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Residents urge volunteer cleanup of North End waterways; parks board offers support
Summary
Public commenters urged the Ocean Shores Parks Board to back volunteer cleanup of North End waterways plagued by weeds and cyanobacteria; the board agreed to coordinate with city staff and volunteers and to explore use of city barges and trucks.
Public commenters at the Ocean Shores Parks Board meeting on May 13 urged the board to back volunteer efforts to remove weeds and cyanobacteria in the North End waterways and to coordinate with city staff to use city equipment.
At the start of the public-comment period, resident Connie Clifford told the board she and two others had come to ask the board to “work with us on some areas where the parks and the water connect,” focusing on what she called the North Grand Canyon/North End Canal area. She described volunteers clearing vegetation from docks and shorelines and said, “we're gonna try to get down there from the land and from the water” and that the city had “2 barges that we're gonna hopefully be able to use.”
The request drew supportive responses from board members. One board member encouraged coordination and suggested staging a combined land-and-water work party to begin clearing the weeds so the condition of the waterway could be assessed. President Stacy Lim said the board would “100%” be there to support volunteer efforts and asked commenters to notify the board when they schedule work parties so staff can help coordinate equipment and presence.
Board members and commenters discussed practical steps. Commenters and board members said volunteers could remove vegetation and haul it to the city, and described working with a city contact (named in the discussion as Ricky) to secure a truck and operator. Paul Winchester, a board member reporting on inspections, recommended pressure-washing park signs and noted that some water areas were already beginning to turn green, reinforcing the need to address weeds and cyanobacteria.
The board did not adopt a formal motion at the meeting to authorize specific equipment usage or spending; members asked staff to follow up. The board agreed to coordinate logistics for volunteer work parties and to follow up with Ricky and other city contacts to explore using barges and a truck for removal and hauling.
Next steps: board members said they would communicate with the volunteers to schedule joint work parties, contact the city operations point person about equipment availability, and report back at the June 10 meeting.
