AMESBURY — Jane Turi of Whitehall Road had three disappointed children to contend with yesterday.
With less than two weeks of summer vacation left, Turi was hoping to bring her kids, ages 7, 9 and 11, to the beach, but due to the deafening sound of trees being cut down and the lack of ambiance, Turi packed up and went home.
"It was so noisy, and Lake Gardner beach is one of the hidden gems of Amesbury," Turi said. "With all the trails, trees and the small beach, I've always been really proud when I look at it."
The small beach guarded by a lifeguard was vacant yesterday save for one sunbather as the sounds of chain saws echoed off the water.
"They are just feeding trees into the mulcher," Turi said. "The lifeguard said it's going to continue right past the benches and said if I lived in Amesbury to call Town Hall and voice a complaint. I did, but no one answered."
According to the director of the Department of Public Works, Rob Demarais, the trees surrounding the back side of the beach and along the walking path to the right of the beach are currently being clear-cut as part of an agreement made several years ago between the town and the federal government to care for the beach.
"We are just doing some trimming and cutting of the locust trees to maintain the slope," Demarais said. "The information the town gave us is that it is part of an agreement to care for the lake between the town and the government."
Though the details of the agreement to care for the lake were unclear yesterday, Mayor Thatcher Kezer's chief of staff Kendra Amaral said she believed part of the contract stipulates the trees must be maintained by the city.
"Amesbury has been deficient in maintaining the trees, so given that fact, we have bumped up tree work in the budget," Amaral said. "I understand locust tress grow pretty quickly, and I'm sure we have to bring the situation back to where it should have been. The mayor made the final call."
Kezer, on vacation this week, did not immediately return a phone call to his cell phone seeking information about the agreement.
"Residents in the area are very aware of the federal agreement and brought it to the mayor's attention," Amaral said.
Yesterday workers brought to the area by the Essex County Sheriff's office worked to cut down trees more than 10 feet tall before sending them into a mulcher along the footpath next to the lake.
"We are just cutting to the break in the tree line," Demarais said. "It's not costing us much of anything; we have labor from the local jail."
Turi said she will be looking for additional information about the tree cutting and is astonished the town would wait until the last two weeks of summer vacation, a popular time for people to go to the beach, to do the project.
"It's the last two weeks of summer, and they are wasting people's time on the beach," Turi said. "No one wants to look at that."
Calls to the Amesbury Conservation Committee and local residents near Lake Gardner were not immediately returned.
"My daughter was asking why they are doing bad things to nature," Turi said. "They go to the River Valley, and they plant trees each spring."
