Preliminary work will get under way soon for a long-term project at the commercial fishing dock in Menemsha, after the Chilmark select board awarded a bid for a site assessment to Childs Engineering Tuesday afternoon.

The project aims to develop a plan to raise the dock, which floods frequently during high tides and storm events.

Phase one of the project involves evaluating the dock support structures, including the steel bulkhead.

“This is to get underneath and on top of the structures to do an evaluation of what’s there and give us a sense of what we’re going to need to go forward with,” selectman James Malkin said at the meeting, held over Zoom.

Chilmark received $55,000 for the project in September from the state Seaport Economic Development Council, which provides funding to coastal communities for public projects. The Childs Engineering bid came in at $26,000.

“It’s a fair-priced bid,” Mr. Malkin said. “The cost will be covered by the grant.”

The Bellingham engineering firm is also the contractor for the multi-million dollar project to raise Memorial Wharf in Edgartown, now under way.

In Chilmark a request for proposals went out in early January; there were seven responses. A town screening committee recommended Childs due to its experience on the Island and price offer, Mr. Malkin said.

Phase one is scheduled to be completed by April 1.

Once the assessment is complete, Childs will submit a recommendation based on its findings. Subsequent phases of the project will be determined based on the assessment.

“It’s not a proposal for new docks, it’s just an assessment of what’s there,” selectman Warren Doty said.

In other business Tuesday, the board agreed to put a zoning bylaw amendment for homesite housing on the warrant for the annual town meeting. The amendment would reduce the one-acre minimum for homesite housing lots and conform setback requirements with those for pre-existing lots under three acres.

It would only apply to new undersized homesite lots, selectman Bill Rossi said.

“For pre-existing lots that are undersized, those setbacks already apply for them,” he explained.

Town administrator Timothy Carroll said Forrest Filler will serve as temporary building inspector for Leonard Jason Jr., who is on medical leave. The temporary emergency hire is for 60 days, Mr. Carroll said.

The board also voted to increase the cemetery fee for burying cremains from $150 to $350.