Politics & Government

Clean Sweep at Fisherman's Beach

DPW crews are pulling a few years' worth of sand from Fisherman's Beach and depositing it hundreds of yards away on the beach at Cassidy Park.

 

DPW loader operator Mark Gambale scooped bucket after bucket of tide- and storm-heaved sand from mounds heaped at the Fisherman's Beach seawall on Tuesday.

Over time the sand had spilled into the parking lot and was blowing on to Humphrey Street and across the road, said Rich Malagrifa, the selectmen's liaison to the .

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The selectman says hopefully the sand won't build up like that again now that the town plans to install kayak racks at in the spring.

DPW crews will have access to the beach right up to the sea wall — with the kayaks off the beach and in racks — and will keep the sand at grade, he said.

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DPW Director Gino Cresta said crews hit the beach yesterday and are hauling the sand in dump trucks to the beach at Cassidy Park.

There, another loader is spreading the sand.

Crews have a lot of hand work ahead of them in the Fish House parking lot where sand is piled between sailboats and covers the parking lot.

The work should be done in the coming days. It's a three- to four-day job, the DPW director said.

Yesterday, during the clean-up, walkers, dog walkers and beach combers paused to watch the sand-removal project. 

Father and son Daniel and Benjamin Mulyar were enjoying the bright sunshine and mild temperatures near the water line. 

Alan Van Arsdale of Swampscott was walking his affable and energetic red-tick and blue-tick coon hounds.

Annabelle Flatley, the red-tick, is named after Alan's grandmother.

The blue-tick's name is Missy Moose because she eats sticks.

The 2-year-old dogs are sisters.

Nearby, Bob Collette, who is retired, watched the sand removal. He spends a lot of time at the beach and is amazed by the power of nature.

"It's funny what a little wind and a storm will do," he said. "It's amazing."

The sand was piled over the sea wall and had buried the stairs leading to the beach.

Malagrifa, who has been pushing for improvements at the beach, said the pressure-treated kayak racks are partially assembled.

The town will finish the assembly when they install the racks in the spring. The racks will hold about 40 kayaks, he said.


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