Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-11-01 Beach Management Advisory Committee 1 November 2007 d .;,;J AJ r1'1 Members Present: Maureen Beck, Chair, Tom Dickson, Edie Ray, Colin~y :z c=l Guests: Kate Hamilton Pardee, Director of Visitor Services; Jim Mullen, ;'Suifside ~ seasonal resident r.: . 0\ rOT; .,':~:"" .,.-" ". .::~: -0 N Mrs. Beck convened the meeting at 4:05 pm, determining that there was a quorum. ihe welcomed Ms. Hamilton as a special guest to discuss the role of Visitor Services in beach management operations. Ms. Hamilton stated that her department has been cleaning the Town-owned beaches for fifteen or sixteen years and now has expanded into a partnership with the Land Bank for cleaning their beaches. Mr. Frank Powers uses a special surf rake, which is environmentally effective in that it does not pull out beach grass. When asked what the raking schedule for the beaches was, she stated that some, like Jetties and Surfside, were cleaned once each day from the end of May until after Columbus Day, others less populated, on a less frequent schedule. In addition, Visitor Services receives many requests from private parties for cleaning of their beaches. Since this is not part of the Town's obligation, Ms. Hamilton refers them directly to Mr. Powers for his own business. Mr. Powers no longer rakes Nobadeer, formerly done as part of the Town's connection with the Airport. She assumes the Airport is taking care of the cleaning now. Mr. Leddy asked where the line is drawn at Nobadeer for cleaning limits. Ms. Hamilton keeps in touch with Mr. Powers about the amount of trash he finds on beaches. When certain non-profits use public beaches for benefit events, like the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Plunge at Children's Beach, she notifies Mr. Powers to bill the Atheneum, its sponsor. When one notices rakings before or after the contracted time period for c1eanings, probably non-profit or private clients request these. Ms. Hamilton gets frequent calls complaining about the seaweed on the beaches. What about complaints regarding lifeguards? Very few, but she probably ought to be in touch with Mr. Manchester at Parks when she receives such a call. She receives many calls for information about the beaches, where they are located, how big are the waves? Are there restrooms? what are the rules? how to reach them? what about dogs? She thinks it would be a good idea to consolidate all the information about beaches into one standard message. Furthermore, the questions, she thinks, do not indicate a desire for more amenities but rather for a remote, undisturbed experience. Mr. Dickson stated that BMAC pursued an on-going effort in the schools to educate the students about responsible use of the beaches. He and Ms. Hamilton discussed the pros and cons of providing trash receptacles as part of keeping the beaches clean. Ms. Hamilton worries that some beaches should probably have some receptacles even if they attract home trash. Mrs. Ray stated that there is a changing audience to be educated and that they can be persuaded to take their trash away as they depart. Ms. Hamilton hopes for "a happy medium" in this issue. Mr. Dickson noted that increasingly beach trash comes from off-island wash-ashore items because of the tides and winds. Mr. Leddy stated that he was just as concerned for the peripheral beach areas like access ways and roadsides where trash accumulates for a long time without being picked up. Ms. Hamilton and the members mentioned instances when the trash droppers were identified by their names on some of the discarded items and approached. Ms. Hamilton worries that people are close to ruining the ambience of the island with this sort of neglect. Mrs. Beck asked ifher office saw any need to help further with the needs of beach management. Ms. Hamilton agreed that her expertise was in public relations and that she could certainly argue a case for more attention to beach cleanliness during her talks with the Town Manager and other officials. She also suggested she help BMAC create an effective short message or slogan which could be used on the Nantucket web sites, like BMAC's and the Town's, on the TV stations as a crawl tape, in the newspapers, and as a poster. The most effective publicity would be on the TV and the Internet. She is about to have a meeting with Plum-TV and will ask if they are interested. She suggested that Mrs. Beck call Kate Brosnan at Plum before her meeting with Ms. Brosnan there. Mrs. Ray suggested scenic photos of Nantucket with voice-over reminders of cleanup or a photo of the emergency signs numbering beach locations. Mrs. Beck envisioned a short film of a family leaving the beach and carefully picking up their gear and trash. Mr. Hamilton thought a web listing of beach info all in one place would be useful. She did warn that many people on vacation did not bring their computers with them. Still, they want immediate information from posters, brochures, and guest-room TV's. Mr. Dickson asked if she saw a duplication of beach efforts or tasks with other agencies. She did see that people expected beaches that were pristinely clean, that they must be told constantly to pick up after themselves. What bothers her most is the private fireworks occurring all over the island without penalties. Mr. Leddy enthusiastically supported her comments and stated that volunteer efforts to do cleanup were not sufficient to solving the problems. Ms. Hamilton responded that the Cape is much stricter in its expectations