The Tisbury School should stay at its current site. That was the consensus of the Tisbury selectmen at their meeting Tuesday.
Working with the Massachusetts School Building Authority grant program, the town has been exploring an array of options for a new school. After a series of public meetings and workshops, the school building committee has narrowed the options to two: renovating and rebuilding the current school, or building a new school on town property off Holmes Hole Road at the Manter well site.
On Tuesday selectman and board chairman Melinda Loberg, who also sits on the school building committee, asked her colleagues for their opinion.
Selectman Larry Gomez said after talking to several townspeople, he felt the majority want the school to remain at its current location — and he agrees.
“I think the [Manter well] location is just too far out of town,” Mr. Gomez said. He said the school’s current location close to town is a benefit, as is the historical value of the school building, which dates to 1929.
Selectman Tristan Israel concurred, noting the many traditions associated with having the school in town. “What happens to the march to the sea,” he asked, referring to the annual Memorial Day event when school children walk down to the harbor to throw flowers in the water, commemorating those who were lost at sea. “There’s all that stuff that may sound trivial but it’s part of the core of this town,” Mr. Israel said.
Mrs. Loberg added that if the school is left vacant, there will be the question of how to repurpose the building — and how to pay for that.
In the end all three agreed, and Mrs. Loberg said she would take their recommendation to the school building committee, which met Wednesday.
In other business Tuesday, selectmen scheduled a public hearing for proposed changes to regulations governing town moped rentals. The new rules call for significantly increasing license fees and fines for violations.
Under the proposed new rules, the application fee would increase from $25 to $100, and the license fee would increase from $450 to $750. Fines for violations would go up from $50 to $250 for the first offense, from $100 to $500 for a second offense and $750 for a third offense.
There is only one moped rental dealership in town.
The hearing is set for June 3 at 6 p.m. at the town hall.
Selectmen will also hold a public hearing on May 23 at 6 p.m. on proposed rules for so-called conservation moorings, a type of mooring built to protect eelgrass beds. A moratorium on the use of the moorings expires May 24.
The selectmen accepted a gift of $2,400 from the Vineyard Haven Marina to support the pumpout program.
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