Updated July 31
The president and co-owner of the Chappy Ferry, Peter Wells, is pushing for better enforcement from Edgartown and asking for the installation of temporary public restrooms near Memorial Wharf after reporting some debauchery on Tuesday nights.
The town wharf welcomes a crowd of night-revelers every Tuesday evening from 7 to 9 pm for Dock Dance, a free outdoor concert overlooking Edgartown Harbor.
Though police said the dance hasn’t had an incident in recent years, Wells said that a number of his staff complained that concert-goers were using his employees’ parking area to urinate and would do so often on their cars, noting that the closest public restrooms in town were a few blocks away. One deckhand said people exposed themselves, Wells said in a letter dated July 24 to town officials. The letter also said objects, including beer cans, have been thrown at the ferry during the dance.
The response so far from the town has been that they would invite stakeholders and police to a meeting next week to discuss the issue, but town select board members said that if it continues to be a problem, they might have to shut Dock Dance down.
Wells described his issues to the board on Monday afternoon during a regular meeting. “My crew was pretty traumatized this past Tuesday, and unless I can tell them something convincing, they’re not going to work this Tuesday,” Wells told the select board. “It would be nice if there was a porta potty.”
Wells has reached out to a company on the Island that has a temporary restroom available for 24-hour increments, but it’s $700. Wells asked if this could be arranged by the town for this week’s dance.
“I did not know we had this kind of a problem,” select board member Arthur Smadbeck said. Wells has notified police.
John Stanwood, guitarist and singer for the Dock Dance Band, said that they make announcements throughout the night to ask the audience to be respectful. Ninety-five percent of the outdoor concert’s attendees are safe and responsible, and a few bad apples make everyone look bad, Stanwood said. They don’t condone drinking or actions mentioned by Wells.
This isn’t the first time Wells has asked the town to provide restrooms at Memorial Wharf. “This letter will also serve as my 17th annual plea to the town…two design options have been previously submitted to the town,” he said in his letter.
Band members also said this is part of a larger problem of public access to restrooms in town. The ferry house does have a bathroom for emergencies, but it is not public.
“There’s been a need for a public restroom forever,” Adam Petkus, Dock Dance Band frontman, said. “If this is the lightning rod to get a seasonal porta potty at the Chappy Ferry, then so be it.”
After Wells spoke with Lieutenant Chris Dolby, he suggested in another letter that town officials secure the upper deck of the wharf to prevent thrown objects, push up the dance earlier from 6 to 8 pm for easier security, and install a bathroom.
There is room for temporary bathrooms, Wells said. He’d said he’d happily give up one of his parking spots for them. “It’s an easy enough problem to solve,” he said
The select board promised they’d talk to town administrator James Hagerty, who was off on Monday, about the bathrooms as well as to McNamee about police detail.
Dolby was at the event Tuesday night as an added presence and said besides two instances — one teenager with alcoholic beverages and a small scuffle that ended in no injuries — the 200 or so attendees were well-behaved.
Dolby also said that the band picked up garbage from the wharf after their set.
Hagerty said he plans to put this issue on the select board agenda for Monday, August 5, as long as Wells and McNamee are able to attend. Select board chair Michael Donaroma also said they need to talk to the Dock Dance organizers. Petkus said they’ll have a representative from the band at the meeting.
The free outdoor concert is an “old vestige of a time that has gone by,” Petkus said. It remains important to keep this around, he said.
It would be a shame for it to end on a bad note, Stanwood said.
A porta potty was on the scene this past Tuesday night, band members and police personnel said. Hagerty confirmed he saw it getting picked up this morning.
Peter Wells’ request of a public toilet at the wharf is a great idea and I urge the Edgartown Select Board to not just set up a Port a Potty but plan and finance long term solutions of the needs of the Chappy Ferry, that includes a public restroom, addressing rising sea levels, increased ferry traffic volume, aging ferry replacements and a plan for a ferry ownership change. These issues are not going away and it takes leadership of elected officials to be proactive, not just reactive.
Amazing that a simple solution must become a bureaucratic event!! Good Luck Mr. Wells.
This has been talked about for years and the selectman have done nothing to promote a real bathroom at the dock which is long overdue. Not just for dock dance but for all the tourists who pay our bills.
How much will that cost you?
I want to address the issues I see in the order they were seen:
1st – the idea that a group of people are going to gather and the select board and dock dance organizers are surprised that these people need a place to use the bathroom is laughable.
2nd – since there is basically an understanding that the dance doesn’t serve alcohol but of course people will not be without their alcohol and therefore sneak their alcohol consumption at the event and everyone knows this, they will also therefore sneak the elimination of said alcohol by peeing in the closest dark spot available, which in this case is over the fence or between the parked cars. This is a no brainer, especially after a few drinks.
3rd – having your car peed on is no joke and quite damaging. The city of San Francisco recently had to replace 300 streetlights due to the corrosion from urine.
4th – Mr. Wells threatening to not run a public service that he is contracted to supply is inappropriate until you realize that it’s the 17th time he has complained about the issue at which point, yes, it is entirely appropriate. What other choice does he have than generate the ire of all Chappy residents to join his chorus of requests to resolve the issue.
5th – this is a large gathering with unopposed public consumption of alcohol, including by many underage residents and guests of the island. Therefore there should already be all least a few cops assigned to the event to keep the peace and make sure no one over does it, especially considering that the location is very easy to fall into the water from where there is a strong current and Mr Wells ferry’s to possibly hit the drunk struggling victim. This is a foreseeable event and deserves the proper patrolling by the town.
6th – Mr Wells has gone as far as offering one of his own precious parking spots. He does not need to do this and in my opinion should not set this precedent. This is the towns problem to solve and he shouldn’t have to give up one of his hard earned spots to resolve it. The fact that he’s doing it says he’s that desperate for a solution and he’s basically calling the towns bluff.
7 – “Oh, we will talk about it” is a BS response. The select board should pretend for at least once that they actually run the town and have the power to solve a simple problem and make a resolution on the spot, take a vote and bang that gavel and solve an issue. My opinion of this select board has dropped to a whole new low. If their mechanic told them they needed new brakes and rotors because something caustic and corrosive seemed to be getting in the tires, this would be solved a lot quicker than the time it took to collect 17 requests. This board is pathetic.
8th – the wharf needs a bathroom of its own but don’t let that delay the installing of a temporary solution now, today, or better yet, yesterday.
Public restrooms are in short supply in Edgartown. There were portable toilets at the parking lot (Dark Woods) but maybe they have been moved from the original spot. It’s a long bike ride from OB and VH and by the time you reach Edgartown, nature is calling. It’s embarrassing to tell people they have to bike further along to find a restroom after biking for an hour or more.
There should also be more bathrooms available in town other than Church St. lot. It’s a hike from the Dock St area back to Church St., especially for those with children or elders. Absolutely time to provide these basic services in convenient locations.
Say yes.
The webstaurantstore.com has a pink (or red, or blue, or orange) portapotty available for $769.
His crew was pretty traumatized? Really people urinating in public caused the trauma? I hope they get some counseling.
Time for Edgartown to step and show the rest of the island how to enjoy a summer evening on MV safely. CPC funds are available , town land is available time for an entertainment space that can be utilized for just this type of event .If you build it , they will come , not tennis courts , but a community outdoor center .The dock dance is amazing pay the police to attend, make it a safe event !
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