Joe Schmidt of Parks and Rec addresses Special Town Meeting. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Although a majority of voters at the recent Special Town Meeting approved changes to the bylaw that regulates access to the town beach, officials still disagree on its meaning.
Warrant Article 10 for the October 16 meeting stated that access to the Bare Hill Pond beach area is “restricted to residents or current taxpayers of the Town of Harvard and their guests and other groups authorized by the Harvard Park & Recreation Commission, with the approval of the Harvard Board of Selectmen.” The Selectmen’s involvement was the novel feature, necessitated by Town Counsel Mark Lanza’s reading of the 1947 deed that granted the beach area to the town.
A commissioner objects
Although most members of the Parks and Recreation Commission expressed no problem with the Selectmen’s new role, member Joe Schmidt opposed the measure when it came up at Town Meeting. Pointing out that he was not speaking for the commission, Schmidt said that Parks and Rec had not been consulted on the measure. “We never took a vote on it,” he said.
Residents listen to the debate at Special Town Meeting)
Before Town Meeting, both Parks and Recreation Chairwoman Pat Nelson and Selectman Leo Blair interpreted the measure to mean that only formal agreements with outside groups would require BOS approval. But some speakers at Town Meeting worried that the Selectmen would need to approve every nonresident who wanted to use the beach, including out-of-town guests or nannies taking local children to play there.
At this week’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, Schmidt reiterated his concerns, saying that approval for every guest would need to go to the Board of Selectmen.
“Joe, you are interpreting [the bylaw] very widely,” Nelson responded. But she acknowledged, “It’s a problem, because we don’t know how to interpret it, either. We need clarity.”
Remaining issues are operational not legal
Town Administrator Tim Bragan told the Press that neither the Selectmen nor Parks and Rec had authority to ban residents’ out-of-town guests from the beach. The provision allowing guests was in the bylaw before the current modifications, he said, and was not affected by the change.
Now that the new bylaw has passed, Bragan said, the remaining issues are operational, not legal. The most likely process, he said, would be for Parks and Rec to present the Selectmen with a list of nonresident group activities for the coming year at the beach. After review, he said, the Selectmen would then “bless the list,” rather than considering each activity separately.
Selectman Leo Blair, who is liaison to Parks and Recreation, concurred. “Only the Board of Selectmen can enter into agreements with outside groups with regard to the beach,” he said. But he emphasized that the BOS did not want to undercut the authority of Parks and Rec. “We’re going to be Parks and Rec’s best friend in this,” he said. “They just don’t know it yet.”
