Flooding on Beach Road threatens to cut off Tisbury’s direct access to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, and has reached an “emergency” status, Selectman Tristan Israel said.
At a meeting Thursday night, just two days after the Island was battered by the third nor’easter in 10 days, Israel and his fellow selectmen pointed to the flooding on Beach Road as a hazard.
“Drainage on Beach Road is horrendous,” Israel said. A combination of the storms and melting snow is making the area impassable, he said. “It’s not a very tenable situation.”
Chairman Larry Gomez said it’s not a new issue. It’s one that generates a lot of talk, particularly on social media, but no action.
“Where’s it going to go?” Gomez asked rhetorically.
Israel persisted. “I think we’re in an emergency situation on Beach Road,” he said. “We’re going to lose the road in front of Vineyard Scripts. We need to make noise as a town somewhere. We need to make more noise than we’re making.”
Beach Road is a state road, and is under the control of Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
He pointed out that there’s a Citgo gas station, across from The Times office, where there’s a potential environmental issue because of gas and oil runoff.
“There’s a lot of people running for governor; invite them down here,” Gomez said. “Walk them down here and walk them through the flood.”
Pedestrians can be seen walking along that section of the street dodging the puddles, as well as the splash from cars driving through the flooded section of road.
Selectman Melinda Loberg, who was participating in the meeting by teleconference, pointed out that Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito had been scheduled to be in town when the storm hit. Polito canceled her visit.
“We should bring her there,” Loberg said.
The board ultimately decided to have town administrator Jay Grande write a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, inviting him to come to see the issue for himself.
To the rescue
If all goes well, the public will be treated to a demonstration of the U.S. Coast Guard’s ability to do a sea rescue this summer.
Brock Callen, executive director of Sail MV, was before selectmen asking for their blessing to use Vineyard Haven Harbor for the demonstration during the Vineyard Cup in July.
Callen said it’s good for mariners to see this type of demonstration in person.
“It’s one thing to see it on TV,” he said. “It’s another thing to see it in person.”
Air Station Cape Cod has agreed to use one of its Jayhawk helicopters to do the search and rescue demonstration with the assistance of a Coast Guard vessel from Station Woods Hole in the water. A Coast Guard official will be on the shore narrating what’s happening, Callen said.
“Sail MV’s mission is promoting safety at sea,” he said.
The regatta is scheduled for July 13 to 15, and the 30-minute demonstration, if approved by the federal government, will be held Saturday, July 14, from 5 to 5:30 pm.
In 2008, Callen had secured a similar demonstration, he said. The Coast Guard was on its way when the team was diverted to the sinking of a vessel, he said.
Harbormaster John Crocker said he supports the idea. “My only concern was perimeter control, with people wanting to get too close,” he said. “We have that pretty well figured out.”
The demonstration will be staged from the Packer property, but will be visible throughout the harbor area.
The board gave its blessing in a 2-0 vote, another hurdle cleared for the demonstration.
In other business, the board voted to send a letter to the state Division of Marine Fisheries asking for an extension of the scallop season through April 15.
The board also agreed to remove a ballot question for the possible purchase of land on Beach Road because the town simply isn’t ready with a dollar amount, Loberg said.
Finance director Jon Snyder told the board the town’s proposed budget is $28.3 million, a 4.7 percent increase over the current year’s spending plan. The biggest culprit for the increase is paying for the town’s share of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School budget. Snyder had proposed setting aside $400,000 for future pension liabilities, but the board ultimately settled on $300,000.