With summer around the corner, town officials are seeking to head off looming safety and security issues with the West Wharf Beach, including unauthorized swimmers and dock-divers while also considering a broader harbor management plan, which would sacrifice some of Madison’s relatively laissez-faire water landscape while also opening a pipeline for state or federal money.

Harbor Master Steve Adkins said that in the short term, a new floating dock that the town acquired last year has drawn the attention of local youths, who use it recreationally in areas that are potentially unsafe.

“Swimming in the harbor is not a great idea. I don’t recommend it,” he told the Board of Selectmen (BOS) earlier this month. “Swimming on that side of the wharf is not a great idea because that’s where all the powerboats are. It’s only a matter of time until somebody’s coming in with a power boat and kids are swimming, and you know where that’s going.”

In the short term, some sort of railing or solar-powered camera system could serve as an effective deterrent to youths who want to mess around on the dock or even on the boat, Adkins told The Source, which could mitigate that problem this summer. Beach & Recreation Director Scot Erskine previously told the BOS that an ordinance does, in fact, forbid “climbing of any wall fence, building, or other structure, diving from wharfs, docks, or vehicles.”

“If we have signage, it should be able to be enforced,” Erskine said.

There was a sign warning residents to stay off the dock on May 24, though it was not clear when it had been set up. There did not appear to be any new fencing in the area, and messages left at the Beach & Recreation Department were not returned as of press time.

Another important shorter-term upgrade is simply extending the current floating dock, Adkins said, which almost certainly wouldn’t be a huge expense and might end up costing “next to nothing.” The town was previously gifted two floating docks from the Madison Beach Club, according to Adkins, but chose to purchase a new dock for the fire boat at a cost of about $46,000 (though that came from grant money).

A camera or fencing also wouldn’t likely cost much, he added.

“That’s all you need is deterrents—something to deter any vandalism,” he said. “People don’t steal fire boats.”

Permanent fencing would require a permit from the state however, Adkins added. Selectman Bruce Wilson offered the idea that more public awareness could also help in keeping the beach safe, in the form of flyers or other outreach.

The current dock “performed really well” in a recent storm, according to Adkins, and is really the only option with how the beach is currently set up. First Selectman Peggy Lyons said federal money would almost certainly be available for this kind of project as well, including purchasing a new, larger fireboat, though she added that community conversations should proceed any change that would significantly affect the beach and surrounding area.

“Do people want a bunch of boats? Do we want to make it a boat beach only?” Lyons asked. “I think we need to talk about what that means for that part of West Wharf.”

In the bigger picture, Adkins lauded Madison’s natural features and resources but added that the town’s harbor is overall “terrible” for boats and mooring, and lacks some comprehensive infrastructure common in other towns.

“We didn’t lose a boat in the hurricane because there wasn’t one in the water—that’s our deal. You get a storm, you get out of Madison,” he said. “Don’t leave your boat here in a storm or we’re going to find it on the beach and it’s going to go in a Dumpster.”

Forming a Plan

A harbor management plan would create a bi-partisan commission in charge of overseeing harbor and water issues, Adkins said. It would also almost certainly add to bureaucracy and regulation, with the trade-off being that Madison would receive an influx of money to put together real docks, more moorings, or even a marina somewhere.

“We all dreamed about a breakwater out from Tuxis Island running across the front of Madison—back in the day, in the ’60s, that was a big dream,” Adkins said, laughing.

Describing himself as an experienced sailor and boatman who has been “around a lot of yacht clubs,” Adkins said the way Madison is currently managed has allowed it to exist as a unique, tucked-away destination for a handful of boaters, enabled at least partially by the lack of infrastructure and regulation.

“This is a really cool spot to sail,” he said. “Nobody comes here.”

It will be up to the town—and the BOS specifically—to decide if this is how to proceed, and to what degree they want a harbor management plan to formally structure Madison’s waterscape, Adkins said. That process might stretch years, depending on how the town chooses to proceed, though Madison might not need as long as other shoreline towns, Adkins quipped, based on the lack of current plans and infrastructure.

“[Guilford has] real harbors, so they had real issues,” he said. “We don’t have a real harbor or real issues.”