The Aquinnah select board is eyeing a January special town meeting to make up for additional lighthouse funds needed during renovation this spring. 

The town owes $26,000 to ICC Commonwealth, the company that moved the Gay Head Light in 2015 and completed the final stage of repairs in June. The money will cover contractor and subcontractor per diem costs mistakenly omitted from final payments to ICC, according Jim Pickman, the lighthouse advisory board chair. 

Town administrator Jeffrey Madison had previously pegged the overrun cost at $65,000 after construction crews ran into unanticipated problems with the lighthouse, but Mr. Madison later deferred to Mr. Pickman’s figures. 

Mr. Pickman said the town has already paid $10,000 in outstanding funds, consisting of $5,000 in grant money from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and $5,000 from the Lighthouse Gift Fund. 

The approximately $1.6 million renovation corrected structural issues to the lighthouse curtain wall and lantern deck, Mr. Madison said. All but the unanticipated costs have been paid. 

The town used a $200,000 state travel and tourism grant and $200,000 in Community Preservation Act funds approved at a special town meeting in November 2024.

Two-thirds of the renovation cost was funded by Orsted, a wind farm developer that was required by law to provide community benefits due to its Revolution Wind project being within sight of the cliffs.

Mr. Madison told the select board at a meeting in November that ICC Commonwealth is antsy for its payment. The town originally told the company it would hold the special town meeting in November.

That did not happen though, and a date for the special town meeting has not been set yet. The select board has also not finalized the warrant for the winter town meeting. 

Given the time of year, Mr. Madison said he’s worried about meeting the town’s 42 person quorum.

“Frankly, I think that it’s time that we reduce our quorum from 10 per cent of the registered voters to just number to allow for circumstances like this,” Mr. Madison said.

Editor's note: a previous version of this article had an incorrect total for the cost overrun. It has been updated.