The Martha s Vineyard Times
Temporary classrooms needed, but how many?
Tisbury School project is heading to voters in June; portable classrooms considered for West William Street.
Updated Feb. 13
At a joint meeting of Tisbury’s school committee and select board Tuesday night, clarity was in short order, despite a proclamation by school committee chair Amy Houghton that the voters need clear information.
“Let’s make the information clear and available to anyone who lives in the town to understand why this project is so critical,” Houghton said.
Right after saying that, Houghton declined to solidify her sentiment in a motion. The joint Zoom session, which was heavily attended, took place as part of a regular select board meeting, one that stretched across three hours. Roughly half an hour of that time was devoted to the Tisbury School building project, and the temporary classroom facility that would be necessary for the school to function once the project bre
Tisbury short-term rental regs take flak
Board reschedules town meeting, annual election.
Town clerk Hillary Conklin was in on the discussion of when to hold the town election.
At a hearing on short-term rental regulations and fees Tuesday night, the Tisbury select board heard from homeowners unenthused about the additional costs the regulations would impose. Tisbury is the only Vineyard town to make demonstrable progress on regulating short-term rentals, but thus far has yet to flesh out all the fine details.
At the get-go, following a number of constructive suggestions posed to the board through letters, select board member Jeff Kristal suggested the regulations should be considered a “living document,” and as such, subject to “changes periodically.” He was in favor of voting in what was drafted thus far, and having the Tisbury’s short-term rental task force continue to provide input, with an eye toward a future hearing when the regulations could be updated.
The Martha s Vineyard Times
Tisbury town meeting set for May
Tight timeline opens possibility of undetailed placeholder articles.
Tuesday night town counsel David Doneski helped explain the legal ways the select board could reschedule the date for annual town meeting. screenshot
The Tisbury select board voted unanimously Tuesday night to schedule the 2021 annual town meeting for May 1. The vote came after a previous unanimous vote for April 6 met with opposition from town administrator Jay Grande, based on calendar constraints the warrant would have.
“I would strongly urge May,” Grande told the board. “The warrant closing that early is not workable, frankly.”
The Martha s Vineyard Times
We’re all ready to purge ourselves of 2020 the pandemic and the four years of lies coming from the Trump administration. And while we’re all looking toward better times and brighter days, if we’ve learned anything from these past few months, it is that transparency never hurts, facts matter, and honesty counts. All the changes we hope for in our federal government need to work in our little towns, too.
Which brings us to the Mansion House and its illegal hookup to the town’s wastewater treatment plant. There is little doubt that the Goldsteins have built a tremendous business. Their decision to rebuild the hotel after a disastrous fire in 2001 created a visual gem in the Vineyard Haven landscape, and an anchor for the Main Street business community. The hotel has been successful in attracting visitors to the town and making them want to come back.
The Martha s Vineyard Times
Town officials: No cover up, no collusion
Sewer advisory committee delves into Mansion House; increase in fees coming.
Select board member Jeff Kristal, shown here in a 2018 meeting, responded to a Times story during a sewer advisory board Zoom Thursday night.
The Mansion House met its deadline to install a leaching field, and there was no attempt to cover up the hotel’s illegal discharge of groundwater into the town’s wastewater treatment plant, Tisbury officials said during a sewer advisory board meeting Thursday.
The officials select board members Jeff Kristal and Jim Rogers, as well as town administrator Jay Grande were responding to a Times story that detailed public records and interviews with the former wastewater superintendent David Thompson, who blew the whistle on the illegal discharge. Thompson was fired within two months of his discovery, told he had not met the terms of his probationary period. Former select board