The efforts to dredge the Tashmoo channel and repair the dock and ramp at Lake street continue to be a flawed process. The lack of transparency and disregard for public comment has been overwhelming, even for Tisbury. The inability of the harbor master to give straight, honest and complete information to anyone on many issues continues to be a serious problem. When the bid packages were made available on Dec. 4, two things became clear. First, the big surprise was that the harbor master had planned as far back as April to dredge only a small area at the entrance to the channel. This would have left the rest of the channel, where boats ground out, to remain a danger to navigation. The harbor master told no one about this limited plan. Not the selectmen, not harbor management, not the dredge committee and not the public. He had ample opportunity to discuss the plan but chose to focus on and defend the towns flawed effort to acquire permits. As soon as the bid plan was revealed, I sent an email to the selectmen including a clear picture of the dangers, but received an email that staff was too busy to respond. Not a surprise that the town has now rejected all bids to dredge Tashmoo, as the cost was too high for this small amount of material. And perhaps because it would still leave a real danger to navigation and water quality. The town is now considering a possible spring dredge, but time of year restrictions for several endangered species, makes it difficult.

I recommended the spring dredging back in October, explained the possibilities to the harbor master and consultant, but was told that I was interfering. I want to see this happen and would assist. The harbor master clearly wants to work on this alone, again no transparency, no consulting with knowledgeable resources.

Secondly, it was clear that the bid plans for the dock were different from the permit plans that were presented to the conservation commission for local permits. The town and harbor master were notified of the discrepancy back in October. This is a municipal project and funded by a $600,000 grant from the state. The harbor master attempted to make changes that bypassed the conservation commission permit and the state DEP license. The harbor master ignored the warnings then finally decided to deal with the issues the day before the bids were due to be opened on Dec. 14. The result for the dock project is that the harbor master dropped some changes rather than amend the permit. He still will have to apply for some minor amendments. That’s a shame. The good news is that the Lake street dock will be rebuilt this winter. I hope.

Lynne Fraker
Vineyard Haven