The constant presence of dump trucks rumbling through the town as the Wampanoag tribe clears land for its planned bingo hall was a matter for concern last week for Aquinnah selectmen, who openly aired their frustration over the lack of information and details from the tribe about the project.

Clearing on the former Wiener property for the bingo hall facility began about three weeks ago. Since then, large dump trucks have regularly carted dirt from the proposed site to tribal land at the bottom of Church street.

At a meeting Thursday, town administrator Jeffrey Madison said the trucks start rolling at around at 8 a.m. and continue every 10 minutes or so.

He said the condition of Church street, its steep grade and the presence of children add up to a safety concern.

“I don’t think that it’s a safe situation,” Mr. Madison said. “The blacktop there is an inch thick, and it’s cracked to heck . . . something’s going to happen.”

Selectman Julianne Vanderhoop asked police chief Randhi Belain if there was anything the town could do.

The chief said State Road is a public highway, and he had not seen the trucks speeding or committing other traffic violations.

“What are you going to do?” the chief said. “They have a right to get to their property, don’t they?”

He said if the town is concerned about safety, he could provide a police detail at the tribe’s expense.

But selectmen and Mr. Madison pushed back at the assessment.

“If the rear wheels on the backs of these trucks wobble back and forth, then is that a safety issue?” selectman Jim Newman asked. Chief Belain replied that it would be.

Aquinnah librarian Rosa Parker asked the selectmen if they had a timeline on the project, saying that she had counted 15 trucks in the previous hour and a half. The library is located at the corner of Church street and State Road. Mr. Madison said he also received calls from residents who live on Church street worried about school bus drop-offs.

Expressing deep frustration, selectmen said they had no timeline on the project and had received no details from the tribe.

“We are trying to demand answers, which we are finding no response to,” Ms. Vanderhoop said. “What we want the community to know is that the town of Aquinnah, the community, the selectmen, have been trying to do something. We have been trying to do something since January. And now, never mind the disrespect to our environment . . . but there’s a personal aspect to it. And that’s tragic.”

In the end selectmen voted unanimously to send a letter to the tribe asking that the trucks use back roads and avoid school bus routes with construction vehicles.

Earlier in the meeting, selectmen voted unanimously voted to raise rental fees for the tribe’s lease at the Cliffs by eight per cent. The rental hike was the first since the lease began five years ago.

“They’re going to be making millions,” Mr. Madison said. “I don’t mean to be flippant here, but you know, there’s an element of hostility between the town and the tribe right now . . . not of our making either.”

The frustration morphed into a sort of gallows humor as the meeting came to a close.

“Are you going to stand in the road, or lie in the road?” Mr. Newman asked Ms. Vanderhoop.

“I’m going to come to the library, and my truck is a big one,” Ms. Vanderhoop replied.