good evening everyone is that too loud okay sounds loud up here sorry so if you don't know me I'm Diane Gale member of this life board um I'm going to do a quick hopefully quick recap of the
actions taken on the North Pond Conservation Area and the proposed bylaw that we will be putting forth on the annual town meeting warrants to cover that let you know what it is that you'll be voting on
um in it's been a few years that the conservation area opened up and we've had some heavy use and some heavy candid um after the events of last year the select board called for a task force to
evaluate the conditions on the North Pond Conservation Area and make recommendations on the problem restoring public safety to the area and surrounding neighborhoods regaining control and eliminating the destruction of the
Norcon conservation area and allowing regrowth and restoration in the most abused areas we have to get that back to the baseline conditions when the property was acquired the task force was made up of the following members myself from the
select board chief Banish the Southwick chief police chief and harbor master chief Stfanovich from the fire department randy Brown DPW director Sabrina Culer conservation coordinator former Chief Kevin Bishop retired South
PD and Nicole Park for chief administrative officer as our facilitator the task force noted problems exchanged ideas um possible remedies we made weighed the merits and
practicalities of each and we engaged with members of the public who attended those meetings with us there's no doubt many conflicting viewpoints on the entire North Pond conservation area and we factored all of
those viewpoints into the recommendations made however in coming up with solutions we had to refer to the controlling document that conservation restriction is a legal binding document it has a
stated legal purpose for its existence it is to preserve protect and conserve the land that land area in its natural state and to allow public access to the land area for passive recreational
activities public access does not although the inhabitants of the town of Southwick own it public access is general public access everyone else is an invited guest
uh access from both the town parking area Bab road from the wildlife management area and from the water has been considered in order to maintain public safety and to enforce the CR's the
conservation restriction referred to as a CR to enforce its purpose and its restrictions from the state so we're going to start with a recap of the actions that have been approved and are in process and then we'll move into the bylaw and I invite any of the task force
members here to chime in as we go along if they see fit so to help control overcrowding we will reuse the existing fencing in the parking area we're going to reconfigure
the parking area to allow for four spaces three regular and one handicap space and there's a handout that was on the table that is a layout of that new parking area and uh it will be oneway traffic
flow to make it a little easier to control there will be enhanced signage in that parking area it will stay open gone to dust it will state no loitering in the parking area it will have warnings of
the rules and that it will be under surveillance and it will be strictly enforced and posted as strictly enforced and we'll get to enforcement shortly and so that visitors don't spill
out into and park along Southard Road we had a public hearing a few months ago there will be permanent no parking signs installed on both sides of South Road from North Palm Road to about McCory Drive they will read no parking May 1st
to September 30th and that won't interfere with hunting season then and after the crowd seasons have dissipated inside the North Pond Conservation Area um there'll be additional signage and
hand signage within there's a lot of signage coming in signage is not inexpensive but people can be within that area and not even know they're there if you come in from the Bow Road area there isn't a sign whatsoever that tells you you are on the conservation
area um we can't install bringer fencing we can't put signage along its entire border but we will be adding additional signs uh from the wildlife management
area where existing trails come in and we will find ways to flag borders with abudding properties we will have additional wayfinding signs within the trail area as well uh there
are approved trails they will be better marked making new trails is not allowed people need to stay on the approved trails there will be additional rules signs installed within the area um we
don't want to have signs all over the place as unobtrusively as possible is the goal atvs and motorbikes um they might be entering the property they are still entering the property possibly due to
lack of orders identify aren't just violating they just don't know and um we will be looking at additional barrier methods um where that continues to
occur any new barriers will be room enough for foot traffic and bicycles you may have heard claims that we were going to install jersey barriers on the shoreline where the boats congregate there are no Jersey barriers there was never even a whisper about
jersey barriers there was a recommendation and a vote of the select board to install rope floats 20 to 30 ft offshore of that area as a barrier however that vote is basically
rescended we will not be acting on it um it could be viewed as inhibiting access from the water but more importantly it would create a bigger um safety hazard for human life out in the water with rocking boats drifting people getting in
and out of boats so we will not be doing that talk more about that sections of the Bay Scenic Trail will be temporarily closed um part of the process is to get that property back
to its um to its state when it was acquired that's going to require closing parts of the trail the scenic trail and on the other side of that handout there was um markings where that trail would be closed off temporarily temporarily means
two years um to see if that restoration happens naturally it may be longer depending on human behavior uh there will be access point or or cross traffic points there'll be breaks in that trail so you can go is
that east to west west to east across the scenic trail it won't be totally closed long um we good up to here okay with the violence that we experienced
last summer um a horrible situation the task force considered um if we tightened up things and closed any part or increased enforcement actions we may get people spilling out visitors um to other
