Pittsfield Lake Commission Meets for First Time
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Lake Management Commission organized its leadership and discussed some foundational topics on Thursday, such as water quality and safety.
James Conant was elected chair, and Michele Rivers Murphy was elected vice chair.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we'll take it one step at a time," Conant, also the Ward 4 councilor, said after thanking the body for their confidence in him.
The commission's mission is to support the preservation and protection of lakes and ponds on behalf of present and future generations of Pittsfield, while understanding the interests of property owners and the public.
Specific goals are to enhance the water quality of Onota and Pontoosuc Lakes while maintaining scenic surroundings; commissioners will review lake water quality, management of invasive weed species, the drawdown each fall, zebra mussel control, and cyanobacteria monitoring, as well as the impact of climate change.
Five members were appointed by Mayor Peter Marchetti, along with Conservation Commission and Parks Commission appointees.
"When Councilor Conant approached me to look at this concept, at first it was like 'Oh,' and then as we started Googling and we found that the small town of Hinsdale, Massachusetts, could have a lake commission," Marchetti explained.
"Why couldn't the city of Pittsfield?"
Pittsfield received 13 applications for membership, and the mayor said he will be leaving much of the management to the commission; he is amenable to additional members.
Conant said his interest is lake management, the quality of the water, and "trying to educate the public on what we have and what we're going to do in the future. ... And it's just that simple to me."
At its inaugural meeting, the commission discussed herbicide treatments, unexpected native growth cycles, zebra mussels, plans for boat monitoring, and lake safety.
At the beginning of this month, a 33-year-old woman was seriously injured and found unresponsive at Lake Onota following a jet ski accident.
When the firefighters and County Ambulance personnel arrived, they found the watercraft had collided with a shoreline dock at a high rate of speed. Ambulance personnel provided life-saving measures on scene and transported the victim to Berkshire Medical Center.
Pittsfield has a safety plan for boating and recreation and is trying to foster a closer relationship with the environmental police, now having an assigned officer who is focusing on the area.
It is believed that the injured woman was on a rented jet ski.
"It sort of begs the question: Was there enough guidance on how to operate the vessel safely if it was a rental? So I think we need to work more closely with the folks that are renting jet skis and those companies that are providing jet skis. We need to work more closely with folks that are showing up at the ramp," Parks Manager James McGrath said, reporting that boat ramp monitors have guides for the rules of the lake that can be passed out.
"… Some of this also requires us to work more closely with lakefront property owners via the lake associations, disseminating information to folks about boating safety and that kind of thing. So it's going to take all of us working together to create better, safer situations on the lake."
Tags: lake commission, lakes, ponds,
