Eastville Point Beach, the scenic public beach overlooking the outer Vineyard Haven Harbor on the Oak Bluffs side of the drawbridge, came into the spotlight this week after a member of the Island family that donated the beach for public use many years ago criticized the way it is being managed.
“Abandoned and forgotten is a description that suits it well over the last 20 years,” wrote Leo Convery in a letter to the county and the town of Oak Bluffs that appears on the editorial page in today’s edition.
Mr. Convery is a longtime Edgartown businessman, now retired at age 89. He and his sisters donated the five-acre parcel to the town of Oak Bluffs in 1977 after their parents, Leo Convery Sr. and Irene Convery, had died.
Formerly the site of the Mary Guerin Inn in the 1960s, the property extends along the jetty that divides Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs and juts into the harbor. Easily accessible from the road, the beach is used by fishermen and sunset-watchers, among other uses. But in his letter to the town and county, Mr. Convery said the parking lot for the beach had been neglected and become full of potholes. And he said the county was allowing part of the property to be used for the storage of heavy equipment.
“It is an extremely valuable piece of beach real estate. This spring it resembled an abandoned industrial park,” Mr. Convery wrote.
He slightly revised the letter since it was first written to acknowledge the fact that county manager Martina Thornton had apologized and said steps would be taken to correct the problems. Speaking to the Gazette by phone, Ms. Thornton admitted that the county had been allowing Lawrence Lynch contractors to store equipment being used for the Beach Road repaving project.
Ms. Thornton said the contractor plans to leave the site by June 23. She added that the county was unaware that there were deed restrictions on the property until Mr. Convery raised the matter in his letter.
“I did not know . . . this was not proper use of the property,” Ms. Thornton said.
But Mr. Convery’s complaints go beyond use of the beach as a storage site. He said the property has received little to no attention or maintenance over the years.
“There obviously hasn’t been anyone doing anything,” he said. Among other things, he noted that a plaque placed on a rock at the beach entrance has become overgrown with vegetation. And he described the condition of the parking lot as poor.
“You could probably swim in the potholes — you don’t have to go to the beach,” Mr. Convery quipped.
Ownership and management of the property has changed slightly over the years. The initial donation by the Convery family in 1977 was to the Vineyard Conservation Society. In 1982, ownership of most of the property was transferred to the county, according to Ms. Thornton.
Today the property is divided into parcels owned by three different government entities. Assessors maps show that Oak Bluffs owns the beach parking lot and the beach directly fronting it, while the town of Tisbury owns a small sliver on the west end of the property.
Property is divided into parcels owned by three different government entities.
— Mark Alan Lovewell
The issue was discussed briefly at a meeting of the county commission Wednesday night.
Commissioner Tristan Israel said he had been concerned about the state of the beach for some time.
“It’s just frustrating to me . . . it’s all kind of out of sight out of mind,” Mr. Israel said.
Commissioner Peter Wharton made a motion to issue an apology to the Convery family that was never voted on. But there was a general sense of regret among commissioners over the state of the beach.
“I think we owe the Convery family and apology,” Mr. Wharton said.
The commission plans to discuss the matter with Mr. Convery at a meeting scheduled for July 6.
Mr. Convery said he was happy that his letter had prompted a response.
“That’s what I’m trying to do . . . is get people to call the county and call the Oak Bluffs selectmen,” he said.
Ms. Thornton said she hoped it would mark the start of a new conversation that could lead to better maintenance and beautification of the beach.
“It’s a unique site and it’s being used by a lot of people,” she said.
In his letter, Mr. Convery outlined a single goal.
“Let’s make the beach viable and useable for the people of the Vineyard, as intended,” he wrote.
