Posted on June 22, 2026
BROOKSVILLE—The town of Brooksville was awarded a $900,000 federal grant that covers half of the $1.8 million price tag for its upcoming dredging and pier project in Betsy’s Cove, according to Harbor Committee Chair Mark Shaughnessy.
The grant is a major boon for a project that is inching ever closer to completion after nearly a decade.
Shaughnessy said the Harbor Committee started planning out the dredging project after improvements were made to the public boat landing in 2019. Now, Shaughnessy said the dredging is expected to start in November and be finished by the end of the year. Construction of the new 16-foot wide, 120-foot long public pier is expected to start in January 2027. Improvements to the public boat ramp and floats are slated for 2028, Shaughnessy said.
The goal of the project is to provide all-tide public access to Betsy’s Cove and to improve the waterfront infrastructure to better support both commercial and recreational use. Right now, Shaughnessy said there is no public waterfront with all-tide access anywhere in Brooksville. Fishermen, recreational boaters and emergency personnel are at the whim of the tide unless they receive permission from private owners who have access to deeper water.
“That landing, Betsy’s Cove, is used by fishermen and recreational people. It will be a lot more useful when it’s not completely dry at low tide,” Shaughnessy said in an interview with The Packet.
The project has seen widespread public support over the past year. Shaughnessy said the Harbor committee received letters of support from lobstermen, recreational boaters, nearby land owners and town officials, which were submitted with grant applications. Voters also unanimously signaled support for the project at the annual town meeting in March, giving officials the go-ahead to issue a bond of up to $500,000 to serve as matching funds for potential grants.
So far, Shaughnessy said the town has been largely successful at securing outside funding for the project. The $900,000 grant was awarded by the Northern Borders Regional Commission, a quasi-federal agency that issues grants to rural towns in Northern Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. Shaughnessy received official notice of the grant award on June 12.
The town has also secured a combined $307,000 in smaller state grants for various parts of the project. Each grant reduces the potential cost to taxpayers, who already have committed $500,000 to the project. If the success continues, Shaughnessy hopes to get that figure down to $200,000, out of a total cost of $1.8 million.
Full completion of the dredging and improvements to the pier and boat ramp are years away, but Shaughnessy is still proud of the mostly volunteer efforts put into the project so far.
“This has been a huge effort by everyone on the committee, public officers, town staff, and the treasurer who’s really helped a lot,” Shaughnessy said.
