A new designated public swimming area at Middle Beach has raised the ire of some Middle Beach Association residents who want to return the beach area to what it was last year. To allow a public setting where residents of differing views could be heard, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) set a July 9 meeting to air public concerns.

One group of association residents, represented by Middle Beach Association President Ann Mazur, last fall asked the town to designate a public swimming area at Middle Beach to separate boaters and swimmers for safety reasons. In response to those concerns, the town’s selectmen supported a town application to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) for a designated swimming area at Middle Beach.

At the time, however, no one in Town Hall or in the beach association apparently understood that a public swimming area designation would trigger other, less popular requirements. Had the selectmen and Middle Beach residents seeking the area designation known of these other rules, the fall 2014 discussion might have reached a different conclusion.

What were the changes the designation triggered?

First was a public health code rule: The newly designated public swimming area had to have a public bathroom or portable toilet on the beach. Second, Middle Beach also now needed an emergency response station equipped with a life ring, hook, and a telephone.

Third, the required new buoys and the float lines installed to define the swim area’s boundaries had to be of a design approved by DEEP. Parks & Recreation Director Rich Annino asked for $5,000 from the BOS this spring to buy them.

The June installation of these float lines and of the portable toilet is what finally led Middle Beach area residents to the first selectman’s office to complain about the new swim area.

Some complained that the new floats’ design was too massive and obstructed their prior views of the water. Others complained about the new portable toilet and worried about the smells it would generate. Still others raised again a long-standing neighborhood complaint about inadequate public parking at Middle Beach that in turn leads people to park illegally in the neighborhood.

All of these views and more were aired by a standing-room-only crowd attending the July 9 BOS public information session on the new Middle Beach swimming area.

The Meeting, Next Steps

Ann Mazur, president of the Beach Association, who in the summer of 2014 asked the selectmen on behalf of her association to seek a swim area designation at Middle Beach, reflected on the association members’ shifting perspectives.

“Many of the residents did not want the swim area to look the way it does and according to the Board [of Selectmen] this was the recommendation of DEEP. Due to a misunderstanding on both sides, the board and myself, the residents of Middle Beach asked to have the swim area removed. The BOS was very cooperative and will take the information into consideration to come to a conclusion,” said Mazur.

At the BOS meeting, a number of questions raised by attendees (and those who had complained to the first selectman) previously were answered.

Health Director Sonia Marino told attendees that, as a public swimming area, Middle Beach would be required by the public health code to have an on-site public toilet and access to life-saving equipment.

Marino said that for several years, the town has tested the water quality weekly at both West and Middle beaches anyway since they are used by the public as swimming areas.

“We have the authority to close public beaches and recommend private beaches close if tests find contamination,” said Marino.

In response to another question, attorney Campbell Hudson, stepping in for Town Attorney Michael Wells, said the town would remain immune from liability for injuries suffered by those using the beach as long as the signs remain posted indicating that no lifeguard is on duty.

Other speakers questioned the status of the beach and asked if it should return to private hands. With only 15 public parking spaces, traffic and illegal parking are a constant summer issue in the neighborhood.

Following the meeting, the selectmen weighed in about next steps.

Selectman John Hall said that Middle Beach has been a town beach, but not necessarily improved, for as long as he can remember.

“I want to work with the residents, but I want Middle Beach to remain a town beach,” said Hall.

This sentiment was shared by Selectman Chris Ehlert, who said he strongly supports Middle Beach remaining as a public location.

Ehlert, however, said he was disappointed that the first selectman had not shared with the BOS a complete picture of what making a public swimming area would entail before they voted on it.

“It is my position to retract my motion for approval of the swimming area [as] there are numerous public health and safety issues that I was not aware [of], hence my decision to retract my motion,” said Ehlert.

Ehlert’s views, that the designated swimming area should go away, appeared to be a view shared by most attendees at the July 9 meeting.

Bishop said that the selectmen agreed to research the issues raised at the public meeting and to develop recommendations on the status of the newly designated swimming area.