Chilmark and Tisbury voters are set to vote on phasing out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers — possibly becoming the fourth and fifth towns on the Island to do so.
First, Chilmark votes at its annual town meeting on April 28 at 7 pm at the Chilmark Community Center. Its leaf-blower ban comes midway through a 25-article warrant.
The ban permits gas-powered blowers through May 2028, but restricts their use to 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, and 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday. They would be banned on federal holidays. The ban also allows them only from March 15 through May, and Oct. 15 to Jan. 15. After the ban, all other blowers will be subject to those time and seasonal restrictions.
Town police may enforce the leaf-blower bylaw, with first-time violations coming with a written warning, the second a $100 fine, and a further violation a $300 fine.
Voters will also decide on zoning bylaw amendments to allow for accessory dwelling units, which would allow property owners to add an additional housing unit on their lot.
Chilmark might join Aquinnah and West Tisbury in adopting the specialized code, a stricter version of stretch building codes active in all other Island towns. It applies to new structures, and requires that mixed-fuel new homes install a minimum amount of solar power and be wired for electrification.
The Tisbury town meeting will meet the next day, April 29, at 7 pm at the Tisbury School gymnasium — the first such use since the new school was constructed. Article 10 of the 36-article annual warrant would restrict gas-powered blowers to the same times of day and year as Chilmark, though the ban takes place a bit earlier, on March 15, 2028. This bylaw does not place restrictions on all leaf blowers after the ban, something present in other towns’ bylaws.
Also on the warrant in Tisbury, voters will consider a new job description for the role of town administrator, the town’s highest official, a position recently filled by Joe LaCivita.
The bylaw is the product of the town administrator job description task force, created to define the position’s responsibilities related to other town entities and resolve inconsistencies in town bylaws. Voters denied updates to the job description at last year’s town meeting, with some concerned that the updates gave more power to the nonelected role.
Special Town Meeting Article 12 lists responsibilities, including managing and maintaining nearly all town buildings, and responding to citizen complaints as well as inquiries under state public records law.
The previous article (11) describes the bylaw changes needed to fit with the job description. The administrator, the article says, would take responsibility for approving town electronic data processing and electronic services policies, instead of the select board.
The article would also remove and replace the town’s procurement and property disposal bylaw. Contracts for purchases over $3,000 would be awarded and executed by the administrator or their designee, though contracts over $25,000 would also require select board approval.
The town is also looking to establish a number of new positions. Article 29 would fund a conservation agent at a salary of around $55,000. Article 30 would establish a year-round deputy shellfish constable at a salary of around $70,000. Article 31 would fund a short-term rental officer in the building department at a salary of $40,000. Special Town Meeting Article 4 would also elect a fish committee to regulate herring at Chappaquonsett Pond and Creek, naming James Tilton, Michael Conroy, and Jonathan Snyder as members.
The town is also looking to appropriate $150,000 from its unreserved fund balance to replace the aging Owen Park Pier.
