The Oak Bluffs select board voted Tuesday to pull a handful of proposed articles off the annual town meeting warrant ahead of the April 9 meeting.
The articles that made it onto the warrant will bring a variety of potential zoning changes and funding requests, but the board members removed four articles that they felt were unnecessary or may have unintended consequences.
The first article the board voted to remove would have allowed the town to decide whether the town clerk should become an appointed role, instead of elected. The board was split on whether or not to bring this to a vote because of the difficulty of finding a qualified person to fill the position who lives in town.
“If our town clerk lost her house, she would be immediately out of the job,” said town administrator Deborah Potter.
As an elected role, the town clerk must live in Oak Bluffs. As an appointed position, the job could be filled by any qualified person living on the Island. Some select board members, including Gail Barmakian, worried that the town clerk would become less independent if they were appointed.
“I feel that the integrity of that position would be severely compromised, should it be appointed, ” she said, “because to be overseen by somebody you’re supposed to oversee is a very difficult position.”
Select board member Jason Balboni said that the disagreement between board members was all the more reason to include the article in the annual meeting. “It takes it out of our hands,” he said, “It puts it in the hands of the people of this town to decide how they want to handle it.”
Board members Thomas Hallahan, Ms. Barmakian, and Emma Green-Beach voted to remove the article.
The select board struck another article from the draft warrant that would have allowed voters to decide whether or not $70,000 of free cash should be transferred to Sailing Camp Park for insulation and basement finishing. Dion Alley led the decision to remove the article from the annual town meeting because the pitch to use the downstairs area of the building as a community space throughout the year did not come with many specifics.
The board also declined to include an article for $225,000 for a study that would look at repairs to the town’s seawall. The money would also have gone towards a coastal resiliency feasibility study and other services that make up the second phase of the project.
The board felt that spending money on a further study could be better spent on taking a more holistic view of waterfront resiliency across the entire town.
The last article removed from the warrant would have enacted a new bylaw dealing with large gatherings in residential neighborhoods. The proposed bylaw aimed to regulate large events hosted in residential areas. Homeowners would not be allowed to host more than two parties with more than 50 people per month, and they would be limited to no more than five per year.
Homeowners could get an exception by asking for a permit from the town.
The ability to curb loud parties, especially those being hosted by corporate owners, was a concern for the board.
“We have had complaints, some significant ones from East Chop and other communities that have come to us in large numbers,” Mr. Hallahan said.
While the issue is a concern, board members were unsure if the proposed bylaw would be enforceable. “You know how strapped we are in the summertime,” said Mr. Balboni, “I’m concerned about putting something out that’s not being enforced.”
A similar bylaw, sparked by a home hosting events in Edgartown, may be a part of Edgartown’s annual meeting.
“I would be really interested to let Edgartown do a season of this, so we can see some of the kinks and improve upon it,” Ms. Green-Beach said.
