West Tisbury voters gather for town meetings tonight to decide their part in two key regional issues: the housing bank proposal and funding for a plan to rebuild the high school track.
The meeting is technically two meetings — a special town meeting and the continuation of the annual town meeting from earlier this month.
They begin at 7 p.m. in the school gymnasium. A quorum of 127 voters is needed.
The special town meeting is first and will be followed by the continuation of the annual town meeting that began April 9 and adjourned on April 10 after a vote on a final article relating to the proposed housing bank was postponed.
The article to create a regional housing bank was approved at the second night of town meeting, but has failed to pass in four other towns. In light of that, selectmen decided last week to urge voters to reconsider the proposal at tonight’s meeting.
Town administrator Jen Rand said the goal is to send the issue to a committee for further exploration. A member of the town affordable housing committee is expected to make a motion to reconsider the article on the town meeting floor (a motion to reconsider must come from someone who originally voted on the prevailing side of an article, in this case in favor of the housing bank).
At the special town meeting, two key spending requests relate to facility needs at the regional high school. One is for $350,000 to hire an owner’s project manager for a project to renovate the failed track. The other is for the town’s share of a $1.4 million feasibility study to eventually renovate or replace the high school building.
The school committee plans to use money from its excess and deficiency fund for both projects; voter approval is required for the use of the surplus funds.
The track project has become a charged issue amid ongoing debate over the plan to use artificial turf for the main field and grass for the remaining fields. A group that has been working to install and improve grass fields at public schools around the Island is opposing the expenditure.
Chilmark voters turned it down at their annual town meeting last week. Edgartown, Tisbury, Oak Bluffs have all given the okay for the project by opting to not hold special town meetings. Aquinnah will vote on the question at a special town meeting May 7.
Approval is needed from four Island towns.
In an op-ed published on the Gazette website today, school superintendent Matthew D’Andrea argues that the funds are critically needed.
Free child care is available for tonight’s meeting, with advance registration required at the West Tisbury Library.
Moderator Dan Waters noted the long nature of town meeting season this year but praised voters for their civil discourse.
“I was very proud of the town and the level and the tone of the discussion,” he said. “In the end, what’s important to me is that everyone can go home and feel good about their neighbor.”
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