Chair Sherwin opened discussion of a draft advisory letter the board planned to send about Vineyard Wind and wind turbines generally. The board had previously instructed staff to send a packet to the select board and other officials; Tara said town administration responded that the text should be submitted in letter form rather than bullet points.

Board members disagreed about whether the board needs administration approval to send the letter. Mister DeCosta said he was surprised town administration wanted final approval and said the advisory board is an elected body that should be able to send its own letter. Others noted that historically town administration reviewed materials the board submitted before the select board saw them.

Members debated the wording of the letter. One board member suggested replacing "offshore wind energy" with "renewable energy projects"; another suggested the term "alternative energy." The group also discussed sending the letter beyond the select board to BOEM, BSEE, state legislators and the governor. Tara said she had received six replies to the department's earlier bushel-count request and would resend the harvest-request letter to permit holders.

Why it matters: the advisory letter represents the board's formal views and could be forwarded to federal and state agencies and elected officials; the board and town administration disagreed about how the letter should be delivered and edited.

Ending: The board decided to review a revised letter at its next meeting and, if approved by the advisory board, to submit it to the select board and other recipients pending administration guidance; no formal vote was taken on the content or distribution on Jan. 7.