The Oak Bluffs resident homesite committee, once responsible for finding and providing affordable lots to town residents, has long ago disbanded. The committee has not held a housing lottery in over three years, and the last recorded minutes of a meeting date back to December of 2004.

But according to town records, the committee technically still exists.

There is over $250,000 in cash in the resident homesite account, and the town committee still owns 16 properties scattered throughout town with a total assessed value of $4.8 million.

At a special town meeting later this month Oak Bluffs voters will be asked to take action that wipes away the last remaining traces of the resident homesite committee.

The meeting is on Oct. 20.

An article on the warrant would transfer $225,000 from the resident homesite account to the town affordable housing committee, which hopes to use the money to complete the renovation of the former town library into three affordable apartments and commercial space. And while it may seem like semantics, in fact the goals of the town affordable housing committee are different from the former resident homesite committee.

The resident homesite committee once identified new lots to be sold to town residents lots at a reduced rate. The program allowed town residents to build their homes and sell them for full market value after 20 years.

The affordable housing committee wants to create housing that remains affordable in perpetuity and is not restricted to Oak Bluffs residents, although they may be given preference.

“Under the resident homesite committee program, you could wait 20 years and sell your land at full value. I’m not sure if that’s accomplishing the goal of creating sustainable affordable housing . . . we want to create affordable housing that remains affordable for a long time. We want the next generation of Islanders to have a chance at affordable housing,” said town administrator Michael Dutton this week.

Mr. Dutton said the affordable housing committee is considering creating a trust, similar to the one now in place in Edgartown, which allows town officials to make key decisions about spending money on affordable housing without approval from voters.

The Edgartown trust is governed by a seven-member board of trustees that can acquire, sell and lease property, manage and renovate real estate, hire and pay agents such as accountants, appraisers and lawyers.

“[The trust] is just a concept at this point, but a concept that seems to have merit,” Mr. Dutton said.

The resident homesite committee faded from existence over the past three years, starting when chairman James Rankin left the Island and moved to Florida. Another member, Harvey Beth, resigned to become the treasurer of the Island Housing Trust as well as a member of the town affordable housing committee.

The last time the committee awarded lots was in June of 2006, when six affordable lots were awarded through a lottery system.

Selectmen allowed the appointments of the remaining three members — Jesse B. (Jack) Law 3rd, Brian Hughes and Tony Ferreira — to lapse. Last summer selectmen revealed that they had appointed themselves as the resident homesite committee in order to transfer the title of a homesite lot awarded through the lottery two years ago.

The committee has also been a political battleground on more than one occasion. In the winter of 1990, one selectman accused the chairman of the committee of withholding public records, which led to a ruling from the state supervisor of public records that all records of homesite committee meetings be open to the public.

During the prolonged battle over the proposed Down-Island Golf Course in the Southern Woodlands, selectmen opted not to reappoint the resident homesite members so they would not be able to take a position against the golf course. The homesite committee at the time held title to 25 acres in the middle of the proposed golf course site.

The article that voters will consider this month asking to transfer $225,000 from the defunct homesite committee to the affordable housing committee was placed on the warrant at the request of selectman Ron DiOrio, who is also chairman of the affordable housing committee.

Mr. DiOrio’s committee is the applicant for the library conversion project. He did not return telephone calls this week seeking comment.

Former members of the resident homesite committee said they are not opposed to article.

“No hard feelings at all, nothing like that,” said Jack Law. “It’s not like [the selectmen] are going in a different direction, they are still creating affordable housing. The old committee sort of ran its course . . . towards the end we didn’t have a lot to do.”

Former committee member Brian Hughes, now a member of the affordable housing committee, agreed.

“The resident homesite committee was a whole different idea, it was a way to help town residents build a home at a [reduced rate]. But it did not regenerate affordable housing,” he said.

Selectman Kerry Scott said in the end it will be up to the voters.

“This article isn’t just about transferring money, it’s about ending a committee that once meant something to this town, a committee that played an important role in providing affordable homes to our residents. If we are going to do this, then let’s at least stop and talk about it,” she said.