Sea level rise, coastal erosion and flooding are the major environmental hazards threatening Oak Bluffs in the coming years, but there are solutions for minimizing the impact. That was the message of a report presented to Oak Bluffs selectmen by town conservation agent Liz Durkee as part of the town’s application to join the state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant program, which awards funds for projects to combat climate change.

“The town of Oak Bluffs is very proactive in coastal resiliency issues,” said Ms. Durkee. “We’re looking ahead to the future.”

To participate in the program, the town held workshops to gather input from community leaders to help identify hazards, vulnerable areas of town and priority actions. The results were then compiled into a report for state approval for the town to receive designation as an MVP community, which opens up applying for grant funding.

“It makes it so that Oak Bluffs can pursue action grants,” said Dan Shaw of Dodson and Flinker, the town’s consultant through the MVP program. “The process helps sort out the tangle of complex problems when we talk about climate change...this very pre-prescribed step by step process helps distill it into priorities.”

Recommended actions focused on ways to protect the harbor area from storm surges and sea level rise, which Ms. Durkee said is expected to rise up to three feet by 2050. Raising the harbor bulkhead and protecting Sea View avenue by extending the sea wall or raising the road were a few proposed solutions. She also pointed to the vulnerability of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, which lies in the flood zone and could lose access in a storm.

“It’s practically surrounded by water,” she said.

Selectmen praised Ms. Durkee’s leadership through the MVP process and echoed the value of the report, though there was some concern over how the proposed actions, such as a sea wall, would impact the harbor’s ocean views.

“We all understand it’s real and it’s necessary, but I think we have to be mindful in our actions and find a balance,” said selectman Brian Packish.

In other business, selectmen signed off on warrants for the April annual town meeting and special town meeting. Voters will be asked to approve a $30.9 million FY20 budget that includes $160,000 for harbor improvements. A petition to create an Island-wide housing bank also appears on the warrant, though selectmen formally opposed the plan in a letter to state legislators sent late last month.

Both town meetings will be held on Tuesday, April 9, beginning at 7 p.m., at the MVRHS Performing Arts Center. The town election will be held on Thursday, April 11, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Several positions are on the ballot including spots on the board of health, planning board and the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission. Selectmen chairman Gail Barmakian is up for relection and there is a contested race for a three-year term on the finance and advisory committee.

Selectmen also approved an alcohol license for a new Backyard Taco location in Oak Bluffs. The new restaurant, called Dos, will lease the former Slice of Life building on Circuit avenue and be open from 8 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Oak Bluffs police Lieut. Timothy Williamson raised concerns about the added noise level of a late night establishment on Circuit avenue close to a residential area.

“I’m not looking to throw a wrench into it...I would just caution you about service of food late at night,” he told the owners, brothers Zared and Evan Shai, father Raphael and sister Megan Brown.

“We’re familiar with that and good at keeping people quiet, happy and well fed,” responded Zared.