The Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners has sent to the legislature its report -for 1902. Regarding improvements completed or contemplated on the Vineyard the board says:
A town fuel dock that debuted this summer has far exceeded the expectations of the Oak Bluffs officials who pushed for it. The fuel dock sold about twice as much fuel as predicted.
The town selectmen presented a certificate of appreciation to the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Tuesday for the rare gift of environmental protection.
The Oak Bluffs harbor is closed to shellfishing until further notice following a minor oil spill Wednesday morning.
A 50-foot tuna-fishing boat has taken on water, causing leach of oil into the harbor, town officials said.
After receiving a call around 7:50 a.m. Wednesday morning reporting a fuel smell and a sheen on the water, shellfish constable David Grunden notified the fire department, which dispatched their oil recovery team to the boat tied up at Church’s Pier, by Nancy’s Restaurant.
Plans for a town-run fuel facility at the Oak Bluffs harbor met with some resistance at a Martha’s Vineyard Commission hearing last week, with some abutters to the potential facility questioning why the town needed to be involved, and voicing concerns that the fuel dock will lower property values and cause safety concerns.
Oak Bluffs has plans for a fuel facility at the harbor master’s shack in the Oak Bluffs harbor, with the 10,000 gallon gas tank stored under the parking lot. Boats would be able to fuel up at a floating dock between May and October.
Learjets on final approach ride wakes of noise, the whoosh of traffic throbs off the seawall and the wail of the lumpen mob soars over Circuit avenue.
It’s summer.
It’s time for the earnest toilers of commerce to harvest the golden hordes. In fact, it’s July 21 and the Monster Shark Tournament is in Oak Bluffs and with it the yahoos in their plastic boats, rafted up three, four to a mooring — hundreds of them bobbing in the crowded harbor.
At least six deer carcasses were illegally dumped in the Oak Bluffs
harbor last week, sending bacteria levels sky-high and prompting closure
of the harbor to shellfishing two days later. Police have no suspects
but said they are confident they will find those responsible for what
one environmental official has called a hazardous waste site.
Oak Bluffs harbor had a record money-making summer. Josh Williams,
the harbor marina manager, estimated income from slips and moorings were
up 14 per cent over the previous year. Total income was $720,000, up
some $86,000 from the summer of 2000.
Oak Bluffs harbor was the place to be. Slips and moorings were
mostly full throughout the season and for the first time the town
offered regular, dependable launch service that made money.
The Oak Bluffs harbor is a money machine for the town, but the question facing leaders after yet another record-breaking year of revenue is whether they can squeeze more cash from the operation.
