Government
The Edgartown Planning Board Tuesday approved part of an application to move a Chappaquiddick house threatened by erosion.
The board got its first look Tuesday at plans to relocate a 5,500-square-foot house at Wasque Point owned by Richard and Jennifer Schifter, as well as a 1,150-square-foot guest house and a 1,140-square-foot garage. The Schifter property has been threatened by rapid erosion over the last year; the coastal bluff is now 50 feet away from a stone pool enclosure.
Coming back to Edgartown this year: a leprechaun-sized Saint Patrick’s Day parade.
Selectmen approved the Kelley House Inn and Newes from America Pub’s request to host the second annual Saint Patrick’s Day parade on March 17. The parade will follow a two-block route from the bottom of Main street to the top of Kelley street. Kelley street will be closed to traffic from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Vineyard programs that depend on federal funding are expected to see little impact, at least in the short term, from the much-publicized automatic budget cuts set to take effect in Washington today. But leaders in Island education, elder and health services said next year could be a different story.
The Dukes County commission voted this week to approve a $1.5 million budget for the coming fiscal year.
The budget marks a 17.9 per cent decrease over last year due to the state takeover of administrative affairs for the county sheriff’s department. Last year the sheriff’s portion of the county budget totalled $300,000.
Under the upcoming budget, total town assessments will drop from $649,279 to $492,739, county manager Martina Thornton told the commission at their meeting Wednesday.
It takes five minutes for the crew at U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha to walk from main headquarters to the search and rescue vessel. Five minutes may seem like a short time, but add drysuits, anti-exposure and flotation coveralls, boating tools, supplies, artillery and sometimes protective vests, and a five-minute walk can feel like a lifetime.
Absent a boathouse where all their gear and supplies would normally be kept, Coast Guard crew members make this laden walk several times a day.
Tisbury selectmen signed a three-year contract this week with their new town administrator John W. Grande.
Mr. Grande, who is 53, will begin work in the top town administrative post on March 13.
At a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, board chairman Tristan Israel said the selectmen had met twice in executive session to review and settle the contract, and now “have a contract that’s amicable.”
The two selectmen present, Mr. Israel and Jonathan Snyder, signed the contract Tuesday evening. Mr. Grande traveled to the Island on a morning ferry Wednesday to sign the contract at the town hall
.