of tourist behavior. Mr. Leddy observed that the problem was not just from young people's carelessness. Adults need education, too. Ms. Hamilton replied that Wellfleet's beaches were taken away from the Town because of its failure to respond to State demands for improved cleanup. She and BMAC should bring this message to the attention of other Town departments. Mrs. Beck hopes that BMAC can help empower the Beach Manager to exercise more influence on the other agencies. What about the Beach Driving Map? Any suggestions? Perhaps indicate where there are bathrooms at the beaches. What about the bike maps? Perhaps we overlap on delivering information, she suggested. Mrs. Beck confirmed that Ms. Hamilton wanted the same message to come from all agencies. Mrs. Ray suggested BMAC add the bike shops to its interviews of agencies. Mr. Dickson volunteered to speak to Harvey Young. Mrs. Ray urged Ms. Hamilton to report to BMAC her conversation with Plum TV. Mrs. Beck promised to call Plum on Monday ahead of Ms. Hamilton's meeting there. She and Ms. Hamilton feel strongly that Plum should partner with the Town on tourist information. Mrs. Ray reminded the members to use Channel 17 as well. How about NPR? asked Mrs. Beck. As long as you use the same message for all, urged Ms. Hamilton. Mrs. Beck thank Ms. Hamilton for her very interesting conversation and ideas and will stay in touch with her. Next Mrs., Beck welcomed Jim Mullen, a Surfside seasonal resident and property owner, who voiced his irritation with the driving on his beach without his permission. He questioned the spending of the beach driving permits money and feels that it is being misused. Mrs. Ray responded that a large amount of the money is spent on the ATVs, which patrol the beaches for safety and responsible behavior, and for the Beach Manager's salary. Mr. Mullen replied that the permission to drive from 5:00 pm should be moved later to 6:00 pm because people were still on the beach until then. The members asked him if he had evidence of a large number indicating that change. Mrs. Beck noted that that change was being considered. Mr. Leddy noted that there were fewer cars driving on the beaches in the evenings. Mr. Mullen asked why weren't other beaches than Surfside being used for driving. He also insisted that the A TV s be used only on Surfside, not everywhere else. They should only be on beaches where people are allowed to drive. The members pointed out that the money is used for other beach needs than driving, such as accesses, maintenance, etc. Mr. Mullen stated that the permit income should be only used for beach driving uses. Mr. Mullen stated that the beaches should be closed if they are not being patrolled, that all beaches should be closed to driving anyway. Mr. Dickson foresaw a militant response to such a total shutdown and stated that BMAC was making progress in reducing the amount of driving and in making drivers aware of their responsibilities on the fragile beaches. Mr. Mullen reported that the Chief of Police had termed all the island beaches as "quasi- public." Mrs. Ray stated that the basic unfairness lay with drivers who did not buy permits at all. She does believe that the Beach Manager should do random but continuous patrols off-season to prod an awareness of the need for a beach permit all through the year. In parting Mr. Mullen repeated that he wanted no cars on the beaches until after 6:00 pm. Mr. Leddy worried that caterers would have a problem with this change. Mrs. Beck thanked Mr. Mullen for attending the meeting and reminded him of the next meeting dates should he still be on island. Mrs. Beck then asked for approval of the Minutes of 25 October 2007. Mrs. Ray asked that the reference to "Beach Management expenses" on page 1 in paragraph 5 be changed to "beach related expenses," a motion which was approved unanimously along with the approval of the Minutes for that date. Mrs. Beck then asked for approval of the Town Manager's emendations to the Minutes of 18 October. Mr. Leddy asked if this approval could be delayed until he had looked at them more carefully. The members agreed to seek approval at the next meeting on November 15. Mrs. Beck asked if the members were satisfied with the Beach Manager's replies to their questions to him in the Minutes of 18 October. All agreed, and Mr. Leddy asked that the members offer their special thanks for the promptness of his reply. Mrs. Beck reported on her week of persistent phone calls from the Cullums regarding the removal of their beach as a permitted driving area on the Beach Driving Map. They not only called Mrs. Beck but other Town officials was well, demanding that they be guaranteed the change in the 2008 Beach Driving Map on the basis of their conversation with Chief Pittman after a summer incident on their beach. Mrs. Beck explained to them the process that BMAC was presently beginning for editing the Map and then referring it to the Town Manager for approval before it goes to press. The members reacted to this sort of pressure as entitlement based on personal issues which disregarded BMAC policies. Mrs. Beck stated that the members must do intensive study of the present map in the next week in order to have it confirmed with changes by the November 15 meeting She will contact each member and the Beach Manager individually during that time for their input. The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 pm. The next meeting will be on 15 November 2007. Respectfully submitted, with notes by Edie Ray, Maureen Beck, Chair