Old land use battles were a silent backdrop last week when the
Martha's Vineyard Commission had its first look at a new bank
project now planned for the site of the former Nobnocket garage in
Vineyard Haven.
Hospital Is Exploring Ties to Oak Bluffs Sewer Line
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Leaders at the Martha's Vineyard hospital said this week that
the plan to build a new hospital also now includes an emerging plan to
tie into the Oak Bluffs sewage treatment plant.
"We have begun talks with the town of Oak Bluffs, and we know
that nothing would be better than getting everything out of here,"
said hospital board vice chairman Tim Sweet yesterday.
Acting through their Boston attorney, the managing partners for the Vineyard Golf Club have been engaged in a series of quiet threats and maneuvers in recent weeks - all aimed at avoiding a Martha's Vineyard Commission review of a new plan to build 16 luxury houses for members at the golf club.
The commission expressly denied all member housing when it approved the golf club five years ago.
Vote in Aquinnah Thursday Attempts to Pass Override, and Restore
Items to Town Budget
By JULIA WELLS
Voters in Aquinnah go to the polls this week to conclude the annual
town meeting which began two months ago - and to say yes or no to
a $130,000 general override to Proposition 2 1/2.
If the override is approved, town employees will get a cost of
living raise and funding will remain in place for the town's share
of the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group. Funding for a
town-sponsored summer day camp for children also hangs in the balance.
Amid conciliatory expressions and with the developer's representative waving a white hat in the air, the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted without dissent last night to approve a plan that is expected to close the final chapter in a bitter four-year battle over the development of the southern woodlands in Oak Bluffs.
"This has been a really trying time for the commission and for all those in the community that have been on both sides of the issue. I hope this is now time to put it behind us and heal the wounds," declared commission member Andrew Woodruff.
Faced with the bleak prospect of shutting down the town when the
fiscal year runs out six days from now, voters in Aquinnah balanced
their annual budget last night by cutting salaries and expense accounts
to the bone and eliminating a popular summer camp for children.
The Windemere Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center ended the year
in the red once again, but senior managers said this week that the
$200,000 operating deficit is a big improvement over last year and a
step in a better direction for the Island's only nursing home.
Martha's Vineyard Hospital chief executive officer Tim Walsh
said yesterday that some hard-won rate relief from Medicaid played a big
role in cutting the numbers at Windemere this year.
Aquinnah Officials Ask for Public Input on How to Raise Revenues,
Hold Taxes
By JULIA WELLS
How to boost revenues without raising property taxes in the second
smallest town in the commonwealth - Aquinnah selectmen will tackle
the topic at a public meeting this week.
The selectmen voted to schedule the special session during their
regular board meeting last week.
Barnstable Process Is Upheld; a Town-Wide District There Parallels
Those on Vineyard; Vote for Planning Homework
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
In a key environmental protection decision for both the Vineyard and
Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) this week threw
out a lower court ruling and upheld a townwide district of critical
planning concern (DCPC) for the town of Barnstable.
