How, when and where to move the Gay Head Light, along with the money to pay for it: these are all active topics for discussion by a newly-formed committee charged with developing a plan to relocate the historic brick tower.

The lighthouse now stands 50 feet from an eroding cliff at the westernmost edge of the Vineyard.

A 12-member committee appointed by the town selectmen last month held its first meeting Wednesday, which was mostly organizational.

As erosion inches the Gay Head Lighthouse closer to the edge, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum is moving ahead with a study to assess the urgency of relocating the 156-year-old structure.

The study will take place over the course of three years and provide a “more realistic” prediction of what the long-term needs are for the area, museum director David Nathans said yesterday.