With a quorum finally reached, Aquinnah voters dispatched with not one but two special town meetings on Wednesday night, approving the appropriation of free cash for a project at the Aquinnah lookout as well as land acquisition measures for affordable housing.
When the town couldn’t reach a quorum at its original Dec. 13 meeting, selectmen decided to postpone the 11-article warrant until Jan. 23. In the interim, a two-article warrant was added for a second special town meeting to take place immediately after the first. Reaching a quorum this time wasn’t an issue, as a nearly full house of voters worked their way through the 13 warrant articles.
Longtime moderator Mike Hebert started the meeting by asking voters to stand and give a moment of silence for those “putting their lives on the line to keep our lives safe, our property safe, and our way of life safe,” an apparent reference to Coast Guardsmen who have not been paid during the partial government shutdown. Almost as fast as everyone was back in the seats, voters sped through three warrant articles that appropriated money for town projects.
At the start of the year, the town received a $70,000 grant to help cover the costs of a $140,000 project to build, pave and revegetate an elevated platform at the Aquinnah Circle. The first article authorized the use of $64,800 in Community Preservation Act funds to go toward the other half of the project’s expenses. Designer Derrill Bazzy, who was present at the meeting, said the town will be reimbursed for the money once the project is completed, but needs to show it can cover the full amount for the project to start. Town administrator Jeffrey Madison said that while he didn’t know when the project would get underway, the end date could not be later than June 30, 2021. The article passed unanimously.
Voters agreed to appropriate $46,000 from free cash to buy or lease a new truck for the highway department. They also allocated $21,000 in free cash for a new computer system for town hall. Mr. Madison said the system will be a cloud-based network that would replace approximately 10 outdated work stations.
Articles four, five and six, to allocate money for the town off-Island car, the construction of a town maintenance building, and the installation of an audio system for town hall, were withdrawn because of the lower-than-estimated free cash number. Mr. Madison said those items would be addressed at annual town meeting in May.
Voters speedily approved $5,000 for the construction of a shellfish constable and harbor master shed on town land at the West Basin and $10,000 for the design and construction of sun protection for tour guides at the Gay Head Lighthouse.
The meeting slowed when a warrant article came before voters that would authorize selectmen to take the “necessary steps required” to sell a landlocked, 0.6-acre parcel of town-owned property off Lighthouse Road. Selectman Jim Newman said the town voted a decade ago to sell the land for its assessed value. Later the land was assessed at over $500,000. According to town assessor records, it is currently assessed at $170,000.
“This is land that we would like to put back on the tax rolls,” Mr. Newman said. “Half the money would go to the housing trust, half the money would go back to the town.”
Mr. Bazzy, who works with Island Housing Trust, wanted the town to sell the land for more than its assessed value. Other voters agreed. Carole Vandal, a retired school teacher who moved back to the Vineyard after working in Minnesota, expressed her appreciation for the town and its land.
“I want this town to get its maximum dollar,” Ms. Vandal said. “So we can do something in a sustainable way, and give back to affordable housing. Let’s really do something for us, and for our children, when we consider land.”
She received a round of applause and voters postponed the item until annual town meeting in May.
In a similar spirit, the town voted unanimously to allocate $42,000 to purchase an 8.5 per cent ownership stake in a 3.8-acre parcel of land north of Moshup Trail “for the purpose of creating permanently affordable housing in the town of Aquinnah.” The town hopes to one day buy out the other families on the deed and convert the space into affordable housing. Mr. Bazzy said he envisioned a development on the property similar to the recent affordable housing project the town undertook at Smalley’s Knoll.
The town also voted to accept a gift of land from longtime summer resident Hannah Malkin under the condition that “the land be maintained in its natural state in perpetuity.” The piece of land is approximately 1.8 acres and has one of the only unobstructed vistas along Lighthouse Road, allowing passerby a view of the Vineyard Sound and Elizabeth Islands.
“I personally have a great deal of affinity for Hannah Malkin,” Mr. Madison said. “She’s a wonderful lady. She’s lived a wonderful life, and honoring her wishes would be a great testament to what she’s done for this community over the years.”
Mr. Madison said the town would write Ms. Malkin, who can no longer travel, a letter of gratitude for the gift.
Voters also authorized the creation of a three to seven-member parks and recreation committee to advise the selectmen on the adoption and implementation of rules relating to the town’s parks. They also allocated $12,000 for grant writing.
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