An invasive plant called kudzu has cropped up in West Tisbury and requires an urgent response, the town tree warden told selectmen at their meeting Wednesday. Selectmen agreed to work with the property owner to eradicate the sweet-smelling vine, which is growing partially on the public roadside land and partly on private property.

“You have a very invasive, dangerously invasive weed in West Tisbury in Pin Oak Circle, and it’s going to be a problem if we don’t kill it,” tree warden Jeremiah Brown said.

The plant originated in Asia and is known as an invasive species rampant in the southern United States. It has edible blossoms that smell like grapes, and is known for rapid growth and climbing up other plants. Mr. Brown said there was no time to lose in combating it.

“There are other residences there that are undeveloped so, if left unchecked, it’ll go through the entire area,” Mr. Brown said. He added, “It’s going to be far worse than bittersweet and Russian olive . . . It’s going to be way worse.”

Mr. Brown said the homeowner living on the property had been notified about the vine and had tried to have it removed, but the eradication process was improperly done, making the plant even more of a threat. Mr. Brown said a “clip and drip” method will be necessary, clipping each stem and dripping an herbicide directly into the stem. He said he thinks it will require many treatments.

“It’s going to require somebody who knows what they’re doing,” he said.

He and Ms. Rand said the homeowner is supportive of an intervention and understands the threat of the vine. Ms. Rand said the cost of the process would not be high enough to require a municipal bid process. The town plans to pay to eradicate the kudzu on town property, and the homeowner is expected to pay to eradicate it on the private property.

Mr. Brown said the area will need to be continually monitored to make sure the kudzu does not come back.

In other business, selectmen voted to submit an application to the Community Preservation Committee to fund projects to preserve the Mill Brook Watershed. A comprehensive, multi-year report on the watershed was recently completed and included a series of recommendations for improving the health of the system.

A representative from the Cape Light Compact, Margaret Song, presented the organization’s next three-year plan for energy use reduction. The plan from the energy services organization includes incentives for homeowners in West Tisbury to make their homes more energy efficient by reducing use of their hot water heaters, sealing their houses, and installing heat pumps among other things.

The meeting began with a moment of silence for West Tisbury officer Daniel Gouldrup, who died unexpectedly this week at age 59. A potluck memorial for the officer, who had served in the department since 1986, will be held Saturday at the Grange Hall from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.