Town still in favor of keeping wharfinger position

NAHANT – Nahant Road resident William Burton made a motion during Saturday’s Town Meeting to eliminate what he called the charming but antiquated position of wharfinger, but it failed to receive any support.Selectman Michael Manning, who is an assistant wharfinger, said that’s likely because most residents realize it’s a much-needed position.”The wharfinger is in charge of a variety of procedures,” he said. “If you look at it simply, the stuff on the water is under the harbormaster. The stuff on land is the wharfingers.”That stuff includes the parking lot, which at any given time is an organized mishmash of prams, lobster pots, vehicles, boats and trailers and people. It also includes managing the wharf itself, which in the summer is often filled with children engaging in one or both of the two rites of passage for Nahant kids: the sailing program or jumping off said wharf into the ocean.”Someone actually drove an MG, a small sports car, out to the end of the wharf once,” Manning said. “It’s necessary to have a person to make sure things are orderly, peaceful and safe.”While the 30-article warrant was the foundation for Saturday’s meeting, it was not the only business at hand. High school senior Ian Munnelly picked up two scholarships. Selectman Richard Lombard presented Munnelly with the $500 Charles Kelley Scholarship for his essay on “What Community Service Means to You.” Munnelly also took home the American Legion Post 215 Scholarship for another essay on what the Constitution means to him.Linda Pivacek was also recognized as the community’s Citizen of the Year 2014. Town Moderator Dave Conlin said Pivacek has served on a number of town committees but most notably guided the Open Space Committee since 1988. Under her leadership, the committee promoted the use of open space as a benefit to all residents, helped develop a large park, the Heritage Trail, develop an open space plan for the town and write a grant for Bailey’s Hill.”Linda and her co-committee members have served the town well and we deeply appreciate her efforts,” Conlin said.Selectman Michael Manning also took a moment to pay tribute to another resident who brought years of service to the community, Timothy Moran, who died April 13 at the age of 96.Moran served in the Coast Guard and was a State Police captain before he hit retirement age and went back to school, eventually becoming the dean of Northeastern University Law Enforcement Program. Manning said Moran paved the way for officers to receive a degree in criminal justice by attending night school leading to a more educated police force.”In town he was a member of St. Thomas ? served with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, was a member of the Knights of Columbus, volunteered at My Brother’s Table and during all that time continued to volunteer on various committees in town,” he said, adding that he was a vibrant part of life, “and with that I simply ask for a moment of silence in memory of Tim Moran.”Molly Conlin also took a moment to remind residents that the route for the Memorial Day parade has changed. For years the parade stepped off from Town Hall before it was moved up to 40-Steps.”Brace yourselves, there will be another move,” she said.The parade will line up at the lowlands and step off from Spring Street, follow the same route but backwards of sorts. The parade will stop first at the Wharf, reconvene and march to Greenlawn Cemetery then on to Veterans Park, ending across the street at the Coast Guard Station.”I realize change doesn’t come easily,” she teased gently. “But if we all pull together in the spirit of cooperation, we’ll get through this.”