Edgartown residents dedicated millions of dollars for a new recreational facility and upgrades to the town’s sewer system at the annual town meeting meeting Tuesday at the Old Whaling Church.
Led by moderator Steve Ewing, voters had their say on the 10-article special town meeting and 87-article annual town meeting. Residents unanimously approved $4 million in free cash and $500,000 in community preservation funds to overhaul the Robinson Road recreation area behind the Edgartown School.
The project is planned to include new playgrounds, multi-use fields and courts for pickleball, tennis, basketball and shuffleboard. A construction date has not been set and the town is finalizing its design for the project.
The town also voted to allocate $2 million in free cash toward planning a sewage system in the Ocean Heights neighborhood. The dense neighborhood off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road currently relies on individual septic tanks which are contributing to high levels of nitrogen runoff in Sengekontacket Pond.
The night began with a passionate recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by seven year-old William Hagerty, who wore a matching suit and tie with his father, town administrator James Hagerty.
Mr. Ewing, who is also the town’s poet laureate, opened the meeting with 318 voters on the town floor. He acknowledged that a beloved face was missing from the bench, and held a moment of silence for Ronald Rappaport, Edgartown’s long-time town counsel who died unexpectedly in June.
He then proceeded with this year’s annual poem, dedicated to former harbor master Charlie Blair. Mr. Blair retired last month after a 30-year career as the harbor’s guardian.
“Charlie is the harbor,” Mr. Ewing read from the last line of the poem.
“Charlie is Edgartown,” someone from the floor shouted and the town gave a standing ovation.
The town breezed through the 10-article special town meeting warrant, with each article passed unanimously. The budget was also approved unanimously after Kelly Scott, chair of the Edgartown School committee, made amendments to decrease the budget by a couple thousand dollars, citing newfound savings in the districts’ shared services budget.
In other big ticket items the town approved $100,000 in community preservation funds toward beach nourishment at South Beach and Norton Point, as well as $27,400 to fund a joint effort with The Trustees of Reservations to get consulting services for repairs to Chappaquiddick’s Dyke Bridge.
Voters unanimously approved putting $300,000 towards a new elevator in the Old Whaling Church.
The contentious leaf blower bylaw passed in a 197-42 vote after much discussion. The article was amended to change the dates gas-powered leaf blowers are permitted in the fall from Sept. 15 through Dec. 15 to Oct. 15 through Jan. 15.
Many cited concerns about the hazardous emissions released by gas leaf blowers as well as their loud noise inhibiting quality of life. Noise was also discussed during article 18, with some calling for an amendment to only use low-noise fireworks on the Fourth of July in fiscal year 2027.
“There are low-noise fireworks which are roughly equal in cost…” said John Merrow, who suggested the amendment. “The event itself I think would be much more appealing and far less dangerous to the species we must coexist with.”
Mr. Merrow’s proposed amendment was passed, but Mr. Hagerty called for the town to reconsider, saying the town can only make a motion for the upcoming fiscal year. He added that restricting the town to only low-noise fireworks could put the town in a difficult position if supply is low.
“There’s some concerns about the tariffs that could happen,” Mr. Hagerty said. “The majority of these fireworks come from China, so the landscape is shifting significantly.”
“If the contractor comes back and says ‘we don’t have any low-noise fireworks’ we’d be in a serious situation,” he added.
The town voted in favor of reconsidering the amendment, and the town approved the original $85,000 free cash allocation.
Article 79 to amend the zoning bylaw to include accessible dwelling units (ADUs) went back-and-forth on the town floor, and was eventually passed with two amendments. The first was proposed by Mellisa Norton Vincent of the affordable housing committee to not allow short-term rentals in ADUs. Long-time Edgartown resident Peter Look proposed the second, which called for allowing two ADUs on a single property.
During the discussion the town got to hear from its new town counsel, Zeb Landsman, who worked under Mr. Rappaport before his passing and sported a bow tie Tuesday night.
“Did Ron ever wear bow ties?” Mr. Ewing teased Mr. Landsman at the top of the meeting.
“I don’t think so,” Mr. Ewing answered and the town floor laughed.
The town passed an amendment to the town’s personnel bylaw which authorized the personnel board and select board to codify and implement an employee handbook and policy manual.
A citizen’s petition put forth by the Vose family to enact a new zoning bylaw category that would set conditions for property owners who hold occasional commercial events was unanimously passed.
The town voted in favor of appropriating $50,000 toward planning for affordable housing at 294 Chappaquiddick Road. Voters shot down the final article of the night, a citizen’s petition put forth by Roger Becker calling for the land to be used for conservation.
Comments (1)
Comments
Comment policy »