Still reeling from the death Sunday of their colleague and friend Kent Healy, the remaining members of the West Tisbury select board met briefly Wednesday at their usual time but kept the agenda short, scheduling a follow-up meeting for Monday afternoon to catch up on postponed business.
“As you’ll notice, there’s a board member missing this evening,” said board chairman Skipper Manter, his voice faltering briefly before he went on.
“[Mr. Healy’s] service went way beyond town borders and across the Island,” Mr. Manter said. “A kind-hearted gentleman, a caring individual he was; no complex challenge he couldn’t figure out with a pencil and a piece of paper … His heart was huge. He always charged on a sliding scale and I think it was usually on the lower end of the scale.”
Mr. Healy’s wife of 63 years died in May. “He’s with Maureen again,” Mr. Manter said, before calling for a moment of silence.
During Wednesday’s 10-minute meeting, Mr. Manter and board member Cynthia Mitchell approved reducing the quorum to 30 for the special town meeting Nov. 16 and allowing the planning board access to town counsel for dealings with the Trustees of Reservations over traffic concerns at its summer entrance to Long Point.
Asked by planning board chairman Beatrice Phear about plans for filling Mr. Healy’s empty seat, Mr. Manter indicated it was too soon to answer.
“We’ve had no discussion of that whatsoever at this time,” he said. “It will be an item for an agenda . . . either next week or the week after.”
The select board needs to review relevant policies and procedures before proceeding with a replacement, Mr. Manter said.
Monday’s meeting will begin at 4 p.m. with an executive session, postponed from this week, and continue in open session at 4:30 p.m., Mr. Manter said.
The executive session continues a series of closed-door meetings regarding a town employee.
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