MIDDLETOWN — Memorial Day Weekend draws thousands to area beaches and traditionally beckons the start of a lucrative summer, but whether to reopen beaches for the holiday weekend after coronavirus-related closures has weighed heavy on members of the Middletown Town Council, President Robert Sylvia said.
The Town Council voted Monday to reopen Third Beach for the 2020 season, effective Saturday. But there’s a catch: along with other to-be-determined restrictions, it’ll only be open to Middletown residents.
In the thick of novel coronavirus concerns, Sylvia said at Monday’s meeting that he believes the council’s primary obligation is to keep residents safe, “however, I’m also in agreement that our beaches are exactly that, they are our beaches. And they belong to every resident.”
Since April 3, Third Beach’s boat ramp and town beach parking areas have been closed to the public. The closures don’t bar people from walking along the beach, so long as small group sizes are maintained and social distancing practiced.
Sylvia put forward three motions: open Sachuest Beach (i.e. Second Beach) “at this time;” open Third Beach for the 2020 season, effective this weekend, and open the Second Beach Family Campground for the 2020 season “at this time.”
The motion to open Third Beach this weekend was the only one of the three that passed; it was a unanimous vote with all councilors present. Councilor Terri Flynn was the only affirmative vote for the two failed motions — the opening of Second Beach and the opening of the campground.
“I would open Second Beach with a plan at this time,” Flynn said; she made the same point for the opening of the campground.
There will be certain protocols in place this weekend at Third Beach that Town Administrator Shawn Brown will work out in time for the beach’s opening on Saturday, Sylvia said.
Brown said there are 10 spaces for boats and boat trailer vehicles at Third Beach and 150 parking spaces.
“We are in the process of calculating the loading of the beach and number of cars we will allow in,” Brown told The Daily News on Tuesday. “My goal is to have the details worked out by close of business tomorrow.”
Sylvia said he took many factors into consideration when drafting his proposal. He pointed to the town’s unemployment rate of 24%, a “shocking” figure; he also pointed to resident safety.
“This will be like a Phase I for us,” Sylvia said of the Third Beach re-opening, with restrictions. In outlining his proposal to the council, he said he believed out of Second Beach, the campground and Third Beach, it’d be prudent to keep Second Beach and the campground closed but open Third Beach to Middletown residents, free of charge.
Under Sylvia’s proposal, there would be no lifeguards or harbormaster, and a trash carry-ou policy would be in effect. A current employee — be it a Department of Public Works employee or police officer — would verify proof of residency of beach-goers. Upon proof of residency, that vehicle would be allowed into the Third Beach parking area, Sylvia said. Windows would be kept rolled up and IDs would be placed against the window, Sylvia suggested. Proper signage would be put in place, and beach-goers would be asked to adhere to health guidelines, like masks worn in the parking lot and social distancing on the beach.
“This will certainly be a test,” Sylvia said. If residents don’t comply with certain restrictions and the weekend proves chaotic, Sylvia said he’d call an emergency meeting to shut the beach down again.
Flynn said the Third Beach parking lot isn’t that big, especially with boat trailers taking up space. She wondered if the council would also want to try a no-cost re-opening of a small portion of Second Beach. Flynn suggested this may help stem the tide at Third Beach, noting that when other areas are closed, the particular area that’s open tends to be overwhelmed.
“I think we have to be cautious,” Sylvia said. “I don’t want to bring bad health to our residents.”
Perhaps in a few weeks, if all is well at Third Beach, the council could consider opening Second Beach in a limited capacity, Councilor Henry F. “Rick” Lombardi Jr. suggested.
“I think we should give the residents of this town a little bit of hope,” Lombardi said.
One resident, who called in to the remote meeting, suggested starting with Second Beach, since it’s larger and people could social distance better there. Sylvia said beach access could be restricted to Middletown residents on Third Beach, but not Second Beach.
Lombardi pointed to the town’s use of federal funds for restorations at Second Beach in the past. Those federal funds had strings attached, he explained to a reporter on Tuesday; as a result, town officials can’t limit Second Beach to just Middletown residents.
Councilor M. Theresa Santos suggested print-outs with rules for beach-goers. As far as the campground re-opening: “I say absolutely not.”
“Let us not be hungry for money. Let us take care of our health, our residents’ health,” Santos said.
“Safety should be our highest priority,” said Councilor Barbara VonVillas. “I certainly think keeping it very narrow at this point is the safest thing to do.”
“It’s consistent with the action that the state is taking,” Brown said of the limited re-opening plan. Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Monday the opening of two state beaches on Memorial Day, albeit with restricted parking and no lifeguards.
“I think we’re basically following a very similar opening schedule,” Brown said.
Councilor Dennis Turano pointed to police presence at the Rhode Island border and members of the National Guard knocking on doors to remind people of state mandates. “I really think we’ve gotten the message out there,” Turano said. Now’s the time to start being aggressive with economic re-building, he added.
Vice President Paul Rodrigues said officials must “create that balance between safety [and moving] that economic engine forward...I think this is a good test [and] I’m confident we’ll do well.”
Sylvia said there are no plans to open Second Beach yet because compliance needs to be observed with the limited re-opening of Third Beach. But opening Second Beach “isn’t going to be the landing of Normandy...we can do that relatively quickly.”
Sue Raffa asked about use of the old Navy Beach parking lot across from Third Beach. Sylvia said those details would be ironed out; Brown said in a text message to a reporter Tuesday that that lot would remain closed and ”[f]urther opening will be phased in.”
“I like the phased-in system” said Carmela Geer. The residents-only approach to Third Beach, “I can get behind that,” she said.
One woman presented a scenario: if a carload of people arrive to Third Beach, would every person in the car need to show proof of Middletown residency? What if one person is a Middletown resident and the other three are cousins and non-Middletown residents?
“I think we should be checking everybody in the car,” Sylvia said. But those details will need to be ironed out by Brown, he said.
The woman also inquired about Middletown property owners who live in another state. Sylvia said a Middletown tax bill would permit parking lot access.
“I just want to get the ball rolling tonight and see how this evolves,” Sylvia said. “If this is gonna happen, Mr. Brown knows the guidelines that he has to follow.”
One resident asked about access for bicyclists. Sylvia said that’d be fine so long as the person can show proof of Middletown residency.
“We can anticipate a lot of things, we can’t anticipate everything,” Sylvia said.