Waterways Com Supports Bridge St. Project

CHATHAM – Following the lead of the finance committee, the waterways advisory committee voted to support the Sept. 16 special town meeting article for $4 million to complete the 90 Bridge St. project.
But as with the finance committee, the vote wasn’t unanimous and harkened back to concerns expressed at last May’s annual town meeting, when voters defeated an $11 million waterfront infrastructure bond that included the Bridge Street work.
Committee member David Davis questioned the financial figures for the project being put out by town officials, saying they’d lost the public’s trust.
“People aren’t voting against this project,” he said. “They’re voting against the selectmen.”
He questioned the select board and town manager’s decision to rely on the passage of a ballot question authorizing the borrowing for the full waterfront bond at the May annual town election to indicate approval for borrowing the $4 million for Bridge Street.
“The selectmen screwed up by putting this back in a special town meeting, so people got no respect for the selectmen,” Davis said.
But he was the sole dissenting vote on the committee when the time came to vote on support of the measure. 
The total cost of the project — which includes a new bulkhead, floats and piers and the relocation of the historic Stage Island Coast Guard boathouse to serve as a new shellfish upweller — is projected at $11,028,494. According to information in the warrant, nearly $4 million has been spent so far, which includes $2,380,897 from the previous $11 million waterfront bond and $1,562,347 in outside funds. Nearly $1.3 million of that came from state Seaport Economic Council grants.
That leaves approximately $7,085,250 remaining. Of that, $2,385,250 remains in the waterfront bond and $700,000 will come from community preservation funds. That leaves a balance of $4 million. 
The town has also applied for another $1 million Seaport grant, said Natural Resources Director Greg Berman, but that money is not guaranteed.
Savings from low bids for the dredging and bulkhead work cut the total cost by $500,000. Asked if $6.4 million — $2.3 million from the remaining waterfront bond and $4 million from the proposed appropriation — would be enough to complete the project, Coastal Resources Director Ted Keon said he thought so.
“Those are our estimates,” he said.
“I don’t believe the figures,” said Davis. He also questioned placing the boathouse on piers “in the middle of the Mitchell River,” suggesting it will impact the view. 
The only view it will block is of the large homes across the harbor on Stage Island, said South Coastal Harbor Plan Committee Chair Tom King. His group has voted to support the project twice.
“The longer we wait the higher the costs are going to be,” he said. Retaining the Coast Guard boathouse is also important for the town’s heritage, he added, noting that other historic assets, such as the Pendleton rescue boat the CG36500, have been lost because of a reluctance to spend money.
“Now we have a chance to create this multi-use facility for the recreational boater, for the shellfishing, for commercial [fishermen],” he said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn good.”
He also called for the town’s waterways-related committees to work more closely together to ensure that the public understand the need for funding of waterfront infrastructure. The $11 million bond defeated in May would have funded needed projects at Ryder’s Cove and Barn Hill landing, as well as 90 Bridge St., he said.
“Now we’re going to have to do it piecemeal, which will only drive the cost up,” he said. “We need to really put our heads together to figure out how we can work together so we can help the selectmen get these projects through. You know as well as I do that the waterfront needs work right now.”
Waterways committee chair Richard Hosmer agreed.
“We need to continue to improve our waterfront infrastructure,” he said. “We can’t just let it lie fallow. But we know it’s not going to be cheap.”