The Chilmark select board voted this week not to widen its narrow flag policy to accommodate a request to fly an LGBTQ flag on town property.
The town’s policy is to allow only the American flag, state flag and town flags on town property.
The decision comes on the heels of an April request by the Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the NAACP to fly the LGBTQ flag in front of the town hall as well as police and fire stations during June to show support for LGBTQ pride month. The request coincided with a U.S. Supreme Court decision which found that the city of Boston violated the first amendment rights of a religious group when it declined to fly its flag in front of city hall but allowed flags from other groups. If Boston allowed one group to fly a flag, then it must allow any group which wished to do so, the court said.
After seeking advice from town counsel Ron Rappaport, the select board decided at its meeting Tuesday to keep to stick to the current policy in order to avoid wading into the murky waters of regulating free speech on town property, selectman James Malkin said.
“I could see a situation where one of us or members of our community feel one way about a flag that’s flown and others are violently opposed to that,” Mr. Malkin said. “There is enough divisiveness in our country at the moment and I don’t think that our town needs that kind of a situation.”
In other business Tuesday, the board decided to dip into its unclassified fund to offset budget overruns from the fire and harbor departments as well as the zoning board of appeals. The overruns total roughly $18,000 and are in part due to expenses related to equipment repairs to a corner of the commercial fishing dock at Menemsha.
The board also expanded the number of alternates on the zoning board of appeals from two to three so resident Fred Khedouri could join the board. The town will also advertise for another two alternates, which ZBA chairman Russell Maloney said is needed as the board sometimes struggles to reach a quorum.
“We only meet once a month, and there are situations where we don’t have a quorum and so the applicant goes away frustrated because they can’t get a decision,” Mr. Maloney said. “And they have to come back to another meeting with another engineer a month later and that costs them money.”
The board also appointed Island carpenter Billy Dillon to serve as clerk of the works, a project manager tasked with overseeing construction, for the ongoing project to build a new firehouse and Tri-town EMS building.
Chilmark board of health member Jan Buhrman discussed the board’s recent indoor mask recommendation.
“We are suggesting that right now, on Martha’s Vineyard, people do mask up when they’re indoors,” Ms. Buhrman said. “If people want to follow the [Center for Disease Control] recommendation, they should continue to get booster [shots].”
