Things are popping at the Mattapoisett wharves now that summer is in full swing. Just ask Harbormaster Jamie McIntosh. Coming before the Mattapoisett Marine Advisory Board on June 25, the first meeting the board has held since February and their first plunge into remote access public meetings, McIntosh updated the board on wharf projects, future plans, and ongoing improvements both on shore and on the waters of Mattapoisett Harbor.
“We’ve mitigated a lot of trip hazards on the wharves,” McIntosh began, referring to numerous locations on the three wharves where metal pieces were sticking out of the asphalt, dock-line anchors obstructing pedestrian movement and orange cones placed over holes and severe dips in the pavement. He said that these, along with other onsite conditions, had been flagged by the town’s insurance agent as critical issues needing repair.
Staying on the theme of safety, McIntosh said that a series of channel markers or navigational aids had been installed to ensure boaters were aware of no-wake restrictions when entering and existing the mooring fields. He said that, because of the width of the channel, boaters were historically prone to higher rates of speed, oftentimes causing dangerous wakes for boaters onboard their moored vessels. It had previously been reported that a boater was knocked to his deck during one such incident. “It’s no-wake throughout our harbor,” McIntosh empathized.
McIntosh said Robert Clavin, a member of harbormaster’s staff, had assisted working with the Coast Guard in designing the placement of PATON (private aids to navigation) not only for the channel but for the marking of recreational space for water skiing and similar activities. “We’ll place four large boundary markers near the recreational area,” he said.
Aucoot Beach, one of several sticker-required, public beach areas in the community, will have swim markers in the future, McIntosh stated. He said that jet-ski use in the area was dangerous for swimmers and that visual demarcation of the swim area is necessary.
Decades of patchwork repairs and neglect of Long Wharf was once again a discussion point when McIntosh explained his decision to withdraw an application for a Big Grant aka Boating Infrastructure Grant Program, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “It’s in our best interest to forego the Big Grant for now… Our attention needs to go to Long Wharf,” he said, prompting chairman Carlos DeSousa to ask, “How much longer do we have before the next storm takes it?”
The Big Grant would have required the town to expand transient dockage with a plan by May 2021. But in a follow-up, McIntosh explained his rationale. “We don’t have an ideal placement for transient dockage right now,” he said. “The real issue is Long Wharf; we need to focus on that before the Big Grant.”
McIntosh said that smaller grants from the Seaport Economic Council and other sources will help to fund a harbor study, and the design and engineering costs the town must provide for Long Wharf. “The town’s portion would be 25 percent and the grant would pick-up the other 75 percent,” he said, noting that there will be an article in the warrant for the date-to-be-announced Town Meeting for such waterfront enterprise-fund activities.
There was discussion and support by the MAB for reconfiguration of the safety dock that would include moving the pump-out boat to a mooring. The reconfiguration would also allow the creation of new transient spaces. And while that dock had been exclusively for safety boats and equipment, McIntosh said he would assign transient spaces to the outside of the floating dock, a less-than-ideal location but, “This will give us a little time until the Barstow project gets going.”
Inquiries as to the launching of the new harbormaster boat were made with McIntosh responding that it is nearly ready pending the installation of electronic equipment and other essentials. He said that training will take place in partnership with the Fire Department.
McIntosh closed out his comments by asked the board members to bring their thought and ideas to the next meeting with respect to proposed work on Long Wharf. He expressed a sense of urgency, saying that with monies being redeployed to fund supplies and services related to the pandemic, time is of the essence.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Marine Advisory Board is scheduled for July 30 at 7:00 pm. Public posting of the meeting will detail whether it will be a remote access meeting or one held in Town Hall. Visit mattapoisett.net for further information.
Mattapoisett Marine Advisory Board
By Marilou Newell