To the Editor:
The destruction of Spragues Cove has prompted a group of concerned citizens in Marion to use social media in our quest to get day-to-day management of the Spragues Cove stormwater basin at Silvershell Beach out of the hands of the Conservation Commission.
In the mid-1990s, the town voted overwhelmingly to construct the basin. There were financial donations from residents and over 130 volunteers to do the initial plantings. The Garden Discussion Group donated money to include wildflower plantings and the Town was able to secure a grant to plant shrubs on the interior dikes to keep the geese from nesting. All this has been destroyed.
At the 2014 annual Town Meeting, it was the $12,500 dollar request by the Conservation Commission for vegetation control that sparked our petition drive.
Annie Rockwell’s husband was one of the original designers of the Spragues Cove project and is chair of the Open Space Acquisition Commission. We have asked that group to establish a subcommittee of stormwater professionals and experts to oversee management of the five storm water basins they now control, and, hopefully, the Spragues Cove basin as well.
We have resorted to using Annie’s Facebook page that was set up by her grandchildren more than a few years ago. Until a few days ago, we hadn’t visited the popular website. To be honest, our younger friends told us we were too old-fashioned! It was not easy for us to navigate, but with our grandkids’ help, the petition is now up on Annie’s Facebook page. Whew!
The petition asks the Selectmen to assign responsibility for Spragues Cove artificial marsh to the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission and can be found on Annie Rockwell’s Facebook page, or if you are so inclined, you can sign up by just sending her an email: pmfarm@verizon.net.
Annie Rockwell and the Rescue Spragues Cove group
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