Tisbury’s annual town election is today at the Tisbury Emergency Services Facility at 215 Spring St., from noon to 8 pm.
Voters will act on a ballot question on wether to fund the town’s share of feasibility study for the renovation or reconstruction of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
Also, there is one seat open on the town’s select board, with three candidates running.
Incumbent Abbe Burt, Christina Colarusso, and MacAleer Schilcher are competing.
The Times sent questions to each candidate to get their views on some of the issues the town is facing, and why they’d be the best choice for the job.
How long have you been a resident of Tisbury?
Burt: I have been a resident of Tisbury for 21 years, and year-round on-Island for 50 years.
Colarusso: Seasonally since 2000, year-round since 2012.
Schilcher: Montessori School. K-8 Tisbury Tiger. MVRHS 2004. After college I lived in D.C., NYC, and Boston until I moved back to Tisbury in 2018.
Please tell us your occupation or former occupation.
Burt: I am presently retired after 30 years as a real estate broker, 16 as an office manager, and 4 years as a municipal employee in West Tisbury.
Colarusso: Current: Facilities manager of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, also a water and wastewater operator. Swimming instructor, YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard. Former: Second and Third Assistant Engineer Unlimited Horsepower in the U.S. Merchant Marine Military Sealift Command and Transocean Deepwater, Tisbury emergency management director, assistant harbormaster Edgartown, Chilmark traffic officer, Chilmark beach guard, Tisbury lifeguard and swimming lessons instructor.
Schilcher: Since 2008 I’ve worked in craft beer as beer director for Brasserie Beck in D.C., and later opened Mussel Bar in Atlantic City for the same restaurant group. I worked three years helping grow Right Proper Brewpub, also in D.C. My last job was Northeast sales manager for the Global Brewers Guild, covering New England and New York State. Since moving back home, I’ve worked with Chronister tree service until late this past year. I’ve grown up with and continue to help out the family business, and expect a very busy summer. Currently, I am exploring opportunities to return to the beverage industry on a seasonal basis.
Please tell us your age.
Burt: 78
Colarusso: 33
Schilcher: 38
Education and experience:
Burt: B.A. in history and English literature. Executive secretary/town accountant in West Tisbury, office manager at Black Dog Tall Ships, real estate broker.
Colarusso: I have a bachelor’s of science in marine engineering, and spent five years in the U.S. Merchant Marine. They call marine engineers jacks of all trades; on ships you may have to go from fixing a toilet to the elevator, then to the air conditioning, all in one day. I didn’t realize it, but marine engineers are emergency managers. We are constantly shuffling priorities, keeping track of everything going on, and planning for the worst, with contingency plans. Knowing what valves to shut and which to open in an emergency to save someone’s life, or to save the ship. Locally I have worked for the county, Tisbury, Edgartown, and Chilmark. My first job besides working for the family business was for the town of Tisbury as a lifeguard and swim instructor. I have written policies, procedures, bid documents, contracts, and regulations. I have applied for and won grants.
Schilcher: At MVRHS I was lucky enough to make the All-State Shriners team, and got a scholarship to Wagner College to play D1AA football. I studied government and politics, and foreign affairs. I also walked onto the D1 lacrosse team and played four years, and made dean’s list my senior year.
What elected, appointed, or volunteer government positions have you previously held, or currently hold?
Burt: Currently elected Tisbury Select Board member; in West Tisbury, I was on the finance committee for nine years, affordable housing committee for three years before moving to Tisbury in 2002 and starting up the Tisbury affordable housing committee again, previously appointed Tisbury member of Dukes County Regional Housing Committee, coordinator of Community Preservation Act committee in 2005 with successful Island-wide votes to establish the CPC in all Island towns, Tisbury Municipal Housing Trust member.
Colarusso: Elected: Director of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Alumni Association, president of the Chilmark Volunteer Firefighters Association, chair and vice chair of the Tisbury sewer advisory board, vice chair Dukes County Emergency Management Association. Appointed: Director and assistant of Tisbury Emergency Management, lieutenant on the Chilmark Fire Department. Volunteer: sewer advisory board, department of public works advisory board, Tisbury wastewater planning committee.
Schilcher: I volunteered a semester in college at the lobbying firm Jefferson Governor Relations in Washington, D.C. There I worked as an assistant to John Shall, former chief of staff at the U.S Department of Labor, as well as a former representative and a personal hero of mine, the Hon. William R. Ratchford of Connecticut. After college I volunteered as an intern for over a year in the Boston office of Sen. Ted Kennedy, working constituent relations focused on State Department, judiciary, veterans, and Native American issues. I hold no appointed positions, but I go to a lot of Tisbury board and committee meetings across the municipal landscape. I send a lot of emails. I just haven’t been able to find a voice in Tisbury town government.
