Jim Hickey

Committee Plans Refurbishment at Old Pay Beach in Oak Bluffs

As a familiar stretch of Oak Bluffs waterfront continues its winter hibernation, the sand unblemished by human footprints or children's sand castles, plans are underway to breathe new life into what was once one of the busiest beaches on the Island.

 

 

 

Responding to questions about plans to convert the old town library on lower Circuit avenue into a mixed-use building with affordable housing and a new pharmacy, Oak Bluffs selectmen said this week that the project conforms with state regulations for public works projects.

In recent weeks, questions surfaced over why extensive work had been done on the old library with no site plans on file at town hall and no contractor yet chosen for the project.

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A project by the Island Housing Trust to build eight affordable homes at 250 State Road in West Tisbury has rankled some elected officials who question why the cost of construction — which is partially subsidized by the town — is so high — and why the contractor hired to build the project is also a member of the trust’s board of directors.

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The newly created Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard opens today at the site of the Katharine M. Foote memorial shelter in Edgartown, quietly taking over where the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which ran the facility for the past 50 years, left off.

The old MSPCA sign came down early yesterday morning, and the last remaining animals — which included a German Shepherd mix and several cats — were adopted over the past week or sent to the MSPCA shelter in Centerville.

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For the second time in three months, the sign at Lambert’s Cove Inn in West Tisbury was stolen sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning. Police said they are searching for suspects in a string of sign-related heists in recent months.

The previous sign at the Lambert’s Cove Inn was stolen in February, and the sign in front of the Focus Christian fellowship center down the road has also been stolen several times over the past year.

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Oak Bluffs selectmen reacted with laughter but also some worry on Tuesday to a proposal from a Hollywood production company to shoot a pilot in town for a reality docu-drama depicting the lives of young people spending the summer on the Vineyard.

A majority of selectmen felt the proposal from 25/7 Productions about filming of a program called, appropriately enough, The Vineyard, was hilarious bordering on the absurd, noting it was clearly written by someone pitching a television show and not someone who has spent much time on the Vineyard.

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There was good news and bad news this week for the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard, as the nonprofit announced that executive director John Clese is stepping down, and that construction of the new $11 million YMCA on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road is set to begin in the coming weeks.

Mr. Clese will end his work for the YMCA on July 1, said president Chuck Hughes. Meanwhile, ground-breaking on the new 38,000 square-foot-building is tentatively set for May 18.

Mr. Hughes called it a bittersweet time for the YMCA staff and family.

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