The Swellesley Report

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

Morses Pond in Wellesley closes for season, Summer 2019

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Morses Pond officially closed for the season on Sunday, August 18 after a summer of sun, fun, and swimming.  Days pond was open for the business of fun: 70. Days closed due to high bacteria count: zero. Wellesley Recreation Deputy Director Brandon Fitts said, “Our water has been the cleanest it’s been this summer. If the bacteria count is 235 or higher we have to close the beach. Our water tests have come back from the lab with a count between 5 to 8 every week this summer except one when it was 84. It’s been a great summer for water quality. We’ve had no problems with algae blooms this year, and haven’t had to treat for them in eight or nine years. Water clarity has been incredible all summer, and the water is beautiful.”

Here are some pics of the pond:

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Welcome to Morses Pond. Now that the season has ended, the yellow gate at the end of Turner Road will be closed and locked. At a recent meeting to discuss possible future changes at the pond, there was talk of possibly removing the locked gate to make the area a more accessible four-season recreation spot, officially. Currently people still use the pond and its trails in the off-season, and it’s not illegal to do so. It is, however, inconvenient to park on Turner Road and take the long walk down to the pond area and its trails.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Morses Pond staffer Michael Ryan at the service road entryway to the pond.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
A young blue heron fishes at Ice House Pond. Back in the 1800s, Wellesley residents purchased ice blocks harvested from the pond and sold on Linden Street in the former Diehl’s complex. The biggest harvest potential at the ice pond now appears to be lily pads and weeds. One idea brought up at the Morses Pond meeting at Town Hall: tear down the fence around the Ice House Pond, remove the invasive species that have gained a foothold there, and add a boardwalk around the pond, with viewing platforms.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
MOPO beach fees generated $159K in revenue last year, and the area has attracted between 18,000 to 28,000 visitors per year in recent years. Wellesley Rec offers kayaks and paddle boards for rent, but takes in most of its revenue from the sale of seasonal and daily beach fees. As of July 18 2019, 2,633 resident MOPO tags were sold and 284 non-residents purchased tags, for a total of 2,917 tags sold.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Some MOPO staff members. There were about 19 college students on staff this year out of a total of 40 staff members. Some of the schools the students are headed to this fall: Tulane, Bates, Springfield, Holy Cross, UMASS, Bryant, Fairfield, Colby, St. Michaels, Wisconsin, Pomona, and Gettysburg.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
The volleyball net got plenty of action over the summer, according to MOPO staff. Strangest thing to happen at MOPO this summer: “Lightning reportedly struck the point by the beach house and blew up the Comcast router,” Fitts says.

 

Morses Pond
One of the daily duties of MOPO staff is to keep the picnic pavilion raked and tidy.

 

Morses Pond
Morses Pond playground.

 

Morses Pond
Picture taken from the east end of the beach, looking west. Fitts says things were generally quiet at the pond. “There were approximately seven 9-1-1 calls made from the pond. Thankfully all of our emergencies have been false alarms, and any missing person was found very quickly on land. We did have one after-hours emergency early on in the summer involving someone on a skateboard near our parking lot. Our Park Rangers responded with professionalism.”

 

Tots Land, MOPO. Some of the activities offered at the pond this year for kids of all ages were Dad’s day, Council On Aging Day, The MOPO Miler (21 swimmers participated), a staff BBQ, and the Beach Tales with the Library.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
At the MOPO meeting at Town Hall, there was discussion about potentially tearing down the old bathhouse, above, and relocating it to the east end of the beach. The bathhouse is currently oriented toward the kayaks part of the pond because when it was built, that’s where the swimming area was located. Renovating the bathhouse is also under consideration.

 

 

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Wellesley holds public meeting on possible Morses Pond area changes

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Weston & Sampson, an engineering and environmental services firm, led a Morses Pond (MOPO) public engagement and listening session about their first ideas for an $80k feasibility and design study of the beach area and bathhouse. Weston & Sampson was hired last year by the Wellesley Recreation Department, and the study is partly funded by Community Preservation funds. The MOPO area stretches about five acres and is owned by the town.

Wellesley Morses Pond
MOPO beach and playground structure.

Additional to-be-announced community meetings will be scheduled, and the goal is for the feasibility study to be completed by late fall.

During a power-point presentation, Weston & Sampson representatives listed project priorities. (You can see the presentation here.) Topping the list:

  • Improve the bathhouse, staff areas, storage
  • Improve exterior site and landscape elements
  • Enhance water-based play experience and accessibility
  • Facilitate walking/hiking and related passive recreational use
  • Enhance natural resources and habitat
  • Expand user amenities and revenue generation opportunities

The group says they are looking at the entire site from an Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) perspective. That statement was met with general approval from the crowd of about 40 Morses Pond abutters, moms of small kids, and general pond users and lovers.

