Edgartown prepares for another dredging season

In other business, selectmen told a homeowner to get busy planting shade trees.

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The Edgartown dredge will be back in action this fall. — The MV Times file photo

Edgartown selectmen made short work of their weekly Monday meeting, approving the season’s dredge crew, applauding a job well done in two annual reviews, and thanking a couple of young Edgartown lifeguards for their rescue of a man who appeared to be drowning off State Beach a few weeks ago.

Edgartown selectmen approved the crew that will work on the town dredge this season. Work begins Oct. 15 and ends Jan. 15, 2017. The crew includes: foreman Gregory Bettencourt, leverman Donald Benefit, anchorman Daniel Gilkes, and Mark DeFeo, who will work as a consultant. The town dredge committee voted to hire two alternates to fill in for crew members, Raymond Oliver and Gerald Murray, who were also approved by the selectmen. The pay rates were approved as well, with the foreman and leverman earning $43 an hour and the rest of the crew $33 an hour. Administrator Juliet Mulinare will earn $19.81 an hour for her part-time, year-round position.

“I think it’s great that they’ve got a bunch of same guys back,” selectman Michael Donaroma said.

Selectmen took advantage of an annual review for town treasurer Pam Amaral and IT manager Adam Darack to compliment the town employees. Mr. Donaroma called Ms. Amaral’s work for the town a “great asset,” and selectman Margaret Serpa said, “We have all the information we need when we need it, and that’s very helpful because that’s what runs the town.”

Mr. Darack was thanked for his service and lauded for his ability to work well under pressure. Selectman Arthur Smadbeck thanked him for saving the town “lots and lots of money with the knowledge you apply.”

After thanking the selectmen for the opportunity to work for the town, Mr. Darack said his goodbyes and headed out to go fishing in the Bass and Bluefish Derby, which began Sunday.

As the meeting wound down, Ms. Serpa read an incident report from the Edgartown police department. On August 29, police, EMS, and the fire department were dispatched to State Beach, where a male was seen struggling in the water. The report noted that two lifeguards from Bend-in-the-Road Beach, Austin Reid and Alex Vasiliades, went to the rescue of Nathan Jones, a 40-year-old man from Upper Marlboro, Md., and arrived on the scene before the first responders. The lifeguards ran a considerable distance to reach Mr. Jones, who reportedly doesn’t swim and had unknowingly drifted out to deeper water while floating. He apparently panicked and ingested some salt water; the two lifeguards managed to get him to shallow water, and the first responders took over. The selectmen agreed to write the lifeguards a letter, thanking them for their speedy response.

And in answer to landscape architect Kristen Riemann’s request to postpone planting until May of 2017 five trees that were to replace trees removed at 96 South Summer Street, the selectmen decided that they had waited long enough. The initial hearing concerning removal and replacement of the shade trees took place in November 2014.

“The species they’re asking to plant, the best time to plant them is fall,” said Mr. Donaroma, who owns Donaroma’s Nursery and Landscape Services. “I say we ask them to be done by the end of November; it’s been long enough.” Mr. Smadbeck and Ms. Serpa agreed, and a motion was made to respond to Ms. Riemann’s request accordingly.