Aquinnah selectmen this week held off on signing a conservation restriction on two parcels that are tied to the Moshup Trail Project. Two of the three selectmen told Brendan O’Neill, the executive director of the Vineyard Conservation Society, that there are too many unresolved issues.

Selectman Walter Delaney said: “I do have questions.” Mr. Delaney said at least one of the parcels, five acres belonging to South Shore Beach Inc., is used as a beach access club. Mr. Delaney asked how a conservation restriction can apply to a 16-car parking lot and how it benefits the town.

“We need an explanation,” Mr. Delaney said.

Since 1995, conservation groups worked on the Moshup Trail Project, an effort to take private land off the trail and put it in conservation. As much as $2,727,500 in mostly privately raised money, together with $500,000 from the state, has been used to protect nearly 39 of the 50 acres of environmentally critical habitat.

Mr. O’Neill told the selectmen that the Vineyard Conservation Society had purchased two abutting lots totaling 2.8 acres from Frank Nuovo of Aquinnah for $115,000. “That area is where the rare arethusa orchid grows,” he said. “The orchid is listed with the Massachusetts Endangered Species.”

Mr. O’Neill also said that the estate of Albert M. Hackett conveyed 2.2 acres as a gift to the project.

But separately, the area that is receiving a conservation restriction is two properties totaling 8.6 acres. In addition to the beach club, David H. Smith is making 3.6 acres available for protection. Mr. O’Neill said these properties and others already acquired bring the number of acres put in conservation either through purchase or through restrictions to 39 acres.

But Mr. Delaney questioned the effectiveness of granting a conservation restriction to the two properties sought, particularly since Mr. O’Neill conceded that the land is unbuildable anyway.

“What have we accomplished here? We are protecting these people to eternity, giving them a tax benefit,” Mr. Delaney said.

Selectman and chairman Carl Widdiss said his biggest concern is over the automobiles on the lot.

Mr. Delaney said that he prefers to have the board meet with the conservation commission about protecting the two properties.

Mr. O’Neill said the effort to grant a conservation restriction is a lengthy process and there is some level of urgency to get it signed.

Selectman Michael Hebert said he wants to wait two weeks and meet with the conservation commission. “I’d like a little more time to look at it,” he said.

“They are scary,” Mr. Delaney said of the beach club. “We have beach clubs in town that are for profit. I want to review this more closely.”

Mr. Delaney reported that the 3,000-gallon town fuel tank at the fire station was removed. For some 30 years, the tank has been used by the fire, police and highway departments. To the relief of all, Mr. Delaney said, there was no evidence that the tank leaked. “I don’t know when that tank was put there. The best I can tell is 30 years,” he said.

Mr. Delaney said it took the crew four hours to remove the tank. He credited the effort of Lewis Colby of A Couple O Bucks Excavation. Mr. Delaney said the project will likely cost $3,000.

The selectmen agreed to look into having the chairman, Carl Widdiss, sand the town roads. Mr. Delaney said that Mr. Widdiss is the most capable of doing the sanding, now that the winter season is here. “I will do the research,” Mr. Delaney said.

Mr. Hebert said that he wants the selectmen to see if anyone else is interested in providing the town service.

In other business, the selectmen expressed serious concerns about a freight link to New Bedford. Mr. Hebert, who works at E.C. Cottle, said four or five drivers at Cottle’s would be out of a job if there was a link to New Bedford.