Mayor: Chapman Middle School demolition underway; shellfish-bed openings set by state testing

During the May 7 Ask the Mayor broadcast, a viewer asked whether the town would share videos or snapshots of Chapman Middle School’s demolition and construction milestones. Mayor Bob Headin said construction managers and the owner’s project manager typically post updates and that, while the town will share progress, it would not film hazardous abatement work such as asbestos removal.

"You wouldn't want to film it — the abatement work, guys in hazmat suits taking asbestos out — that's the phase we're in," Headin said, adding that construction managers and architects often document projects publicly when appropriate and that residents can expect similar coverage to what the town provided for the library project.

A separate viewer asked why clamming and bait licenses for the Back River are not being issued. Headin said state regulators determine when shellfish beds are safe for harvest through testing, and that the town follows state determinations. He said the town has shellfish wardens who enforce the state rules but does not unilaterally re-open beds.

"The state does the testing, determines when the shellfish beds are at a level of contamination that are safe and we go by that," Headin said, noting that historic closures and recent red-tide problems have affected openings along the coast and that prior state ceremonies marked openings decades earlier.

The program did not announce new permits, licenses or a timetable for reopening clamming in the Back River; the mayor said current status of specific beds should be checked with the state regulatory agency.