The Massachusetts Community Preservation Act has been around for a short eight years, but in that relatively short span Island towns have come to depend on funding raised through the program to preserve open space, renovate and improve public parks and create affordable housing.
The act allows towns to assess a three per cent surcharge on property tax bills, which is then matched by the state through a county deeds tax paid on real estate transfers. In the early years of the program, the state matched the local portion 100 per cent.
The Oak Bluffs wastewater commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to repair a failing septic grid buried underneath Ocean Park, partly to satisfy orders from the state Department of Environmental Protection to address problems of treated effluent seeping to the surface.
The board voted to spend up to $400,000 to dig up a portion of the park and replace the grid. The work will start this fall and be completed in time for next summer.
A budding Vineyard tradition resumes next week when two teams from the Cape Cod Baseball League — the Falmouth Commodores and Wareham Gatemen — play in the second annual John and Dorothy Connors Memorial Cup. The game is at 1 p.m. on Thursday at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School baseball diamond.
The Vineyard sent three youth soccer teams to the annual Massachusetts Tournament of Champions this past weekend in Lancaster and each team represented the Island admirably. Both the under-12 team and the under-18 team advanced to the final four of the state tournament, while the under-16 team won a game and tied another before being eliminated.
Island police broke up several loud parties, made a number of arrests and responded to a high number of motor vehicle accidents over the weekend.
Edgartown
Edgartown police responded to 96 calls for service from early Friday morning through late Sunday.
When the telephone rings at suppertime it may be a telemarketer. Or it may be a professional fund-raiser looking for money for a local police or sheriff’s organization. In recent days a small army of solicitors has begun canvassing the Island by telephone looking for donations.
