Voters To Revisit 90 Bridge St. Project; Divided Select Board Calls Sept. 16 Special Town Meeting

CHATHAM – Rejected by voters in May as part of a package of waterfront projects, the proposed shellfish upweller, public docks and commercial fish offloading project at 90 Bridge St. is on its way back to voters for reconsideration at a special town meeting set for Sept. 16.

The $4 million request — down by about $500,000 thanks to lower-than-expected bids — would return the historic Coast Guard boathouse to Stage Harbor, installing it on a pier adjacent to the Mitchell River drawbridge where it would house the town’s shellfish growing operation. The pier would also include floats for recreational boaters and a small commercial offloading area.

“This is a multi-use project. It is commercial, recreational, historic,” Natural Resources Director Greg Berman told the select board last week. The project is ready to proceed, with design and permitting work complete and the new bulkhead expected to be finished next month. Completing the project needs additional funds: about $2.4 million already authorized from a previous waterfront bond and from waterways user funds, and $4 million from a new borrowing authorization.

Voters in May were asked to approve a wide-ranging bond authorization for 90 Bridge St. and four other waterfront projects at Barn Hill Landing, Ryder’s Cove, Little Mill Pond and the fish pier. That $11.4 million request was rejected by voters, some of whom complained that it was too pricey.

Work continues at 90 Bridge St., but at a slower pace, Berman said.

“Since it did not pass at the annual town meeting, we’re about three to four months behind where we thought it would be,” he said. If the project remains on hold until next spring, it will be about a year behind schedule. The shellfish advisory committee asked for a special town meeting to keep the project advancing.

Shellfish Constable Renee Gagne said the upweller is key in supporting the quahog fishery, with up to 1.5 million pounds landed in Chatham annually, generating upwards of $11 million for fishermen and related businesses in town. When other shellfisheries like soft-shell clams or mussels are in decline, commercial shellfishermen rely on quahogs. “It’s the insurance policy of our industry,” she said. The town’s recreational quahog fishery is also valuable, not just monetarily but also for its contribution to the town’s culture and family life. “This is a really unique experience that we get to share with not just local folks but also our visitors,” Gagne said.

Shellfish Propagation Specialist Ben Sacco said the upweller at Old Mill Boat Yard has been in operation since 1995, and is cramped for space and without adequate backup power provisions. Fuel spills and boat-washing mishaps have caused several near-disasters for the system, which pumps water from near the busy boat ramp to feed growing shellfish in a series of cascading silos. The location at 90 Bridge St. will be farther removed from some of those hazards, and the new facility will be larger and properly equipped. It will also allow the operation to be more easily showcased for visitors.

Shellfish advisory committee member Barry Grecco said the town has invested millions to support other commercial fishermen, with major improvements at the fish pier and the Stage Harbor trap dock, and it’s time for the town to support shellfishermen.

“I think it’s pretty outrageous,” Grecco said. “There’s a lot of us, and we pay a lot of taxes,” he said.

Committee member Pat Vreeland said the current upweller is in constant danger of failure, which would seriously jeopardize the town’s quahog fishery.

“They are working at the mercy of good luck, duct tape and creativity,” she said.

While select board members seemed to unanimously support the 90 Bridge St. project, they were divided about whether to call a special meeting to keep the project moving. Among those calling for action was David Doherty, who purchased the historic boathouse with the goal of returning it to Chatham, and who is paying storage fees to keep it temporarily stored in Quincy.

“It’s been away a long time,” select board member Dean Nicastro said. “I’m not sure eight months’ delay is going to make a lot of difference,” he said. He asked if it is necessary to the shellfish program to move immediately. “You have a functioning upweller now,” Nicastro said.

“We’re hesitant to make expensive repairs,” Berman replied.

“Sounds like the center for active living,” Nicastro said.

While town meeting last May rejected the larger bond authorization, voters at the annual election authorized a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion for the project. On the advice of town counsel, the select board would consider that vote valid should the project be revisited at a special town meeting, without a need for a new special election. Nicastro said that practice angers voters, and he plans to lobby his fellow board members to change the town’s financial policy to limit doing so in the future.

“I just don’t think it’s good financial practice,” he said.

Select board member Cory Metters said while the upweller is an urgent need, so are other big-ticket projects like a transfer station and the center for active living. The cost of holding a special town meeting is over $23,000, he noted. And if the project is brought to voters this fall, Metters said he’s not optimistic about the vote.

“It’s going to fail. Which is not the outcome that I’m looking for,” he said.

But the majority of the board supported calling a special session. Shareen Davis said the upweller is needed to support a healthy year-round economy for local working people.

“There is a residential requirement to be a commercial shellfisherman in this community, and it’s a very hard place to be able to afford to live” because of the high cost and low availability of housing.

Board member Jeffrey Dykens, himself a former shellfisherman, said quahogging is part of Chatham’s year-round culture, and people who rely on that industry “are part of the fabric of our community.” Dykens said from a historic preservation perspective, the town has a rare chance to retain a piece of its history, unlike the Old Harbor Lifesaving Station which went to Provincetown and the rescue boat CG36500, which is in Orleans. “Let’s not miss the boat on this one,” Dykens said.

While the $23,000 cost of holding a special election is real, board Chair Michael Schell said it should be likened to an insurance policy against “the things that might happen if we delay.” There seems to be consensus that the 90 Bridge St. project is a good one, he noted.

On a 3-2 vote, with Nicastro and Metters dissenting, the select board called a special town meeting for Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. at Monomoy Middle School for consideration of the article. It is possible that additional articles may be added to the warrant.