Oak Bluffs voters approved a nearly $43 million budget at annual town meeting Tuesday night, and joined West Tisbury and Edgartown in passing a leaf blower ban, but by a narrow margin.
The leaf blower ban was approved 98-79 after some discussion and an amendment was passed allowing the use of leaf blowers on Sundays between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. for homeowners, renters and non-commercial users.
The largest spending article of the night — a $2.5 million price tag to upgrade the pump station on Dukes County avenue — was approved but still needs to be passed at the ballot box on Thursday for a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion.
Approximately 250 voters attended the meeting at the Performing Arts Center. Residents sped through a nine-article special town meeting, including passing a resolution to update the town’s restrictions on personal watercraft. The new restrictions will limit personal watercraft — which includes jet-skis and surf jets — on Lagoon Pond and Sengekontacket to travel at headway speeds and for the sole purpose of moving to outer waters. The vessels also cannot create wash within 150 feet of fishermen or swimmers.
Long time select board member Gail Barmakian was recognized at the beginning of the meeting for her 15 years of service on the board. Ms. Barmakian is not running for re-election but will continue to serve on the wastewater commission.
Oak Bluffs voters also signed off on funding for a myriad of equipment, including a drone for the police department, a boat trailer for the shellfish department and a new fire-EMS duty officer vehicle.
An article to bring accessory dwelling unit (ADU) definitions in line with the state Affordable Homes Act was passed after some back and forth. Ewell Hopkins proposed an amendment to change the allowed size of an ADU to be either half the gross floor area of the principal dwelling or 900-square feet, whichever is smaller.
Several town residents, including Tony Lima, spoke against the proposed amendment because it would mean their ADUs would be too small to be livable spaces.
“I have plenty of room on my lot for an ADU. Our current house is 780 square feet. We would be limited to 390 square feet, which is mostly a shed,” Mr. Lima said.
The amendment was voted down and the article passed with the original text, stating that accessory dwelling units cannot exceed 900 square feet.
Voters dug deeply into a discussion over whether to approve $88,000 of Community Preservation Funds for the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association to conduct a civil engineering survey.
Joan Hughes, the chair of the community preservation committee, explained that many homeowners have said they need to raise their homes due to flood risks. Ms. Hughes said there is no known engineering plan that outlines roads and property lines.
“Much of what they’re discussing is the maintenance of the roads, of finding out where all the actual roads are, the ways, and so on,” she said. “What we are looking for are all the contours and the groundwater issues.”
Brian Hughes urged residents to vote against the funding, citing the separation of church and state.
“The last thing that I think we should be doing is compelling an individual who doesn’t attend that church to support it,” Mr. Hughes said. “I think there are a lot more important things, affordable housing and people and organizations, that need money.”
John Freeman, a year-round resident of the campground, said that although the group was founded as a religious organization, most current members do not attend church and that members of the camp ground pay fees.
“Those who have to pay our yearly leases and other fees are constantly being hit for maintenance for historic properties,” he said.
Scott Slarsky, also a resident of the campground, echoed several other speakers about the historic importance of the area, which is nationally registered as a historic landmark.
“It is a landscape in peril because of rising sea waters,” Mr. Slarsky said. “It is a cherished place by Islanders that they go to. They graduate from high school [there] and they go there for recreation. There are no barriers or borders...everyone is welcome there.
The funding was approved in the closest vote of the night, 79-71.
Oak Bluffs voters have another chance to weigh in on town politics at the election on Thursday. There are four contested races in Oak Bluffs: town clerk, board of health, wastewater commission and parks commission. The $2.5 million upgrade for the Dukes County avenue pump station will also be on the ballot.
Voting takes place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs Public Library.
Editor's note: a previous version of this article incorrectly stated the size of the town budget. It is $43 million.
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