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Saturday, May 25, 2013

By Janet Hefler
Published: April 9, 2009

With little debate, Tisbury voters approved a road layout for a new connector road between State Road and the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road and agreed to establish the town water department as an enterprise department at Tuesday's special town meeting.

But, when it came to amending the town's leash law, voters' hackles rose.

Still, voters approved all 15 non-appropriating warrant articles in the 90-minute meeting held in the Tisbury School gymnasium. Many voters apparently forgot that last year they had approved a 7 pm start-up time for this year's meeting. Although still 11 short of a 100-voter quorum by 7:20 pm, town meeting moderator Deborah Medders managed to kick off the meeting at precisely 7:30 pm - the customary start time - with 103 voters at hand. The final count was 117.

In keeping with Tisbury's traditional lottery system, Ms. Medders drew article numbers from a white ceramic pitcher to choose their order.

It took the meeting about a half-hour to gnaw on changes proposed by Animal Control Officer Laurie Clements to the town's leash law. Due to an error in the warrant, the leash law bylaw printed in Article 15 contained an older version of the bylaw, instead of the amended version Ms. Clements submitted.

The original bylaw required that dogs be restrained on a leash when not restricted to the owner's or keeper's property. Owners of dogs caught off-leash would receive a warning for a first offense, a $25 fine for the second, a $30 fine for the third, and a $50 fine for the fourth and subsequent offenses.

Ms. Clements proposed amending the bylaw to eliminate a warning and impose a $25 fine for the first offense, and a $50 fine for all subsequent offenses.

"I'm trying to get rid of some of the chronic offenders," she explained.

Peter Goodale, a member of Tisbury's finance and advisory committee (FinCom), said he thought a warning for a first offense should remain in the bylaw. He proposed in a written amendment that offenders receive a warning for the first offense and be fined $50 for any subsequent offenses. His motion carried, 56-40, in a standing vote.

"What I wanted was $25 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses," Ms. Clements protested. "I think the amendment is too harsh."

At that point, many voters were totally confused. Selectman Tristan Israel brought the discussion to heel by offering another amendment, which including a warning for the first offense, a $25 fine for the second, and a $50 fine for subsequent offenses. The motion carried, with only a few feeble nays heard.

The other article generating the debate asked voters to approve union negotiations between the town and Local #3992 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, to establish an apprenticeship program for the Department of Public Works (DPW).

DPW director Fred LaPiana explained that the apprenticeship program would provide a training program for unskilled employees within the union to fill skilled positions in the department.

"Many positions require licenses, and we would like to do this on-the-job training to help them qualify, and also to provide compensation as they obtain the licenses," Mr. LaPiana said.

John Peipon, a Tisbury Water Works Employee and former local union president, questioned the need for the program, which he said the union rejected about a year ago. Mr. Goodale asked why. Mr. Peipon said that union members viewed it as a guise for hiring part-time employees without going through the union.

Mr. LaPiana said that since then he has worked with the union and achieved an agreement to conduct negotiations about the apprenticeship program. "We have people waiting in the wings, being paid as laborers who are working as mechanics," he noted, adding that there is no intention or indication in the draft program that it would be used to obtain summer employees.

In response to a question from taxpayer Bruce Doten, Mr. LaPiana estimated the program would cost about $5,000 per year.

Mr. Israel pointed out that the intent of the article was to authorize negotiations with the union, through which all of the issues could be addressed. The article passed easily.

Voters also approved amending the town bylaws to allow trained civilian flaggers to direct traffic around some construction sites from Labor Day through June 30 each year, and to add Tisbury School to the town's central wastewater collection and treatment system.