Marina advocates (BOOM) demand answers from Bristol

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 5/22/18

In its most recent incarnation, a plan for an expanded town marina dates back to before a November 2016 bond referendum, in which voters approved $17 million for capital projects, including $2 …

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Marina advocates (BOOM) demand answers from Bristol

Posted

In its most recent incarnation, a plan for an expanded town marina dates back to before a November 2016 bond referendum, in which voters approved $17 million for capital projects, including $2 million to build a new public marina, to ease the long waiting list of residents hoping for a public slip.

In reality, the whole idea of waterfront redevelopment is not new — an expanded public marina was initially recommended to Bristol’s Economic Development Commission in an August 1982 master plan submitted by a consultant at the time, Sasaki Associates.

Following the voter-approved funding for the expansion, with the realization of the project seeming so close at hand, the waiting list actually expanded. It now numbers some 120 hopeful boat-owning residents, some of whom have been waiting for a decade.

Bristol resident Patrick “Pat” McCarthy is frustrated. A member of the Bristol Harbor Commission, the recently-disbanded Bristol Economic Development Commission, and a 2016 Republican candidate for Bristol Town Council, Mr. McCarthy has teamed up with Donald Hemond, a member of the Bristol Capital Projects Commission, to organize BOOM —Build Our Ocean Marina — a group of concerned citizens who would like the town council to move forward with the project.

“It’s the only capital project (of those authorized by the 2016 vote) that has not seen the light of day,” Mr. McCarthy said. “If this marina had been built by a private venture, it would be in the second or third season by now.”

Mr. McCarthy also noted that of all the capital project expenditures, the $2 million marina was the only project that was expected to generate revenue and service its own debt.

“This project would be an economic driver for Bristol, bringing visitors and revenue to town.”

So why hasn’t it been built?

“I can’t begin to speculate,” Mr. McCarthy said. “The council claims they need to do their due diligence, and build the ‘right’ marina.” It’s an answer Mr. McCarthy sees as a stall tactic. “Marina and dock construction is low tech,” he said. “It’s boards and timber. The technology has been around since the Vikings.”

Bristol Town Councilor Andy Tyska agrees that government does not move as quickly as private enterprise, but said there is still much legwork to be done to ensure the expansion provides economic opportunity, not vulnerability.

“Continued downtown waterfront development is absolutely important to our continued economic development,” he said. “But consideration needs to be given as to what that development looks like.” Mr. Tyska is interested in ensuring the proper balance between resident slips and transient accommodations. “I’m not sure that the current draft (of the marina plan) allows us to take best advantage of the opportunity to accommodate transient boaters, which, from a business point of view, is important for our long-term financial commitment to the town.

“It’s a complex project, and it is more important than ever that residents, whether on the waiting list or not, voice their views,” Mr. Tyska said. “Continued advocacy is an important part of moving this project forward.”

The Bristol Harbor Commission recently sent a letter to the town council requesting a consultant’s report on the possible marina configuration (a report that was delivered to the council in September of 2017) be made public. However, no report was provided to the commission as of their Monday, May 7, meeting. According to Council Vice Chairman Tim Sweeney, a May 30 date has been tentatively set for a public workshop, but without access to the consultant’s report, Mr. McCarthy feels the public is not being given information to which they are entitled.

BOOM launched this month with an outreach letter, signed by Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Hemond, to the more than 120 residents on the waiting list for public marina space. Their request to the town council is simple: move forward immediately, and transparently, to construct the 2016 voter-approved Town Marina Capital Project.

“It’s now been officially two years since the bond referendum was sent to the Statehouse and we have nothing to show for it,” Mr. McCarthy said. “You know what they say … when all was said and done, more was said than done.”

Asked for comment, Town Councilor Edward Stuart wrote that while he “certainly can understand the frustration by all residents in regards to projects and timelines … (projects) are being done while considering our community taxes and and services on behalf of all our residents in mind.”

Likewise, Mr. Sweeney encouraged attendance at the public workshop, tentatively scheduled for three weeks from press time.

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