attractive amenities in town and that's why we are recommending the adoption of this comprehensive bylaw to cover all of our public parks beaches conservation areas recreation areas this would apply to all of them they each have their own
separate rules and regulations depending on what type of property it is um but this would be a global u bylaw the purpose of this bylaw is to more
clearly define sorry my phone's going off for some reason this would more clearly define the prohibited activities in the public recreation areas and we're going to call them it's parks beaches recreation conservation areas we're going to call them collectively public
recreation areas it names names certain activities to help differentiate between active and passive it certainly isn't going to include every activity uh since the posted rules seem to be viewed as merely suggestions on
how to behave nicely this hopefully spells out what we mean when we say do it it names the consequences and it monetizes the penalties this bylaw increases the enforcement powers of the South PD and fire
departments who both feel that this is necessary to proceed to the officers and the deputy sheriffs it would allow for them to evict visitors from the property it would allow fines and the fines are compounded for multiple offenses and
repeat offenders again each property is unique wally Park may allow permitted events in the parking lot but the North Pond Conservation Area does not it will not it never will this bylaw complements
each of our own property rules and permitted activities depending on where you are so we can dive into this now um that was just a list of the many different mass and local regulations
that we use to support this bylaw it certainly isn't all of those either the purpose of this bylaw is to protect preserve and enhance all of our public recreation areas as they exist today but it is also intended if we add new
properties we don't have to rewrite a new one we don't have to add to this one it would cover hopefully future as well to protect public safety related to their uses and the preservation of neighbor rights according to their uses
um you have a right to the quiet enjoyment of your property as well and how will we do this by controlling or limiting the activities that are deemed to be harmful or damaging effects on the natural resource
values the natural habitat the recreation the aesthetics the general use the enjoyment of all but most importantly the overall public safety has emerged as a pretty critical issue in all cases these
properties include the docks the public docks peers the launch sites any related facilities on the property and their parking areas uh I need to mention that this chapter would be in addition to any general public nuisance
bylaws this would covers the public recreation properties there's another one that's likely coming that will cover more of a disturbing of the peace um and your right to enjoy quiet enjoyment of your neighborhoods if
disruption occurs on private property and that would be useful in the um short-term rental situations that occur every now and then as well and Jason Peron is going to be advancing that particular bylaw
as far as security section two there's a number of sections to this and I'm not going to read them all i'm just going to give you the highlights and if anybody needs me to stop let me know this section provides notice that the public recreation areas may be under
electronic surveillance by South Fire police any of the boards and commissions who are the governing bodies of those properties they may use video camera drone or other electronic measures including audio this notifies all
visitors that by entering the property they are subject to any legal surveillance and there's no expectation of privacy this particular section may not be included in the actual bylaw it may not be necessary but it will be posted
on all sides of each uh public area whether there's surveillance or not it just says there may be you're at you're at your own risk with that what properties are we talking about by the way um again applies to
today but also any future improvements additions to properties a um a list of the public properties of course Wally Park Cry Park those are the parks there's one town beach it's the beach um
the mass wildlife area management area is a conservation and preservation area wild wildlife habitat as is Leinsky as is Goose Pond and as is North Pond Conservation Area
um the rail trail constitutes as a general recreation area or a linear park uh but these are the areas we're talking about today uh damaging defacing altering recreation areas again subject to the written rules
of a particular area uh basically no person shall vandalize um place graffini injure tamper with um remove anything from the property deface signs etc
um there's a lot of don'ts in there but I've just given you the highlights no person shall place any structures personal property or improvements human pet remains or ashes or memorabilia in a public recreation area except in areas
that may be specifically designated again we want to emphasize that this is um each property has its own characteristics and rules in the future there may be a dog park with the rainbow bridge that you can put your pet ashes there um we don't know today but we
may and to combat some repeat behaviors by persons thinking they're doing good deeds um no person shall dig fill remove dredge build upon take any rock sand soil stones trees by any tools or other means on any
bank beach dune lake river stream etc um from these areas uh you can think you're doing a great job cleaning up but it's against the rules with the exception of a child's play beach play area at the town beach
and of course maintenance by any governing body of the area they are required to go in and do whatever they need to do there no person shall change the drainage characteristics sedimentation or flow patterns of any or any disturbance of water to protect the existing flora and
avoid invasive species no person shall introduce new plantings or damage cut carve transplant or remove other flora including flower seeds and fruit and you can't dig and otherwise alter injure or impair the natural
beauty or usefulness of any public recreation area no person shall climb any tree or walk stand or sit upon monuments rocks boulders outcroppings trees railings etc and the
rope swings diane you're asking for any comments now or we can we're going to break in a little bit and pause this one in particular yeah uh sitting on
