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Date: 8/15/2022
BELCHERTOWN – During a short meeting on Aug. 8, the Belchertown Select Board agreed to sign a land management agreement with the state Department of Fish and Game over the Metacomet boat access ramp and also discussed changing the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.
Department of Public Works Director Steve Williams said the town has never owned the boat ramp, as it had been owned by the Hampshire Council of Governments until it was handed over to the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) when the council disbanded.
“We have handled the general maintenance of the boat ramp over the years, even though we haven’t owned it. For probably 20 years we have been trying to work with the state to rework the boat ramp and provide some improvements there for parking, access and usability, but the ownership issue has been prohibitive,” he said.
Williams added that in recent times Lakes Committee member Leeanne Connolly reached out to legislators to discuss the ramp and discovered it is now under the jurisdiction of the Department of Fish and Game and the Office of Fishing and Boating Access. With this discovery, Williams said he sat down with representatives from the Office of Fishing and Boating Access as well as Town Administrator Gary Brougham and board Vice Chair Jim Barry to discuss the next steps for the ramp.
“Interestingly enough, the land management agreement that they presented to us that day was essentially the same one we have talked about 21 years ago when we started down this path, not a lot has changed, it’s a good program and they try to make it simple so that communities can take advantage of it,” he said. “They want to provide better access, they want to provide more access and they don’t want to complicate things.”
With the agreement, Williams said the boat ramp will see several improvements.
“Some of the highlights in the agreement is that the Office of Fishing and Boating Access will design, permit and reconstruct the boat ramp. They have calculated that there is enough room there for four vehicles to be parked there with trailers and four [spaces for vehicles] to have roof access for things like kayaks,” he said.
While the improvements come at no cost to the town, Williams said they will still have responsibilities overseeing the ramp.
“What they ask of us is that we pick up the trash, we police the area and make sure it’s tidy, we post the sign with regulations and that the town will only use the ramp for access to allow the community fishing and boating access. If there’s a special event, there is a permitting process the division typically approves,” he said.
While the agreement would allow the town to charge residents to use the boat ramp, Williams said he was not in favor of doing so because that would lead to a staffing requirement for a relatively small boat ramp. Board Chair Jen Turner suggested adding a donation box at the ramp and Williams said that was something he could look into.
Williams added that there will be opportunities for public input about the ramp during the permitting and design phases of the project. He added that the entire process will take about 18 months.
The board unanimously approved the land management agreement with Department of Fish and Game.
Indigenous Peoples Day discussion
During the meeting the board also discussed beginning the process in renaming Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.
“We’re looking at what other communities are doing in relation to changing the name of Columbus Day and whether or not we wanted to follow in those footsteps and what other towns have done,” Turner said.
One wrinkle in the name change process is the fact that the change would likely have to go before Town Meeting because Columbus Day is included in the contracts for town employees as it is a paid holiday.
As other communities make the change from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, Barry said it is worth investigating a name change for the holiday.
“Certainly, I think there is an appetite in many communities to reconsider should this be a day that we honor Christopher Columbus or maybe this is not such a great day for many people who lived here in that time frame,” he said.
By beginning the process of the name change, Barry said it could be the start of a larger conversation in town.
“I’m not sure where I come down on it at this point other than it certainly deserves thinking about and working through. I think it’s a first step of perhaps many if we’re serious about Indigenous Day as opposed to Christopher Columbus Day and we should be thinking about what we can do to make up for what has been done,” he said.
Board member Ron Aponte said he was in favor of having a broader discussion about the name change with residents.
“I don’t think the four of us should be making that decision without input from the citizens, we certainly want to hear from the citizens of Belchertown. There is going to have to be a process involved based on the simple fact that all our contracts and personnel bylaw refer to it,” he said. “It is a state holiday and a federal holiday with that particular name, so we want to make sure all our I’s are dotted and our T’s are crossed.”
Board Clerk Ed Boscher said he felt an issue of this magnitude should go before Town Meeting and said he would be in favor of hosting public hearings about the issue. Turner added that the board could also host informational sessions about why a name change could be important.
While no motion was made during the meeting, the board agreed to move forward and continue discussions about the name change in the future.
The Belchertown Select Board next met on Aug. 15 and coverage of that meeting will appear in the Aug. 25 edition of The Reminder.