Why did you decide to run for a position on the Tisbury Select Board?
Burt: To be an active and contributing member of my community.
Colarusso: I have been thinking about running or being on the select board for years, but felt a sense of urgency to get involved and help as soon as possible. I have been on town committees and have been a town employee, but believe to impart real change, I would need to step up to the next level as a select board member. I believe if I wait until I retire, it will be too late, and we need the balanced leadership style I can bring to the table, with a sense of purpose. I am not scared of hard work, and my résumé reflects that; the time is now to get involved. Another big driver is we are constantly losing great members of our community daily due to missteps made in the past, and we need to provide triage to correct the course. With large capital projects underway and many looming in the distance, we also cannot afford to make any more missteps.
Schilcher: I’m running because I love this town with all my heart, and I’m worried the beautiful community which fosters that love is rapidly dying. I feel no one in leadership positions seems to understand the urgency. I’m running because I have to and want to live in this town the rest of my life. I don’t just need a win, I need a mandate on May 9th.
What is your favorite thing about the town of Tisbury?
Burt: I believe Tisbury is the beating heart of the Island because of its location as the entrance to the island. Vineyard Haven Harbor is simply beautiful.
Colarusso: My favorite thing about Tisbury is the people of the community, in conjunction with our rich history. Main Street and our harbor and waterways, we have a lot of charm. I particularly love Tashmoo and the Phillips Preserve. During COVID we really overcame so much, and neighbors were helping neighbors and still are. I also love walking my dog around town.
Schilcher: That locked up in our Town Hall sits an original copy of our 1671 Town Charter. It’s the only surviving of three land grants signed by Royal Governor Duke Francis Lovelace (the Duke who gives our county its name), and should be on loan in the M.V. Museum to help drive foot traffic. That document embodies our 352-year history that you can feel, see, and touch, if you know how and where to look. The pride I feel from being from such a beautiful and historic part of our country is my favorite part of Tisbury. However, my first love was Tashmoo.
In your opinion, what are the biggest issues Tisbury is facing right now?
Burt: Issues: Taking real positive action on community housing needs — through both zoning and the addition of more rental and home ownership units, the need for a central town hall building for all town departments, addressing wastewater needs, addressing traffic and parking, climate action planning, beautifying the entrance to Vineyard Haven on Water Street and that area. Keeping tax rate steady so we can continue to have a diverse, healthy, beautiful town!
Colarusso: There have been some miscalculations in the past, and we need to learn from them so we do not keep making the same mistakes. We were all doing our best with the information we had at the time, and unfortunately sometimes maybe we didn’t have the full picture, and it ended up costing us. I am a big proponent of doing things right the first time, and unfortunately due to miscommunications and/or not enough information, between wastewater and the Tisbury School, it has cost and will cost taxpayers almost $100,000,000 additionally or out of pocket. We cannot afford errors of that magnitude, and the time is now to get involved.
We need more people at the table, with varied backgrounds, upbringings, and knowledge, so the burden is not on a select few overworked volunteers. My other major concern is we are losing so many members of our community due to the housing crisis, and what that does to the fabric of Tisbury and the Island over time. As more people are forced to move off or commute, it can cause a ripple effect. Anytime we lose even just one person, it leaves a gap in our community, whether they are a plumber, trash collector, wastewater operator, or teacher.
Schilcher: In 1992, I went to kindergarten in a trailer. Our kids are still in trailers. There’s one playground in a swamp. Our town employees aren’t treated well, and most work in trailers. Our community doesn’t have the infrastructure to support teachers in our school, and the many town employees needed to run a healthy town not dependent on third-party contractors (this is more expensive in the long term). We don’t have the zoning, infrastructure, or urgency to address the threat of short-term rentals ruining residents’ way of life.
Residents need to be the priority of our town government. Tisbury has an $86 million school to pay for, but we increased our budget 14 percent when we should be looking at austerity measures. We don’t need $100,000 to paint the police station when it’s mostly shingles. We don’t need to spend $37,000 annually on tennis court maintenance when it could have been a park and parking lot, one block from downtown. We don’t need another $70,000 police car when we have more cars than officers on duty. We don’t need a $140,000 monster truck out of the wastewater reserve fund when the WICK system is operable, but still unfinished and offline. We need to build our downtown business and tax revenue responsibly, as we have the most potential of any town on the entire coast to return to be the beautiful and charming port town we once were. We need to focus on our harbor to drive tax revenue, not allowing more seasonal mega-mansions to be built for property taxes. Day foot traffic is the only way to enjoy the Vineyard in 2023 if you’re not of affluence. Tisbury needs to take advantage of that.
The anchoring ban in Lake Tashmoo has been gaining attention recently. With the summer season approaching, do you think the ban should continue, or should an alternative solution be found?
