Voters in Oak Bluffs will tackle a handful of funding questions at their annual town meeting Tuesday, with articles on projects ranging from repairs to the East Chop bulkhead to ongoing work to restore the health of Farm Pond.
The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11 at the regional high school’s performing arts center. The night kicks off with an eight-article special town meeting, followed by a 49-article annual town meeting. The event will be moderated by Jack Law 3rd. The quorum is 50.
“We hope to see as many of our voters at town meeting and at the ballot as possible,” said town administrator Deborah Potter. “We’d like to have more input and interest and participation from the voters that we represent.”
Residents will be asked to approve a town budget of $37.6 million, about a six per cent increase from last year’s budget.
“We’ve done some reorganization of the budget,” said Ms. Potter. “So some departments may look like they have extremely large increases, but really we’ve just reallocated funds and expenses to more accurate locations within the budget.”
Funding for a feasibility study to potentially rebuild or renovate the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School is on all town warrants. The total cost is $2 million to be shared by the towns, with Oak Bluffs’ portion expected to be about $457,800. Another warrant submitted by the regional high school committee asks town residents to accept and approve a revised version of the regional school district’s Regional Agreement.
Several debt and capital exclusion items are on the warrant, including $250,000 to fund repairs for the Harbor East Chop public bulkhead, $200,000 to purchase a four-wheel loader for the highway department and $325,000 to pay for a culvert replacement project sought to restore tidal flow at Farm Pond.
All three questions will need separate approval at the town election on April 13.
Some policy changes are on the docket. One article would prohibit select board members from holding any additional elected offices in town while serving on the select board. The town previously voted to adopt the change in both 1992 and 1994 but it was never officially implemented.
Voters will determine the fate of miniature liquor bottles, commonly called “nips.” In an attempt to reduce litter, the town has proposed banning the sale of 100- milliliter alcohol containers. The ban would be adopted only if Edgartown also passes a ban at its town meeting on the same day.
“We’ll definitely see some discussion on the floor with that one,” said Ms. Potter.
If passed, the ban would go into effect in May 2024. Several other Massachusetts towns, including Nantucket, Falmouth and Mashpee have implemented similar bans.
An affordable housing initiative on the special town meeting warrant seeks to expand opportunities for Islanders by allocating $55,000 to start a pilot workforce housing assistance program. The program is run by the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority and would expand Oak Bluffs rental assistance from 80 per cent to 120 per cent of annual median income.
Another article proposes allowing “green burials” at the Oak Grove Cemetery.
Dukes County is requesting $42,880 for improvements to its Health Care Access Program building on New York avenue. The program helps connect Islanders to health services and the building needs new siding and several other repairs. The town’s finance and advisory board unanimously voted against recommending the article to town meeting, arguing that the building has been in poor condition for a long time and the county should have used that time to seek other funding sources.
Voters will also be asked to approve $50,000 for the annual August fireworks show. The event was previously operated by the Oak Bluffs Firemen’s Civic Association, but the organization was unable to keep it running after losing staff and funding during the pandemic. Town voters are now being asked to keep the tradition going.
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