The West Tisbury and Chilmark select boards continue to try and settle on a funding formula for the renovation of Howes House, which is home to the Up-Island Council on Aging.
During a joint meeting Wednesday, Chilmark officials wanted more details about the costs associated with the project before going to voters.
Howes House is located in West Tisbury, but serves senior citizens from Chilmark and Aquinnah as well. Town officials have discussed plans for renovation since 2021. However, the process has been slowed by funding conflicts for the project, which is estimated to cost around $10 million.
Initially, the proposed split was 75 percent for West Tisbury, 20 percent for Chilmark and 5 percent for Aquinnah. But last month, the West Tisbury select board proposed that West Tisbury pay 60 percent, Chilmark 30 percent and Aquinnah 10 percent.
And on Wednesday, the West Tisbury select board met jointly with the Chilmark select board to propose the new funding formula.
Chilmark board members Marie Larsen and James Malkin both thought it could be tough to get voter approval for the funding for the Howes House renovations.
“My concern is that the people who currently go to the Council on Aging for insurance or help with forms and such, are going to say, ‘well, that’s all there is.’ And it’s going to make it a tough sell to our voters,” Malkin said. “So we do need… more detail to say, ‘Chilmark, this is what you’re getting, and here are reasonable assumptions of the use you’re going to get going forward.”
Chilmark board chair Bill Rossi said that although he believes Howes House to be a “worthwhile program,” he agrees that there needs to be “as much detail as possible because there will be a lot of questions generated from people who are taxpayers.”
In addition to Chilmark board members wanting more in-depth information about Howes House, they expressed concerns about cost.
Rossi explained that people in Chilmark have “a sense of anxiety surrounding how much we’ve been spending and borrowing as a town right now.”
He emphasized that although he wants to support the program, and believes that partnering with the other towns makes sense for the long term, 30 percent makes him “nervous” right now.
The discussion concluded with both towns agreeing to wait for more precise numbers regarding cost and usage before making a final decision. Additionally, Howes House’s renovations require approval from the historical district, which they are still waiting for.
On Wednesday, Larsen was named to a Howes House subcommittee as the Chilmark representative.
Chilmark and Aquinnah have smarter business people running their budget. West Tisbury tax payers have no representation and get stuck paying a much higher portion of all joint town bills, including school bills. Stop being chumps West Tisbury.