rocks um stepping on rocks i'm thinking of a lot of places in the gorge in a gorge area that people would do that want to do that in areas not in areas not designated and marked for such
activities or customarily used for such purposes so there'll be a sign at the gorge that will say walking on rocks is okay it is a rock gorge and if it's not if it's not posted sir then it wouldn't be a problem
she's saying it'll be posted in the areas where they can't do it if it's not posted you say we can't do it and we can do it what i'm sorry go again you just said if it's not posted that you can't do it then you can do it right like the gorge
i'm assuming we wouldn't be putting signage there to say you can't walk on the on the rocks there because that's an acceptable practice that's part of the rocks are part of nature i'm thinking like if Wally Park had a big stone out in the field somewhere you know there was a monument not even a monument but just part of the the landscape was a big
rock out there those are the types of things we wouldn't want you know people climbing around on but the nature of like the gorge that wouldn't be indicated that you can't climb on the gorge so also swimming is allowed in the gorge that I know conservation
no problem swimming in the gorge it's been happening forever right right so subject to each prohibited it can be done right subject to each particular area i think saying it's kind of worded
funny on the boards the way it looks it looks like it have to be posted it's for that purpose instead of the other way around so I think I understand what Marcus's point is the way it's worded it says it has to be designated and posted for that use to be able to use it
so I think that just needs to be flipped around to say posted that it's not for that use yeah they're making notes on i'm not the person but I agree with you i see Marcus's point yep okay
um all right and then again so that we can restore that main trail or any other areas in other in other parts um you can't enter areas that are marked for temporary closures for maintenance or authorized
personnel but thank you Marcus we'll get that clarified um no person shall dock or beach watercraft of any type including canoes rafts boats personal watercraft vehicles and the like on conservation or
preservation area shorelines unless in approved areas designated and this is going to be edited and or marked for such use and this is the sticky part for many um and we're know we're talking about
that shoreline the boats congregate at and just let me go through some of the research done here and the findings and determinations uh the dean and the conservation restriction again are the presiding documents over this particular
conservation area and this issue those documents cover the land mass owned by all of the inhabitants of Southick those that take their recreation on dry land and those that take their recreation on the
water our designated fish and wildlife steward and I have been reviewing these documents in deep painful detail we have reread every word related to this multiple times
passive recreation defined by fish and wildlife is it does no material harm nor has any long-term consequences on the natural resources of the
property fishing is a specifically named passive activity how you get there to fish from the shore or walk the property is not defined the CR is absent any language of
boating boats or watercraft with or without a motor boats are not considered motorized land vehicles in the parameters of the CR the CR is absent any language of landing
watercraft on a shore it's absent any language of use of the water's edge therefore fish and wildlife the ruling body finds that this is not a restricted
use per se when determining if a canoe a kayak or a rowboat could access from the water to fish or walk or take photos and put their vessels on the shoreline fish and wildlife agrees this
is not restricted with a big but and however the line of demarcation or water body that fish and wildlife would use is the annual high water mark therefore if landing watercraft should not be on the
shore beyond that high water line nor any other prohibited items beyond that high water mark and but the area should be cons continuously monitored by the conservation commission to sure there is
no material harm nor any long-term consequences consequences to the natural resources of the property we may put a rope line in the sand marking this is the do not pass line and signs
on the shore depends on human behavior and but the area could be closed at any time for restoration if damage occurs just like the trails will be so those boats can land
there they just can't take all of their stuff off the boats and put it on the land area if you want a chair your chair goes in the water regarding motorized vehicles on the conservation area again boats are not named nor they're not considered
motorized land vehicles no person shall park or operate motorized vehicles on the land area unless in designated areas and posted for such with the exception of wheelchairs or as may temporarily be by
permission of an or for an organized group event such as a charity concert rides or major events again this wouldn't happen on the conservation area but it may be in other parks or recreation areas nothing shall prevent the town or its authorized agents from carrying out
proper maintenance in the area that goes without saying in any area which means it can be closed at any time discussion to this point i have a question about how it says that no motorized vehicles can be used on
that land yet obviously South Police has been using the ATVs to go back to the parking lot and back those trails have obviously been there well over 30 years as far as I know
um so the question I have is like that's a big plus to the Southwood Police to be able to go back and forth from that parking lot back to there around all those other trails that lead out so that isn't allowed you so that that is the
governing body can be in there with motorized vehicles to enforce okay the restrictions but a quad going through is going to dig up that property and they have you can see it when
they're there they have so that's I mean you have all these restrictions but it's a but again the police department's going through on their quads on their trails and digging up the land there has to be side by
sides and stuff used on that property though to clean up all the trash there's so much trash that nobody will walk out there nobody can physically carry trash bags of that amount out there has to be utility vehicles in there to help clean
