By Wiley Wood
Photo of Ethan Perlman, top, by Savage Frieze

Public beach adapts to Covid

Ethan Perlman is in his second year as a lifeguard at the town’s public beach, so when he started looking for a project to earn his Eagle Scout ranking from Boy Scout Troop 19 in New Hartford, he quickly settled on the idea of building a new lifeguard shed at Tobey. The old one is not much bigger than a shoebox. The backboard barely fits inside, and the rescue surfboard has to be wedged in at an angle and given a hard shove to close the door. Plus the shed is where the lifeguards take shelter when a storm comes through, and they often find themselves  perched on a clutter of equipment and beach toys while the downpour runs its course. The response, when he broached the subject to those around him, was generally positive.

But nothing in life is simple. The other lifeguards were enthusiastic. The town Recreation Committee, which oversees the running of the public beach at Tobey Pond, made encouraging noises. Matt Riiska, Norfolk’s first selectman, gave the project his immediate approval. And Great Mountain Forest, which owns the Tobey Beach lot and leases it to the town, raised no objection. But its representative, Russell Russ, did point out that the existing shed lay within eight feet of a property line, putting it in violation of current zoning regulations. And while the land on the other side of the boundary also belongs to GMF, it is part of a separate lot that was recently put under easement to the Norfolk Land Trust.

“The rules are the rules,” says Matt Riiska, “and the town has to abide by them.”

The prospect of knocking down the old shed and rebuilding a bigger one, which had seemed such a doable project to Ethan Perlman, 16, in June, now started to look like the sort of enterprise that takes lots of patience, diplomacy and determination.

Back-channel negotiations between GMF, Town Hall and the Norfolk Land Trust have been conducted to determine whether or not a shed might be rebuilt where the existing one stands. Michael Halloran, the town’s zoning enforcement officer, will make no determination until a concrete proposal crosses his desk. “We’re still trying to resolve it,” says Perlman.

Meanwhile, Perlman has been downloading design software and learning how to use it, consulting with Dan Green, the builder, on every aspect of construction and costing out the project, for which he expects to start a fundraising campaign soon. He maintains open lines of communication with the various stakeholders. Matt Riiska has suggested adding outdoor stalls to the back of the shed as changing booths, replacing the older stand-alone cabin. And there has been talk of moving the shed to the top of the beach, farther from the lot line but still fairly close to the lifeguard station, keeping both the telephone and defibrillator within reach. Says Perlman, “It’s been a pretty great learning process.”

This summer, the safety measures in response to the pandemic have made going to Tobey Beach less of a carefree experience than usual. Beachgoers are asked to wear a mask on entering and exiting, and occupancy is limited by law to 35 people. Several times, at midafternoon on a hot day, people have had  be turned away. “But the people we turn away usually come back an hour later,” said Avery Nelson, one of a group of lifeguards at Tobey on a recent morning.

Household groups can sit together on a patch of beach, socially distanced from others, with masks off, but when people start moving from group to group, the lifeguards will generally advise them to put their masks back on.

“Most of our job,” said lifeguard Carter Thorne-Kaunelis, “is reminding parents to remind their kids about social distancing. Mostly they’re pretty good about it.”

In one respect, the coronavirus has not changed things at all. “If we have to rescue someone,” said lifeguard Xavier Langendorfer, “we rescue them—Covid goes out the window.”

The public beach at Tobey Pond is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Labor Day weekend. It may stay open another week beyond that, depending on the weather.