A 30-foot pole that went up in Menemsha to house security cameras on the west dock has been taken down while the town re-evaluates the project, selectman Warren Doty said.
A 30-foot pole that went up in Menemsha to house security cameras on the west dock has been taken down while the town re-evaluates the project.
Selectman Warren Doty said Tuesday the decision to remove the pole followed a recent meeting he attended of the harbor advisory and parks and recreation committee.
At the meeting, held last week, the two committees voted to recommend that the project should be paused, Mr. Doty said.
“What’s remaining there today is the cement base and no tower,” he said. “The tower is easy to put up and take down . . . it was easy for the harbor master to not leave it just sticking up there, so it’s down on the ground now.”
The project, meant to deter theft and vandalism on the harbor, was approved by voters at the 2021 annual town meeting.
But after the pole went up several weeks ago, selectmen received a raft of complaints, calling it a visual eyesore. In a letter to the select board, 28 petitioners asked the board to reconsider the project.
Mr. Doty said the board will consider the next steps at its next meeting, scheduled for April 5.
“I don’t think we have a plan for how to proceed yet,” Mr. Doty said. “This is what we need to discuss and develop.”
Comments
Discuss and develop is the
George Stein OBDiscuss and develop is the same comedy routine on too many Island necessities. Perhaps internet capability should be in this specific conversation. Crime stats of this zone should get the same attention as the Covid details we have been overwhelmed by . Alcohol sales on premise generates revenue. Shhhh
Do we have a "theft and
Someone MenemshaDo we have a "theft and vandalism" problem on the harbor? Or do we have a "I get excited by toys and having access to invasive surveillance" problem?
Given the amount of cameras all over the Coast Guard boathouse facility - it would take a special kind of stupid to engage in those activities out there. I'm not saying we don't have special stupidity around, but I'd expect to see some dialog and data to support more big brother stuff in our little village. Maybe I missed something. Also, was the height of the tower because no one could figure out how to establish a point to point connection without lofting an antenna 30ft up?? Really?
Was the reason we needed a
David Chilarmk in the summerWas the reason we needed a 30ft tower to allow internet access? Cell coverage in Menemsha is sub-optimal. Clearly a big tower at the end of the dock is not good.
Can we get the people who have built out the Up-Island distributed cellphone system to cover Menemsha? Then you can put cameras anywhere.
Alternatively, I nice shingled two store building there could fit in and help the harbor master to be able to visually and with cameras see the entire harbor...
That pole may have been an
Peter MenemshaThat pole may have been an eye sore to some, but theft of items on boats has occurred over the past few seasons. The cameras are a very good idea and the harbormaster should have appropriate surveillance equipment, both as a deterrence and to catch thieves.
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