up the land and and there is like Yes you go in there and clean up the Just at the top no all I All I was doing is just at the top part yeah shoreline all the boating people clean up every time we go there top to bottom people might go down there after us in
the nighttime people camp we've gone there and seen like someone had a fire we're cleaning up cans and whatever trash they leave behind we resp all of us respect that property there we're all
very professional people and we feel that last year and I'm going to speak up and say this we got harassed yelled at but on a megaphone get off the land people were just standing talking to one
another that's all and they treated us like we are secondass citizens when we weren't the ones up there fighting and hopefully there was no consequences for those people those people but we get
the torment of that tormented hopefully that's this is a comprehensive bylaw that gives our police and the and the EPO officers the authority to boot those people out and
find them and the police have stopped and talked to us had no problems with us the sheriff's department in the boats came up and talk to us there was no problem with us voting people it's the people that go down there after or we
came and there was people sitting all in chairs in a tent can you explain Diane how that the main reason for these rules is so that the police can enforce they have nothing to enforce right now and the whole reason to do this is not to
limit us as residents and us as people that obey it's for the people that come onto the property and there was nothing to enforce other than a fight last year which obviously should have been enforced but the fact
is is that all these laws are so that there's something to notice it's noted this won't necessarily be this entire bylaw wouldn't be posted at every entrance and exit but chief you want to speak to this a little bit how this would help you
hi everybody so last year when all this went down obviously we had some issues with like you're saying of course yeah the way they treated us and we weren't the ones to cause that fight there was no reason for the police to
There was one guy in particular a tall police officer on a boat yelled through a megaphone "Get off that property we are human beings we have boats we treat everybody with respect we respect the land respect
us don't treat us like we're animals." And he he just kept it up and kept it up i don't know if you know any first off I have no idea what you're talking about unfortunately but a police officer on a boat was it a sheriff was it
South Cop he was tall kind of a big guy on a megaphone get off the property we're all like in shock he's screaming at us that's uncalled for we're out there he would have rules now i'm sorry now he would have rules to go by as well
it said "And if and if you're not above that watermark there's no reprimand." There was my grandson he had a pal and a little shovel he was at the shoreline playing with his pal they yelled at him too going up at us to get him off the
land he was playing with some dirt some you know on the shoreline the kids can't play this is supposed to be like a family lake i mean this is supposed to be Here's the key piece ma'am a family lake the conservation area from what we're getting from the state is not for
kids playing in the beach and playing in the sand i know it sucks but we now live under the guidelines of the state because we took the money from the state the state says you can't be on that property you can't be above the water line you can't bring your little chair you know beach shares up there we're stuck with that law now the can
have been cast with this burden to try and make things right here but they can't do what the state says we can't do here's the other thing if someone walked down that were threatening they rear arrested last summer after that big fight up there it was closed because it was closed if they if they if they were
again I'm not speaking for the police department but again if they were doing something that is not part of the conservation path if they weren't I joked at our task force meeting basically it's coming to the point unless you're wearing hiking boots and eating a granola bar you shouldn't be in that area it's a conservation area for
hiking and walking the trailification excuse me you certainly can't be on that property it cannot be closed period it cannot be closed no I'm not saying close it but you can't restrict who goes there and what they're wearing either
we had someone I saidiously joking if they were going to arrest them but can we go back it takes an act of the state legislature to close that they won't do it no we're not ask excuse me excuse me can we let the chief tell
us how this will help him enforce what we're trying to do here all right so back to topic we last year obviously had some issues down there we were limited at the time with what bylaws we have in place we've got a
littering bylaw we got container bylaw you know we've got uh bylaws for fire stuff like that general rules of that property aren't covered in most of the bylaws at the top this would allow us to easily enforce what's out there
our option now is pretty much if they violate the rules which are posted then we can basically trespass the person if they come back at that point in time then we can charge them criminal that's our option for a big sip minus the fine
so what about the behavior of a few of your officers again I don't know what you're talking about there was no complaints at the time well then if that happens again you will hear from us that's for sure it was ridiculous we're human people what I will say very
professional what I will say is as Chief Fisher brought up the property was closed at one point in time okay so if you were down there someone was down there at that point in time they were told to get off the property but yelling at us from a megaphone like we're
animals was very unprofessional from your your department but let me tell you if that ever happens again you will tell that that's the case so I can identify and take care of that problem yeah i mean we are we work hard we love our
boats we love the lake we respect it we pick up after whoever makes messes we're all like a family a voting family and we all meet together that's what we enjoy we don't tear things up for other people
do and make it worse for us and that's what happened last year but I just we got treated pretty bad last summer after that happened and it had nothing to do with us another question there sir yeah so without going in real depth I think
