By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A group of residents and the Conservation Commission expressed concerns about an increasing number of people riding jet skis on Pillings Pond during an Aug. 15 meeting.
Crescent Avenue resident Julie Hallenborg wrote a letter to the Conservation Commission, Select Board, Police Department and Fire Department expressing concerns about people riding jet skis on Pillings Pond.
“I am very concerned about what is happening with the pond,” said Hallenborg. “We all know about the invasive weeds, algae and the carp causing problems, but my biggest concern right now is the erosion that I am seeing.”
Hallenborg said the erosion on Bellevue Island has caused trees to fall down and there are several trees that are close to falling. She also said there is erosion happening on Crescent Avenue, Crest Road, Old Pillings Pond Road and Ryan Road.
“This is all happening in the same area,” said Hallenborg. “I believe that is because the area is close to the Highland Avenue boat ramp, which is the only access boats and other watercraft have to the pond.”
Hallenborg said there are jet ski dealers who have been bringing the watercraft to Pillings Pond so that people can test-drive them.
“We have seen trucks pulling in with trailers containing jet skis,” said Hallenborg. “There is a little opening right at the end of the ramp, and the jet skis keep going around in circles there to create waves that go in different directions. The reason why they are creating the waves is so that they can have something to jump over with the jet skis. Once the jet skiers get the waves in motion, they will go full throttle in order to jump the waves. Once they do that, it causes all of these huge waves to go in every direction. I think that is what is causing all of the erosion in this area.”
Hallenborg said different animals have to escape the area quickly in order to avoid getting hit by the jet skis.
“They have no respect for the wildlife,” said Hallenborg.
Hallenborg said townspeople have asked the jet skiers why they are riding on Pillings Pond. She said many of them live in neighboring communities such as Lynn, Peabody, Saugus and Wakefield.
“We asked them why they come to the pond for this purpose,” said Hallenborg. “They said, ‘None of the other towns allow jet skis on their waterways, and nobody stops us when we come down here.’ That bothers me a lot. We have a lot of out-of-town people coming in, and they don’t know where the dangerous areas are. They don’t know the pond like we do. We are looking at a serious accident one of these days. Oftentimes they leave their vehicles across the ramp. If there is an accident, there is no access for the Fire Department or an ambulance to get to these people. There has to be a way we can stop this.”
Hallenborg also recently saw a man towing a “very large” inboard speedboat with two motors backing down the Highland Avenue ramp.
“He backed down the ramp just enough to get the backend of the boat into the water,” said Hallenborg. “He sat there for about 20 minutes running the motors. It was obvious to me that was someone who just came back from the ocean and was washing out his motors in the pond. There have been other people who have admitted to doing the same thing. I think that is another cause to the pond’s deterioration. We don’t need weeds and everything else from the ocean being dumped into our pond.”
Hallenborg recalled that she grew up in town and spent a lot of time swimming and fishing at Pillings Pond as a child. She met her husband at the pond, and the two of them purchased their home because they love the area.
“My husband and I have been on the pond for over 80 years,” said Hallenborg. “It has always been a passion of ours, the health of the pond especially.”
Conservation Commission member Erin Hohmann asked how long have watercraft been allowed on Pillings Pond.
“There always has been watercraft on the pond,” said Hallenborg. “The pontoon boats started appearing after the dredging project because there was an area of the pond that was deep enough to accommodate them. The pontoon boats are a lovely thing. Everybody is very careful and they drive very slowly. I haven’t seen any problems with the pontoon boats, kayaks, canoes and the little fishing boats. This is the first real problem with any watercraft that I have seen.”
Conservation Commission Vice Chairman Kirk Mansfield, who lives on Ryan Road, said the commission installed “no wake buoys” between Highland Avenue and Bellevue Island in order to slow jet skiers down in order to “protect the island.”
“The water is very high right now, but when the water is down, the land underneath these massive eastern pine trees goes back a foot to two-feet,” said Mansfield. “I don’t even know what these trees are standing on any longer. It’s going to be a matter of time before they fall over. The pontoon boats and kayakers have never caused a problem. A lot of the jet skis will do a figure eight around the buoys where it says no wake. It is causing a lot of erosion in that area.”
Hallenborg said the erosion around Bellevue Island has caused tree roots to become more noticeable around the edge of the island.
Conservation Commission member Jared Yagjian asked how could the town implement a jet ski ban.
Planning and Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori said the Select Board is in charge of Pillings Pond’s regulations. She said the Select Board could hold a public hearing about amending Pillings Pond’s regulations.
Yagjian said he is concerned about the jet skis causing erosion.
“We all agree that nobody wants the pond to deteriorate,” said Yagjian. “We are all working hard to improve the pond for everyone who lives around the pond, everybody in town and all of the wildlife. The path forward is banning jet skis and setting up serious fines for anybody who is using the pond for their own personal gain.”
Cademartori said the regulations for Pillings Pond prohibit businesses from using the pond for commercial reasons.
“The regulations are from 1956,” said Cademartori. “The fines are not substantial.”
Chairman Don Gentile said the Conservation Commission does not have jurisdiction to enforce the state’s boating law on Pillings Pond.
“The question is how do we get it enforced,” said Gentile. “And the way to get it enforced seems to be through the Select Board in combination with the Lynnfield Police Department.”
Cademartori said the ConCom could write a letter of support encouraging the Select Board to revise Pillings Pond’s regulations.
While Yagjian said he agrees with Hallenborg’s concerns, he said there could be other Pillings Pond residents who want to ride jet skis.
“The place where to focus your efforts is the Select Board because they are the ones who ultimately have the power to make something happen,” said Yagjian.
Mansfield said the jet skis are “impacting the health of the pond.” He inquired if the Select Board could ban jet skis even if people want to keep riding them.
“The Select Board has the power to do that if it’s their choice,” said Cademartori.
In response to a question from Conservation Commission member Angelo Salamone, Cademartori said Lynnfield Police can enforce the boating law “if it is designated by the state.”
Crescent Avenue resident James Mamos said Massachusetts Environmental Police allows local police departments to enforce the state’s boating law.
“I have been here for 48 years and there has always been boating,” said Mamos. “I was one of the first people to have a pontoon boat on the pond. We need to increase knowledge. It’s illegal for jet skis to jump the waves.”
Gentile thanked Hallenborg for raising her concerns to the Conservation Commission. Cademartori also offered to meet with Hallenborg to discuss Pillings Pond’s regulations to identify any potential revisions.
Hallenborg expressed her support for Cademartori’s suggestion.