Chilmark selectman Frank Fenner decides four terms is plenty

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Chilmark selectman Frank Fenner said it was a hard decision, but he will not run for a fifth term on the board of selectmen. Mr. Fenner said it was a tough decision to make.

“I waited for a long time and then I figured I just had to act,” Mr. Fenner told The Times in a telephone call Tuesday. “It is just that personal projects and hopes to travel keep getting pushed off. I kind of think it is time to take care of some of those things myself.”

Mr. Fenner said the timing is right because most of the major projects he has worked on have been completed, including a system to improve wireless service up Island. “There’s always going to be more projects and before I got really wrapped up in one I decided it was time,” he said.

Mr. Fenner said there are two projects he worked on that stand out. The Middle Line Road affordable housing project he said took a great deal of time and energy but was something the town had to do. “Now it’s done and it’s a terrific little community up there,” he said. “I think it’s a real good asset for the town of Chilmark.”

And he cited the rebuilding of the town docks in Menemsha following the devastating fire that destroyed the Coast Guard boathouse.

Mr. Fenner said he enjoyed the job. As to who will follow him, he said he has talked to several people he thought would do a good job but has had no takers.

With the 5 pm, March 5 deadline to pull nomination papers approaching, no one has stepped forward to fill the seat, according to the town clerk. The deadline to submit papers is 5 pm, March 7.