As a lifelong summer resident and a current full time resident of Oak Bluffs, I am very concerned with the state of our town beaches. Because of my concern, I have become involved in the citizens beach oversight committee and I would like to urge the townspeople of Oak Bluffs to support the purchase of a surf rake as presented on the warrant for the town meeting on April 12.

Inkwell beach and Pay beach received dredge materials as a part of beach nourishment plan last year. The sand was sifted but the rocks and shells were returned, resulting in a very uncomfortable beach. Pay Beach in particular is now (still) very difficult to walk or lie on and with a large amount of material placed in a limited area, there is a steep drop off of four feet by water’s edge along as well as an exposed drainage pipe.

Our beaches are one of our natural resources. They attract visitors who bring business to our town. They are therefore, not only valuable to residents, seasonal folks and vacationers who want to spend time on the beach, but also important to business owners and town leaders who wish to have a profitable bottom line.

Social media is an important part of advertising and tourism in today’s world. We often see pictures shared of our beautiful, refurbished and well-maintained Ocean Park with its gazebo. How nice it would be to have another iconic landmark shared in pictures — our lovely and accessible town beaches.

As a community we need to commit to improving our beaches. It will take time and money, but is an investment in our future. Let’s take the first step and purchase the surf rake to make our beaches comfortable again. We can do better with our beaches, giving us even more reason to say we are proud to be OB!

See you at town meeting.

Kathy Laskowski

Oak Bluffs