Chilmark police chief Jonathan Klaren will retire from his post in 2023, he announced in a letter to the Chilmark select board Tuesday.

Chief Klaren wrote in the letter that he has worked 32 years in public safety and felt it was time to step down.

“I appreciate the support this board has provided to the police department during my tenure as chief,” Klaren wrote in the letter. “These years have been humbling, challenging, and rewarding. I am proud of where the Chilmark Police Department is today, and I am confident that it will continue to progress and earn support from this board and community.”

Mr. Klaren began his career in law enforcement as a summer officer in Chilmark in 1989. He later served four years as a patrolman in the Gay Head police department before joining the Chilmark department in 1996, moving up to second-in-command in 2004. He was hired as chief in 2017 after a broad search.

Mr. Klaren said in the letter that he planned to retire when his contract expires in March of 2023.

“I want to provide the town with this extended notice to allow for FY2024 budget and employee modifications,” Mr. Klaren wrote.

The select board thanked Mr. Klaren and said that a search process would begin shortly.

“He’s completed many, many years of service and has done a great job,” said board member Warren Doty.

The board also approved the chief’s request to trade in a surplus Cadillac Escalade to be put towards the purchase of a new police cruiser.

In other business, the Chilmark select board mulled a series of updates to Menemsha harbor regulations and potential shellfish protection measures at their Tuesday meeting, the latter of which may be brought before voters at the annual town meeting.

The updates, presented by harbormaster Ryan Rossi, came at the recommendation of the town’s harbor advisory committee. Most of the changes are minor, including a clarification of the internal definition of causeway, an increase in maximum docking size at certain locations and the allowance of commercial fishermen to store two bait barrels and a gear storage box on the Menemsha commercial dock.

A proposal to modify parking regulations and enforcement at the small dock west of the Menemsha basin raised some concerns among board members. The proposal will have the harbormaster more strictly track and enforce parking permits awarded to dock slip holders, at a lot that has been filled with unpermitted cars in recent summers.

“I worry that we are creating a large administrative issue for not a large problem,” said board member Jim Malkin, concerned that the enforcement would lead to a change in town character. Chairman Bill Rossi agreed, pointing out that many locals enjoy parking in that lot to eat lunch. “I don’t like that one at all,” he said. “The taxpayers paid for that dock.”

The board plans to hold a public hearing on the dock parking issue before deciding on whether to bring it before voters.

Ryan Rossi also came to the board with a proposal to prohibit moorings at Hariph’s Creek in Quitsa pond, a short-term solution for a practice which the town’s shellfish constable and shellfishermen say damages the pond’s eelgrass restoration efforts. “You have to decide, are you gonna have a marina, or are you gonna have a resource? Because you can’t have both,” said fisherman Steve Larsen, who explained that mushroom head stye moorings, biocidal boat paints and increased shade all impacted the ecology and shellfish in the area.

The select board was amenable to the proposal but did not take action at the meeting.

The board also reviewed an emergency bulkhead repair at Menemsha harbor, with an estimated price tag of $49,375. Tentative approval was given to move forward with the project, though no town funds have yet been approved.

The board recommended the nomination of Mr. Doty and Terry Meinelt, a retired art teacher, to be appointed as Chilmark representatives to the new school building committee.