Burt: The anchoring in Lake Tashmoo was started at the time by the BOS to be temporary in nature until a specific summer mooring plan was presented to the board. I understand such a plan has now been formulated, and will be presented soon to the BOS.
Colarusso: I can see the concerns regarding the magnitude of boats and limited staff, or feeling overwhelmed. This anchorage area was created in order to limit any other anchorage inside Tashmoo. I think we could have come up with a better solution, either temporary or permanent, besides an all-out ban for an issue that really affects us, of that magnitude, only 15 days or less of the year. To punish everyone without a solid plan seems a little aggressive, and should be a last resort. Obviously, without clear rules or markings for boaters for the area, things may have gotten out of hand, with all the additional boaters on the water since COVID. It felt to me that the decision to ban anchoring was already made before the hearings even began, and I believe they could have been more open and transparent.
I am a mariner and sailor that has worked for both Edgartown and Chilmark harbor departments. I understand the need to plan things out for your budget ahead of time, but also have room for unexpected expenses. The time to bring it up and start solutions should be September, and I think a more formalized summer after-action review annually would help guide the conversations and goals for the upcoming year. I believe in solutions being discussed openly, budgeted for, and implemented comprehensively. I wrote a five-year harbor maintenance plan for the Chilmark harbormaster back in 2016, and believe we could benefit from doing something similar, but in my experience a plan is only as good as the people that are able to access it, able to read it, and then also help implement it.
Schilcher: According to the M.G.L and current Tisbury waterways regulations, any change of a designated anchorage zone must be done through public hearing with 14 days notice. Anchoring in Tashmoo is still legal. Environmentally, anchoring in sand and the famous “Tashmoo muck” (i.e., acidic mud) isn’t hurting the eelgrass. The environmental issue in Tashmoo is water quality, and according to DMF, eelgrass beds have stayed relatively the same since 2012.
The problem is the 1.6-mile storm pipe under West Spring Street that empties directly into the salt marsh in the very back. It’s the excess nitrogen from the golf course and runoff from those huge green lawns popping up on the pond without vegetative barriers. It’s that Tashmoo can’t flush properly due to the lack of thorough dredging and sediment loading. Boaters aren’t the issue, but the solution to boats is to manage anchoring through the harbormaster. Charlie Blaire did this on Cape Poge in Edgartown successfully. The legally unenforceable moratorium is the canary in the coal mine. If seasonal residents continue to drive public policy, we will have no Vineyard culture left to preserve. No one owns Tashmoo.
There are many construction projects in the works in Tisbury while a master plan is being developed to consider the best path forward for the town. What do you think is the most important infrastructure improvement or need that Tisbury should focus on?
Burt: Most important construction project is to finish the Tisbury School project on time and under budget. Second is the library repairs and additional project — much-needed and important to our community. Also important would be a new town hall building to hold all town departments in one building. The current fractured setup in three, really four, buildings is inefficient, unwieldy, and prevents good communication between all town departments. And equally important would be fixing the Five Corners flooding problems.
Colarusso: The most important infrastructure improvement that will dictate how we are able to live on this Island is wastewater. We no longer accept septage on islands, and we need more certified operators for both water and wastewater; this could be a perfect storm, causing environmental damage to our sole-source aquifer. The school, which is now costing an additional $40,000,000, still has no current plan to be maintained, and that is a huge concern for me. In my experience, you only have the first year to really get everything squared away. I have been the point person for both new building warranty periods and new ship builds.
The regional high school and potential town hall are also looming in the distance. We need to get together and come up with transparent solutions, so we do not keep making the same mistakes. If we have the right people at the table, that accurately represent our community, and those without special interests, there is nothing we can’t accomplish. Many hands make light work; we need all the help we can get for these big lifts.
Schilcher: As I see it, there are two visions for the master plan. One is idealistic, one is realistic. We must have a managed retreat up to the B2 district, and move some town infrastructure, like the Post Office and police station to free up parking, so our businesses don’t continue to be choked out of customers due to accessibility issues. We need housing infrastructure to support our community. We need to design Tisbury so you can either move through it fluidly, or be able to stay a while comfortably, to help grow our downtown tax revenue. An access road next to Rockland Trust, connected to the back side of town at Homes Hole Road by the Overlook, is the only thing that’s going to make sense when all these new houses are occupied. It’s already an easement, and could be like Meeting House used to be, until we can pay for it to be paved. Pressure needs to be taken off the bottom of Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road; no one cooperates to clear it anymore. A Five Corners design overhaul is essential. We can start with painting the dangerous crosswalks so they’re visible to pedestrians and drivers. Maintaining the blocked storm pipes on Beach Road Extension, and the one between the Shipyard and Packer’s that dumps into the Lagoon and causes the flooding there, is also a good start. These two stormwater projects can be done with shovels until a more permanent solution is found.