A swimming pier at Eastville Point Beach? 

Updated Oct. 13

The Oak Bluffs Select Board expressed disapproval of a request to fund a feasibility study for a swimming pier at Eastville Point Beach. 

During the Oak Bluffs Select Board meeting on Tuesday, Tisbury conservation commission member John Best proposed using Oak Bluffs parks commission’s Community Preservation Act funding to conduct a feasibility study on constructing a swimming pier at Eastville Point Beach. Best said the beach has a gravel band right at the shoreline that makes it difficult to get in and out of the water, although there are parts made up of sand. 

“People of a certain age, in particular, have a hard time transitioning over that gravel,” Best said. “But it’s a very popular beach, as you all know.” 

Best emphasized a need for more accessible public areas on the Island. Additionally, he said the pier could help with beach access for those with disabilities. 

Best also said he initially thought the proposed area belonged to Dukes County, but it turned out to belong to Oak Bluffs. 

Tisbury’s Community Preservation committee, which Best is also a member of, is “very receptive” to sharing the expenses if the pier were feasible. Best said he was aware of the protocols needed before a pier could be built, such as checking an area for eelgrass. 

“This beach is as handy to Tisbury as anyone in Oak Bluffs,” Best said. 

Best said Steve Ewing, who built Vineyard Haven Yacht Club’s swimming pier, estimated that a pier that would “fit the bill” for Eastville Point Beach would cost roughly $150,000. “It just seemed to me like splitting that between the two CPCs, Community Preservation committees, would be a pretty short change for a resource that is equally accessible to both towns,” Best said. 

The Oak Bluffs parks commission did endorse the feasibility study, although commission chair Antone Lima said the letter was written with the understanding the project would be on county land. Lima said the commission does not really deal with the management of Eastville Point Beach, so the issue was brought to the select board. He also said the change in details raises some questions. 

Lima pointed out that besides the physical and environmental considerations, the town would also need to see whether more staff would need to be hired.

But select board members had some issues with the project. Select board member Gail Barmakian pointed out that the swimming pier seemed like it would be used more by younger folks than older people, as Best suggested. Additionally, considering Oak Bluffs would need to take on maintenance and liability issues, such as people jumping off the pier, she underscored a need to see more details.

Barmakian also said a feasibility study itself was not cheap. 

Select board member Jason Balboni said a larger discussion was needed before a decision was made, underscoring the town shouldn’t take on more maintenance costs. 

“We’re making decisions for Oak Bluffs,” he said. “Currently, at this time, my decision for this would be to not use any money for a feasibility study to put out a [swimming pier] until we have a bigger discussion on whether we actually want it.”

Select board member Dion Alley said the town should focus on taking good care of the beach portion already under its stewardship. Alley also said he has not heard from anybody before that the beach’s accessibility was an issue, pointing out his relatives in their 80s, who go to the area. 

Select board chair Emma Green-Beach said Oak Bluffs will need to consider whether it would want to even go through the CPC process for a swimming pier.

A previous version of this story misattributed Antone Lima’s statements to Richard Combra.