Posted on August 27, 2018
Barnstable Town Council is scheduled to vote Sept. 6 on a $1 million appropriation to dredge the Cotuit Bay entrance channel.
Cotuit Bay requires a three-phase dredging plan to keep it safe for boat navigation, Barnstable Town Manager Mark Ells told councilors at their Aug. 16 meeting.
“The county dredge is ready to go as soon as Oct. 15,” Ells said.
Ells also said phases two and three were being planned, along with their respective costs, as part of a comprehensive, townwide dredging program.
Earlier, at the council’s Aug. 9 meeting, Ells presented a long-term dredging plan for 31 channels in the town, which he said already has about a 10-year backlog.
“We’re looking to move about 40,000 cubic yards (of sediment) annually at an average cost of $1.5 million,” Ells said. “We have more demands than revenue.”
Up until now, Barnstable has not had a long-term dredging program, he said, so there’s no wonder there’s a significant backlog.
Of the 31 dredging projects on the town’s wait list, 17 sites are considered as routine maintenance. Dredging the rest gets increasingly complicated due to fine-grain and silty sediments and water quality issues, like the excessive nutrient load in the Three Bays area.
“For the simple moving of sand out of channels, the county dredge is cost-effective,” Ells said. “Contracting is always an option. Contracting in a hurry is never a good idea; it’s better to have it planned out.”
Permitting for dredging is extremely complicated, and the disposal costs are huge, he added.
Said Councilor Jessica Rapp-Grassetti, who represents Cotuit/Barnstable Precinct 7: “This is a long time coming. Permitting on Cotuit Cut alone has taken over six years.”
Rob Stein, assistant director of Barnstable DPW, said dredging projects also have a finite window of opportunity. They generally need to be completed by mid-January to avoid certain fish migrations in the spring, and horseshoe crabs and boat traffic in the summer.
Council Vice President Jim Crocker said he is very concerned over whether funding will be readily available for dredging Cotuit Bay.
“We’ve got to get back on track here,” Crocker said. “We know how small the window is. The first and second reading need to be in September, so money is ready in October.”
Mark Milne, Barnstable finance director, recommended a cash appropriation for Phase 1 of the Cotuit project, which the council was scheduled to discuss Aug. 16; however, the matter was continued until the council’s Sept. 6 meeting.
Other options include borrowing against the town’s Comprehensive Water Management Plan Fund to pay for projects that improve the bays’ flushing; applying for open space funding through the Community Preservation Act; or adding a waterway user fee on vessels.
Rapp-Grassetti asked whether CPA funds could be used to place dredged sand on other public beaches in town.
Town Attorney Ruth Weil said using the dredge spoils to increase a beach may be possible, given that it’s recreational land; however, such evaluation would be on a case-by-case basis.
The town also applied Aug. 3 for a $1 million MassWorks grant offering a 50:50 match for the work. Another $2 million is earmarked for dredging the western end of Sampson’s Island, with disposal occurring on the eastern end of Dead Neck Island, in an amended version of H4868, the Economic Development Bond Bill approved by the State Legislature and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker Aug. 21.
Source: The Barnstable Patriot
