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Select Board Supports Waterfront Infrastructure Projects
Most of the bulkhead at the Barn Hill town landing remains closed due to structural failures. Funding to replace it will be on the annual town meeting warrant and the election ballot. TIM WOOD PHOTO
CHATHAM – The select board voted Jan. 27 to endorse three town meeting articles that support the town’s maritime infrastructure.
Two of the articles seek authorization to borrow funding to replace bulkheads at the Barn Hill and Ryder’s Cove town landings, while the third asks voters to pay for dredging through the tax levy.
After engineers discovered structural failures in the steel bulkhead along the Oyster River, that section of the Barn Hill landing, heavily used by commercial shellfishermen, was closed. One parking space has since been opened, but that’s not a permanent solution, Nature Resources Director Greg Berman said.
The bulkhead dates from the 1980s and wasn’t made with the highest quality steel, Berman said. Officials have been eying it for repair or replacement for years, but other priorities superseded the work.
The work will also include raising the bulkhead slightly to account for sea level rise; coastal resilience is being factored into all of the town’s waterfront projects, Berman said. Select board member Stuart Smith, the town’s former harbormaster, noted that the structure can’t be raised so high that it makes it difficult for fishermen and others to use. The height to which the fish pier’s south jog was raised during its renovation a few years ago was a compromise to ensure that it remained accessible, he said.
“These structures may just have to go underwater” at times, Smith said. “That’s just part of doing business on the water.”
The work will include other bulkheads at the landing as well, at least some of which are underwater at high tide, noted select board member Jeffrey Dykens.
“This is a huge priority for the town,” he said.
The project is estimated to cost $2 million, and consultants are working to refine the figure, Berman said. One-time borrowing for the work will require a two-thirds vote at May 11 annual town meeting and majority approval at the May 14 town election.
Replacing the bulkhead and boat ramp at Ryder’s Cove is estimated to cost $3.5 million, Berman said. As part of the project, floats and the ramp will be realigned for better traffic flow, he added. Harbormaster Jason Holm said the bulkhead design includes an option to add height over time should sea level rise require it.
The funds will also be borrowed, requiring a two-thirds vote at town meeting and majority approval at the election.
Both projects will use fiberglass reinforced panels rather than steel for the bulkheads, which should give them a longer life, Berman said. The material was also used for the 90 Bridge St. project.
The $400,000 dredging article is an annual request, with the money coming from the tax rate. Last year the town dredged the Mill Creek channel and as soon as permits are finalized the Barnstable County dredge will begin work in the Aunt Lydia’s Cove mooring basin, Berman said. State dredging grants will cover half of the cost of those jobs, but he noted that there is a lot of uncertainty around whether the state will continue the dredging grant program, which the town has benefited from significantly.
Board member Shareen Davis said members of the Cape Cod and Islands Selectmen and Councilor's Association appealed to Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll recently to retain the dredging grant program. Chatham and other towns have sunk millions of dollars into upgrading waterfront infrastructure, but without dredging, those facilities are not as accessible, Davis said.
“It really is an important program that cannot go away,” she said. The select board has sent a letter to Gov. Maura Healey urging the continuation of the program.
The select board voted unanimously to support all three capital expenditures at town meeting and on the ballot.
Two of the articles seek authorization to borrow funding to replace bulkheads at the Barn Hill and Ryder’s Cove town landings, while the third asks voters to pay for dredging through the tax levy.
After engineers discovered structural failures in the steel bulkhead along the Oyster River, that section of the Barn Hill landing, heavily used by commercial shellfishermen, was closed. One parking space has since been opened, but that’s not a permanent solution, Nature Resources Director Greg Berman said.
The bulkhead dates from the 1980s and wasn’t made with the highest quality steel, Berman said. Officials have been eying it for repair or replacement for years, but other priorities superseded the work.
The work will also include raising the bulkhead slightly to account for sea level rise; coastal resilience is being factored into all of the town’s waterfront projects, Berman said. Select board member Stuart Smith, the town’s former harbormaster, noted that the structure can’t be raised so high that it makes it difficult for fishermen and others to use. The height to which the fish pier’s south jog was raised during its renovation a few years ago was a compromise to ensure that it remained accessible, he said.
“These structures may just have to go underwater” at times, Smith said. “That’s just part of doing business on the water.”
The work will include other bulkheads at the landing as well, at least some of which are underwater at high tide, noted select board member Jeffrey Dykens.
“This is a huge priority for the town,” he said.
The project is estimated to cost $2 million, and consultants are working to refine the figure, Berman said. One-time borrowing for the work will require a two-thirds vote at May 11 annual town meeting and majority approval at the May 14 town election.
Replacing the bulkhead and boat ramp at Ryder’s Cove is estimated to cost $3.5 million, Berman said. As part of the project, floats and the ramp will be realigned for better traffic flow, he added. Harbormaster Jason Holm said the bulkhead design includes an option to add height over time should sea level rise require it.
The funds will also be borrowed, requiring a two-thirds vote at town meeting and majority approval at the election.
Both projects will use fiberglass reinforced panels rather than steel for the bulkheads, which should give them a longer life, Berman said. The material was also used for the 90 Bridge St. project.
The $400,000 dredging article is an annual request, with the money coming from the tax rate. Last year the town dredged the Mill Creek channel and as soon as permits are finalized the Barnstable County dredge will begin work in the Aunt Lydia’s Cove mooring basin, Berman said. State dredging grants will cover half of the cost of those jobs, but he noted that there is a lot of uncertainty around whether the state will continue the dredging grant program, which the town has benefited from significantly.
Board member Shareen Davis said members of the Cape Cod and Islands Selectmen and Councilor's Association appealed to Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll recently to retain the dredging grant program. Chatham and other towns have sunk millions of dollars into upgrading waterfront infrastructure, but without dredging, those facilities are not as accessible, Davis said.
“It really is an important program that cannot go away,” she said. The select board has sent a letter to Gov. Maura Healey urging the continuation of the program.
The select board voted unanimously to support all three capital expenditures at town meeting and on the ballot.