The traffic delineators — those shoulder-high yellow poles at the intersection of State and Old County Roads in West Tisbury — are gone and police chief Dan Rossi suspects foul play.

“I have a feeling somebody doesn’t like them and I don’t know who it is,” the chief told the town selectmen at their meeting Wednesday. “You can’t just run them over with your car.”

The remark drew laughter from selectman Cynthia Mitchell.

“I’m sorry, I thought you meant the perpetrator,” she said. Mr. Rossi clarified: “You literally have to tear the delineators off the road, it’s not something you can knock over,” he said.

It is not the first time the delineators have mysteriously vanished but Mr. Rossi hopes it is the last.

“I’d like to find out who it is and I have the means now,” he said. The chief would not elaborate, adding only that he had equipment that would aid in his effort to capture the delineator thief.

Meanwhile, West Tisbury town administrator Jen Rand said she has been assured by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that they have a large inventory of the delineators on hand for replacement purposes.

Selectmen also expressed frustration on Wednesday with Community Development Block Grant rules that see the town miss out on funding two out of every three years due to a federal formula that qualifies the town as too affluent.

Christine Flynn, economic development planner for the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, met with selectmen to ask them to endorse a draft community development strategy as part of a joint application with Edgartown, Aquinnah and Chilmark for block grant funding in fiscal year 2012. Block grant monies help pay for housing rehabilitation, child care subsidies and septic repair programs.

“So Chilmark and Edgartown qualify every year because they’re not too rich, but we only qualify one year out of three because we are too rich, is that what I’m hearing?” asked selectman Richard Knabel.

“I don’t make the rules,” replied Ms. Flynn. “Those are the standard guidelines that the federal government uses to categorize each community using census data,” she added.

“If we have people who are eligible for child care, they are eligible for it all the time it seems to me, not just one year out of three,” continued Mr. Knabel. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Ms. Flynn suggested the town contact the state Department of Housing and Community Development to register their complaints.

“They have been very responsive to the Cape and Island communities in the past,” she said.