Chilmark voters early this week unanimously backed a plan for restoring Squibnocket Beach, ending a seven-month public review. It was a striking departure from the contentious annual town meeting last April when an earlier plan was rejected.
The annual town meeting and election season came to a close this week as Aquinnah voters approved a major spending request for the relocation of the Gay Head Light and ushered in a new selectman for the next three years.
A level-funded budget, a possible name change for State Road and a major spending request for the relocation of the Gay Head Light will come before Aquinnah voters at their annual town meeting Tuesday night.
It will mark the last annual town meeting on the Vineyard this year.
Edgartown voters approved a $30.7 million operating budget and agreed to spend Community Preservation Act funds for a range of projects, including $350,000 to renovate the interior of the town hall.
In a show of confidence for the fiscal management of their town, Oak Bluffs voters at their annual town meeting Tuesday approved a large increase in the operating budget and said yes to spending a combined $15 million for a new town hall and fire station.
Oak Bluffs will spend $15 million for a new town hall and fire station, Edgartown intends to change its town clerk from an elected to an appointed post, and West Tisbury will pay to complete a watershed study of the Mill Pond — but not to dredge it. All three towns finished in one night.
With newfound financial stability as a backdrop, Oak Bluffs voters will be asked to shoulder some hefty spending items at their annual town meeting this year. And the town operating budget needs an override.
When voters gather within the newly painted walls of the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown next Tuesday, they will take on a town meeting warrant with 66 articles and a $30.7 million town budget.
How to preserve the rural character of Chilmark while planning for the future: the question is expected to take center stage when voters consider a proposed bylaw to regulate house size at their annual town meeting Monday night.
After a few years of annual town meetings that were quiet and largely routine, the Chilmark warrant is packed with weighty issues this year, including an $8.1 million operating budget, up nearly five per cent over last year, largely due to increased education costs.
