The West Tisbury historic district commission asked the select board Wednesday to consider putting an article on the upcoming annual town meeting warrant that would create a new Mill Pond committee.  

The new committee would focus on the preservation of the pond, according to historic district commission chair Sean Conley. He cited the historic importance of the pond to the town as one of the reasons for the article. The Mill Pond has been a long-standing topic in West Tisbury, with numerous studies conducted over the past decate spurring debate about how best to manage the body of water.

“We need a committee that focuses on the health of the Mill Pond and I think the town meeting will find the majority of citizens will get behind that,” Mr. Conley said. 

Select board chair Jessica Miller and vice chair Cynthia Mitchell both didn’t support the article, citing the possible redundancy with the existing Mill Brook watershed management committee. They also questioned why the historic district commission doesn’t tackle some of the pond’s challenges. 

“No one could disagree that Mill Pond is iconic,” Ms. Mitchell said. “My question is, why doesn’t the historic district commission, if they feel...the icon itself is diminishing over time, is it not under your purview to do something about that.” 

Members of the historic district commission argued that it was a “bigger issue” that would need the resources and time of a full committee.  

“We need a larger committee that will help us deal with something that we cannot deal with,” commission member Nancy Dole said. “We can’t do anything when someone who owns something lets it collapse, but we see that that’s happening, and we feel that that’s happening, and we can’t do it on our own.” 

The historic district commission could elect to put their proposed article on the warrant by citizen’s petition. The commission is holding a public hearing on this topic on Jan. 27.