Updated Oct. 1
Tisbury got the approval from town meeting voters Tuesday night to move forward with renovations to a Tashmoo building planned to become the town administrator’s housing.
Voters, 169 in all, gathered at the town’s elementary school for a special town meeting, and top of mind for townsfolk was whether $297,000 should be used to renovate and repair the old waterworks building on 325 West Spring St. to be used for town administrator Joseph LaCivita.
LaCivita signed a contract in January that offered him a base salary of $200,000 with a monthly $3,000 housing stipend. According to the contract, the stipend would end after LaCivita moves into the repaired waterworks building, where he would get to live rent-free but pay for utilities.
Town residents and officials who favored the project highlighted it as a necessary step to fill a key leadership position in Tisbury while investing in a town property, including replacing windows, demolition of first-floor walls, and installing a denitrification septic system.
Select board member John Cahill told voters that the town took over the building in the early 20th century, and that it was originally built as housing for the waterworks manager, dubbed the “engineer’s house.” The property has had a mixed history of being used as office space, but also temporary housing for the Tisbury School construction manager. He also said other local entities have been pursuing housing for their employees, like Martha’s Vineyard Hospital with the Navigator Homes project, and that this was an issue that needed to be addressed at “all levels” in the town.
Additionally, Cahill said LaCivita’s compensation package was “within the range” of other town administrators in the region, from the $220,000 paid to the Provincetown town administrator to the Nantucket town administrator’s $265,000 salary.
“That’s the price we pay for leadership,” Cahill said.
But there was opposition on the town meeting floor, with some voters pushing back on the idea of subsidizing housing for such a highly paid employee. That included voters who were concerned the select board promised housing in a public building without input from town residents.
“This guy makes $200,000 a year, and we’re going to give him a house?” Donald Brown, Tisbury resident, said. He said the arrangement felt like the select board was trying to “sneak one by us.”
Ruth Konigsberg, Tisbury finance and advisory committee member, felt the deal for LaCivita was unfair.
“It’s such an enormous perk for one individual, and I don’t think that that’s how we want to establish our town’s … commencement of municipal housing,” Konigsberg said. Other members of the finance committee supported the warrant article.
When questioned whether the select board had the authority to add the property as housing in LaCivita’s contract, town counsel David Donesky said the waterworks building wasn’t designated to a specific group or controlled by a deed. That means, according to Donesky, the building fell under the purview of the board, which is allowed to enter into a lease for these types of buildings for up to 30 years, and is not required to bring it to a town meeting.
Members of the town administrator search committee highlighted that housing was an issue that continued to pop up among candidates.
Kate Chance, Tisbury resident, said it made sense for the town to pursue municipal housing, particularly since it would help in recruiting qualified individuals from off-Island and eliminate LaCivita’s housing stipend. She also said work on the building should be done sooner than later.
“Tisbury has an unfortunate history of pushing off repairs and improvements to its buildings … only to incur much higher costs later,” she said. “Let’s not make the same mistake again.”
Kirk Metell, Tisbury director of public works, underscored that even if the article didn’t pass on Tuesday, the building did need to be repaired, so the issue would just return at the annual town meeting in the spring.
Ben Robinson, Tisbury planning board member and a town rep on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, said while the Island did need to work toward providing municipal housing, he opposed the arrangement as it was. Robinson said the on-Island arrangement most comparable to LaCivita’s was that of Adam Turner, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. While the commission bought a house for Turner to live in, the director pays 30 percent of his salary in rent.
Robinson also said the $297,000 request seemed too low to renovate the aging house. He said he doesn’t want Tisbury to “shortchange” in renovating the building, and underscored the likelihood the town will need to return to voters asking for more money.
Some residents, like Rachel Orr, also called for more detailed plans before the housing arrangement moved forward. Others also worried the arrangement could impact public access at the nearby park area around Tashmoo Springs Pumping Station. The area is often rented for events, and the hill leading up to the waterworks building has often been enjoyed by residents.
Victor Capoccia, Tisbury affordable housing committee chair, proposed an amendment on the meeting floor to restrict the building for municipal housing through a process that would be determined by the select board, a measure that failed in a 79-65 vote. Meanwhile, Lorraine Wells, chair of the Tashmoo Spring building management committee, unsuccessfully attempted to convince voters to vote to reconsider the decision at the end of town meeting.
The arguments for and against the proposition took up the bulk of Tuesday night. After residents voiced their decisions, Town moderator John Schilling decided that the majority of voters approved the project, without requiring a vote count. This was a reversal of a similar but higher $450,000 request that voters rejected in the annual town meeting in April.
Voters sped through the other 10 articles with little or no discussion after hearing the reasoning from town officials. Among the funding articles was a more than $1 million request for a new fire truck and $45,000 toward assessing Tisbury’s ability to pay for major upcoming capital improvement projects.
Additionally, two bylaws were approved. One established a kennel license and procedure required for anyone running a kennel of more than four dogs, or breeding dogs. Kennels would be inspected by the animal control officer. Meanwhile, voters passed a ban on “unattached trailers and structures” on public roads and town property, with an exemption for trailers attached to a motor vehicle in a “safe and proper fashion” so it can be towed if needed. Trailers used by the town for traffic control or permitted by the town will be waived from this proposed rule.
Mr. LaCivita would most probably have had to pay more than the $3,000 housing stipend for a rental. He may not want to purchase a home here, even with his $200,000 salary due to inflated prices. One would think investing in the community you are working in would be optimum, but that’s his decision to make. Thank you, John Shilling, for moderating the meeting last evening. And thank you all who diligently work to make Town Meeting happen. We are privileged to be able to be directly involved with what happens in our town. I am the old lady who got up and sang Happy Birthday to Tris Israel. Silly me, I though everyone would join in.
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