Who’s paying attention? 

To the Editor: 

Am I concerned? You bet I am! I just sat through a presentation at the Oak Bluffs Fire Station on March 25 about our Island emergency preparedness, in case of any number of threats we might face. Guess what? We are not prepared. Guess who is in charge? Specifically your/our elected officials, our select boards. Guess who did not attend? Your/our select board officials, except for Marie Larsen, Chilmark Select Board chair, who was the only elected official who holds any power over an emergency situation in her town, was there. No other select board member from any other town was there to learn about what we can do better to protect us. Not one from Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, Vineyard Haven, West Tisbury, or Aquinnah. 

Look at this last blizzard. How many of us felt we got proper notification about where to go, what to do? Many were without power for days. We helped each other, and services were delivered as soon as they could be. Thanks to friends, neighbors, fire departments, police, utility companies, anyone with a plow, a shovel, a warm stove. We got through it. But how are we prepared for even stronger events? Driving along our roads I see the downed trees. Speaking with people, I hear the challenges faced. When I see only one of our six towns — and by the way, Gosnold attended online — attend an information session to address emergency management on this Island, I am beyond concerned. 

Perhaps our elected officials don’t realize the level of responsibility they have to protect us, or their liability if they don’t? As a county official I have no governance over the towns. I truly hope you, as a citizen of your town, demand more from whom you place in office. We have more storms, in many shapes, on our horizon. I, for one, want to know that anyone I vote for is doing everything they can to protect me, our Island, our future. There are opportunities for our select board officials to become educated about the facts and their responsibility to us. 

We must demand they protect us. We are losing money because we act separately as six or seven towns looking for funding from FEMA. Our ability to qualify for financial relief and support is so much stronger if we work across town borders and approach grants and state or federal funding opportunities from an Island-wide perspective. I look forward to seeing who of our elected officials show up. Our emergency managers are there. Our county officials are there. Where are you, our town elected officials, who ultimately call the shots on this? I hope you all show up at the next opportunity to dig in deeply into how we protect our families, our friends, and our community.

Christine Todd, chair
Dukes County Commissioners