Posted on January 26, 2021
The Barnstable County dredge program, which helps towns across Cape Cod clear harbors and waterways, may increase its rate of service in the coming fiscal year.
Barnstable County Dredge Administrator Ken Cirillo told the Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners at their regular meeting on Wednesday, January 20, that the increase to the rates is necessary to cover the costs of the dredge program.
The county does not fund the program through its operating budget but rather through an enterprise account. The county’s finance director, Elizabeth Braccia, told the commissioners that she is confident the enterprise account that funds the dredge program would not need any transfers to cover expenses for the remainder of this fiscal year.
Mr. Cirillo said the pricing of the county’s dredge work has not increased since 2005.
The county charges one of two rates to towns that seek dredging services, either $9 per cubic yard for projects that require less than 3,500 feet of piping and no hydraulic booster and $13 per cubic yard for projects that require more than 3,500 feet of piping and a hydraulic booster. Mr. Cirillo told the commissioners some set rates have been added to cover the expense of mobilizing the necessary equipment for dredging projects.
The proposed rate structure, which was approved by the previous administration of the commissioners and is under consideration in the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, would change to a three-tier structure.
According to the proposal Mr. Cirillo presented to the assembly of delegates at its December 16 meeting, projects in tier one would include those that are less than 1,000 cubic feet of dredge work and require less than 3,000 yards of pipe and no booster. These would cost a flat rate of $20,000.
Tier-two dredge projects include those between 1,000 and 40,000 cubic yards that require no hydraulic booster and less than 3,500 feet of pipe and would cost $11 per cubic foot, plus a fee for 10 percent of the total cost to cover the costs of mobilizing the necessary equipment. Dredge projects of the same size that would require a hydraulic booster would cost $15 per cubic yard plus the 10 percent mobilization fee.
The third pricing tier includes projects of more than 40,000 cubic yards that require a hydraulic booster. These projects would cost $13 per cubic yard plus a 10 percent mobilization fee.
If approved by the assembly, the rate hikes would come back to the commissioners for final approval.
Source: capenews
