HALIFAX - June 23, 2026 - In one of the most emotionally charged and heavily attended municipal meetings in recent memory, the Halifax Select Board faced an intense hour-long outcry from neighborhood residents over a worsening public safety crisis at the Monponsett Pond public beach. Describing a state of “permissible mayhem,” distraught homeowners presented photographic and video evidence of rampant public intoxication, dangerous jet ski operations inside designated swimming zones, blocked emergency boat ramps, and systematic intimidation of local families by hundreds of out-of-town visitors. Confronted by harrowing accounts—including a one-year-old child being struck down by a watercraft’s wake—the Select Board bypassed typical regulatory waiting periods to pass an emergency motion authorizing a locked security gate at the 4th Avenue boat ramp pending immediate public safety approval.
The Full Story
The public outcry began during the citizen comment portion of the meeting, drawing homeowners from the surrounding avenues who described an environment that has completely degraded their neighborhood’s quality of life. Residents noted that while the state boat ramp on Route 58 legally limits parking to vehicles with trailers, out-of-town jet skiers who find that lot full have been overflowing into residential side streets to launch illegally from the 4th Avenue emergency ramp.
Local resident Steve Goodman, who presented multiple videos of the violations to the Board, noted that all of the disruptive and dangerous activity occurs within 300 feet of the public swimming area. Goodman recounted the direct toll the traffic has taken on his own family, noting his vehicle was recently totaled by a visitor towing a jet ski trailer.
Other neighbors added heartbreaking testimony regarding the personal impact of the unrest. Local homeowner Mark Dillon told the Board that he can no longer let his autistic daughter access the water—which serves as her safe space—due to the reckless actions of highly intoxicated visitors. Another mother recounted a terrifying incident from the previous summer where her one-year-old son was knocked face-first into the water by a jet ski’s wake, requiring an emergency rescue.
Residents fiercely criticized the town’s current mitigation strategies, stating that a seasonal parking attendant stationed at the beach has no actual enforcement authority, allowing visitors to openly carry cases of alcohol past signs prohibiting it. Furthermore, residents expressed deep frustration that the town’s police department is stretched too thin to manage crowds that regularly swell to over 80 people on peak weekends.
