HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-07-09
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Beach Management Advisory Committee
9July 2009
Members Present: Maureen Beck, Chair, Kathleen Van lieu, Tom Quigley, Chris Magee;
Beach Manager, Jeff Carlson
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Guests: Police Chief Bill Pittman, Cara Chandler, John Johnson, Louise Middleton
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Mrs. Beck convened the meeting at 4:00 pm. She welcomed the new member of the Committee, Chris
Magee, and Chief Pittman and the guests from Surfside.
Mrs. Beck asked for approval of the Minutes of 18 June, adding that former member Colin Leddy
questioned the use of the words "dusk" and "general beach policy" in the first paragraph. The members
agreed that "sunset" should replace "dusk" and that "general beach access policy" was a more accurate
phrase regarding beach closures. Chief Pittman concurred. Mr. Quigley moved approval of the Minutes
with those corrections with the members agreeing. A discussion followed regarding Mrs. Middleton's
question about what defined beach access.
Chief Pittman offered his comments on the Fourth of July events at Nobadeer. The crowds were
certainly much bigger than expected. Nowadays communication on the Internet about such events can
draw readily many more people than previously and, no doubt, even more numbers may arrive next
year unless some controls are established and added to the arrangements for such an event. Even with
all the ATV patrols directed to Nobadeer, leaving none for the other beaches, there were not enough
officers to cover the thousands of people and the 350+ cars on the beach. The patrols exhausted their
supply of trash bags, and the Chief did feel that the large numbers of bags which were used to deposit
trash by the barrels on the bluff indicated that most beachgoers tried to be responsible.
Money limits the need to expand the personnel and expenses for this event. The Chief hopes to
persuade the Airport Manager to help fund eight more officers, the potties, and trash collection items.
Mr. Quigley volunteered to supply bags for the ATV patrols from the Surfside Association funds for the
rest of the summer. Mrs. Van lieu offered to speak to the Chamber of Commerce about helping with
expenses as well.
Mr. Johnson asked about enforcing the open container law, parking violations, and controlled access to
the beach. The Chief replied that closing the accesses to the beach would help control the traffic and
the numbers of beachgoers and, perhaps, the open container problem and parking as well. All of these
enforcements primarily require the funds for manpower.
Mrs. Middleton suggested getting on the Internet to announce beach controls in advance. Mrs. Van lieu
recommended road blocks at the ferries where she had seen many of the beachgoers arrive. The Chief
did not think this would work.
Mr. Johnson stated that it was unfair to the Surfside residents to have such crowds overwhelm them.
Chief Pittman replied that many of the parking tickets were dismissed because the roads on which they
were issued are private, and towing is complicated by Massachusetts laws. Residents should post more
No Parking signs. Few are evident right now. Controlling cars, he repeated, limits people. Surfsiders
should make their concerns known to the BOS.
When members blamed a "party rental house" for additional misbehavior, the Chief urged complaints to
the Police for every instance so that they could immediately alert the owner.
Mr. Carlson and Mrs. Beck will check on the remaining two potties at Nobadeer to see if the Airport
intends to keep them. Mrs. Beck will write to Mr. Peterson to thank the Airport for funding the potties.
Mr. Carlson, in reply to Mr. Quigley, stated that sales of permits were about the same as last year. The
rise in fees did not seem to affect the purchases.
Mr. Quigley moved to adjourn at 5:10 pm. The Chair seconded, adding that the next meeting will be on
23 July and feature a discussion of the Annual Report, due August 14.
Respectfully submitted, with notes from Tom Quigley,
Maureen Beck, Chair