“To be or not to be” - stock or no stock - railroad or no railroad - was the principal question before the community last Saturday, and the town and its “dependencies” (?) turned out en masse to me
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.
Edgartown voters made short work of the town’s business Tuesday night, easily approving every spending article on the warrant, passing a bylaw that requires buildings in the historic district to be kept up and voting to take ownership of the Edgartown lighthouse — all in under two hours.
Medical marijuana dispensaries could become a reality in Oak Bluffs and Tisbury after an effort to place a one-year moratorium on the dispensaries failed to win the backing of voters on Tuesday night. And the countywide pest control program is also in a state of uncertainty after voters in West Tisbury turned down their share of funding for the program.
Medical marijuana questions were on the warrants for three of four town meetings held Tuesday night. The outcome was slightly different in each town.
Voter turnout may have been low at the Aquinnah town election and annual meeting this week, but those that did turn out came prepared to approve large expenditures and voice their disapproval of the Oak Bluffs roundabout.
A total of 54 voters, or 14 per cent of registered voters, went to the polls Wednesday to approve a $175,000 Proposition 2 1/2 override for the annual budget. The override passed 33 to 19. Aquinnah was the only town on the Island to seek a general override this year.
