With perennial town volunteers David Ferraguzi and Elaine Miller vying for the Tisbury appointment to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, the select board Wednesday declined to appoint either one.

The board moved instead to name town administrator John (Jay) Grande as its temporary MVC representative, and to extend the application period by at least two weeks in the hopes of attracting a wider — and potentially younger — pool of candidates for the one-year seat.

“No reflection on Dave or Elaine at all,” board chairman Jeff Kristal said.

Select board meeting over Zoom Wednesday.

Mr. Ferraguzi sparked the conversation resulting in the extension, when he remarked on the lack of younger applicants.

“I’m kind of surprised there are ony two people from the town of Tisbury that are interested,” he said. “Where are the people in the 30-40-year-old-bracket? In their 50s?”

Mr. Kristal chimed in.

“I get it and I feel your befuddlement,” he told Mr. Ferraguzi. “Where are those 30 year olds and how are we not reaching them?”

The board agreed to readvertise the opening, with Mr. Ferraguzi and Ms. Miller to remain in the running as well. Both applicants voiced support for the move.

The appointment was formerly held by Josh Goldstein, who decided to step aside this year.

In other business Wednesday, the board ratified a three-year contract for recently-named police chief Christopher Habekost, reviewed proposed changes to personnel bylaws and approved up to $18,000 in vacation buy-back for an employee who has accrued hundreds of vacation hours over the statutory limit of 240 hours.

“Staffing challenges will prevent [the employee] from taking meaningful time off in the near future,” said personnel board chairman John Schilling.

An official buy-back policy is needed because town personnel bylaws are silent on excess accrued hours, Mr. Schilling told the board. “Past practice has been ‘use or lose it,’ which is not legal actually, because vacation hours are considered wages,” he said. “That’s a ruling from the [state] attorney general.”

Also Wednesday, the board received a report from wastewater superintendent Jared Meader outlining proposed rate changes, which he said would be the first for the town since 2017.

Lower-volume users would see the biggest increase, Mr. Meader said.

“We have a lot of people on the system [among whom] some pay nothing and some pay the bare minimum . . . service charge,” Mr. Meader said. “They’re not paying their share.”

The board set a public hearing for Feb. 16 on the proposed rate changes.

Board members also voted to sign a letter of support for Oak Bluffs in its pursuit of state legislation to outlaw moped rentals, which are no longer permitted in Tisbury.

The three-hour-plus board meeting, which included a pair of hearings on the technical aspects of aquaculture licenses, drew to its close with a heartwarming announcement from animal control officer Kathleen Hoffman.

After rescuing a geriatric papillon named Muffy that went astray last month, Ms. Hoffman said, she received a donation offer from the dog’s owner.

“He was just extremely happy [and] had just asked, could he make a donation toward the animal control program,” she told the board.

“It was really nice of him to do that. This is my job — I don’t do it for donations. But it was nice,” Ms. Hoffman said.

The board voted to accept the donation and send Muffy’s owner a letter of thanks and appreciation.