HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-05-15
Beach Management Advisory Committee
15 May 2008
Members Present: Maureen Beck, Chair, Tom Dickson, Edie Ray, Colin Leddy, John Johnson;
Beach Manager Jeff Carlson
Mrs. Beck convened the meeting at 4:15 pm. She had expected Jenelle from Plum TV to speak to the
Committee for a few minutes about progress on the TV spots she had filmed at Nobadeer Beach with
Mr. Leddy. Mr. Dickson announced that she would come later when the work was ready for
presentation.
Mrs. Beck asked for approval of the Minutes of May 1. Mr. Leddy offered a correction: that the Surfside
beach was extremely narrow, not at Nobadeer, but rather from Access20 to 22. The Minutes with this
correction were approved unanimously.
The Beach Manager announced that he had a number of things to report. He is overseeing the
lifeguards this year; Jeff Allen will not be in charge. He has decided to close the beaches at Madaket and
Cisco because of the 12-foot drop from the bank to the sand. He cannot install safety measures like
steps and signage in time for the opening of the summer season. However, since there will be no
lifeguards needed at those two areas, he can perhaps allocate some to Dionis.
Jimmy Manchester, Director of Parks & Recreation, will decide by June 15 whether to install porta potties
at Madaket. Gary Kohner, who gives surfing lessons at Cisco, will have to decide where else he could
offer them and get permission from the Harbormaster and the Beach Manager.
Mr. Carlson and the Committee discussed the occasional upheaval of considerable buried trash along
the heavily eroding strip of beach from Smith's Point to the Madaket Public Beach. It is creating a
serious hazard and poses a difficult problem for any vehicles assigned to remove it.
Mr. Carlson responded to Mr. Leddy's question about some barriers near the Miacomet Beach parking
lot. They had been put there to block off some of the unnecessary accesses to that beach. He planned
to encourage parking at the Sewer Beds lot instead.
He replied to Mrs. Beck's query about vehicle tracks on the bluffs at Madequecham. There is not much
traffic there at all, even in high season, and it is not in his domain since all that beach area is under the
jurisdiction of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.
He requested that he not undertake any improvements on the BMAC web site until next fall because of
the demands of summer work. Mrs. Beck suggested that the members perhaps should discuss meeting
only in alternate weeks during the summer as a convenience to Mr. Carlson. Mr. Carlson did state that
this summer would be a much busier time than the last few summers because there are a number of
changes to effect.
He also remarked that the Coastal Management Plan, which the BOS and the Harbormaster are
beginning to develop, will be a comprehensive accumulation of pertinent papers which will be
assembled later into a single lengthy document. In its early stages procedures like a Disaster Response
and an Estuary Project are being studied.
In response to his remarks Mrs. Beck asked Mr. Carlson if he foresaw where BMAC would fit into the
future work of Town agencies. He replied that he expected it would serve as it does now as a forum for
public input and requests. Mrs. Ray wondered if perhaps BMAC should be disbanded and specialists
used to help with developing the Coastal Management Plan since they would be more knowledgeable
about many of its parts. Mr. Carlson thought not.
Mr. Leddy reported on litter along the South Shore. He was still concerned that Verizon had not picked
up the broken telephones at Surfside Public Beach. Mr. Dickson wondered if he should just remove
them to the dump in his truck because they are a hazard. Mr. Leddy also reported that in an extensive
clean-up he undertook along the west side of Miacomet Beach he found much evidence of party litter.
Mr. Leddy also reported how slow the DPW had been in picking up trash piles awaiting them at
Nobadeer. He said that he called Plum to come film the trash waiting to be picked up but was told they
could not come. Mr. Dickson reminded the members that the DPW insisted that all trash be separated
for recycling before they pick it up. Unfortunately, the members agreed, this process is difficult to do
sometimes when someone wants to do a spontaneous good deed but hasn't the equipment to recycle.
Mr. Dickson stated that he was concerned about over-emphasizing small issues, especially with Plum,
whom we want to use for emphasizing the beautiful ambiance of the beaches.
Mrs. Ray suggested that the newspapers could deal more effectively than Plum with the question of
litter, which is an island-wide rather than a strictly beach issue, for it has more readers than Plum has
viewers. The Committee agreed to continue the discussion about BMAC's obligations to trash
management at the next meeting on May 22.
Mrs. Beck adjourned the meeting at 5:20 pm.
Respectfully submitted, with notes from Tom Dickson,
Maureen Beck, Chair