everybody's fully aware of what the element is that's causing all these issues and there's so many local that don't want the boats on North Pond i'm not going to elaborate but is that what you're trying to do is get the votes off of North Pond because I know I wait i
can tell you this that a lot of people pay taxes in town and that right is to use that lake okay and now some of the money that came out of the town also went out of the taxpayers to buy that property are you trying to get everybody
off of North Pond absolutely not because there's people that live on South Pond that go to North Pond Pond North Pond absolutely not this is why I spent so much time one on-one with our fish and wildlife representative on this property
she is an expert on this property we went through this many people want to have those votes restricted i can't do that the select board can't do that because they have that right to be there that's why I said this is for all of the
inhabitants of Southwick even those who don't vote my thing is is I can't understand that nothing goes on the rest of the lake it's all northbound i I don't see that that's what it always appears it's always northbound this is where the problem arose with the
violence spilling out into the streets this is what we're addressing let me just put that up this is what we're addressing globally yes so a couple of things um and thank you Chief Vanish for patrolling as you
did we all appreciate who lived there um and who knew what happened that we felt a bit safer last year with the patrols and maybe there was one or two that were a
little over exuberant at the job but it was definitely posted throughout that that conservation area was closed because of what had happened and it needed to heal and there was work to be done
so there is a give and take here the one thing that I can see that's going to cause confusion to a lot of voters is if you don't have that area marked that once you're beyond this point you're on
conservation land the second part is when that high water table changes is somebody going to move those because I can tell you right now people aren't going to understand giving
behavior is going to dictate and people are going to push the envelope something's going to happen you said give and take it's a give and take and we appreciate what you're doing because we know what's happening as far as North
Pond goes sir there has never been a prohibit on swimming and boating it's been a prohibit on personal watercraft because of the size of the pond it is not uh
prohibited uh for responsible voters to come and go and to have a good time out there and I don't think anybody has been actively looking for that i just want to add to what you said and and what you just said
Mila was this is a comprehensive bylaw and we tal I talked earlier about if it spills out into another attractive area which could end up being South Pond or Middle Pond they can find another place to go and be
abusive and this follows that it follows them wherever they may take the abuse the tire goes to Wall-E Park that was a good thing that that went away because that that tire swing I would I'm going to say I'm glad that's gone because us
Boers would see those young kids on that tire swing and they would be just flying up and you don't know what's going to happen and they're going to hit their boat hit their head we'd watch that but that drew a lot of different people there that raised holy
hell on that where that tire swing was on the side of North P okay anything else there shall we move on oh yes smith i just wanted to say um I'm speaking on behalf of myself as a
private citizen not any organization um I just wanted to say thank you to the task force because I feel like this is incredibly comprehensive and thoughtful um the task is monumental of trying to balance the environmental impact that
humans have um with our ability and our right to recreate on the property so you know there's no plan that's going to make everybody happy or hit everybody's items but um thinking about how to have
the the trails not be trampled how to have um erosion not be occurring and you know washing down into the lake and all of that but we spent a lot of money on that property and it was a lot of time and effort uh to be able to preserve it
and this is in perpetuity forever and I'm incredibly proud of our town for um pulling that off so along with that comes this major responsibility of like now what do we do with it and like obviously everybody wants to enjoy it everybody wants a part of it because
it's phenomenal um so you know enacting this and looking at all of these little pieces was was massive and so I thank the task force very much for that um I think it was done done really well in uh creating that balance and so I also feel
like that property is way better off than it was before you know speaking of the trash and things like that coming off there yeah gators i mean I don't know how many dump trucks we brought of trash from those cottages that were back there in the 50s tires refrigerators glass broken glass like it is the
car i mean it was unbelievable it was a dump sum um so I think even though we're focusing on like these problem areas now because we have to do something about it uh you know what's already been done has been fantastic for that property um so
you know I think my big point is like okay now like they've done this but we're all stewards of that property now so it's up to us to to police ourselves it's up to us to say oh hey did you know you know tell your voting neighbor like "Oh guys you know what you you have that
pontoon way up there it's you're over the high water mark you know can you guys back off next time you come make sure you're more gentle on the shores you know it's up to us now to work on that and if you see something that's a blatant violation of these bylaws if they all get approved hopefully you say
something about it and you know if it doesn't work I mean don't approach people don't put yourself in a dangerous situation but let the PD know um and they'll come in and support because that enforcement like people had mentioned is huge like these rules are just suggestions unless there's enforcement
so I think it's that partnership of the select board the conservation the PD and all of us that's going to make this a success absolutely okay thank you the rest of this is less controversial
