CHARLEMONT — Town officials, residents and representatives of local recreation facilities continued discussions Monday night about public access to the Deerfield River and ways to encourage safe use.
Selectboard member Marguerite Willis said it’s important to understand the various perspectives on the issue.
Some residents believe the town should be more welcoming. However, Willis said others have dealt with verbal and physical assaults from those exiting the Deerfield River. She said some residents have pushed to keep areas open for public use and have property owners be responsible for posting private property signs.
“I call that a desktop exercise,” Willis said at Monday night’s teleconference.
Selectboard Chair Sarah Reynolds said the State Police presence over the weekend helped with overcrowding in some areas, but she and others referred to a “balloon” effect that pushed crowding to other parts of town.
“Things improved in a few areas, but it’s also causing overflow to areas that weren’t as affected before,” Reynolds said.
Selectboard member Jonathan “Jay” Healy said the board had been trying to get help on the issue from the state, but up until recently it hadn’t received much of a response. Healy estimated it would cost roughly $125,000 a year to fund extra police presence in town.
Healy said standard police presence for river recreation activities would likely require four officers at entry points to monitor parking and to prevent people from bringing alcohol, drugs and trash into the river.
Willis also said she is still pushing to implement a recreation tax. If implemented, the tax would let Charlemont add a 3 percent tax to the ticket price of commercial recreational activities that originate in or go through the town. The money would go to the town’s general fund to pay for services and infrastructure.
In 2018, the state Senate reviewed the first-of-its-kind state tax for outdoor recreational businesses in Charlemont, but it ultimately did not come to pass.
Mohawk Park Campground owner Paul Fantucchio said action needs to be taken on behalf of Brookfield Power, which manages the Zoar Picnic Area up river of Mohawk Park, where some people enter the river for tubing. Often, tubers will leave a vehicle at the Shunpike Rest Area, just down river of Mohawk Park.
Fantucchio said he has seen “armies” of people exiting the river and coming through his campground’s property to get to their vehicles. He said the campground called the police because of the “belligerent” and “threatening” behavior of those exiting the river, and he was concerned for the safety of his employees and those staying at the campground.
“There’s no question we need help from the state and Brookfield and others to get on top of the problem,” Healy commented.
Miranda Kessel, stakeholder relations manager at Brookfield Power, said the company would be willing to work with police for added presence to help curb issues and avoid overcrowding.
Frank Mooney, co-owner of CrabApple Whitewater Inc., said he recently made a pitch to the State Police barracks in Shelburne to have troopers onsite on weekends. He said it is standard to have police aid with traffic on busy weekends throughout the whole season.
“Up river in Monroe, they pay for a trooper for every dam release,” Mooney said. “They do it and there are few problems to start with.”
Residents expressed concerns of “hundreds of cars parking on top of each other” at the Zoar Picnic Area leading to overcrowding of the river. Residents and town officials agreed there is a need for more parking limitations, and to turn patrons away when the area is deemed “full.”
Willis noted concerns of the limitations affecting residents, but officials said patrons will have to make sure they arrive early if they wish to secure parking.
“We need a combination of allowing parking, but when something is full, it’s full,” Willis said. “We have to decide what our numbers are, and what constitutes ‘full.’”
Officials also discussed the recently installed “live parking” signs. They said the signs could pose an issue because tubers often leave one vehicle unattended down river for when they finish rafting. The signs are intended for use by those driving along the highway, and who need to park and rest briefly before continuing their drive. These signs ensure some spaces are not filled by those accessing the river.
A related discussion was raised on the parking signs at Hail to Sunrise Park. They suggested parking in the area of Hail to Sunrise Park be 15-minute parking because people often stop and get out of their vehicles to take pictures with the statue.
Further discussion Monday revolved around extending safety information on river use. This could include posting information on dam release times, as well as safe entry and exit points. Kessel said Brookfield Power would consider tailoring next season’s marketing more toward safe tubing education, to help curb future issues.
“I’ve never seen so many people who don’t understand how the release system works,” Mooney said. “There were tubers out (Monday), but there weren’t any releases.”
Officials said patrons sometimes enter the river when the dam has not been released, and the river is low and moving slowly, resulting in patrons losing their orientation or being on the river past dark. This in turn can lead to injury as they try to exit the river in the dark or in rocky areas.
Selectboard members said Charlemont has had numerous river rescues just this season. None of them were for patrons of the rafting companies, but rather for independent tubers or rafters.
Selectboard members said they will work to install signs along the river, and request further State Police presence on weekends. However, the board did not commit to limiting the number of people allowed at the Zoar Picnic Area.
“We are going to have added police presence. That’s something we are willing to commit to, especially given the current health situation,” Kessel said. “Hopefully that will prevent people from abusing the property.”
Healy continued to push for parking limitations, saying representatives of Brookfield Power should “show some good will to the town” by coming to see the situation firsthand. Before adjourning, Selectboard members said they will schedule a time for continued discussions between the town and Brookfield Power.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.