By Mary Macedo, Neighb News Correspondent
At its meeting on Monday 4/5 the Fairhaven Board of Public Works conducted interviews for lifeguards and gate attendants at West Island Town Beach. The board also discussed rentals of part properties by businesses and non-profits .
The board first met with Susan Adao and her neighbors on Costa Drive about an issue with dirty water on their street. Superintendent Vinnie Furtado explained that the BPW has been working with the residents regarding the issue.
He said the Water Department frequently goes to Costa Drive to flush the system because the water continues to be dirty. Residents cannot take baths, and have put filter systems on their showers to help with the problem, but nothing has been a permanent fix.
Water Superintendent Jeff Furtado told the board that when the subdivision was built the main line was looped into the water line, causing the water to settle inside the pipe, which is what causes it to be dirty. He said they should have looped the main line into an additional line, not the same one. He also explained that the subdivision has a high usage of water.
Board member Robert “Hoppy’ Hobson asked if there is a long term fix to the problem.
Mr. Furtado explained that the first step would be to show the problem to an engineer and see if there is a way to get the main water line looped into another line. He said that would be the only way to stop the water from settling and solve the problem.
Mr. Furtado said he did not know how much it would cost and he was not even sure if an engineer would be able to fix it. He said they will need to look into it with the engineers to learn more. Meanwhile, they will need to flush the water system weekly.
Vinnie Furtado said that they will increase the flushing to once a week for now to see if that helps and make plans to meet with the engineers.
The board also conducted interviews for positions at the town beach on West Island.
The board interviewed Laila Amaral who is a freshman at Fairhaven High School, for the gate attendant position. Mr. Hobson said that they have plenty of openings and thanked Ms. Amaral for applying. Mr. Durant agreed and said that her resume looked great.
The board then interviewed for lifeguard positions.
Michael Croteau, a 17-year-old student at Tabor Academy told the board that he was honorable, puts his family first and would love to serve his community through a job as a lifeguard.
Mr. Hobson said he was impressed with how he was dressed and how he presented himself to the board.
Mr. Croteau explained that he would not be available through Labor Day and would need some flexibility with his work schedule because he attends football camps during the summer at colleges such as Dartmouth and Harvard.
Board member Cameron Durant said that would be fine as long as he informs Ms. Vento of days and times he would need off ahead of time.
Mr. Wotton said that they were more than willing to work on Mr. Croteau’s schedule and that getting ready for college is top priority.
The board also interviewed Carlson Cantoreggi of Millis, for a lifeguard position. He explained that his family has a beach house in Fairhaven, where they spend most of their summers. He said he should be able to work every weekend and most weekdays and that he is available through Labor Day.
Mr. Durant said that his availability was great and he loved that Mr. Cantoreggi worked at Mac’s Soda Bar for a whole season.
The board agreed that he was a great candidate for the job.
Mr. Wotton told all candidates that Ms. Vento would contact them.
Mr. Wotton explained to the board that they had one more candidate to interview, but the person could not make it that night. He said the candidate’s sisters are currently gate attendants and they are great and that he knows the family well.
Mr. Wotton also announced that they have open positions for all the candidates who applied and for all the employees from last year as well.
The board voted unanimously to re-hire all of last year’s town beach employees and the new candidates.
In another matter the board met with Samantha Dungca and Alexis Costa about holding a Soulflower Yoga and Wellness Festival on June 26th from 1– 5 p.m. at Cushman Park.
Ms. Dungca explained that it would be a grand opening event for their business and they would like to use the stage, field, and basketball court areas. She said it would be a fun event for families with a ninja warrior obstacle course, yoga classes, climbing wall, and family basketball.
Mr. Wotton said it sounded like a great event. Mr. Hobson agreed and asked if there are any other events going on that day at the park that would interfere. Mr. Furtado said the park was clear for the day.
BPW board member Marcus Ferro said that it is good to see festivals start coming back again.
Mr. Durant asked if there would need to be guidelines or regulations for capacity and social distancing.
Ms. Dungca will need to get in touch with the health department for any restrictions or regulations due to COVID-19. The board approved the event, pending approval by the Health Department.
In a related matter Mr. Furtado told the board that he created a draft of a multi-day park rental form for businesses and non profits.
Mr. Durant said the form was good, but he was not sure about the fees. If the business is making money off the event the board should charge more than $25. Mr. Wotton said that if the business is renting out the entire park it should cost more money, but if they are just renting a specific area it should be $25 each time. Mr. Durant agreed.
Mr. Durant said he would like to see a line on the form for non-profits to make it clear that they will not be charged.
The board unanimously approved the fee of $25 per use for a specific area of a park, and voted to add the line for non-profits.
•••
Support local journalism, donate to the Neighb News with PayPal.
Click here to download the entire 4/22/21 issue: 04-22-21 OxfordSchoolDemo