and should go a lot faster wildlife um subject to express written authorization include hunting seasons etc just like the flora in section three we can't mess with the fauna uh you can't introduce new uh bugs reptiles
fish birds um we can't introduce new predators to tackle the wildlife issues um again with the express written permission of authorized persons who are licensed to do so for the health and protection of wildlife to prevent disease and nuisance animals please
don't feed the animals bugs lizards hunting except for uh as provided in section E and F which is the normal uh hunting regulations
um no person shall hut harass or harm any fauna or remove or collect the young or eggs or nests in these recreation areas with the exception of authorized persons who are licensed to remove
them uh such as sick raccoons or beavers [Music] um poisoning don't do it uh fishing subject to state and local laws and regulations it's permitted in
public recreation area only in those waters designated just means if there's an ornamental pond installed at some point in Wall-E Park you can't fish in it um we can't assume that every pond on a property allows fishing those property
rules will let you know um use of firearms and weapons efficient yeah use the firearms and weapons um no person shall hunt track or pursue wildlife at any time in
a park or beach as you might expect um no person shall hunt trap or pursue wildlife in a conservation or preservation area except in designated hunting areas during hunting season
properly licensed and subject to Massachusetts hunting regulations um so no infringement there section five picnicking cookouts fires and question yes on item F yes
near the bottom any other weapons potentially enimical to wildlife i'm not familiar with that word enimical i wouldn't say harmful uh I can change that to something that
everybody understands just write unless there's a wildlife biologist that uses that term and the other at the end of that sentence uh eliminate new nuisance species so are you thinking about
control hunting to reduce deer populations or other populations of animals that are damaging the vegetation and so forth um if so I have I don't want to go backwards on my thing but if
so regulated it have to be regulated subject to all other hunting regulations so you could hire hunters or trappers to eliminate certain species yes that you're saying are use no I'm not what
what's the question i was looking for the word nimical because I don't know what that means i am i am intending to obstruct or harm and what's the other that would be like a snare
I guess but we can change the word um and then the other concern is uh like a controlled hunt but controlled hunting well clarify that but let me just say this will go back to legal counsel at least one more time for them to um put
it in the right terminology and subject to that kind But we'll make note of that controlled tons okay good all right picnicking cooks out cookouts fires and camping
um again subject to permission there may be areas where some of these are allowed on specific properties those rules will let you know if they're allowed on that property or by special permit for an
event but no picnicking in a conservation or preservation area and um I think that's self-explanatory what that means in a conservation area cookouts and fires including portable grills similar
cooking apparatus etc etc except for control burns where prescribed um and all of this except in designated areas by permission for group special group events charity concerts
drives major events um as permitted yes sir question of fishing yes is fishing allowed on North yes yes absolutely absolutely make sure you have you can walk where do you park
to walk through further up on lawnard in that in the parking area on South Longard or in wildlife management area or coming in from bad work you can come in from you can come in from the water get off and fish
absolutely yes um for beet Diane is that is that strictly for on the land as far as a portable grill many many voters have Oh you can have it on
your boat all you want that's that's your property absolutely y Thank you absolutely y Is there another question back there okay camping no person shall camp or raise tents
popups shade umbrellas or related items or structures nor set tables chairs cooking or dining apparatus or supplies in a conservation area or recreation area the town beach doesn't prohibit umbrellas you're good to go there but
the North Pond property does not allow them um this would prevent the canines from popping up um and people bringing those onto the onto the land area those items may be permitted in
certain recreation areas or parks again for um craft fairs or what have you by special permit and um just want to jump back and remind everybody about that high water mark those chairs they go in the water
not above the high water mark it's the same with the the boats they can't go up on the dirt but they can be right on the water line correct coolers don't put them above the high water level leave them in your boat put them in a tube um overnight camping may be allowed
in the park uh like SEMA may conduct a training event at some point and by special permit we'll be able to do overnight camping otherwise not sanitation this one's pretty straightforward don't throw things out don't throw things on the ground into
the lakes into the streams dump dump bottles broken glass diapers trash human or pet waste um use the restrooms if or as provided don't flush diapers wipes paper towels or dog poop in the public
bathrooms please don't use public drinking faucets or fountains for any washing purposes um before it's asked we I will say the porta body has come up a few times it's been asked for at the wellhead area it
was not a recommendation that could be endorsed it um is an affront to the concept of a conservation area to stick a portaotti in the middle of a natural habitat so again human
behavior will dictate um further actions but likely won't be exhorted um recreational activities again every park has its own rules every recreation area has its own rules this preamble
pretty much says whatever you choose to do it's at your own risk and the town shall not assume any responsibility whatsoever no person shall swim bathe or wait a minute in spring streams or ornamental ponds uh ornamental fountains if you have
them subject two passive recreation passive recreation rules and regulations governing each area no person shall take part in or bet in the playing of a game in a public recreation area involving horseshoes golf arrow stones discs balls
