With nighttime temperatures dipping below 50 degrees, Chilmark selectmen agreed to reopen Crab Corner at their meeting Tuesday night.
The small beach between the town’s transient dock and the Menemsha jetty was fenced off in July and posted with shock hazard signs after people felt tingles, “tickles,” and more severe sensations over the course of the summer. One West Tisbury school student on a June field trip was “shaking all over” from a jolt received after dipping a net into Crab Corner’s water.
The selectmen made their decision after Jim Malkin, the board’s harbor liaison, told his colleagues that electricity to the transient dock had been shut off until next season. The dock was thought to have previously acted as a conductor because of insufficient grounding. The board has struggled to learn conclusively whether a grounding wire installed in July eliminated stray electric current from the water. Cole Powers, the town’s inspector of wires, has suggested that stray voltage could be a chronic condition of the harbor because of hidden decay to the electrical infrastructure and other factors. He also noted at an August 22 meeting that Vineyard soil does not absorb electricity well, and that routinely leads to grounding problems.
More than two weeks into October, it was unclear who selectmen expected would enter Crab Corner’s increasingly chilled waters. Nevertheless, Mr. Malkin insisted that the town post wading only — no swimming signs to head off accidental contact with boat propellers.
Town executive secretary Tim Carroll pointed out that the harbor regulations already on the books prohibit swimming in the Menemsha Basin.
Mr. Malkin also recommended keeping shock hazard signs in place after fencing is removed from the entrance to Crab Corner. The signs are required by code, he said.
The selectmen hope to eliminate stray voltage and other potential dangers from electricity in Menemsha by doing major electrical repairs and upgrades on the recommendation of Mr. Powers. Once they have an idea of what the work will cost, the selectmen can place an article on the warrant for the Nov. 27 special town meeting. But with the deadline for publication of the warrant on the horizon, time is in short.
“We are waiting for Cole Powers to give us some numbers,” Mr. Malkin said. Mr. Powers is expected to provide a cost estimate by the end of next week, he said, but the Harbor Management Committee asked two other electricians to offer estimates to ensure that some numbers come in a timely manner.
The solicitation of other electricians’ evaluations also stems from concerns raised after Mr. Powers did not attend a scheduled site meeting with town officials.
“Well, as I understand that meeting…the executive secretary and the harbormaster were present and the electrician just never showed,” selectman Warren Doty said.
“That is my understanding as well,” Mr. Malkin said.
In other business, selectmen expressed their pleasure with the swiftness and efficiency of the Menemsha dredge project’s contractor, H & L Dredging. Their dredge crew has worked around the clock and, according to Mr. Carroll, will finish in three days.
Some 3,500 cubic yards of dredge sand earmarked for Lobsterville Beach renourishment was trucked from Aquinnah and stockpiled at Peaked Hill for Squibnocket Beach renourishment, based on a report that zoning board of appeals administrator Chuck Hodgkinson gave the selectmen.
“I can’t believe how well they cooperated with our moving the sand,” Mr. Doty said. “That was not actually part of their contract.”
“It went flawlessly,” Mr. Hodgkinson said. “We had every dump truck on the Island, probably, contracted for three days. And the only thing left to do is put a construction fence around it, and then that will sit there until April or May, whenever we need to move it to renourish the beach.”
Piled into a hill some 30 or 40 feet tall, the sand mound has become an amusement zone for kids, according to Mr. Rossi. He noted seeing “footprints and slide marks” on its slopes.
“We’re moving full speed ahead,” Mr. Doty said. “I think getting the sand…has been terrific. That’s going to go on that beach very well.”
“It saved us $200,000,” Mr. Hodgkinson said.
In a follow-up interview, Mr. Hodgkinson said the army of dump trucks cost approximately $35,000, while barging over sand of the appropriate grain size was what would have run up the $200,000 bill. Chilmark signed a memorandum of understanding with the Aquinnah selectmen to take the sand away from Lobsterville Beach, he said.
“I don’t know if people know this, but that sand is designated for a 10-foot high dune,” Mr. Rossi said.
The dune will be situated in the middle of the current beach parking lot, Mr. Hodgkinson said. He later told The Times that a new parking lot would be built 120 feet from mean high tide. Beach grass, beach roses, and beach plums will be planted to help anchor the dune sand, Mr. Rossi said.
At Mr. Carroll’s recommendation, the selectmen agreed to send the dredging contractor a thank-you letter for obliging the town’s sand request.