The Edgartown select board voted Monday to order the removal of surveillance cameras that were installed without permission on town property on Chappaquiddick.

In a March 21 letter to the board, Chappy resident Robert Fynbo and 12 other residents of the area known as the Enos lots said the owners of 307 Chappaquiddick Road had installed five video cameras behind a group of mailboxes lining the road.

“They have been recording every resident’s movements around the mailboxes and recording everything said,” Mr. Fynbo wrote.

“We are asking the select board to order the removal of the cameras from town property ending this ongoing harassment,” the letter said.

The letter also said one resident “became angry with the cameras and knocked one off the tree,” noting that police had become involved in the matter.

Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee, who attended the Monday meeting, confirmed that charges are pending against the owners of the video cameras.

The owners of 307 Chappaquiddick Road were not named in the letter and did not attend the meeting, but Edgartown assessors records list the owners of that address as Dana and Robert Strayton.

A series of police reports provided to the Gazette by Chief McNamee detail a history of bitter disputes among the neighbors, especially Mr. Fynbo and the Straytons, dating to November 2021, where police were called on more than one occasion.

Select board members agreed to take action regarding the video cameras.

“These cameras don’t belong on town property,” selectman Arthur Smadbeck said. “No permission was ever asked for or granted . . . I’m fairly certain that recording people’s voices and things is not even legal in Massachusetts without their permission.”

Chief McNamee said he will ask Mr. and Ms. Strayton to remove the cameras. If they do not comply, the highway department will take the cameras down since they are located on town property, town administrator James Hagerty said.

“A phone call from the chief usually has a bit of authority behind it, I think we’ll be okay, but we’ll see,” selectman Michael Donaroma said.

In other business Monday, the town plans to sign a contract with Central Maine Pyrotechnics next week for Fourth of July fireworks, which are returning after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Central Maine was the sole bidder; the bid came in at $65,000.

“It’s exciting news and hopefully everything goes off without a hitch on July 4th,” Mr. Hagerty said.

In an effort to give the public a chance to comment on the Steamship Authority legislation to put term limits on board members and add a chief operating officer, the board will send a letter to the county commission requesting a public hearing on the bill. The West Tisbury select board has sent a similar letter to the county, Mr. Hagerty said.

The board approved an application for a statewide small bridge grant program to refurbish the bridge near Mattakeeset Creek at Katama.

The friends of the Edgartown Council on Aging gave the town $2,500 to support a new van service to pick up seniors and bring them to the council on aging building.

“I think that’s a very helpful thing for people who want to go there,” board member Margaret Serpa said.