Government
In an effort to lower nitrogen amounts in Sengekontacket Pond, Edgartown and Oak Bluffs are embarking on a yearly project to grow oysters in the Major’s Cove area of the pond.
In Edgartown, shellfish constable Paul Bagnall told selectmen Tuesday that the shellfish committee is proposing spending $24,000 on 250,000 oyster seed for the pond. The original plan was to spend $48,500 on 500,000 oysters, but the amount was reduced because of the number of articles submitted for town meeting.
Members of a search committee recommended three finalists on Tuesday for the role of Tisbury town administrator, a position left vacant since John Bugbee stepped down in October after nine years on the job.
The candidates, chosen from an original pool of 38 applicants, are Peter Graczykowski, city manager in East Providence, R.I.; John W. Grande, planning board director for the city of Framingham; and Sally Rizzo, project manager at the Massachusetts State Retirement Board.
With the deadline now past to apply for commercial casino licenses in Massachusetts, the chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) said the tribe will not pursue a class three license from the state but will continue to press for a high-stakes bingo hall in Aquinnah.
The town of Oak Bluffs has ordered an East Chop summer resident to remove a series of illegal additions from a large home building project on Dempster Park that has angered neighbors and sparked a protracted legal process.
At a meeting last week the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals voted to uphold building inspector James Dunn's enforcement order to Dr. Leslie Hayling, a New Jersey dentist and longtime summer resident who has been rebuilding a home and garage apartment on Dempster Park for the past 10 years.
West Tisbury selectmen reviewed a plan this week to improve traffic safety at the intersection of Old County and State Roads.
The plan calls for replacing delineators intended to slow down traffic with a T-shaped intersection and stop sign on Old County Road. The design was created by the state Department of Transportation with help from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. The project is estimated to cost $350,000 and will be funded by the state.
Thanks to the generosity of a group of Edgartown residents, a new police and fire boat will be floating on Edgartown harbor this summer.
On Monday the Edgartown selectmen accepted a gift of more than $116,000 from the town patrolmen’s association toward outfitting and training for a police and fire boat.
The gift was a result of a fund-raising effort by Tony Chianese, the former owner of Edgartown Marine, and a $70,000 donation by Edgartown resident Ernie Boch Jr.