After years of putting up with scofflaws who stealthily dispose of their household trash in town dumpsters when nobody is looking, Oak Bluffs selectmen have drawn the line, threatening to impose fines of up to $1,000 on anyone caught throwing their trash into a town dumpster without permission.
The trash problems came to a head over Memorial Day weekend, when the town took the unorthodox step of removing all the town-owned dumpsters near the harbor. It was viewed as an experiment, of sorts, to see what would people would do if the dumpsters weren’t there.
After failing to reach a quorum last week, enough West Tisbury voters turned out for a special town meeting on Tuesday to approve all four articles on the warrant, but not before some tough questions about spending and lines of authority in town hall.
A total of 144 voters turned out for the meeting, and before moderator Patrick Gregory banged the gavel, one voter said: “We’ll be home in plenty of time for the [Boston] Celtics game,” referring to the pivotal game six of the NBA finals.
By JIM HICKEY
After years of largely fruitless discussion, a plan to create a single set of taxi regulations for the Island is finally coming into focus, although uniform fares appear still to be on a distant horizon.
Spearheaded by the all-Island selectmen, a subcommittee headed by Oak Bluffs selectman Duncan Ross and Tisbury selectman Jeff Kristal has drafted new regulations for selectmen in all the towns to review.
They swallow up roadways, stall cars and block traffic — but still there is a sort of begrudging acceptance of those large puddles that form in familiar areas around the Vineyard after heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.
In Oak Bluffs residents named one well-known puddle off New York avenue “East Chop Lake,” while in Vineyard Haven someone posted a sign reading “Canal Street” on Lagoon Pond Road after a recent rainstorm, a tribute to the frequent flooding that occurs near the post office.
Following a three-car accident last month at the intersection of Old County and State Roads in West Tisbury that sent three people to the hospital and left two seriously injured, town leaders last week again made a public push for the state to redesign the intersection widely seen as one of the most dangerous on the Island.
Selectmen held a public discussion about the troublesome Y-shaped intersection during their regular meeting last Wednesday.
Oak Bluffs wastewater officials on Tuesday unveiled a $2.58 million sewer expansion plan along County Road between the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and town fire station, which would connect some 450 lots to the town sewer system, 119 of which are currently vacant.
Wastewater superintendent Joe Alosso presented the plan at the selectmen’s regular meeting; he said the expansion is intended to dramatically reduce nitrogen loading in the Lagoon Pond. Although the sewer plan has been discussed in the past, this was the first time the plans were made public.