To the Editor:
I know that soon Oak Bluffs will hold an annual town meeting as well as a special town meeting. During this period, different departments can ask for money to be appropriated to them from a general fund, loans, or the Oak Bluffs taxpayer.
I’ve been to many and it’s always funny to me that as a town we can spend millions of dollars on a single warrent item, yet argue for an hour or more over a $2,500 item.
With that said, I hope that every registered voter can make it to these meetings and take a stand for what’s right for our town, for us citizens of Oak Bluffs. Let’s not spend money we don’t have. Let’s not overspend on overhead, such as payroll for example. Let’s make a statement that says, “We want all of our paid employees working for the hours they are paid.” And let’s not allow waste.
For example, this past Saturday, like most, I was going to the transfer station to dispose of my household rubbish. As soon as I pulled in from Pennsylvania Avenue. I saw a 25-foot Mako with the words Harbor Master on the side. It wasn’t on a trailer or blocks and stands. It was dumped there, probably by machine. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the boat had been neglected badly, but on the transom sat a newer looking Mercury 225 HP Opti-Max, complete with stainless prop, and a hydraulic steering system.
I was upset at what I had seen, and to find out on Sunday that the boat was now lying in pieces inside a roll-off container, I felt like someone in town government just sucker-punched me.
What could have been the reason for this tragedy? Why couldn’t the town have simply sold it from its original position in front of the town barn? The usable parts that I saw were worth about what a summer lifeguard position would pay.
Just doesn’t seem right to me. How about you?
Walter Hammond
Oak Bluffs
