At first glance the race for Martha’s Vineyard Commission, the regional land use planning agency vested with broad powers by the state legislature, seems quite simple. There are nine candidates listed on the ballot and nine open seats on the commission.
But not so fast.
While other Islanders are out trick-or-treating or putting finishing touches on their costumes, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School varsity football team will be spending Halloween on the field under the lights tonight when they play Cape Cod Tech at home in what is easily their most important game so far this season.
Oak Bluffs selectmen on Tuesday firmly said no to a proposal from the town assessors to establish a split tax rate giving year-round residents a break on their property tax bills and shifting more of the burden onto seasonal property owners.
Jack Law, chairman of the board of assessors, said creating a split tax rate would give the typical year-round property owner a $790 break on their tax bill based on an average assessed valuation of $606,000. Mr. Law said the board voted to recommend separate tax classifications at their regular meeting on Monday.
After receiving a notice of noncompliance from the state last month confirming that treated effluent is seeping to the surface at Ocean Park, the Oak Bluffs wastewater commission has agreed to hire an environmental engineering firm to begin work on additional leaching beds at a new site adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant.
Two members of the West Tisbury selectmen appeared before the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission on Wednesday to urge the panel to deny a proposal from an advertising company to sell space in the airport terminal and along the tarmac that would cater mostly to high-end, affluent visitors arriving on Island by private jet.
Construction has been halted on a planned $55 million renovation project at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown, at least until the fall.
And while the scenic hotel overlooking the outer Edgartown harbor remains open for business, the owner and his Vineyard attorney said this week that the decision was prompted by a combination of delays in local permitting and problems with the Wall Street bank that was providing financing for the project.
