The all-Island selectmen on Wednesday took up a wide range of topics during their semi-regular meeting at the Tisbury senior center, from algae blooms in Edgartown Great Pond to the possibility of new bylaws that would set residency restrictions for convicted sexual offenders.
But the only topic to generate any heat was a long-running plan to establish the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School as an emergency dispensing site for vaccinations and inoculations during a terrorist attack or outbreak of infectious disease.
Jeffrey Alley, 55, of Oak Bluffs was sentenced to between two and a half to three years in state prison last week in Dukes County Superior Court after pleading guilty to distribution of illegal prescription drugs, court records indicate.
Mr. Alley, who has an extensive criminal record on the Island, will serve his sentence at the Massachusetts Correctional Facility at Cedar Junction (Walpole).
In another example of the national economic crisis hitting home, West Tisbury finance officials have been advised to wait until the end of this month before attempting any short-term borrowing for the town hall renovation and expansion project.
An initial attempt at financing failed last month.
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.
After years of soggy and sometimes smelly conditions at Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs that some residents and officials suspected were due to failing septic grids beneath the park, the Department of Environmental Protection recently confirmed the source of the problem and formally notified the town that it is in violation of state law.
Although the assets of the Dukes County pension fund have seen losses in recent months due to the turmoil on Wall Street and the national economy, spokesmen for the Dukes County retirement board this week said their losses are manageable. They said the pension system is solvent and will stay that way.
