Camp Ground Considers Leaseholder Vote

By CHRIS BURRELL

They're demanding universal suffrage, the right of cottage
owners in the Camp Ground to choose their leaders, but after a weekend
of heavy politicking, a newly constituted tenants' group emerged
with only a partial victory.

The 21-member board of directors of the Martha's Vineyard Camp
Meeting Association (MVCMA) agreed Friday to explore a proposed
amendment to the bylaws - a move that would alter the governance
of this historic community in the center of Oak Bluffs.

If approved, the change would clear the way for a direct vote for
two board members, allowing more than 300 leaseholders the right to
elect those positions.

Far from embracing the call for populism, Camp Ground directors are
proceeding cautiously.

Russell Dagnall, president of the board of directors, told the
Gazette yesterday that the idea needs to be investigated and no official
decision from his board will come until next August.

"There are many legal issues, considerations and
hurdles," he said. "We have to find out if we can legally do
it."

Currently, a seat on the board of directors is open to any
leaseholder, but the final selection is made by the board itself.

Leading the effort to retool the political process is the MVCMA
Homeowners and Tenants Association, a group numbering roughly 100 Camp
Ground residents which just formed this summer.

As energized as revolutionaries, their leaders speak of being
dictated to and frustrated by a collective experience of being
voiceless.

"We want to be represented," said Howard Steward, one of
the leaders of the movement for democracy in the Camp Ground.

They met Saturday afternoon, just a couple hours before a general
meeting of the leaseholders where the board of directors preside.

As the dust settled on the weekend of meetings, organizers of the
new tenants group viewed the board of directors' initial action as
progress for their cause.

"We're pleased they did it," said Mr. Steward,
"It shows they're not as intractable as we once
thought."

But the board of directors stopped well short of granting the
homeowners group any official standing.

"They asked that we recognize them as the official voice of
the leaseholders, but we unanimously voted against that because we
represent the leaseholders," said Mr. Dagnall.

"It would only hinder communication to put them between us and
the leaseholders," he added.

But one of the steering committee members of the tenants group, Mike
Mitchell, said his association isn't giving up.

"We were very disappointed they didn't (recognize
us)," he said yesterday. "Our take is, ‘You're
our landlord. How can you represent us?' It's a
conflict."

Leaseholders own their cottages and homes but lease the land on an
annual basis from the MVCMA.

Mr. Mitchell said some leaseholders feel too intimidated to lodge
complaints with the board of directors, fearing reprisals.

Saturday's meeting of the tenants group, he said, was much
more lively than the leaseholders forum.

"We want to be able to organize the complaints from people who
are frustrated and don't know who to talk to," said Mr.
Mitchell. "It would be in addition to the board, not a
replacement. It's meant to be another avenue to work for a
solution to the communication problem."

Last week, Mr. Steward criticized the board's leadership,
saying it lacks transparency.

"We don't get the full story about how decisions are
made," he said, citing the fact that minutes of board meetings
don't record how specific board members voted or identify which
board members expressed a certain point.

The latest discord in the Camp Ground comes a year after some
residents mounted a petition campaign, protesting a proposal under
consideration by the board that recommended financing a $1.9 million
restoration of the 125-year-old Tabernacle.

The spending and fundraising for repairs of the landmark structure
turned controversial last summer when leaseholders learned that the
board had miscalculated how much money it would take to restore the
Tabernacle.

Some Camp Ground residents argued that the board had assured them
more than three years ago that the price of the Tabernacle overhaul
would be $1 million, with another $1 million set aside as an endowment.

But unforeseen costs to replace the footings for the iron building,
coupled with other repairs, sent spending to the $1.4 million mark,
leaving roughly $400,000 in the coffers.

This summer, complaints focused less on the Tabernacle and more on
new rules from the board, banning boat storage, for example.

The tenants group now plans to survey residents and ask them to list
specific concerns.

"We're trying to become a voice for the tenants,"
said Mr. Mitchell. "I would like to have direct representation. I
would personally like to see all board members elected directly."

In Mr. Mitchell's view, "The current board doesn't
feel there's a problem."

Mr. Dagnall yesterday bristled at the impression that discontent is
bubbling up in the Camp Ground's tranquil setting on the far side
of Circuit avenue.

"People are saying everybody's up in arms. I don't
feel that way," he said. "Overall the meeting (Saturday for
leaseholders) was very smooth."