One big idea: to tear down the old bath house and change its location. “There are opportunities here to think about where the bath house is located. Should it be moved or should the face of it be changed in some way?” a Weston & Sampson rep said.

Morses Pond bath house. Photo credit: Weston & Sampson.

Whether a new bath house is built or the current bath house undergoes renovations, the idea is for the structure to be a zero energy building. Such buildings combine energy efficiency and renewable energy generation to consume only as much energy as can be produced onsite through renewable resources over a specified time period.

Interestingly, during recent site visits, the consultant reps found that MOPO lifeguards and office staff don’t like that when they are in the bath house office area, they are completely cut off from what’s going on at the beach. They say the more staff eyes on the area where all the action is happening, the better. Lifeguards are right on the beach during their shifts, of course. But I’ve seen how, for example, before the beach opens up they tend to congregate on the side of the bath house that faces the beach.

Wellesley Rec Deputy Director Brandon Fitts said the current sight lines of the bathhouse reflect that the beach used to be where the boating area now is situated.

One resident said, “I just don’t want to see it get fancy. I like its simplicity. I would hate to see the beach get built up. I don’t think we need a pizza oven.” The pizza oven reference was in response to ideas about how food might be handled at the pond.

Another resident agreed saying, “I’d like to not have a Taj Mahal of a bath house.”

Judy, a 44-year Wellesley resident said, “I really like the idea of moving the bath house and opening up the view.”

DPW Water & Sewer Superintendent Bill Shaughnessy pointed out that the utilities in general aren’t too good in the area, and that the sewage station is old. He also noted that the area is in a water supply protection district, a fact that will have to inform all decisions made.

Slides of the mish-mash of signage were shown with the suggestion that all the information could be presented in a more uniform and aesthetically pleasing way.

Suggestions for the walking paths in the area were to use landscape design elements to reduce erosion and and stormwater runoff; remove invasive plant species; increase biodiversity; and improve the overall aesthetics. One idea: tear down the fence around the Ice House Pond, remove the invasive species that have gained a foothold there, and add a boardwalk around the pond, with viewing platforms.

There was also talk of possibly removing the locked gate on Turner Road, and of making the area a four-season recreation spot officially. Currently the gate is locked during the off-season. Those who want to use the MOPO area at other times of the year park on Turner Road and make the long walk down to the pond and its trails.

Emily, a one-year resident of Wellesley, said that she didn’t even know about Morses Pond until her family moved into town, and now she and her young children use it all the time. She cited important “choke points” for her — car logistics and the bath house, which she said was “kind of not family-friendly. The doors don’t lock. We have child escape attempts.”

MOPO beach fees generated $159K in revenue last year, and the area has attracted between 18,000 to 28,000 visitors per year in recent years.

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Morses Pond’s future: What’s feasible?

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Morses Pond Wellesley

Nothing gets consultants salivating like hearing about a feasibility study opportunity in Wellesley. The Tailby Lot, HHU, the list goes on.

The latest opportunity to conduct a feasibility study for Wellesley, which went out for bid this past spring for a fee not to exceed $80K,  is for the Wellesley Recreation Department. Bolstered by Community Preservation funds, the Rec Department has hired an outfit called Weston & Sampson to conduct a feasibility and design study of the Morses Pond beach and bathhouse, including areas surrounding and leading to the beach, as well as programs offered. The Morses Pond area stretches about 5 acres and is owned by the town.

The beach generated $159K in revenue last year, and has attracted between 18,000 to 28,000 visitors per year in recent years.

As part of its study, Weston & Sampson will hold a community needs assessment public hearing for residents & Morses Pond patrons on Aug. 7 at 7pm at Town Hall.

The goal set out this spring was for the feasibility study to be completed by fall, with recommendations to the Recreation Commission and other town departments and commissions ready to go then, too.

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Wellesley outdoor movie night: Mary Poppins Returns

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Mary Poppins Returns, WellesleyWellesley Recreation will host Outdoor Movie Night at Morses Pond on Thursday, August 8 at sundown (around 8pm) . On the screen will be Mary Poppins Returns starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Ben Whishaw.

The two hour, 10 minute movie brings the magical nanny back decades after her original visit, this time to help the Banks siblings and Michael’s children through a difficult time in their lives.

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