West Tisbury Eyes Big Issues at Town Meeting

West Tisbury voters will be faced with a number of headline-making choices at the Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, April 12. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the West Tisbury School.

Voters will be asked to act on 45 articles, including whether to authorize the town to purchase the Field Gallery, to proceed with plans to expand the West Tisbury Library and to petition the state legislature to authorize the conditioned sale of beer and wine in restaurants. Planned amendments would also ask voters to reduce the budget of the Up-Island Regional School District and approve the service of beer and wine at fundraisers.

BEER AND WINE SALES

Voters will be asked to approve the potential sale of beer and wine in certain West Tisbury restaurants. If the article passes, the Board of Selectmen will petition the state legislature to issue licenses for beer and wine. Should the state legislature approve, the issue will again be raised at a town election.

The article stipulates that wine and beer may only be served in restaurants with at least 50 seats, and must be accompanied by food. It does not allow for the development of package stores. At present, only three restaurants in West Tisbury would be eligible for licenses: State Road, the Lambert’s Cove Inn and Plane View. The article was petitioned by representatives from the three restaurants.

A planned amendment to the article would allow for the legal sale of alcohol at fundraisers. Town officials recently learned that organizations are unable to offer alcohol at ticketed events in West Tisbury, as it is tantamount to selling alcohol in a dry town.

FIELD GALLERY PURCHASE

Voters will be asked to authorize the Board of Selectmen to purchase a 1.4-acre parcel of land that contains the Field Gallery for $625,000. Under the terms of the agreement, the property would be purchased at no additional cost to taxpayers.

Town officials negotiated a deal that would separate the parcel from a larger $4.2 million piece of land for sale by owners Tim and Eileen Maley. Selectmen signed a placeholder purchase and sale agreement last week, which will go into effect pending the town’s vote.

According to the terms of the five-year plan, the purchase would be largely paid for with Community Preservation Act funds; the remainder is expected to be offset by leasing the property.

The West Tisbury finance committee has recommended approval of the article.

WEST TISBURY PUBLIC LIBRARY EXPANSION

Two separate articles ask voters to take initial steps toward approving the expansion of the West Tisbury Free Public Library. The first article in question seeks to determine whether voters would approve the expansion, should the library receive a Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners grant and private fund that would cover 75 percent of the costs. The second article would authorize the Board of Selectmen to apply for additional grants. The total cost of the expansion, which would nearly double the size of the library, is estimated at $5.1 to $5.3 million. Voters will be asked at the 2012 town meeting to ultimately approve the expansion.

The West Tisbury finance committee has recommended approval of both articles.

UIRSD BUDGET AMENDMENTS

The West Tisbury finance committee and Board of Selectmen are expected to call for an amendment that would reduce the Up-Island Regional School District (UIRSD) for Fiscal Year 2012 by $233,250 across the three towns that comprise the district: West Tisbury, Chilmark and Aquinnah.

The finance committee previously voted not to recommend the school committee’s $8.16 million budget, which included a $252,000 increase in West Tisbury’s assessment. The financial committee has argued that budgets should not increase if enrollment is decreasing. Superintendent Dr. James Weiss has told the financial committee that the increased budgets are due to increased health insurance costs and scheduled salary increases, as well as the potential addition of a second kindergarten/first grade classroom at the Chilmark School.

A copy of the full warrant can be accessed on this page.