• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Wellesley Square
  • Private schools
  • Camp
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Athlete of the Week
  • Seniors
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Potty talk, social distancing police & the serious issue of Morses Pond this summer

May 21, 2020 by Bob Brown 4 Comments

Visualize the postcard. Here’s one possible scenario for beach goers at Wellesley’s Morses Pond this summer:

“The way guidelines are currently laid out you see a lot of No’s. There’s no swim lessons, there’s no grill rentals, there’s no picnic tables, there’s no playground, there’s no volleyball, you can’t throw a frisbee. You’d literally be coming to the beach, sitting in the sand with a mask on, taking that mask off, waking down to the water, swimming, coming back to your plot of beach, putting your mask back on, and that’s your day at the beach.”

This from Wellesley Recreation Director Matt Chin, who is actually no marketing slouch.

His description of not-such-a-day-at-the-beach (granted, mask rules might not be so strict for those hanging with family) came during Wednesday’s Recreation Commission meeting. If you have 2 hours to spare, watch Wellesley Public Media’s recording of the Recreation Commission meeting and it will give you a sense of the many issues being weighed.

The town has shut the beach down for now before its usual opening date in early June and hasn’t made any definite decisions for the summer. But town officials spanning the Rec Commission and Rec Department to the Natural Resources Commission, first responders, the Health Department, legal, and Board of Selectmen will all have a say in this situation before it’s over.

 

One centerpiece of the meeting was a grid featuring 5 possible scenarios that take into consideration everything from lifeguards to bathrooms (no port-a-potties that contain “storage”) to parking capacity to grill rentals. Options–and this is not to say the chart represented all possible options–ranged the traditional summer experience to the status quo. Doing anything in the middle raises questions of whether the town is actually managing the pond, and that can lead to certain expectations by the public as well as liability issues.

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Morses Pond, Wellesley

 

No decision was made about the pond’s fate at the meeting, held a day before a meeting of those operating beaches at in surrounding communities. The town is also trying to gets its arms around the latest state guidance on beach operations.

But as Rec Director Chin stressed throughout the Rec Commission meeting, his goal is to provide the public and his staff with safe opportunities–a huge challenge in light of the pandemic.

Among the most challenging issues will be asking staff, many of them teens, to regularly be in “a confrontational position” regarding the policing of mask wearing and social distancing. They’ll need to deal both with those not following rules and self-appointed social distancing police. Not to mention there would be little rotation of jobs at the pond, which has the potential to make certain jobs really dull.

As Rec Commission Chair Paul Cramer summarized: “The traditional experience raises a LOT of issues.”

But so does going the other way. Not having the town operate the beach and letting people fend for themselves…minus bathrooms, among other amenities, at a public water supply. Taking this swim-at-your-own-risk approach during the heart of summer during the COVID-19 crisis is a lot different than doing it at the end of last summer, when plenty of people were still away and college kids had started to head off.

As Commission member Jim Rodrigue pointed out, too, “there will be less and less mask wearing as the temperatures get warmer and warmer, because it’s not comfortable…” Or as Police Chief Jack Pilecki said, sun tanners aren’t going to want to wear a mask that results in a pale patch.

In the end, Rec Director Chin said the town is going to have to provide some level of management, even if the beach is technically closed for the summer.

“Just to walk away from it, I don’t want our department to do that. I’d love to be able to help in some way,” he said. “If it means I stand at the gate and have to explain to people what’s going on, then that’s what we’re going to do.”


Subscribe to Swellesley’s daily email

You Need Us, We Need You: Please consider contributing to Swellesley to sustain our independent journalism venture

print

Share

Filed Under: COVID-19, Morses Pond

Comments

  1. Alexsandra says

    May 21, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    It would be reasonable to see the possibility for families with special needs children having access to the Morse’s pond

    Reply
    • vivien says

      May 23, 2020 at 12:19 am

      That would be unfair to everybody else not having access to their Town beach..just special needs? They would have to apply to the rules as well. I think they should just leave it open and let everyone go at their own risk..I don’t think wearing a mask should be a rule but an option for those that are unwilling to remain 6 feet apart from the next person. It should not just be open for families with special needs children..very unfair!!

      Reply
      • Alexsandra says

        May 23, 2020 at 10:50 pm

        Unfair??? Nope. By the way do you have a child with disabilities??

        Reply
  2. Alexsandra says

    May 23, 2020 at 3:18 pm

    Do you have any child with disabilities?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Linden Square, Wellesley
Dedham Country Day School
Wonderful Wellesley, see what's new

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Edge on Science
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Family withdraws plan for large house near Wellesley's Brook Path
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise 'Parking, parking, parking' concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • The Wellesley aqueduct bathrooms at Hunnewell Field have landed
  • Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area
  • Wellesley POPS Senior Profile: Jessica Klurfeld doubly talented as clarinet player & singer

Upcoming Events

Jul 6
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Jul 16
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Wellesley Square July Jubilation Sidewalk Sale

Jul 19
8:00 am - 9:00 am

Fay School admission information session

Jul 20
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Tour at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Aug 12
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Fay School admission information session

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • peter of wellesley on Hardy Elementary School project starting to feel more real
  • J on Family withdraws plan for large house near Wellesley’s Brook Path
  • Donna on Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area
  • Bubba on Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise ‘Parking, parking, parking’ concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • Branden on Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise ‘Parking, parking, parking’ concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • Animals (416)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (577)
  • Beyond Wellesley (47)
  • Books (366)
  • Business (1,502)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (48)
  • Churches (79)
  • Clubs (228)
  • Construction (295)
  • Dump (127)
  • Education (3,108)
    • Babson College (250)
    • Bates Elementary School (16)
    • Dana Hall School (34)
    • Fiske Elementary School (9)
    • Hardy Elementary School (44)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (42)
    • MassBay (55)
    • Schofield Elementary School (24)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (608)
    • Wellesley High School (961)
    • Wellesley Middle School (203)
  • Embracing diversity (69)
  • Entertainment (786)
  • Environment (749)
  • Fashion (141)
  • Finance (14)
  • Fire (162)
  • Food (342)
  • Fundraising (612)
  • Gardens (157)
  • Government (557)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (14)
  • Health (850)
    • COVID-19 (200)
  • Hikes (3)
  • History (388)
  • Holidays (405)
  • Houses (154)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (849)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (6)
  • Letters to the Editor (62)
  • Media (70)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (11)
  • Morses Pond (108)
  • Music (568)
  • Natick Report (29)
  • Neighbors (273)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (73)
  • Outdoors (642)
  • Parenting (62)
  • Police (757)
    • Crime (386)
  • Politics (551)
  • POPS Senior Profile (8)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (331)
  • Religion (131)
  • Restaurants (332)
  • Safety (150)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (120)
  • Shopping (143)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (980)
    • Athlete of the Week (6)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (164)
  • Theatre (392)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (230)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,230)
  • Volunteering (346)
  • Weather (177)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (276)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (19)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed
Deland, Gibson Insurance, Wellesley

© 2022 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login