(Click on April 2011 at left to see article re. Zoning Board approval of BBC parking plan.)
The Beach Committee met in March and April to discuss, amongst other things, the continuing problem at the Heights Beach parking lot. For 30 years, the parking lot was closed and locked at 8:00 p.m. with little issue. In the past few years, since the lot has been closed, but not locked, at 11:00 p.m., by vote of the Board of Selectmen (BOS), there has been increased vandalism, drug dealing, loud late-night noise and excessive drinking creating a disturbance to the neighborhood.
While the Falmouth Heights Maravista Improvement Association (FHMIA) continues to push the BOS for a 9:00 p.m. closing, the Beach Committee (BC) has favored a compromise closing at 10:00. Both groups have stressed the need for the lot to be chain-locked at closing, but the problem of cars being locked into the lot has not been solved. The DPW employee who closes the lot is charged to announce the closing at the local restaurants early enough for people to move their cars, but this does not always happen. One year, the DPW towed cars, but the truck’s back-up beeping after 11:00 p.m. added to the noise disturbance.
Now, the British Beer Company (BBC) is proposing to pay the Town $11,840 to cover the cost of a police officer 4-hour shift between June 24 and September 5, but only if the lot stays open until 11:00 p.m. Varioius ideas include: ticket and tow any cars remaining in the lot at 11:00; close and lock the chain link if the lot is empty; close the chain link but leave it unlocked if any cars remain in the lot at 11:00, essentially leaving the lot open all night.
The BBC proposal came at a meeting held by Acting Town Manager Heather Harper with BBC attorney Robert Ament and 2 Town employees (Beach Superintendent Donald Hoffer and Assistant Superintendant Bruce Morgardo). Ms. Harper did not invite any members of the Beach Committee (BC), which is advisory, not regulatory. At their April meeting, when the Beach Committee discussed a letter and draft proposal received from Atty. Ament, BC members expressed dissatisfaction with not being included in the earlier discussion. The Beach Committee has been invited to attend the Selectmen’s meeting on May 2nd.