Oak Bluffs selectmen this week accepted an offer from a town moped rental operator that will result in 40 fewer mopeds on Island roads next summer.

Donald Gregory, who holds the moped license for Sun ‘N’ Fun rentals in downtown Oak Bluffs, proposed giving up his license to rent 40 mopeds in exchange for a license to rent for 40 more cars. The business already has a license for 28 car rentals.

Selectman Kathy Burton reacted with just two words.

“Thank you,” she said.

“I applaud your move,” added selectman Walter Vail.

“I think it’s a great trade,” said selectman Michael Santoro.

In a letter to the board, Mr. Gregory said a personal tragedy contributed to his decision. In 2014, one of his employees, Alexandro Garcia was killed when his moped collided with a truck in Chilmark.

“Some of the voices in the community look at my business and say, just get rid of the mopeds,” Mr. Gregory said in the letter. “It’s not that easy. Mopeds drive my business. I have been trying to determine a way that I could remove mopeds from my business in a manner that would not bankrupt the company. I understand that if I remove them from the license, I will never get them back.”

The board voted unanimously to retire Mr. Gregory’s license for mopeds, and to grant him permission to rent another 40 vehicles that are not mopeds.

Under town bylaws, the number of moped licenses is capped at 308. The bylaws allow selectmen to issue no more than five new moped licenses each year, but the clear sentiment of selectmen is to issue no new licenses.

The vote was greeted with applause from a packed meeting room.

“It’s one of the few political decision you could make where almost 100 per cent of the people agree,” said Timothy Rich, the former Chilmark police chief and an Oak Bluffs property owner.

Also on Tuesday, building inspector Mark Barbadoro informed the board that an Oct. 15 deadline for safety repairs on the Island Theatre had passed without compliance by the owners. He said a structural engineer had declared the building unsafe and dangerous.

“Four months ago I gave the Halls a deadline to fix their building,” Mr. Barbadoro said, referring to the Hall family which owns the theatre. “Now I need to proceed to the next step. Today I went out and placarded the building as unsafe. I ordered the building repaired within 24 hours.”

If repairs are not made, the next steps include an examination of the building by a panel of engineers. If it is declared unsafe, action could range from the town completing the repairs and placing a lien on the property to demolition.

“This has been a situation that began two years ago . . . . This is not something new or shouldn’t be a surprise, Mr. Barbadoro said.