West Tisbury is pumping the brakes on plans to renovate the Howes House after the select board voted Wednesday to withdraw an article to appropriate $215,000 for a project now estimated to cost $10 million in total.
The town has access to $304,000 in American Rescue Plan Act and a warrant article for the Howes House proposal will be presented at this year’s spring town meeting.
A collective vision for the future of up-Island senior services began to take shape on Wednesday morning, as focus group findings begin to guide Howes House renovation plans.
The Aquinnah select board Thursday pushed back against a proposed agreement amongst the up-Island towns to split evenly costs of an $8 million renovation to the Howes House.
The West Tisbury select board opened the floor this week to residents with varying ideas for the use of Howes House, now home to the Up-Island Council on Aging, which is slated for an $8 million renovation.
Howes House in West Tisbury, home base for the Up-Island Council on Aging, would be a better place for old folks if it also served younger people, West Tisbury resident Susan Silk told the town select board on August 17.
