8/27/2015 MASHPEE-WAKEBY LAKE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Minutes

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[Agenda topic 3] Harbormaster News Discussion: Lieutenant John J. Santangelo of the Mashpee Police Dept. will serve as acting harbormaster for the Town until a replacement is appointed which may not be until next spring. The Town will create a new Natural Resource Dept. to focus on waterways and take the Harbormaster and Shellfish agent from under the Police Dept. Meg Santos in the Town Clerk's Office asked if we had a copy of the MW Lake Regulations for the lake. I referred her to Heidi in the Recreation Dept., and in the process we discovered that there are two different documents with the same name, one used by the ramp attendant to address parking, fees and bass tournaments and some boating laws, while the other pertains strictly to boating laws. Rich Santangelo, assistant harbormaster, reported more citations were being written, as there are more boaters with no boating knowledge. A guest reported that jet skiers are driving dangerously, endangering swimmers and landing on private property.. A suggestion of a marine radio for the harbormaster was made. Perhaps a boating course for a required State license to operate a boat in Massachusetts would help. Illegal mooring are being tagged, but Mr. Santangelo noted the town's rules need work as there is no difference in rules for motorized cabin cruisers or kayaks. Conclusions: Increased boating activities have led to more problems. The Harbormaster Dept. is undergoing changes. Andrew will see about a name change for the two documents with the same label. [Agenda topic 4] Boat Ramp Topics Discussion: Rodney Collins, the new Town Manager, who is in favor of a Comprehensive Access Plan dedicated to improve all the boat ramps in Town, recently toured all the ramps with other officials. The Mashpee Wakeby boat ramp has not been repaired yet. DPW Head, Catherine Laurent reported that town equipment could not reach the sediment buildup, but she has sought aid from local contractors. Because the ramp is State owned, the Town will be repaid for the contractor's work. The Mashpee Waterways Commission has approved a new bylaw for Town meeting approval that would prohibit power loading of boats onto trailers, which damages town boat ramps. Mashpee Lake, being state owned, already has this regulation which carries a $100 fine paid to the State, but there is no enforcement. If the bylaw passes, the fee would remain in the town. The ramp attendant's shorter day, until just 3 PM, had become a problem, as the lot was overflowed at 3:40 PM and boat trailers were also parked at Town Hall. This leads to more problems with jet skiers and boaters. Andrew requested coverage next year until 5 PM, and made the officials aware of the problem. Conclusions: The boat ramp has not been repaired. Attendant coverage is needed until at least S PM. [Agenda topic 5]Barnstable County Beach Sampling Discussion: Four seasonal employees of Barnstable County conduct testing of lakes and salt water beaches weekly during the swimming season for Enterococcus and E.coli. It takes 24 hours to run the tests and if positive it would be repeated the next day, which is a change from previous years. When the beach was closed for the first test, most repeat tests have been negative. If repeat test is positive, the Health Agent in Town would be notified to close the beach. Mashpee is tested at both Attaquin beach and Camp Farley and tests between dune 4th and August 15'11 have all been negative for the bacteria. Storm water runoff is the dominant cause for elevated levels of bacteria. Conclusions: The water testing in Mashpee Wakeby has been acceptable for swimming so far this year. The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 P.M. Respectfully submitted, , x6A d Barbara B. Nichols