Government
A family-owned camp of small houses overlooking Stonewall Beach is set to be moved due to severe erosion.
The Chilmark zoning board of appeals voted unanimously on Wednesday to allow a house and several outbuildings to be relocated at the Langmuir property on Greenhouse Lane.
After a wide-ranging discussion about the poor condition of the Edgartown courthouse due to deferred maintenance, the Dukes County advisory board voted this week to put $150,000 toward repairs on the 1858 brick building that stands in the center of town.
The advisory board voted unanimously Wednesday to move $150,000 from the county budget reserve fund into a newly created capital expenditures fund. The vote took place during a joint session of the county advisory board and the county commissioners.
For many years, Social Security Administration representatives paid regular visits to the Island to assist with applications for benefits, and answer general questions about eligibility.
But in 2011, citing budget cutbacks, the federal agency said it could no longer afford the costs associated with travel to the Island. Over the next two years, 490 contact stations were eliminated, including the one on the Vineyard. People who qualify for benefits have been encouraged to seek assistance over the phone or online, or travel to East Falmouth to speak to a representative in person.
The West Tisbury building department will seek disciplinary action against an Island plumber who installed plumbing without a permit at State Road restaurant.
Building inspectors Ernie Mendenhall and Joe Tierney notified the West Tisbury selectmen on Wednesday that they plan to file a complaint with the state against Walter Smith Plumbing. The company installed plumbing in an unpermitted basement kitchen at the restaurant, which has been fined for a zoning code violation.
Mr. Mendenhall said appealing to the state was the “only vehicle” of punitive relief.
The Oak Bluffs selectmen Tuesday unanimously approved increased annual stipends for the fire department.
When requesting the increase, acting fire chief John Rose said the new stipends are more comparable to the pay scale in other towns.
The Steamship Authority is considering increases to parking and freight fares for the Martha’s Vineyard route to offset a projected rise in the cost of service. The SSA management proposed that the additional revenue should come from rate increases on the Martha’s Vineyard route.