Chilmark selectmen are now rethinking the future of the house at Tea Lane Farm after voters rejected a second plan at a special town meeting on Monday. The plan would have have renovated the 18th century house at a cost of $550,000 to prepare it for leasing to a tenant farmer.
With little discussion voters defeated the article by indefinite postponement.
Former town treasurer Judy Jardin led the move.
The future of the historic Tea Lane farmhouse will be in the hands of Chilmark voters at a special town meeting Monday night as they decide whether or not to back a $550,000 project to restore the farmhouse and prepare the land for a tenant farmer.
The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center. Longtime moderator Everett Poole will preside over the 11-article warrant.
This will be the second attempt to appropriate funds for the hilltop house which sits at the intersection of Tea Lane and Middle Road.
The Tea Lane Farm building committee has selected a draftsman to help with the plan for restoring the historic farmhouse in Chilmark. Committee members Leonard Jason, Dick Smith and Chilmark selectman Frank Fenner agreed to engage the services of Elise Elliston, a Chilmark resident, last week.
The goal is to have a final plan for renovating the farmhouse ready for the annual town meeting in April.
The Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard and state officials have approved preliminary plans for the new West Dock in Menemsha. Engineer Kent Healy and a draftsman are finalizing bid specifications for the project to rebuild the car-way destroyed in the July 12 fire.
Chilmark executive secretary Tim Carroll told the selectmen at their meeting Tuesday if everything stays on schedule, construction should be complete by May 1, at which point electricians can install power cables with the aim of completing their work by June.
