MACKEREL COVE BOAT LAUNCH at high tide.

HARPSWELL

Harpswell voters overwhelmingly approved spending an additional $40,000 on repairing the Mackerel Cove Boat Launch, bringing the total amount allocated for the project to $100,000. The final tally came to 1,282 in favor of the additional spending and just 326 against it.

The project initially went out to bid last summer with the expectation that it would cost about $25,000. But when the town received two bids for the project in the $50,000 range, the selectmen decided to go to the voters at the March town meeting to seek approval to spend $60,000 on the project–$15,000 of which came from a grant. Voters approved the increased spending without hesitation.

However, Deputy Town Administrator Terri-Lynn Sawyer noted at the time they might return to voters for additional funding.

“I had just found out that week that (the Department of Environmental Protection) will not allow the pavement underneath high tide due to the chemicals in the pavement and whatnot,” Sawyer told the Times Record previously. “So the entire ramp has to be replaced with a concrete boat ramp, which changed our pricing substantially because there’s quite a bit of labor involved with those concrete boat ramps.”

“I’m so glad that we found out before March town meeting, so that I could tell the voters, give them the opportunity to pass or fail that article,” she added. “But there wasn’t even a question raised.”

Even with that warning, voters approved appropriating $60,000 towards the project, and on Tuesday they approved appropriating the additional $40,000.

The funds will be used to replace the deteriorated boat ramp and widen it from 16 feet to 20 feet.
nstrout@timesrecord.com