(May 19, 2026) – The Select Board learned about the 71 Sandy Pond Working Group’s recommendations on Tuesday night. Three residents came out and shared their concerns, which offered a valuable opportunity to learn. All three Select Board members spoke or asked questions.
The recommendations and budgets were presented as conceptual. It was repeatedly said that the next step would be public input.
71 Sandy Pond Road is a 2.29-acre property across the street from Sandy Pond Beach, at the intersection of Snake Hill Road.
Sandy Pond Beach History
If you read the Town of Ayer’s website, the history is affluent Boston residents started to keep summer cabins on Sandy Pond in the late 19th century. Then in 1945, Ayer Town Meeting voted unanimously to purchase what’s now the beach for residents to enjoy.
While many enjoy the beach, the amount of parking is limiting water access, according to the town’s 2017 Master Plan. The plan noted that, “Sixty-eight (68%) percent of survey respondents chose Sandy Pond as one of their top three places in Ayer, yet there is only one small public beach and no public boat access.”
You may think swimming, but it’s also canoes, kayaks and fishing (per the state web page on Sandy Pond). These activities have different parking needs.
Background on 71 Sandy Pond Road and the Working Group
The Town of Ayer acquired 71 Sandy Pond in 2024, after Annual Town Meeting voted in favor of using $350,000 in Community Preservation Funds, under the Open Space and Recreation category, according to the meeting packet. To support this purchase, the Select Board also approved the use of $350,000 from the town’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
The Select Board authorized the use of $25,000 in ARPA funds to hire a professional consultant to develop initial planning and incorporate public outreach/participation.
After the 2024 Town Meeting, the Select Board appointed a working group with town employees, committee members and residents participating. Among the resident committee members: two Parks Commissioners, the Planning Board Chair, a Conservation Committee member and the chair of the town’s Community Preservation Committee.
As for town employees, there was the Town Manager, the DPW director, the town’s Land Use Director & Planner, the Conservation Agent and the former Parks Director.
The working group met 8 times, according to the meeting materials, and hosted a Community Design Charette in May 2025.
From the Select Board Meeting
On Tuesday night, the Town Manager presented the recommendations to the Select Board and the DPW director joined him at the table for parts of the presentation and discussion. Some of the working group members were in the audience.
Among the work group’s recommendations: to build a new canoe/kayak launch, a nature trail, parking and a splash pad – across three potential phases.
The estimated cost is $1.62 million if the plan was built as proposed, with the DPW director identifying $78,000 in potential cost savings.
We are sharing the map and a few points. At 71 Sandy Pond Road, the working group proposes adding 14 parking spaces, including one ADA space, a shade shelter, nature trail and a fitness court. The parking lot access is proposed as coming off Snake Hill Road.
At Sandy Pond Beach, the working group proposes a splash pad and canoe/kayak access.
There are three potential phases:
- Phase 1 would be site improvements for 71 Sandy Pond Road.
- Phase 2 – kayak/canoe launch and splash pad at Sandy Pond Beach.
- Phase 3 would be to build a nature trail and boardwalk.
These phases were presented as conceptuals.
Resident Feedback
In the meeting material packet, the work group noted existing site challenges, most of which were identified at the May 2025 Design Charette (according to the meeting materials). If you missed the 2025 meeting, these included traffic/speeding concerns on Sandy Pond Road and around the intersection, sensitivity to existing residential abutters and pedestrian circulation/crossing between 71 Sandy Pond Road and the beach.
Kayak/Canoe Access. At the Select Board meeting this week, there were a few comments related to moving the kayak/canoe launch up in the phases. One resident – who is on the working group – suggested moving the kayak/canoe launch at the beach up in the phases, noting there is an area of Snake Hill Road being used as a boat launch, causing erosion.
Take note: the topics of the fitness court (proposed on 71 Sandy Pond Road), the beach basketball court and location of picnic tables all came up.
Public Feedback. One resident said the town needed more public input before presenting this.
Three Strong Resident Speakers. One resident said the properties didn’t seem integrated together. Meanwhile, another resident – who serves on the working group – shared his view that there was no destination activity for the property. They both walked the meeting through their concerns with the proposal, what they thought would work and what wouldn’t, how they thought one property affected the other. They also shared the aspects they liked. We recommend you watch the meeting video. It was a good opportunity to learn about this area of town as the residents shared their detailed comments and the town employees and Select Board responded.
What’s Next:
Present with Parks Commission. This plan will be presented to the Parks Commission. This hasn’t been scheduled yet.
Public Input. The meeting materials state there will be a public input session planned. At the meeting, it was shared that there could be two sessions in coming months.
Meeting Materials. Before we close, we want to share a link to the meeting materials on the town website. This meeting was also recorded.
Sandy Pond Beach House. A related point is the town is working on plans to build a new beach house at Sandy Pond. This was presented to the Capital Planning Committee last winter, but members decided not to recommend the project to Town Meeting, saying the proposal needed to be developed a little more before going before voters.
At the May 5th Select Board meeting, it was said the hope is to bring this before Fall Town Meeting. The town management discussed sharing the design plans with Nashoba Valley Tech students to see if there was a potential collaboration which could reduce the town’s costs. This project has been listed on the town’s 5-year Capital Planning Budget.