Swampscott Fish House debate to take center stage

SWAMPSCOTT – Local fishermen and members of the Swampscott Yacht Club are expected to come out in full force at the April 21 selectmen meeting.The fishermen, SYC and members of the Harbor Commission are at odds regarding plans to expand the existing Fish House by adding a porch. Fisherman Ed Desrosier said the changes and addition being proposed to the historic building should be made public and the community as a whole should be allowed input.”You preserve what you have or it’s lost forever,” he said. “The Fish House belongs to the town and the people in town. People should know what is planned and have a say in whether they want to preserve the character of the Fish House.”The Fish House was built in 1895 on land that was deeded to the town for use by working fishermen.The SYC, which is a private club, has leased the second floor of the building from the town for more than seven decades. In June 2004, the SYC and the town signed a 5-year lease, which costs the club $12,000 a year and means it assumed financial responsibility for cleaning and stocking the public restrooms in the building.The plans call for adding an oceanside deck that would be 25-feet wide and extend out eight feet toward the ocean. It also entails moving the existing wall back four feet creating an outdoor deck that would be 300 square feet.Members of the Harbor Advisory Committee voted 3-1 against the plan at their meeting April 2. Harbormaster Larry Bithell, Conservation Commission member Mark Mahoney and Mike Gambale, who represents the fishermen, voted against the plan. Only Buddy Borgioli voted in favor.A few years ago the fishermen and the SYC clashed over the last vacant stall for working fishermen. The Fish House is the only working municipal fish house left in the country and local fishermen were outraged when the town leased the stall on the second floor to the private yacht club.The club is currently using the locker for storage.SYC Vice Commodore Robert Sharp said the club developed a long-range plan in 2005 to improve the facility, which included installing a kitchen and a porch on the second floor.Representatives of the SYC presented the plan to selectmen in September 2007 when it asked the town to consider picking up the tab for an elevator to allow handicapped access to the second floor. Because funding for an elevator would have to go through the Capital Improvements Committee and is not something that could be done immediately due to fiscal constraints, Sharp said the SYC decided to focus on the porch aspect of the project.Fishermen have expressed concern over loss of access to the pier but the SYC has since modified the plans in a way that should not restrict access, according to the club.Abutters have expressed concern about noise, drinking and smoking on the porch.