A Marina Might Be Coming To Town
Conceptual Plan Heads to Town Council Tonight After Harbor Committee Recommendation
BAR HARBOR—A town marina is one step closer to a reality today.
“I feel like we’re making headway,” Harbormaster Chris Wharff said during a special Harbor Committee meeting Monday where a quorum of the committee and four members of the public met while much of the county was without power due to a windstorm that killed two and at one point had more than 400,000 with no electricity.
There was power in downtown Bar Harbor as the Harbor Committee unanimously voted to send the conceptual master plan for the Bar Harbor Marina with amendments to the Bar Harbor Town Council. The councilors will review it during their 6:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, December 19, at the Bar Harbor Municipal Building.
The Harbor Committee’s special meeting to fine tune its recommendations about the town’s conceptual masterplan for the ferry terminal on Route 3 at the town-owned site of the Bay Ferry terminal that houses the CAT lasted less than an hour.
For many, the recommendation to approve felt like a long-time coming in a process that involved a Ferry Advisory Committee back in 2017. Harbor Committee member Pancho Cole was on that committee and said after the vote, “Wow, this is an official step. Maybe something will happen when I’m still on this earth.”
“It will,” someone else murmured.
The plan was created by GEI, a consulting firm in Massachusetts, and it has multiple potential phases for the site. Each phase can be separated into smaller phases. Though the plan is meant to be conceptual, the committee members wanted to make sure that several amendments were also presented officially to the council.
Those amendments included:
Separating tender fuel access from public fuel access to allow fully publicly accessible fuel;
Square boat vehicle access to the ramp and add a vertical wall to allow for functionality and use without need for hoist;
To make sure that the property lines are within the submerged land lease portion of the plan;
Create a cost analysis for launch ramp on south side rather than the north side;
Look at moving cruise ship tendering from south side to avoid public conflict with neighboring property owner;
Ensure that a small dock is included for phase one and potentially not have that dock for cruise ship tendering purposes;
Including discussion about maintenance and management costs for the plan and maintenance of structures, too, when thinking about financial feasibility of the phases;
Making sure that post the demolishment of phase one, that things such as a ramp and usable dock are built back;
Looking into moving the boat ramp to further on the south side for commercial fishing purposes.
BOAT RAMP POSITION AND CONCEPTS
The position of the boat ramp and its structure in the conceptual plan was discussed at multiple Harbor Committee meetings. Committee member Ed Monat said on Monday that he would like a completed vertical side for a ramp. There are currently three alternatives for the ramp’s position: as drawn, squared off next to its current position, but more on the inside, and next to its current position, but more southerly.
“That would be a no brainer for so much stuff,” Monat said about the vertical wall and right angle of the ramp, adding that it would make commercial fishing operations more efficient.
PROJECT PHASING AND POTENTIAL COSTS
The current siting of the boat ramp on the plan uses the bank and riprap that’s there which decreases cost.
“We have rough estimates, but we don’t really know what each piece of this is going to cost,” Wharff said, which is typical of conceptual phases.
Committee member Jeff Miller said the Town Council is going to want specifics. Wharff said the council will approve (or not) the concept and then the design will get fleshed out. There will be public involvement in the upcoming design steps.
TENDERING CONCERNS
Another concern that’s been discussed is the small area for proposed cruise ship tendering which is currently envisioned at the southern edge of the property and gives 37 feet between that space and the Atlantic Oceanside’s pier, which is used commercially.
“I’m with you guys at the Atlantic Oceanside,” Monat said to the committee chair and others. “I think the tendering from that location (the proposed marina) is a far from less ideal scenario. Honestly.”
This spurred a short discussion about how many cruise ship tenders come in on a day. Those tenders tend to be more constant at the beginning of the day when the ship arrives and then before it departs.
“Fifty on a big ship day,” Vice Chair Larry Nuesslein III said.
“For each ship,” Chair Kaitlyn Mullens said.
When asked, Nuesslein said Bar Harbor Whale Watch is not trying to get rid of tendering.
MANY THINGS IN ONE SPACE AND PUBLIC COMMENT
Monat echoed concerns from the last meeting where it was discussed about trying to get too many uses into one site that currently houses the CAT, which ferries to Canada and back, requiring a fenced and isolated portion on the northern side of the property.
Acadian Nature Cruise owner Gary Fagan said to the committee, “What I keep hearing and I don’t understand is you have one shot to do this, so you need to do it right.” He added, “You have to. You have to do this. It’s going to cost a lot of money to do it.”
Miller asked Fagan what he meant by “doing it right.”
“It would scare you,” Fagan said.
“Then scare me,” Miller said.
Fagan said he thinks the town’s biggest problem is the CAT ferry, which is leasing the property from the town. That lease continues through next season.
“That’s your biggest hindrance,” he said. There is little fuel access for boaters on Frenchman’s Bay, he said, which will create demand for the potential marina’s fuel pumps.
“The fuel dock is way too small because you’re going to have yachts coming in there. I don’t think you realize how much business you’re going to get,” he said. “You’re thinking way too small….They all got money. They all want to spend it.”
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Plan images via GEI are in the below packet (first link)
https://barharbormaine.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12112023-3326
https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/coast-guard-weighs-in-on-cat-security
https://www.barharbormaine.gov/275/Harbor-Committee
https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/potential-marina-plans-approved-and
To stream Town Council meeting tonight.
Carrie, does this mean that Bar Harbor thinks it might not renew the lease with the Cat in Year 3? I see there is no berth for the Cat in Phase 3. It would be nice if we could have all that room for private boats AND the Cat but perhaps there isn't room...