Lanesborough Board Mulling 'Residents Only' Sign at Beach
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A town resident wants signage at the public beach to encourage more orderly usage.
Michael Lally, who resides on Sunrise Street, said he has taken care of the Pontoosuc Lake beach for years and wants to know why the sign stipulating that it is for town residents only is no more.
The Lanesborough Lally Public Beach is located at the end of Sunrise Street and he's calling for "residents only," "closes at dusk" and "no smoking" signage.
From Lally's observation, about 80 percent of beachgoers are not from Lanesborough.
"Every town has 'Town Residents Only' [at their beach]," he said to the Select Board on Monday.
"We used to have that in Lanesborough also and the sign has disappeared and I want to know why it has disappeared and I want to know what the problem is with having that sign put back up."
While the board members said they heard his frustration, they also want to make sure the signage won't be "toothless."
"Let's do it right because your request is a reasonable one," Select Board member Michael Murphy said, adding that he appreciates all that Lally does and wants to see what can be done to accommodate his request.
Select Board member Timothy Sorrell, the former police chief, could not remember any such a sign being there in his 30 years with the town but was informed that there was one about 15 years ago. He pointed out that the beach just got a "swim at your own risk" sign.
"I think one of our issues is, I feel your pain, we have nobody to enforce 'Lanesborough residents only,'" Sorrell said.
"Plus, right wrong, or indifferent, with all the Airbnbs, we can have somebody saying, 'I'm staying in an Airbnb and they told me that I can use the beach,' so I don't know how we go about doing something like this."
Lally said he would like signage to support police officers' enforcement when they arrive at the beach for undesirables but Murphy said it is up to the police to determine whether people need to leave or not. The board also said it is unfair to imply that "undesirables" are only in other communities, to which Lally agreed.
"A sign with no real authority isn't going to give the Police Department any authority to do anything either," Sorrell said.
Murphy, who grew up in Pittsfield, pointed out that there are no signs limiting the beaches there to residents, and people from surrounding communities are encouraged to use them.
Lally said it is different because Pittsfield is a city and parking is minimal for the town's small beach, which lies in a very residential area.
"They have adequate parking. We don't have adequate parking," he added. "There's a big difference."
Sorrell thinks that the only enforcement that the town has is parking.
"We can't just kick people off of town property because we want to kick them off. If they're causing a disturbance, they can be asked to leave," he said.
"I think our best thing is to maybe, hate to do it to the people, but have the PD swing by and if their car is illegally parked then we have them ticketed or tell them they've gonna move. I mean, right now that's the only muscle we have to be honest with you."
To the board members' knowledge, there is nothing in the town's bylaws that prohibit non-residents from using the beach.
They suggested talking to the town counsel to see if this is something that has to be taken to the annual town meeting. If it was a bylaw or an ordinance, it would have some teeth.
The board also has to figure out what board or committee is in charge of the beach.
"I think let's do it right. If that's the request, let's do it right," Sorrell said.
To Lally's request for a "closes at dusk" sign, Sorrell said such signs should be placed in all of the town's parks and recreation spaces. He cited the person who was camping in the Bill Laston Memorial Park.
Lally said he would like to see a "no smoking" sign because he gets wafts of cannabis and cigarette smoke in his windows from the beach. For this, it was recommended that he call the police who can issue a civil citation for cannabis smoking in public.
Murphy clarified that the Select Board is pretty much in agreement with him but want to do it right, directly, and efficiently.
In other news, the Select Board voted to increase the police detail cruiser fees to $50 a day from $25 a day.
Chief Robert Derksen explained that the cruiser rate is an administrative fee for any potential wear and tear on the vehicle and fuel that is used.
Tags: Pontoosuc,
