Perhaps the most notable thing about the Oak Bluffs special town meeting, Tuesday night at the Oak Bluffs School, was the alacrity of the proceedings — the meeting lasted all of 20 minutes.
Overseen by veteran moderator Jack Law, all 15 articles on the warrant, which mostly pertained to paying town bills, received the overwhelming endorsement of the 116 voters who attended. Only three of the votes were not unanimous.
“It’s certainly the shortest town meeting I’ve ever been to,” chairman of the selectmen Michael Santoro said.
“It was a colossal waste of time,” one disgruntled attendee, who declined to give his name, told The Times.
The 15-article warrant covered vendor bills, money for infrastructure improvements, paying off short-term debt, and changing town hall hours of operation.
One article was amended from the published warrant. Voters agreed to delete $230,000 of Community Preservation Act (CPA) money requested for the North Bluff seawall project. The request was made in light of a lower bid being accepted after the warrant was written, and because of the uncertain status of the project following last Thursday’s planning board vote to refer the project to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for review.
The two other CPA allocations, $5,000 for a feasibility study for a permeable barrier on Lagoon Pond, and $100,000 to make the revamped Niantic Park compliant with federal accessibility laws, received unanimous votes.
A $47,000 transfer from available funds for the town’s first payment on the purchase of the former VNA building, payment of short-term debt to save on long-term bond issues, using better-than-expected revenues from the harbor fueling facility to pay for the harbor fueling facility itself, as well as a town hall feasibility study and a fire department feasibility study, were all approved quickly and unanimously.
A request to transfer $30,000 of leftover funds from the beach railing account to pay for new beach stairs at Samoset Avenue was also unanimously approved.
A change in town personnel policy, extending the probationary period of new hires from three months to six months and extending eligibility for health insurance from 60 days to 90 days, was approved, as was a change in the official town hall closing time from 4:30 pm to 4 pm. There were four votes against the article, the strongest opposition of the night.
Voters also approved a name change, from the now defunct “Oak Bluffs Resident Homesite Committee” to the “Town of Oak Bluffs Municipal Housing Trust.”
Prior to last Tuesday’s selectmen’s meeting, selectman Walter Vail said, “I would think this will go quickly and smoothly.” Mr. Vail was spot-on.
Slightly over 3 percent of the town’s 3,723 registered voters attended the special town meeting.
