Chilmark select board members expressed reservations about making a financial contribution to the Howes House renovation project at a joint meeting with the West Tisbury select board on Wednesday, emphasizing potential difficulties with getting town voters on board with the project.

The project to bring the headquarters of the Up-Island Council on Aging up to code and into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act was estimated at $9 million. The original plan to split the costs equally between West Tisbury, Chilmark and Aquinnah was turned down by Chilmark and Aquinnah.

This week, the West Tisbury board presented a new prospective breakdown, with 60 per cent of the project being paid for by West Tisbury, 30 per cent by Chilmark and 10 per cent by Aquinnah, along with West Tisbury paying an additional estimated $1 million for site work.

“This is going to be a tough sell,” said Chilmark board chair Bill Rossi. “There’s a certain level of anxiety regarding how much we are spending in town...it’s quite a big bite frankly.”

The Chilmark select board did not vote to take any action on the proposal, but board member Marie Larsen volunteered to sit as the town representative on the Howes House building committee.

“I really want to support it. But I just need some data or something to convince people that...we need this,” she said.