Three Annual town Meeings Open Tuesday

Restoration of Spring Building Earns Vineyard Haven Support

By ALEXIS TONTI

Tisbury voters dispatched with special town meeting in one hour
Tuesday night, endorsing the creation of a town dog park, the
restoration of the historic Tashmoo Spring building and the development
of a comprehensive energy plan for the Island.

Restoration of Spring Building Earns Vineyard Haven Support

Tisbury voters dispatched with special town meeting in one hour Tuesday night, endorsing the creation of a town dog park, the restoration of the historic Tashmoo Spring building and the development of a comprehensive energy plan for the Island.

A bare quorum of about 100 residents came to the meeting, which was held in the Tisbury School gymnasium. The night was marked by little discussion, and voters passed all 12 of the non-appropriating articles on the warrant. Town moderator Deborah Medders took the podium just 10 minutes past the scheduled 7:30 starting time.

Annula Town Meeting Set for Next Week in Tisbury

Annual Town Meeting Set for Next Week in Tisbury

By ALEXIS TONTI

For months Tisbury selectmen and Steamship Authority officials have
sparred over how to use revenue collected through the passenger
embarkation fee - now it is town residents' turn to have
their say in the matter.

As part of the 27-article town meeting warrant, Vineyard Haven
voters will decide next week whether to use that money to buy a $300,000
pumper truck for the fire department and a $30,000 cruiser for the
police department.

Refuse District Quells Turmoil

Refuse District Quells Turmoil

Board Decides Not to Privatize, Narrows the List of Candidates for
Hiring Next Manager of Regional Operation

By IAN FEIN

After a long dispute about the future of the Island's
four-town regional refuse district, board members said yesterday that
they expect to hire a new manager by the end of the month.

Blueprint Ready, Oak Bluffs Board Seeks Money for Town Hall Plan

Blueprint Ready, Oak Bluffs Board Seeks Money for Town Hall Plan

By JAMES KINSELLA

An Oak Bluffs town committee is prepared to recommend that taxpayers
fund the design of a new town hall. Voters at the April 12 annual town
meeting will be asked to approve borrowing $225,000 toward the town hall
design. Should the town approve the design, and at a later town meeting
approve its construction, the overall cost could come in around $5.4
million.

Chilmark Plan Draws Scrutiny

Chilmark Plan Draws Scrutiny

Selectmen Affirm Commitment to Middle Line Road Proposal; Resident
Comment Continues on Details of Project Design

By IAN FEIN

There are no affordable housing roadblocks in Chilmark, town
officials declared this week.

Community Preservation Comes Before Taxpayers at Annual Town Meeting

Community Preservation Comes Before Taxpayers at Annual Town Meeting

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

Abbe Burt looks at initiatives such as the Community Preservation
Act and the Community Housing Bank, and sees important ways of
addressing the Vineyard's lack of affordable housing.

Richard Combra, an Oak Bluffs selectman, looks at the same
initiatives and sees another tax on Island residents.

West Tisbury Finance Committee Turns Up Heat on Schools, Police

West Tisbury Finance Committee Turns Up Heat on Schools, Police

By IAN FEIN

Wielding some political clout last week, the West Tisbury finance
committee assailed both the school budget and a selectmen's plan
for purchasing real estate.

The move sent town officials scrambling to address the finance
committee's concerns prior to next month's annual town
meeting.

Tisbury Opens Vineyard Political Season

Tisbury voters will kick off town meeting season next week when they are asked to consider restoring the Tashmoo Spring building, the 19th-century structure that served as the hub of the first waterworks system on the Island.

The article about the historic brick building is one of 12 non-appropriating articles that voters will take up at special town meeting next Tuesday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. at the Tisbury School gymnasium. Guiding the debate will be town moderator Deborah Medders.

At Risk: Health Council Assesses Trends in Teen Behavior

At Risk: Health Council Assesses Trends in Teen Behavior

By IAN FEIN

Have you ever tried smoking a cigarette, even one or two puffs? On
an average school day, how many hours do you watch TV? During the past
seven days, how many times did you eat green salad?

These are the types of questions that Vineyard students in sixth
through twelfth grade will be asked in an anonymous youth risk behavior
survey, which will be conducted next month for the first time in three
years.

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