More than 50 members and supporters of the Bare Hill Rowing Association filled Monday’s meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission in the old library. What apparently drew the crowd was the commission members’ intent, stated at their June 3 meeting, to reevaluate their agreement with the rowing group. Tom Gormley of Warren Avenue seemed to speak for many attendees when he said that he came because he “had a sense that there was a threat” to the rowing program.
Among the many people who spoke in support of the rowing program, Steve Gordon of Stow Road recalled a time when the crew team had only 30 kids and two boats, “and at every race the boats would break.” He credited the association board with developing the current program for about 60 Bromfield students and 30 from Acton-Boxborough, calling it “a fantastic, lifelong experience.” His remarks drew a burst of applause.
Julie Nocka of Shaker Road, who coaches one of the rowing teams, told the Press before the meeting, “The beauty of this sport is that it can accommodate kids that other sports don’t work well for—kids for whom running sports or sports with a ball have not been a good fit.”
Parks and Recreation Commission member Patricia Nelson said that the major problem with the current agreement was that only the commission and the rowing association were parties to it. She argued that the Bromfield School should also have responsibilities under the agreement and that the harbormaster and the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee should also have a role.
Harbormaster Bob O’Shea of Old Littleton Road brought the draft of a report he is preparing on the capacity of the pond to support all types of boats for all uses. In general, he said, the number of boats is somewhat high for the pond’s size in summer, but well under its capacity in spring and fall (when most rowing practice and events take place). O’Shea said it was safest for the rowing association to hold their summer “learn-to-row” program before 10 a.m., when speed boats are not allowed on the pond. He also pointed out that more boats can use the pond safely if all speedboats travel counterclockwise, as required under town bylaws.
Parks and Recreation Chairman John Lee Jr. proposed the formation of a subcommittee to draft a new agreement or amend the existing one between the commission and the rowing association. He suggested that the committee include beach director Alexandra Luck, the harbormaster, and representatives from Bromfield and the watershed management committee, as well as from the commission itself and the rowing association.
While no formal vote was taken, members expressed general support for this approach. Commission members Pat Nelson and Joe Schmidt—both elected last April—volunteered for the subcommittee. Both commission members emphasized that they do not want to end the rowing program.
“We do not want to kill it,” Schmidt stated simply.
Nelson said that rowing association members at an earlier meeting might have “left with the impression we did not want them on the pond, which was not my intention.”
But Nelson and commission member B.J. Pessia asserted that both older residents and parents with young children have had problems, often about parking or boat storage space, with the rowing crews who use the pond. Pessia and Nelson also cited what they described as a lack of respect among rowers for the beach director and her staff. Nelson expressed concern with the size of the rowing program, saying, “It is not our job to assure that they can be competitive.”
