Fish House Proposal Not A Factor In Grassy Strip Discussions

All summer long, the Madison Beach Hotel has been treating people to free movies and free concerts near town-owned property on the Grassy Strip, adjacent to the hotel, despite the fact that a legal agreement between the town and hotel expired in June. 

The difference between last year's events, when a temporary reciprocal licensing agreement was in force, and this year, when it is not, is that the hotel is staging the events on its own portion of the lawn, on the west side of the strip, First Selectman Fillmore McPherson said Monday afternoon. 

McPherson said he and other town officials are still in discussions with Madison Beach Hotel officials about an agreement, and that discussions are going well, but that a proposal Tuesday evening relating to the so-called "Fish House," across from the Madison Beach Hotel, will not affect those discussions. 

The Fish House, at 91 West Wharf, owned by the same family that owns Madison Beach Hotel, was the subject of a proposed land swap in 2009 that was voted down by the town. The beach adjacent to the Fish House was the subject of the temporary licensing agreement last year as well, when town residents officially had the right to use that part of the beach as part of the deal. 

Despite the lack of an agreement this year, McPherson said it was his understanding that the owners of the Fish House aren't kicking people off their beach this summer. Despite the fact that it is privately owned, it is often used by town residents who think it's part of the town-owned West Wharf beach. 

A quick check Monday afternoon appeared to confirm that continues to be the case, at this time. A couple from Stony Creek was lounging on the beach directly outside of the house, which also was in use, judging from the towels and other beach gear strewn around the back porch facing the beach.

The couple from Stoney Creek, who said they come to Madison to get away from the crowds in Branford, said they come to that beach all the time and have never had a problem using that part of the beach.

As for the agreement that expired in June 2013, "neither party wanted to renew" the temporary agreement, McPherson said. When the agreement was in force, the Madison Police Department, after a report from a town resident that alcohol was being served on the property, filed a complaint with the liquor control commission.

"When we did it, we viewed it as a one-year agreement to see how it would work out," he said. "We are now discussing a more permanent solution. I would say that I believe both sides have been pleased about the way we have been able to work together this summer. And that goes for both the Grassy Strip and the beach area." 

McPherson said he's only been to one Grassy Strip event, the season kick-off, which was a fundraiser relating to a devastating fire in downtown Madison. "The bandstand and some of the seating was on [Madison Beach Hotel's] property," he said. "And if people want to go to the events and sit on town property, it's just like sitting on the town green."

McPherson said it's his understanding that alcohol has not been served on town property. 

"It's also my understanding that they are not objecting to families coming down and using the beach" that belongs to the Fish House, he said. He added that yellow tape set up earlier this summer, outlining the beach area that goes with the Fish House, was set up so that the owners could show potential renters the beach area. "The yellow tape was solely to demarcate the extent of the property," he said. 

He also said that the mooring area used by Madison Hose Co. No. 1, and others in town, will not be affected one way or the other by any agreement. "The fire boat is on a piling that is the most southerly, and closest to the pier," he said. "It is clearly on town property. The fire boat is not an issue." 

The proposal due to go before the ZBA on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Madison town campus would, if approved, allow the property owner to build a three-bedroom home on the property where the Fish House, approximately 600 square feet, now stands.