 50 fewer years than the first one on Pequot avenue that became Cottagers Corner. The new hall was vacated after 34 years due to the belief that it was making workers sick. The old Oak Bluffs school building on School street was re-purposed as a money saving gesture. That didn’t work out as well as planned.

Besides being physically unappealing (to say the least) it required the substantial maintenance of a building built in 1937. For example, a new roof cost taxpayers $35,000 in 2012 and another $35,000 was spent to replace the HVAC system in 2013. In 2014, finance committee chairman Steve Auerbach, speaking about the building, said “It has foundation problems, it is not handicapped-compliant, the heating and air conditioning system is terrible, (and) the rooms are not set up in any kind of efficient manner.”

He went on to say a new building would address those concerns and save money on heating and air conditioning. It looks like it should house Honey Boo Boo and Bubba. Despite an excellent presentation on erecting a new town hall at town meeting in Nov. 2013 by Bill McGrath, chairman of the Capital Improvements Committee, the voters in 2014 defeated the plan — after a substantial amount of work for several years by several town boards and committees. Discussions of a new town hall began in 2003 when voters called for one that “holds down its spot as the flagship public building in town,” and a committee was formed. Talk of a municipal campus to include a library and police station wound up just talk. By 2005 we had a much needed new library that until its completion was termed too big.

That year plans were made for a new town hall campus that might include the police station. A study indicated the existing town hall needed enlarging from 11,000 to 13,000 feet that, along with renovation, would cost $4.2 million — compared with the cost of a new building of $4.1 million. The study suggested a police station could be built nearby for a similar amount but nothing transpired, no doubt due to the town’s delicately fractious financial position.

Today there is virtually no disagreement that a new town hall is needed.

Town leaders have acknowledged a recently energized town planning board willing to crystal ball the long view led by chairman Brian Packish. The board is launching a cram session worthy study designed to impart as much information as possible about the project for voters to form opinions. With an ambitious goal of generating consensus prior to town meeting in April it is up to we, the public, to participate and learn all that we can to make informed comments. You can begin your education on the new town website, oakbluffsma.gov.

Connect to End Violence is sponsoring an event featuring a selection of free, gently used clothes and tasty treats at the Stone Church in Vineyard Haven on Saturday, Jan. 23 from 2 to 5 p.m. Shirts, hats, outwear and shoes are included. It is hosted by Martha’s Vineyard Community Services and the United Methodist Church. Contact Jennifer Neary at 774-549-9667 for more information.

Next Wednesday, Jan. 27, the library continues its Books on Tap series at the Barn, Bowl & Bistro at 6 p.m., featuring the book Uprooted. Adults welcome.

Farm Neck’s Shelley Stewart, a senior executive at DuPont, is featured in a commercial for Charles Schwab on CNN as a result of his having mentored a young lady during her days at a local Boys & Girls Club in Trenton, N.J. The young woman went on to earn her MBA and become an accomplished young accountant who credited Shelley for setting her on the path to success.

Oak Bluffs’ homeowners provide the bulk of town revenue with real estate tax. Renters don’t pay this tax and seasonal homeowners can’t vote. When the new town hall was voted down in April 2014 only 844 people voted, fewer than half of our 2,000 taxpaying homeowners who could. A two-thirds majority requires the positive vote of 1,340 voters. Ironically, today the old town hall is a police station, and the old school is town hall.

We all deserve better.

Keep your foot on a rock.

Send Oak Bluffs news to sfinley@mvgazette.com.