Aquinnah Hires New Building Inspector

The Aquinnah select board voted Wednesday to appoint Adam Petkus as the town’s building inspector.

The Aquinnah select board voted Wednesday to appoint Adam Petkus as the town’s building inspector.

Mr. Petkus will start the position July 5, pending the approval of an intergovernmental agreement between Chilmark and Aquinnah that would allow him to work for both towns.

The role has been unfilled in Aquinnah for several years, and Mr. Petkus, a construction worker and lifelong Islander, will oversee permits and inspections of all new building projects and renovations.

“This is a big deal for me,” Mr. Petkus said. “It’s a big deal for my family. I have roots here and I intend on making them deeper. I have no doubt that both towns will come to a really good agreement.”

Later in the meeting, the select board signed a resolution for the state Green Communities program, demonstrating the town’s commitment to an all-electric construction program set to begin January 1, 2024, and the elimination of fossil fuel emissions by 2040.

“This will be one of the simplest things [Mr. Petkus] needs to deal with,” explained Bill Lake, chair of the town’s climate and energy committee. “If he gets a permit [request] for new construction and it involves fossil fuels, he says ‘no.’”

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 06/25/2023 - 12:33

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Tony tisbury Tisbury

Let’s hope Mr. Petkus can bring BOTH towns into the 21st century!!! Long long over due.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 06/25/2023 - 18:43

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Concerned Off island

I would urge green energy cheerleaders to please educate yourself
Noble idea but totally unattainable probably in this century if up island went all electric or better yet the island went all electric here are just a few problems
Infrastructure can’t support it
Material not available to upgrade to support it on top of cost prohibitive the island does not have the electricity available to support it even if the island had the infrastructure to handle it the materials to upgrade are not available if the residents are willing to invest billions on dollars maybe net zero could be achieved by 2123 let’s not pretend we are green if the all electric goal we are chasing is being provided by fossil fuel
I—-ts

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