MANCHESTER – The unexpected removal of a wooden raft style dock at Harry Wright Lake brought up some heated discussion during a recent Township Council meeting.
Pemberton Street residents Jonathan Holmes and Cara Rulli called for the restoration of the dock that was removed from use due to safety concerns based on a lack of lifeguards at the lake.
“My family has enjoyed the resource of the lake since the very first year we moved here,” Holmes said noting that his children “were confident in swimming off the dock and that was one of their proudest days.”
Holmes said that with the dock being removed from the lake it limited its use and that in speaking with lifeguards, members of the recreation department and the business administrator (Brandon Umba) he received various answers as to why this had occurred.
He noted that insurance costs, lack of lifeguards and safety reasons were given as an explanation. “When pressed no one could tell us what the driving force was for this and there seems to be a lack of transparency regarding this decision which potentially effects tens of thousands of residents and to the best of our knowledge there is no documentation of any kind that explains why this measure was taken.
“The motivation behind this situation seems more punitive than anything else,” Holmes added. “The community should have had a seat at the table with this decision. I think everyone in this room knows the risk that comes along with swimming in a body of water whether it be a back yard pool, a river, lake or in the ocean. We assume a level of risk associated with these activities.
“Many lakes have docks and floating structures,” Holmes added. “There is no evidence that we know that the dock presents a danger,” he added.
Holmes asked the township for more transparency and in the coming year to restore the dock that he said has been there for at least 25 years and to post a lifeguard near the dock. “In the interim we ask that that section of the lake be reopened even without the dock.”
It was stated that the township’s insurance company had recommended the municipality remove the dock.
“I was looking for any documentation that shows that. The dock was there for so long,” Holmes replied.
Umba responded that he had made the decision in consultation with “our director of recreation (Tracey Lynch). We do have a limited amount of lifeguards but the bigger problem that we faced this summer was the availability of our lifeguards. Those lifeguards that were hired, stated they wanted to work less hours.”
“They were taking part in other activities, internships and other things,” Umba added. “The mayor did contact me and there was a review. Tracey and I both discussed it.”
Umba said, “the issue – from what I understand – is that with the pathway to the dock, you could not veer to either side. We are putting in for a lake lowering permit for the end of the season because we need to review the bottom level.”
“Basically, you can be four feet in depth and then it can drop off to 12 feet so there was an issue there with actually policing the dock. The dock is a hazard,” Umba added.
Umba explained the decision was based on whether the recreation department had enough personnel to police it “and do we have enough available shifts. When you have a drowning, you have to go over your plan and you have to have a certain amount of staff and we have increased the size of patrons to this place and every patron needs a lifeguard.”
Lynch brought up her department’s concerns saying, “I just don’t have the staff to cover it. I have no idea what, it could be 12 feet, 16 feet. I can’t move the existing area to a deeper area without knowing what the bottom of that lake looks like.”
Umba said State Department of Environmental Protection regulations require “that we know what the contour of the bottom of the lake is. We cannot take that risk. If I do not have the staff to do it, I can’t do it. If we had more lifeguards, we could offer more.”
Carol Nicoletti was unable to make the night’s meeting but spoke to The Manchester Times about the issue saying, “my neighbor and I went out there last week and noticed the raft was gone and that the area was portioned off and it was way wider but that was the only area you were allowed to go in which is only up to my waist. We normally go toward the deep side of the lake. I like to swim when I go and I couldn’t as there were all kids there playing.”
“I also like to use a floating chair out there and now I have to constantly look around so I don’t bump into them so I was very disappointed in that they had changed it that way,” she added.
Councilwoman Michele Zolezi said during the meeting that the matter would be revisited after further information was gleaned and “I believe we can come up with an amicable agreement.”
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