A letter to the Conservation Commission from Hull Cove resident Varoujan Karentz concerning the public right-of-way at Hull Cove was addressed by Conservation Commission Chairman Chris Powell at Monday's Town Council meeting.

Karentz was concerned about the consequences of the proposed 472-foot boardwalk at Hull Cove. Karentz questioned the intent and purpose of the boardwalk, because he feared that it would invite even more people to use an already overtaxed facility.

In his letter to the commission, Karentz said that 95 percent of the people using the parking area that can only accommodate four to five cars are not island residents and they come to the cove to fish. The letter said that the beach has been picked clean of rock snails, periwinkles and mussels that were once common to the area due to the influx of off-island visitors.

He also said that cars were constantly illegally parked and trash and other debris was left on the shoreline by fishermen who are ignorant of state fishing regulations that are inadequately enforced.

Powell and the Conservation Commission inspected the rightof way as well as other public right-of-ways around the island and evaluated the sites that were visited. They also made recommendations to the council.

According to Powell's report, the littering and parking problems were not as severe as Karentz' letter implied. His report said that Head's Beach needed trash receptacles but that the receptacles in other areas appeared to be in use. The report also said that the parking was just an occasional problem.

Residents in the areas adjacent to the right-of-ways agreed with Karentz and feel that the problem is getting worse, not better. Several complained of fishermen littering and fishing from private property above the high tide line.

In the Jamestown Shores area, the opposite problem appears to be an issue. Shores resident Sav Rebbechi, during the open forum, said that the CRMC rightsof way in the beaches are not accessible because property owners make the areas look as if they are part of their private property.

Rebbechi said that many of the rights-of-way are landscaped so that the access to the water is blocked. He said that since onstreet parking has been taken away due to the efforts of a small group insisting on parking permits for the area, access to the rights of way are nonexistent. People wanting access to the water have nowhere to park and are harassed by adjacent property owners for trespassing when they attempt to go to the water, he said.

In other business, Police Chief Thomas Tighe gave the town administrator's report because Town Administrator Bruce Keiser is away at a town manager's convention.

The report said that Town Engineer Mike Gray has developed an agreement to obtain an estimated 6,000 yards of material for use as landfill cover from a large residential excavation site on East Shore Road. The substantial quantity represents about 50 percent of the total estimated cover material required for the landfill closure. As discussed in prior meetings, as required by state environmental regulations, the town will analyze samples of all soils used for cover to ensure suitability.

Gray conferred with State Department of Environmental Management Office of Waste Management about this recently identified source of cover material. OWM staff have authorized its use following satisfactory test results. If the 6,000 yards is suitable, the town stands to save over $60,l00 in projected cover material costs.