or other propelled objects meaning active activities and potentially harmful to the habitats these are illustrations of active recreation for parks and beaches that are not allowed in a conservation or
preservation area again they're not all inclusive but they're examples of active versus walking through passive [Music] um inflatable flotation devices are
allowed only at the town beach and are prohibited in parks recreation conservation areas with the exception of inflatable kayaks canoes and other floating inflatable boating crafts so I have a question about that so at the in
North Pal a lot of times like the the kids are all on a little floaty right near our boats that's we can see you're in the water you're in the water okay you're This applies to the recreation
area not the lake continue to enjoy your floaties as you do now and retrieve your escapees under regular voting regulations as you as you do today the diving jumping or throwing objects off rocks boulders cliffs outcroppings
again subject to the particular recreation area that you are in Marcus um so if you're at the gorge and enjoying the rocks go at it um this again was just a reference
back to the rope swings pretty much um now the next one this was supposed to be updated to match um three earlier in section three when we were going to install the rope
floats um so uh did I lose F no motor no motorized watercraft on any water body shall be operated within 30 ft of a conservation or preserv preservation area shoreline or inside designated buoys floats or
other markers again this was going to be when we were going to install those floats so this is likely just going to come out of here um good so far we're almost there is
there anything in place for people to like clean up as far as trash and are patrol still going to happen on the property when it first opens or is that done and based upon the citizens or
absolutely they the there's commitment that there is going to be presence out there and who's in charge of trash pickup cuz I know at one time there was I believe four or five Southwood cops out there with trash bags picking up trash is this like a park and wreck
thing now or is it going to be like who's in charge of cleaning up that property well the conservation commission are the stewards we will have somebody that picks up trash in the parking lot um as far as picking up trash in the land we do appreciate
citizens help i mean that's amazing i mean the regulations say take your trash with you to the trash recepticle so again human behavior and you got also you got to catch the people has has had events before picking
up trash along the shoreline and on the property division has had events for picking up trash the reason why I asked that is because at one time there was somebody just somebody in the local area who used to drive a meter out
there to pick up trash and he was fine i myself live on North Pond along with other people but you know to to walk out there and like I said you get two bags of trash i mean you're kind of showing up to a gunfight with a BB gun
originally before we signed the the contract with the state as far that was actually written into what was happening he was named as per somebody who did do that but now that we have the conservation restriction we cannot have
those motori that's some of the barriers I mentioned earlier that are still going to go out there yeah yeah there's definitely some fine tuning to doing a little more than just picking up traffic yeah yeah we're aware
uh the traffic section um these two sections are really the next two sections are about u power assisted wheelchairs and other um assisted devices and it's just advising visitors um that it may be an unsafe situation
for them that is up to them to decide but they may not be allowed entrance um so that's just these first two sections um and then if they're looking for a special exception you know they can call ahead and see if they can be
accommodated just so we aren't excluding anybody [Music] um and then let's talk about electric bikes for a minute um electric bikes are
permitted on the rail trail for the park and recck commission and they may have to update their own posted rules on that electric bikes are also permitted on the North Pond Conservation Area but with
the same but and however as before conservation Commission has to continuously monitor that to again ensure no material harm or long-term consequences to the natural resources but it may be difficult to tell if those are motorbikes or electric
bikes and conservation commission can then ban them if it's impossible to distinguish yes sir an easy way to distinguishes whether or not they have pedals after the fact when you see the the tracks no if you're trying to say is
that a bicycle or not or an ebike versus a motorcycle if they have pedals it's not a motorcycle obviously if you can see it there you can you can tell that I'm saying by the tracks you can't tell what's coming you may not be able to tell so but but absolutely
um and then of course no snowmobiles or other recreational vehicles are um allowed on public property unless on trails marked and designated for such use and same with
parking no parking except in the parking lots in designated parking spaces um and no parking on the side streets and then of course we added the no parking signs to further enforce that
um particularly relative to the situation in the northbound parking area no person shall loiter or hold social events or gatherings in any parking areas nor within any designated no parking zones
on main side streets um again so no parties in the lots that become disruptive um no overnight parking except for very rare organized events d yes is there going to be a time
frame on the parking up there there's only three spots there all day or is it like two hour three hour max right now it's dusk to dawn all day but no loitering once once you back up there when you're leaving get out so the next guy can come
in no trespassing on foot bicycle or other motor motorized vehicles on any surrounding privatelyowned property to access a park beach recreation conservation area violators will be subject to trespass locations and fines
and like I said we're going to try to find ways to mark um where they may be crossing over onto private property and again by stating so they can go back and and um enforce this
no trespass uh the next section F is just going to be stricken because it's included in sanitation uh section nine dogs and other pets um of course the lawyers may just put in other pets because you might
