The clean, sandy beaches of Little Harbor have turned green and rotten in recent weeks according to residents who say the town hasn't cleaned up accumulated seaweed on the beaches. While the beaches were regularly cleaned by the town in the past, residents say the town has ignored Little Harbor Beach for over a month.

"My tenants are upset because they can't use the beach," said 80-year-old Ralph Wallace, who owns three properties in Little Harbor. "They shouldn't have to sit in a pigpen to enjoy the sun."

Wallace said he has lived in Little Harbor for 30 years and he has never seen the resident-only beach as it is currently.

"When the weather is good, you can't go near the beach because of the odor from the rotten seaweed and debris all over the beach," he said.

Sarah Frank, another Little Harbor resident, said the piles of seaweed on the beach have gotten especially worse since the storm last week. She said because of the lack of cleanup, almost no one patronizes the beach.

"I only saw only five or six cars there over the weekend," she said.

Frank, who also rents property in the area, said she has called the town a dozen times over the last month, always with the same response: that a crew of workers would be getting to the beach soon.

Wallace said he began complaining about a month-and-a-half ago and while he recognized that high tides that have brought in more seaweed than normal, "it's more than that," he said. "It's neglect."

When Wallace called the Municipal Maintenace Department, he was told that they usually have six workers clean up the beach, and that four workers were on vacation at the time.

When reached by phone Tuesday, a Municipal Maintenance employee said a crew would be at the beach on Thursday or Friday. Dave Menard, director of the Municipal Maintenance Department, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Wallace said in the past that the town would come to clean up seaweed twice a week, and Frank said she believes the town has cleaned up the beach only once this season. Both Wallace and Frank said their tenants have complained to them and commented negatively online about the state of the beaches.

Frank said she fears for the local businesses if the renters don't go out on the town or return the next season.

"People are just going to stay somewhere else," she said.