Think Spring.. although it is snowing here at the cape tonight.. I am getting my reels and tackle ready .. SBOA is stuffing the 2008 newsletter tomorrow getting ready to mail.. looking forward to a great year......
Olivers should be opening soon after their new renovations.

Keith See to it that they STOCK the bay this year,

Bill... Bass or Blues ?

Edited by author 04-08-2008 08:19 AM
I am interested in knowing who supports the $2.5m override proposal which includes $142k for badly needed repairs in the harbor. There is a movement to make the override permanent because the capital needs in the town have become very severe in many departments. It is estimated that the override would cost approximately $170/year over a 10 year period.

This is also true regarding Sesuit Harbor because the town leaders have continually used large portions of our fee proceeds for other town needs. We as voters have a tough choice to make because the $142k will only begin to fix some of the items which need to be repaired. An override of some duration is needed and hopefully the Selectmen will give the voters a choice regarding the length of the override.

I am certainly not in favor of the $2.5m override proposal. The town should have thought about this before it built an unnecessary $10m police station. The Fire Station is too large also. No one uses the new library in Dennisport. These capital expenses could have been scaled back significantly realizing Dennis is losing year round population at an alarming rate, 2 percent in the last 4 years alone.

The town needs to control costs better, such as fire department overtime that is among the highest of any town int the state.

The waterways fees return a substantial profit to the town each year. Most towns plow those profits back into the operation that generated them via the establishment of enterprise funds. That is what we should be shooting for as a group of boatowners, not the backing of an override which involves the general tax paying public and which contains some "shut up" money for us boatowners which will only be a band aid, one year fix and not a permanent solution to our problem.

In respone to Barnacle Bill's email to Keith on 03-05-08, you need to understand that even if they were to stock the bay this year with fish, he (Keith) still wouldn't catch any of them. The only way Keith can catch any fish is if his boat runs into one of them on the way out to the fishing grounds and it floats to the service so he can retrieve it with a net.

I totally agree that an enterprise fund for our waterways needs is the way to go and I plan to work actively to try to make that happen. However, it might take years to get an enterprise fund approved and something has to be done in the interim before the harbor falls into complete disarray. An override will provide a start for Sesuit and several other town needs. Personally I'd like to see a comprise 2 or 3 year override so the town officials and citizens wouldn't have to spend much of their time fighting over funding every year. This would free them to focus on problem solving and planning for our future.

Alan complains about the new fire, police and library buildings and he may be right. Dennis is not alone being caught in the aftermath of 9/11 wherein public safety officials get virtually everything they ask for in the name of safety. I'm afraid that's the world we live in. Almost noone wants to challenge those needs.

As far a people leaving Dennis is concerned, it cannot be because of taxes! We are one of the lowest in the state. Maybe it's because the docks need to be replaced and the bathrooms need painting.

For sale 1/3 intrest in 18' 1973 Herreshoff Catboat.
Please contact for additional info.

Happy New Year !! Look forward to a great 2009 boating season ...