bring your ostrich in as your support animal yes we have a leash law but again it fails to address some of the emerging issues um as in the current bylaw pets cannot run at large in any of these public recreation
areas um keep your dog leashed at all times except if we're if we have a dog park or other areas expressly designated as off leash except for service dogs except for hunting dogs in service
no person shall permit any dogs or other pets to be on athletic fields or within child's play areas this is another emerging problem where people are bringing their dogs into the playground at Lally Park or Crypt Park or the schools and not getting up after their
dogs and they're going on the athletic fields um and of course you're required to pick up after your dog or other support animal and take it with you or dispose of it on the property properly consumption of possession of alcoholic beverages and removal drugs
pretty straightforward um serving of certain alcoholic beverages may be allowed at the Parker Beach for organized events and by express permission by the select board this is for the one day um alcohol
licenses for organized events prohibition against tobacco and cannabis products usage um including matches and lighters again big fire hazard disorderly conduct and noise
again in addition to um any other public nuisance bylaw that may be coming down the road very shortly any enforcement action taken under this section will be based on reasonable justification guided guided by common sense and supported by
credible evidence um that gives the police room to um do what they have to do uh no person shall annoy another person that's a good
one by making loud or continuous noise by making loud or continuous noise plainly audible at a distance of 100 ft or so and in excess of 15 minutes in in a park or a beach the fact that the
noise is plainly audible and continuous shall be primmaasia evidence of a violation subject to fines again based on reasonable justification and common sense and this is an issue on land and by sea it's a problem we hear everywhere
loud loud boats on the water plus loud boats on the land um film trails and uh in order to avoid disturbance of wildlife no audible this says music
it'll be u corrected to noise no audible noise above a normal conversational volume will be allowed in a conservation or preservation area with the exception of firearms during hunting season etc etc
um and that should help with some of the noise um from the the not beach area um peddling unauthorized signs and solicitation um no offering for sale or uh signs
um within certain distances of these recreation areas and this is again an emerging thing where we're starting to seeing lawn signs pop up in the wrong places and um quads of flyers on the ground on like the bike trail and so
forth i had a question on now sure isn't this going to be an imposition I guess you'd say on a butters who would want to allow signs to be posted uh I don't know i need a
little explanation about that 350 ft along a road fronting on an area so I'm thinking of the rail trail and 150 ft from the boundaries as such
uh why can't someone put out a sign from a contractor that worked on their property or want service uh that distance things little strange okay we will take that into
consideration okay operating policies um again this is um an FYI any outdoor activity on these properties is at your own risk um no person shall enter or remain after
posted hours except unapproved programs um for for hunting the town you may declare in the section closed to the public entirely or specified areas temporarily or on a regular basis for maintenance seasonal
closure safety or other reasons um and let's see the town or its authorized agents reserve the right to search seize and confiscate any property thing or device including but not limited to vehicles persons coolers bags backpacks in these
areas um again based on reasonable justification common sense and credible evidence um and as visitors may find loopholes or activities not specifically named because of course this can't name
everything the town reserves the right to prohibit or restrict activities that it reasonably deems to be disruptive disorderly unsafe damaging to the wildlife town property or residents at any time as conditions
emerge so again so it can't cover everything written here but as it emerges um Southwick police or their designated agents may direct individuals to stop any behavior deemed disruptive disorderly
unsafe and the South Police may eject those persons from any of those properties and then we get into penalties for the offenses which will be posted uh first offense will be
$150 second offense 200 third offense 350 and those are for each separate um offense and can be compounded and that's the gist of the bylaw and
again this was developed with um police department fire department contributions and endorsement by park and recck conservation commission lake management committee agricultural commission legal council fish and wildlife
oodles of residents that I've talked to up until today on this this week we did this back in September we've been moving it forward and up to today I'm still talking to people to fine-tune this and make this um
work um the select board has moved it forward to this meeting so thank you to the select board me included um for your feedback and comments those will be considered and we'll refine as I said again we this
will go to council at least one more time this will be on the um a warrant article on the town meeting May 20th to vote to adopt it any additional suggestions anybody has you can send
them to me to Nicole to Chief Banish and we'll continue to evaluate those against what you have here today and I apologize for the length it's a lot it's something we didn't have before we tried to address everything to
make this enforceable and bring peace back to our our areas here um and I want to thank the task force for everything they have contributed to this and I just have to thank my granddaughter Janali Boyd um 11 years old who helped me with
the slide presentation all right yeah I needed a refresher on the newer versions um she was marvelous she was in disbelief she learned this in third grade and she didn't all know this so that's all I have um anything else
good bad [Applause] will be this event community meetings yes i I think they're great i think it's great what would you like to talk about
all right i think that's it there's more refreshment in the back if you'd like and be here for a little bit more