Along with osprey, herring, and warmer temperatures, town meetings are one of the Island’s harbingers of spring.
Oak Bluffs will hold its annual town meeting at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) Performing Arts Center on April 9 at 7 pm. The annual town election will be on April 11.
Oak Bluffs voters will decide on 36 warrant articles and an over $30 million budget for FY 2020. Items include harbor maintenance, county funding expenses, and a property tax exemption increase for veteran’s organizations.
Voters will also decide on whether or not to approve the Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank. The town, in conjunction with Edgartown and Tisbury, has stood in strict opposition to the Housing Bank. The town’s finance committee unanimously rejected the Housing Bank article, citing the town’s opposition and the lack of time given to the committee to review the article.
One of the largest funding articles on the warrant is $1,039,102 in Community Preservation Act funds for various town projects such as preservation of East Chop Lighthouse, reconstruction to the Oak Bluffs School basketball court and two tennis courts, and restoration to Sunset Lake.
Other articles include $160,000 for critical harbor improvements, $50,000 for repairs to the electrical system at the sailing camp, $94,000 to replace public safety vehicles, $30,000 to replace beach stairs on Vineyard Avenue Extension, and another $30,000 for harbor maintenance and piling replacement.
Along with elected town positions, voters will have one question on this year’s ballot which asks to assess $376,040 to fund the town’s share of the feasibility study and schematic design work for the possible new construction or renovations to the MVRHS.
