Tisbury selectmen met Tuesday for a regularly scheduled meeting. Fire Chief John Schilling updated the board on the recent fire that destroyed a guest house on Border Road in Tisbury, and highlighted the cooperation among emergency personnel.
The guest house was a fully involved fire when first responders arrived, and was a total loss, including all of its contents. One dog died in the blaze. The main house was saved. Chief Schilling said that it was a challenging call given the property’s remote location, and he applauded the mutual-aid response between all Island first responders.
“We all talk about mutual aid, and folks have written plenty of letters supporting mutual aid, but that night could not have been as successful as it was without the team that we had,” he said.
Chief Schilling said the Tisbury ambulance was on a call when the fire report came in, so Oak Bluff’s EMS responded to the scene, later joined by Tisbury EMS. Both Oak Bluffs and Tisbury police secured Edgartown Road. The Edgartown fire department covered Oak Bluffs while the Oak Bluffs fire department aided the Tisbury department at the scene, and the West Tisbury fire department covered Tisbury. All Island EMTs provided rehab services to first responders on the scene. In total, Chief Schilling said, between 50 and 70 people responded to the scene that night.
“It was a true all-Island response to this call,” Chief Schilling said. “I want to publicly thank all the agencies that responded that night, and acknowledge the efforts of all involved, which were extraordinary.”
Chief Schilling said the Tisbury Street Fair on July 8 was a “smooth evening” with no problems or trouble. He said it was well attended, but not as well attended as in years past, likely due to the stormy weather forecast.
He also expressed concerns that many area businesses have not completed their annual business inspections, pointing out the recent restaurant fires on the Island as good reminders that inspections are necessary for public health and safety reasons. He said that as of Tuesday, there were five lodging houses and “quite a number” of food establishments in Tisbury that have not completed their annual inspection.
“There are some people that call immediately to schedule those appointments, but other people just woefully ignore it,” he said. “I think it’s more than if they don’t do it, it’s just their loss. It’s a community loss.”
Chief Schilling submitted a letter outlining his concerns to the board, which they will review and address at the next meeting. They discussed options for urging businesses to move forward and get their licenses in promptly, and the potential for penalties.
Parking complaints
Selectman Larry Gomez brought up a public concern that there are individuals parking on Crocker Avenue for three to four days at a time, leaving no place for caregivers at Havenside Senior Living Apartments to park. A 72-hour parking regulation is enforced.
Selectmen Melinda Loberg, a resident on Crocker Avenue, said she has witnessed the issue. She said the area gets a lot of traffic, given the amount of services provided to Havenside.
“There is very limited parking on that street, and I have observed people parking there to take the Steamship Authority and go off-Island,” she said.
Selectmen voted to have the Department of Public Works put up “no overnight parking” signage on two poles at the beginning and end of Crocker Avenue.
The board voted to take no action on a letter of support for the Vineyard Preservation Trust to acquire the Carnegie Library in Edgartown and certify the trust’s stewardship of the Nathan Mayhew Schoolhouse in Tisbury, pending more conversations with the trust about the structural integrity of the schoolhouse.
“I am familiar with the building in Tisbury that they own, and recently they invested quite a bit of effort to it, trying to really spiff it up a bit, but the building is really not in great condition,” Ms. Loberg said. “This is a historic building that means a lot to the town of Tisbury.”
The board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Martha’s Vineyard Museum regarding use of the Marine Hospital property for events throughout the summer. This comes after multiple discussions between Museum Executive Director David Nathans and the board over parameters for holding events on the property, where a new museum will eventually be built.
In other business, selectmen voted to support the Board of Health appointment of Maura Valley as Tisbury health agent, effective Sept. 1 upon the retirement of longtime health agent Tom Pachico at the end of August. Ms. Valley is currently the town’s assistant health agent.
They also approved a transient vendor’s license application from Trisha Ginter for her new clothing and accessories store, Frock. The board expressed the need for a handicap representative for the Vineyard Transit Authority, and they voted to enact a policy requiring people seeking license application approvals to appear before the selectmen at the meeting.
