SACO — The Saco City Council voted unanimously to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to mitigate erosion in Camp Ellis, a reversal from a previous decision to cease negotiations until a better solution could be found.

Following an executive session during a Monday, April 1 council meeting, Ward 5 Councilor Alan Minthorn reported on happenings during the closed door meeting.

“The council authorizes the city administrator to send a revised letter to the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the Saco River and the Camp Ellis Beach Mitigation Project,” Minthorn said.

The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed to construct a 750-foot spur (or arm) to the existing 146-year-old jetty, with the anticipation that the rock structure would reduce the momentum of waves as they crash onto the beach.

While the spur would be constructed using $26.9 million allocated by the federal government in 2006 to fix erosion caused by the jetty, there is a caveat: The city of Saco would absorb any responsibility for the jetty moving forward, and be liable for any maintenance needed thereafter.

The city plans to remain firm on opposing retaining liability following a fix.

The reversal is in line with the will of the community, which during a Feb. 5 meeting to discuss Camp Ellis, voted 95 percent in favor of endorsing the spur proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers but would leave the city unable to pursue other funding options. Five percent of attendees voted in favor of the city not approving the project, which would cause the Army Corps of Engineers to shelve it for a year while the Saco Bay Erosion Working Group researched and pursued a better and more permanent solution for erosion.

The council unanimously approved the April 1 motion to send a letter, however the second item was met with dissent from Ward 4 Councilor Lynn Copeland.

It gives Lovell permission to reach out to other Saco Bay communities to garner further support and bargaining power when dealing with the state of Maine to mobilize a solution for Camp Ellis.

“I just want to say that I believe it should be someone who is in favor of resolving our issues in Camp Ellis who should be speaking to our neighbors,” Copeland said. “And I don’t believe our mayor is in that position.”

Camp Ellis is in Ward 4 and Copeland has been a vocal advocate for a solution. The motioned passed six to one, with Copeland casting the dissenting vote.

While Lovell declined to comment on what had been discussed during executive session, he felt Copeland’s comments were a reaction to his concerns over the partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers.

“The Army Corps of Engineers is a tough bunch of negotiations, and I’m concerned about us being able to argue our case against them,” Lovell said on April 2. “I’m very concerned about the erosion, and I’ve always said I think this problem is going to cost more than $26.9 million.”

Lovell does, however, feel confident about approaching other communities for support.

“This isn’t a purely Camp Ellis problem, it affects everyone,” Lovell said.

During a Feb. 11 meeting, the council agreed to not send a letter of approval to the Army Corps of Engineers, in line with a resolution passed in September that the city would not take on the responsibility for problems caused by a federally built jetty.

According to Mayor Marston Lovell, the letter approved on April 1 will serve as an acceptance to the addition of a spur on the jetty, referred to as Plan 6, and open negotiations for a partnership agreement. The letter will also serve as a way to allow the Army Corps of Engineers permission to allocate the $26.9 million in funds to the project.

While a dredge has been active on the Saco River since the first week of February, damage has been done to the beaches of Camp Ellis over the course of the winter. The beach-hugging section of North Avenue has pulled up and away into the ocean due to the relentless crashing of waves; that section of beach is now littered with large slabs of tar and the streets.

As the Saco River is a federally navigable waterway, all $3.93 million of the costs for the dredge are paid for by the Army Corps of Engineers. The material dredged from the easterly part of the river are creating a 10-foot deep, 100-foot wide sand bar to be deposited on the beaches at Camp Ellis for replenishment purposes, as the tide change caused by the jetty leaves Camp Ellis open to erosion with every storm and high tide.

City officials, however, consider the project to be a Band-Aid on the larger problems. Saco has lost dunes, a railroad, four streets and 38 homes to erosion at Camp Ellis, and the Saco Bay Erosion Working Group believes there is a better solution available than the proposed spur, instead favoring an option of a shorter, 500-foot spur with two detached segments of breakwater that measure 395 and 410 feet.