To the Editor:
While residents of Tisbury see the Towns of Chilmark, Edgartown, and Oak Bluffs building beautiful dock, pier, and beach restoration projects to be proud of, Owen Park Pier remains in a state of disrepair.
Projects in other Island towns have been completed with the help and guidance of consultants who present modern designs, permit, build, oversee, and secure grants adding up to millions of dollars to make these projects possible. Then there is Tisbury and the failing Owen Park Pier where for years, funding has been used to patch it.
Money was allotted to a rebuild in 2018. The Tisbury Waterways Committee finally recommended to the select board to hire a consultant to design, secure funding, and finally rebuild Owen Park Pier. The select board ignored their committee’s advice. No consultant. No one with the skill to manage a project costing several million dollars and rising. Sadly, the project lingers. Despite the varied users, and a lack of vision, the Harbor Department design will remain the same.
There is the addition of a little house on the outer end which will likely blow off in a hurricane. If Owen Park Pier is ever actually rebuilt before it falls apart.
Lynne Fraker
Vineyard Haven
