HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-07-26
Beach Management Advisory Committee
Land Bank Conference Room
26 July 2007
4:00 pm
Members Present: Maureen Beck, Chair, Edie Ray, Colin Leddy, John Johnson;
Beach Manager Jeff Carlson
Guests Present: Officer Chris Carnevale, Susan McMaster Collum
Mrs. Beck convened the meeting at 4:00 pm and asked for approval of the July 12
Minutes as corrected and the July 19 Minutes. Mr. Johnson objected to the entry in the
July 19 Minutes of a remark he made about the fireworks at Washing Pond and asked that
it be deleted from the Minutes. The other members thought the remark should be kept
since it was made during the meeting and not mentioned as off the record. So as not to
delay Officer Carnevale's report, the members agreed to discuss the issue further at the
end of the meeting, at which time Mr. Johnson accepted a partial deletion from the
remark and allowed his main statement to stand. The Minutes for both dates were then
approved unanimously.
Mr. Johnson then described to Officer Carnevale two large parties on Miacomet Beach
last week, one of which, on Land Bank property, had been refused a permit and yet
brought a catering service and tent on to the beach, and the other, which did not clean up
the beach afterward. Officer Carnevale took the details down for later investigation.
Officer Carnevale then presented his answers to the prepared set of questions BMAC had
sent to him earlier:
The A TV patrols are aggressively enforcing the beach regulations, stopping any
vehicle showing no permit, issuing a ticket, and directing that vehicle immediately off the
beach. A large number of the citations are for not having a permit, but he would prefer
not to give numbers or types of violations until the season is over when the Chief can
supply such data. He admitted that a great many tickets have been issued. This year each
patrol officer at the end of his shift must enter onto the computer the list of violations he
issued; therefore, the tickets can be checked and made known to other patrols or police
officers. Even warnings are entered in the lists. He believes that this system will maie it
hard to fix any reported infraction.
Sometimes the beach sticker is not attached to the car or fixed only by mag@
and not always posted on both the front and rear bumpers. Sometimes people just fl~h
the stickers in hand. The patrols do check that the sticker number matches the license
plate. ~~
He is grateful for the access emergency signs posted at all the beach access~
They facilitate locating a beach area and guide emergency vehicles for rescue work;'>
The patrols really try to educate the beachgoers about the regulations as protection
for the environment; they also carry extra beach driving brochures and trash bags for dog
and other litter. Most people do carry the beach brochure as required in the car. Mrs.
Beck recommended he ask Footprints Only, a spin-off of the Surfside Association, for
bags when needed to defray expenses.
The overlap of coverage as shifts change is working very well this year because
there are fewer people and problems on the beach during that early evening period of 2+
hours. When a shift ends, the driver must clean his A TV thoroughly and have it ready for
the next shift at 7 pm, and enter his log of tickets and occurrences. The A TV s must be
thoroughly cleaned because by the end of a season each has been driven 5000 miles, a
hard workout for an A TV. It takes 35 to 50 minutes to do the cleaning. This year there
are 3-4 spare A TV s to prevent disruption of the schedules.
The night visitors to the beach usually come in groups about 12:30-1 :00 am and
occasionally a few a little later. The season starts with a number of such gatherings, but
the aggressive action by the patrols quiets them down as the season goes on.
He is delighted that 7 out of his 13 A TV officers are veterans with 3 to 4 years
experience. He and the Beach Manager agree that the veterans, both among the patrols
and the lifeguards, are making the supervision of the beaches go more smoothly this year.
They both commended Jeff Allen, who is in charge of the lifeguards, for his excellent
supervision.
Officer Carnevale is keeping some officers at a single beach all day, two at the
Eel PointlMadaket area and one at Nobadeer where there is a lot of traffic. During the
day the patrols move alone; at night for their own safety they travel in pairs.
In answer to neighbors' complaints about the noise of the ATV's late at night on
the paved roads, he regrets that he can not prevent the loud sound of the motors, which
make the same noise at any speed, for the officers must come up from the beach at certain
points to take the roads to the next beach. They must also patrol the beach parking lots
day and night because of the high instance of theft from cars, mostly unlocked, in those
locations.
Trash is a major problem all over the island. A lot of it is washed ashore by the
prevailing winds, and a lot comes from the high volume of people using the beaches.
During the day the A TV s patrol the paved roads at a minimum, usually only those
where beach parking is allowed and often violated. The members encouraged the
ticketing on Nonantum A venue where cars disregard the No Parking lines. Sometimes the
A TV officers help with ticketing in heavy traffic situations. The roads must be kept clear
in case of a major accident on the beaches where access is necessary for an emergency
vehicle. Mrs. Beck commented at this point that BMAC is now aware that some 18
different agencies have a piece of the beach management operation.
The members declared that the reports they had received so far from the public indicated
that the patrols were behaving in a very professional manner
Officer Carnevale offered the e-mail address for notifying him of any violations:
PD320@ nantucketpolice.com
In reply to Mrs. Beck's report on a beach fire and sanitary violation at Point of Breakers,
Mr. Carlson offered to put No Parking signs on that beach, which is private, and follow
Chief Pittman's suggestion to remove it from the open driving sites on next year's Beach
Driving Map.
Members agreed to check with Chief McDougal about the issuing of grill permits for
beach fires. They also asked Officer Carnevale if it would ever be possible to extend the
patrols into September and the shoulder seasons because of the number of abuses
occurring then.
Officer Carnevale mentioned that a national acronym for beach driving safety, TREAD,
should perhaps also be put on the Map. It stands for Travel lightly, Respect the beach,
Educate the people, only use Access points, Drive slowly.
The members thanked Officer Carnevale for his thorough and encouraging report. He
promised to return at the end of the season for a review.
A brief discussion about new signage and erosion at Smith's Point closed the meeting,
which was adjourned at 5:15.
The members decided to cancel the meeting scheduled for 2 August 2007 and resume on
9 August when there will be a public meeting on dog issues.
Respectfully submitted, with notes from John Johnson,
Maureen Beck, Chair