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Monday, February 13, 2012

By Nelson Sigelman
Published: April 23, 2009

Tisbury voters head to the polls for the annual town election from noon to 8 pm on Tuesday, April 28, at the American Legion Hall opposite the Tisbury School. Although several races are uncontested, competition remains for candidates vying for one water commissioner and two public works commissioner seats.

In the race for one three-year term as a water commissioner, Roland M. Miller is challenging incumbent Ralph M. Packer Jr., one of three water commissioners who currently oversee Tisbury Water Works (TWW), the town's water system.

Established under a charter in 1905, TWW has operated as an independent entity. At a special town meeting held April 7, however, voters approved incorporating TWW as a town department effective June 30 and establishing a water enterprise fund for its operation starting July 1. The water commissioners will continue to set water rates, hire and fire employees, and run the water system's day-to-day operations.

Mr. Packer, the owner of R.M. Packer Company and Tisbury Towing, has served as a water commissioner for 21 years, since he was first elected in 1988. Currently a member of the town's dredge committee, over the years Mr. Packer also has served as a volunteer firefighter and on the town's finance and advisory committee (FinCom), Tisbury Harbor Committee, Lake Street dock committee, and the committee to create a waterfront overlay district.

Although Mr. Miller would be new to the job of water commissioner if elected, he is well acquainted with TWW through his work as an at-large member appointed to the water department charter study committee (CRC) created in November 2007 as a cooperative effort between the Tisbury selectmen and the TWW water commissioners.

Mr. Miller and four other committee members spent almost a year reviewing a number of policy and legal documents pertaining to TWW and interviewing numerous local and state water system employees. Agreements reached between the selectmen and water commissioners about restructuring TWW were based the committee's recommendations.

The experience of working on the CRC piqued Mr. Miller's interest in serving as a water commissioner. He joined the committee at its start-up only a month after moving to the Vineyard with his wife Judith in October 2007. A retired educator, he worked as a teacher, junior high school and high school principal before serving as superintendent of schools in Lennox, Mass., from 1973 to 2000.

Board of Public Works

In a three-way contest for two public works commissioner seats for three-year terms, former selectman Thomas Pachico is challenging incumbents Arthur Dickson and John Thayer.

Leo P. DeSorcy, Nancy Hall, and Timothy Stobie will compete for one two-year seat as a public works commissioner, due to the resignation in January of Kenneth Garde, who remains on the board of health.

The public works commissioners oversee the town's department of public works (DPW), headed by director Fred LaPiana.

The DPW provides curbside and local drop-off services for refuse and recycling collection, roads and sidewalk maintenance, snow removal services, parks and recreation services, cemetery maintenance and operations services, municipal building maintenance, and sewer plant operations and maintenance services.

Mr. Pachico has worked for the Tisbury board of health as town health agent for about 16 years. He also owns Pachico Septic Inspections, a private business service. He has served on numerous town and regional boards. As a selectman from 1999 to 2008, he had a rocky relationship with Mr. LaPiana, frequently clashing with him over DPW projects.

Mr. Dickson formerly worked building roads for Goodale Construction. He has served the town since 1954, first elected as a road commissioner and then as a public works commissioner when the DPW was established under its own charter in 1991.

Mr. Thayer, a furniture maker, has served as a public works commissioner since he was first elected in 1997. He also served on the Tisbury Library board of trustees for several years.

Ms. Hall currently serves on Tisbury's FinCom. Since moving to the Vineyard about 13 years ago, she also has served on the Tisbury Library's board of trustees, the Tisbury historical commission, the Main Street committee, and the beer and wine review committee.

Mr. Stobie has worked as a full-time police officer in Tisbury since 1989. He was appointed by the selectmen as acting police chief in June 2006 when former Police Chief Ted Saulnier retired, through August 2006, when police chief John Cashin was hired.

Mr. DeSorcy, a building contractor, previously served two terms as a public works commissioner, from 2002 to 2008.