A dilapidated house in West Tisbury, boarded up by town order more than two years ago, is now collapsing and poses a danger to the public and potentially to the environment as well, building inspector Joseph K. Tierney, Jr., told selectmen Wednesday.

“It’s what I would consider an emergency situation,” Mr. Tierney said. “The part of the building that is collapsing is actually falling on the fuel oil tank in the basement.”

It is unknown whether the tank holds any oil, he said. The unfenced property also poses a hazard to the public, Mr. Tierney said.

The owner of the house at 154 Longview Road is Daniel White, Mr. Tierney said.

“I can only contact him by mail. I don’t have a phone contact for him.”

Town administrator Jennifer Rand said that when Mr. White was required to board up the building in 2018, town counsel notified him by letter that if it became necessary, West Tisbury would act directly to make the property safe.

“We may need to use town funds to take care of this, and then figure out how we are going to get the money back … whether we push the house down or fence it in,” Ms. Rand said.

Selectmen voted to allow Mr. Tierney access to town counsel in order to proceed in making the property safe.

“I think we’re well advised to get counsel,” chair Cynthia Mitchell said.

Vineyard Transit Authority administrator Angela Gompert and Susanna Sturgis, who represents West Tisbury on the VTA advisory board, updated selectmen on the draft plan for a potential solution to the lack of bus routes up-Island in the off-season.

“Micro-transit is being considered as a way of providing public transportation to areas that in the dead of winter are too sparsely populated to justify fixed-route service,” Ms. Sturgis said.

Like the VTA’s existing Lift para-transit service, micro-transit rides would need to be requested a day in advance, Ms. Sturgis said. But instead of providing door-to-door van service, the proposed micro-transit would deliver up-Island residents to the nearest stop on an existing bus route.

“It is still in the draft stage, but tentatively it would cost $5 per rider per town,” Ms. Sturgis said. Existing bus passes would not be valid for micro-transit and transfers would not be offered, she added.

Ms. Gompert said micro-transit would come into play only if VTA ridership declines on routes 4 and 5, which serve Chilmark and Aquinnah.

Lambert’s Cove Road, which was left off last winter’s VTA schedule, will have bus service this year.

“We adjusted the route 3 schedule and sent the bus down Lambert’s Cove instead of State Road,” she said.

All up-Island bus routes will go to a six-day weekly schedule Nov. 30, Ms. Gompert said. Only the down-Island 1, 10 and 13, which routes carry 80 per cent of the VTA ridership, will operate on Sundays.

However, West Tisbury could use funds it has allocated for the VTA to retain Sunday service if selectmen wish, she said.

Among other business, selectmen appointed new West Tisbury resident Paul Doherty to represent the town on the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council and appointed Angela Luckey to the town conservation commission.

During a brief joint session with the West Tisbury Library board of trustees, both bodies unanimously voted to appoint Lynn Hoeft to the library board, where she will serve until the next election.

Selectmen also heard a report from Liz Argo of the Cape and Vineyard Electric Compact, the town’s electricity cooperative, which is posted on the municipal website.

Selectmen voted to allow Serving Hands to stage vehicles at Agricultural Hall for their Thanksgiving food distribution, and to issue a permit for a rug sale at Grange Hall over the holiday weekend. Organizers of the sale are not 100 per cent certain they will proceed with the event, Ms. Rand said, but the town building inspector and health agent have approved the plans.

Selectmen also agreed to allow the town’s Complete Streets Committee to place two benches, one along Old County Road on the new path across from West Tisbury School and the other at the Scotchman’s Lane and State Road bus stop.

“Technically, that’s probably state property, but I say we put the bench up and see what happens,” selectman Skipper Manter said of the latter site.

Honoring Veterans Day on Nov. 11, selectmen will hold their next regular meeting Nov. 18.