In a Tisbury seat swap on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, selectmen Tuesday unanimously appointed hotelier Josh Goldstein as the board’s representative to the Island’s most powerful regulatory body.
Mr. Goldstein, an eight-year elected incumbent on the commission, will replace the board’s former appointee Ben Robinson, who narrowly defeated him in the tight November election for one of two seats representing Tisbury. The other elected seat went to incumbent Trip Barnes, who received the lion’s share of votes.
“I’m excited to take this position. I assume that all the members of the select board are aware of where I’ve been standing on issues. I will certainly make myself available to the board for any meetings that they would like to have with me,” said Mr. Goldstein, whose appointment runs through Dec. 31, 2021.
The 17-member commission, which has broad powers over Island development, is made up of nine elected members and eight appointees. State legislation requires at least one, but no more than two elected commissioners from each town.
The six Island towns, the governor and the Dukes County Commission each appoint one member.
Mr. Goldstein has been an elected Tisbury member of the commission for four two-year terms. Selectmen have appointed Mr. Robinson, an architect, annually for four years.
In other business Tuesday, the select board voted to approve a request for reconsideration to the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission on behalf of Little House Cafe, following a hold-up in paperwork from the restaurant’s new owner.
The request comes several months after the board approved the transfer of the cafe’s common victualler’s and alcohol licenses to Chilmark resident Brook Katzen, who took over the business this July. The transfer request reached the ABCC months ago, but could not be completed due to insufficient information at the time about the financing of the business purchase.
According to executive assistant to town administrator Alexandra BenDavid, the ABCC requires a local licensing authority form marked for reconsideration from selectmen to move the process along.
Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the reconsideration request, with plans to sign the form in the near future.
In the interim, selectmen also voted to authorize Little House to continue selling beer and wine under the previous owner’s liquor license, under a management agreement between the parties. The authorization will also be reviewed by town administrator Jay Grande and town counsel, selectmen said.
According to Mr. Grande, the license is only active until Dec. 31, with the previous owners opting not to renew this month. The selectmen agreed to reevaluate the situation during their meeting on Dec. 29.
Also Tuesday, the select board appointed Paul Munafo to the town’s new waterways committee.
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