A public meeting was held by the Mattapoisett Select Board on Tuesday night to hear residents’ comments regarding the proposed improvements to Old Slough Road on Angelica Point.
Coming before the board was Mike Huguenin of the Mattapoisett Land Trust to share the trust’s position regarding the importance of the ancient way. He said the MLT owns some 400 acres on the west side of the roadway and additional acreage on the east side. Having the roadway improved for walkers and bicyclists would be a benefit to the community and make the Land Trust property more accessible to the public.
Huguenin said that 130 homes are located in the Point Connett and Angelica Point area, that the location is highly vulnerable to storm damage and sea-level rise with the lowest point a mere 1 foot above maximum high tides. As a secondary access for these communities during emergencies, Huguenin stated the Old Slough Road project is critical. He closed his comments by saying that up until 1985, the roadway had been maintained and “viewed as a good alternative,” but in more recent decades, it had been abandoned.
The town’s engineer, Ken Motta of Field Engineering, said the roadway planned for reconstruction is 3,000 feet long, following a path that terminates at Bowman Road. He said there are presently two wet crossings and that it would be 12 feet wide. Motta said the project would be primarily funded through a grant secured from Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management agency and that the town’s portion would come from use of the Highway Department staff and equipment. Motta hoped for a spring bidding of the project estimated at $600,000.
David Park, 48 Hollywoods Road, offered his suggestion to the roadway layout. He said that with some reconfiguration, the road could be placed where it will do the least damage and the most good for the neighborhood, but he also stressed that the old forest is susceptible. His main concern for the concept of using the road as an emergency access was the number of trees that will come down during a storm, basically rendering the road impassable. He also voiced his concern that once the road is improved, it will be used by dirt bikes and other motorized vehicles.
Select Board Chairman Tyler Macallister assured Park and others that the roadway will have a gate at either end to secure it from motorized vehicles. But he also noted, “We’ve talked a lot about trees and not the road.” Macallister said that numerous trees have been damaged by moths and other insects making them weak. “Trees are going to come down.” But he said, by the time the winds pick up during a storm, residents should have evacuated. “After that, all bets are off.” He said the point of having this access road is to relieve traffic tie-ups and should Angelica Avenue become blocked, create another way to get out.
“We’ve received some new information tonight,” Macallister stated. “We’ll review this again with the engineer and legal counsel and put it on the February 14 agenda.”
In other business, a group presented the board with a list of some 38 signatures requesting that the town restrict beach access to residents only. Spokesperson for the group, Debra Molloy, said that people were disturbed by large groups who were not residents but had walk-on access to the beach. She asked the board to put restrictions in place that would curtail nonresidents from gaining access to the beach.
The group and board members discussed the matter at length with Town Administrator Mike Lorenco, pointing out that public beaches are “public” in the commonwealth dating back to the 1600s, and therefore anyone can use them. He and the Select Board, however, said they would look into ways of managing walk-on beach goers.
Presently a beach sticker is needed to park at the town beaches. The group was also informed that the beach located at the end of Reservation Road is not public, has never been public and requires a golf-club-membership sticker to park in that location.
The board also briefly discussed with Lorenco the timing of budget reviews in advance of the May 8 Spring Town Meeting. They selected April 25 as the opening day for the warrant and May 1 as the closing date. Lorenco said that department budget drafts are being received now. A schedule for meeting with the town’s departments is pending.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board was not announced upon adjournment.
Mattapoisett Select Board
By Marilou Newell