The Chilmark select board is considering three finalists for town treasurer to replace longtime treasurer Melanie Becker, who will retire next month.
The finalists are Sherry-Gay Sibley, an account operations associate at Martha’s Vineyard Bank; Dawn Barnes, the West Tisbury principal assessor; and Julie Menton, a comptroller at R.M. Packer Co. in Vineyard Haven.
After a first round of interviews Tuesday, the board reconvened on Wednesday and decided to speak with all the candidates again before making a decision. “The last few committees I’ve served on, selection committees for new hires, I’ve just been really, really impressed with the quality of candidates that we’re getting applying for our jobs,” selectman Bill Rossi said. “I don’t think we can lose in our decision, but I think it’s a big decision and we need to feel comfortable with taking the time to feel that it’s the right decision.” In November the board decided to change the position from an elected to appointed one. The change still needs approval from voters at the annual town meeting; whoever gets the job will be hired as a temporary replacement for Ms. Becker. “We are certainly hoping that the temporary appointment that we can make next week will become permanent,” selectman Warren Doty said. “No matter what, we are going to have a unanimous decision. Our goal is to find consensus about the best possible person for the treasurer’s job,” he added. Six people applied for the position, Mr. Rossi said. A subcommittee interviewed four candidates and recommended three to the select board. The board interviewed the three finalists at a meeting Tuesday.
Town administrator Tim Carroll asked the candidates questions about their qualifications, how they’ve learned from professional mistakes and what support they would need to adjust to their new role.
Ms. Becker will train her replacement during her last month on the job.
“Melanie timed her retirement so that this person can not only be trained by her before she left, but also so the person could go through a full quarter before it got to be crazy in the summertime,” Mr. Caroll said at a November select board meeting.
In other business at the Tuesday meeting, the board delayed a vote on the 2023 rental budget for Middle Line Road to allow the housing committee a few more weeks of review.
“It’s clear that our interest in examining our experience with rentals at Middle Line Road could influence our development of rentals at Peaked Hill,” Mr. Doty said.
A plan to develop a piece of town-owned land at Peaked Hill Pastures into affordable housing is in active discussion, with more deliberation set for next week. At a meeting two weeks ago the board delayed a decision on issuing a request for proposals, calling for more discussion and fine tuning on the plan.
The board meets again Tuesday for both the town treasurer candidate interviews and the Peaked Hill Pastures discussion.
Tuesday saw more discussion about a planning board proposal to change the zoning bylaw pertaining to homesite housing. The board is proposing to eliminate the one-acre minimum for homesite lots. The amendment also would provide setback relief for the lots by aligning setback rules with the existing requirements for either youth or other nonconforming lots.
“The setbacks will help underline the purpose of this amendment, [which is] to make homesite [housing] a little easier and more forgiving,” planning board member Peter Cook said.
The amendment will come before voters at the annual town meeting, with a hearing planned for sometime in January on the setback rule change. A hearing has already been held on the proposed change to the one-acre minimum lot rule.
In another zoning amendment planned for town meeting, the planning board has also finalized the language on a change that will allow pickleball courts on residential properties.
“It’s not all courts,” Mr. Doty said. “It’s really just pickleball and tennis.”
Selectman James Malkin asked Mr. Carroll to work with the building department to work out potential staffing and compensation issues in response to a letter from the Martha’s Vineyard Builders Association recommending increased staffing in all Island towns.
“With . . . all of the building that’s going on, and the demands on that department in our town, we need to make sure that we’re staffed and able to deliver the services to the people who want to build in Chilmark,” Mr. Malkin said.
