Quiet, Please!
There's the Beach Management Advisory Committee, the Traffic Advisory Committee and there was even a committee to monitor the use of the bulletin board in front of the Hub.

The Peace & Quiet Committee, however, sounds a little bit over the top, but this is a real committee formed during the creation of the Siasconset Area Plan in reaction to the noise made by lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, weed whackers and other loud landscaping equipment that was being used in 'Sconset at the same time the Siasconset Civic League worked on its area plan.

The end result has stimulated dialogue between landscapers and the Peace & Quiet Committee for the use of quieter mowers and trimming equipment.

Feeling as though the Peace & Quiet Committee's wrath was directed in his and a few other landscapers' directions, but not wanting to lose business in the area of the island that gave him his start, 'Sconset Gardener owner Marty McGowan started a subset of his landscaping business called Quiet Mow. Now, whenever his crews work in 'Sconset they cut lawns with electric lawn mowers, trim hedges with hand clippers and do their clean-ups with brooms and rakes. He also adheres to the town's noise bylaw amended at Town Meeting in 2006 and in 2007 that prohibits trades-related and landscaping work to begin before 7:30 a.m. from June 15 through Sept. 15. McGowan starts promptly at 8 a.m.

"A lot of the customers I have really prefer it," he said. "My clients do not have to leave their decks when I do their lawns. I don't know how many companies are willing to staff up their crews to be quiet and courteous."

In the near future, landscaping equipment companies such as John Deere will be rolling out quieter machines, he added.

"Certainly, there has been a development of what I would call performance landscaping equipment; it has followed the needs of the

landscape industry." I