Oak Bluffs and Edgartown voters wrapped up annual town meetings Tuesday night.
West Tisbury and Tisbury voters will return to their respective school gyms for a second go around at their town meeting warrants.
The one spending question on all the town ballots, a county request to help fund the purchase of the former VNA headquarters building in Tisbury for use by the Center for Living, received approval in Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and West Tisbury. The question is still pending in Tisbury.
West Tisbury voters began a marathon meeting at 7 pm, but stopped just short of the finish line. Voters passing a record breaking $17 million budget, up $1 million over last year, with relatively little opposition or discussion. With seven of 48 articles on the town warrant unresolved, the meeting adjourned at 11:25pm. Voters will resume their work tonight at 7pm at the West Tisbury School.
In Tisbury, voters got through the special town meeting warrant but barely made it into the annual town meeting warrant before stopping work for the night. Voters did agree to begin the process to place the town department of public works under the control of selectmen. Voters return to the Tisbury school tonight.
Edgartown voters sailed relatively smoothly through a special and annual town meeting warrant. The only extended discussion surrounded a vote to pave Meeting House Way (approved), a vote by paper ballot to change the process of hiring the town police chief (defeated), and a vote to “purchase or to take by eminent domain” the so-called MiniPark, owned by the Hall family — defeated.
Oak Bluffs voters agreed to all spending measures. Over the course of three hours and a half, Oak Bluffs voters approved a town operating budget of $26,514,084 and all 28 spending articles at the combined annual town meeting and special town meeting at the Oak Bluffs school Tuesday night.
Former selectman and moderator Duncan Ross stepped in in place of moderator Jack Law, who was unavailable.
A total of 227 voters, or about six percent of the electorate turned out. The voters overrode the recommendations of the town financial and advisory board and agreed to pay Oak Bluffs share of the $1.4 million dollar purchase of the former VNA building.
Town clerk Laura Johnston sparked a debate when she asked for a four percent raise instead of the two percent raise, which she contended put her in line with other town department heads. Her raise from $79.610 to $81,171 was approved by a standing vote of 82-77.
Farm Pond, home of Vanessa the sea serpent, came out a big winner, with voters approving both warrant articles, totaling a combined $500,000, $125,000 of which will reserved from next years budget, for the construction of a culvert that, according to shellfish warden David Grunden, will make it the only pond on the Island, and one of the few in the state, to be in compliance with the 1972 Clean Water act. The money will make the town eligible for a $1 million federal grant.