Three Local Companies Offer Services to Reopen Seawall Road

MaineDOT Decision Expected Next Week

Jul 10, 2024

SOUTHWEST HARBOR—Three local construction companies might get the go-ahead for temporary fixes to the storm-destroyed Seawall Road, but there are a few issues to sort through first.

The road, which is a state road that runs through Southwest Harbor, to national park land was destroyed in a series of winter storms and is not yet fixed as the state determines how, when, and if, to fix it.

The Seawall Road links Southwest Harbor to the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse, popular trails (Wonderland and Ship Harbor), and Acadia National Park’s Seawall campground and picnic area and it was severely damaged from winter storms. To work on the road, the MaineDOT had to receive permission from the park.

Southwest Harbor Town Manager Marilyn Lowell told Select Board members, Tuesday, that State Senator Nicole Grohoski (D-Ellsworth) had sent MaineDOT Deputy Commissioner Dale Doughty, John Goodwin, BFP Trucking, and Doug Gott and Sons a message.

“All of them are willing to do work on the road to temporarily have it open or a one-way, possibly, sooner than later,” Lowell said of the companies.

They all agreed to work together and share the burden, she said. “So not one contractor is footing the whole bill, so to speak.”

It was unclear what cost the temporary fix would be to the town, but it seemed minimal. Select Board members hoped to have that clarified.

“Dale hasn’t spoken to any of them,” Lowell said of the communication between the DOT commissioner and local companies. “His comments were seeing if the town is open to overseeing the work.”

That, she said, would include monitoring the road during storms, opening the road in a safe manner, and also making sure that all environmental regulations were met. The state would provide signage. She has contacted the state about what those environmental regulations were and the definition of “opening the road in a safe manner.” They have not yet responded about those specific questions. She hopes for a response soon.

Lowell also said the state expects a final decision about the final disposition about the road next week.

Vice Chair Natasha Johnson suggested inviting the contractors to talk to the board since most, if not all of the conversation, has been with the Town of Tremont though the road itself is in Southwest Harbor.

Chair Carolyn Ball said she’d rather not bring the contractors in during their busy season unless they had to. The board agreed to have an emergency meeting if needed.

Shortly before that discussion, an attendee unfurled a red banner that read “All businesses open.” The DOT said the banner couldn’t be placed underneath the road closure sign, but it could be put anywhere else.

The problem becomes where anywhere else might be.

As close as possible to the DOT sign that says that the Seawall Road is closed was the hope of those attending.

“It’s pretty slow out there. Losing $3,000-5,000 a day slow,” she told Select Board members of the businesses located in the area.

The affected businesses are starving, one local man said in a June public hearing led by the MaineDot.

A nearby heath is a unique ecosystem and the road helps protect that. Many attending that June meeting expressed their worries about the heath’s health.

“We need access to emergency services. We need home care,” one woman said.

The people attending the DOT-run public meeting ended up providing testimony, one after the other, about why the Seawall Road needed to stay. And for those speaking, it seemed a no brainer.

“Any road that we have? There’s a good reason,” it’s there, one woman said of the roads on Mount Desert Island.

The first storm that heavily impacted the road was January 10, and the MaineDOT cleared the debris. A second storm on January 13 caused additional storm damage. Debris was cleared again. On February 14, the National Park Service gave the DOT a permit to do work in the area and the road reopened. On March 10, a storm caused major damage. The road closed again and stayed closed. The water main was eventually back in service on April 30.

To get to those areas now, people have to detour through Tremont, which can sometimes take 25 minutes or more. Now, that detour route to Tremont is undergoing another DOT project, which started in late June.

TWO OPTIONS FOR THE NAPIER PROPERTY

There is still no decision on Anne Napier’s Clark Point Road property, which is suffering water damage from the town’s drainage system. Lowell presented two potential options, but has not yet obtained permission from a neighbor whose property might be impacted by the changes.

Lowell said that she has tried to talk to the neighbor multiple times, but they haven’t sufficiently connected.

According to Napier, the town has no right-of-way across her property and that she could remove the town’s pipe if she chose to do so.

“It doesn’t matter what time of year, I have a creek running through my property,” she has said.

After consulting Acadia Stone and Garden, she believes that the best option would be to extend the existing 12-inch pipe and drain outlet and bury it, and also replace the soil so that all the now exposed pipes are covered.

Board member James Vallette asked Road Foreman Scott Alley how many pipes were discharging on people’s lawns currently.

“I don’t know how many there is,” Alley said.

According to Napier, her building is more than twenty feet from the town's storm drain pipe and drainage problem. The French drains and pipes she installed to handle my own rainwater water were installed at the time of construction, not later; she said, and the pipe is an 8-inch pipe, not 4-inch, and handles all water from her own property just fine.

Things are not just fine now for her, she has said, and Vallette spoke to the situation after his visit to the property.

“It’s a deep hole,” Vallette said of the damage at the property in the drainage area. “It goes at least four feet deep.”

Alley disagreed. Vallette also said the damage begins at the sidewalk and that meant that the property owner hadn’t caused it.

“I think we’re being really nitpicky about something that is impacting that landowner’s property pretty severely,” Vallette said.

Johnson said she agreed, but wouldn’t feel comfortable taking action until the adjoining landowner was okay with the plan.

Napier said she appreciated the Select Board members’ time and thoughts, but the options were unacceptable because the water still flows through her property and wondered why she should have to pay for piping the town’s water. She also said it shouldn’t be up to her to get her neighbor’s permission, but the town’s duty. The Select Board agreed that the town should be responsible for that permission’s receipt and documentation.

NEW HARBORMASTER

The Select Board officially appointed Robert Leavitt as the town’s harbormaster. According to Lowell’s memo to the board, Leavitt had begun getting acquainted with the job, July 1. It is a one-year term. He had been working in Boothbay as its harbormaster and has multiple certifications, except for those required to be shellfish warden. He will get that license.

“He’s jumping right in with both feet.”

“He’s been tenting since he started, but he just signed a lease on a little cottage,” Lowell said.

According to the Boothbay Register, Leavitt was hired as that town’s harbormaster in April 2022. He is still listed as the town’s harbormaster on its website.

SOLID WASTE TASK FORCE OR SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

Vallette brought up the possibility of a solid waste task force. Southwest Harbor and Southwest Harbor Sewer District waste is allowed, but other waste from other towns would not be authorized, such as waste from any other municipalities, U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service.

“We’re just telling (people) that we’re not going to pay for Coast Guard and other entities,” Vallette said. “This makes it clear that the town is not authorizing payment for outside waste.”

The Select Boardoard will discuss it at its next meeting and potentially create a sustainability committee to look over recycling and compositing needs and programs for the town.

PRIORITIES LIST

In a free-range conversation, the board tweaked its mini-strategic plan and priorities list as well. Members spoke about the Island Explorer changing its route without first talking to the town, the deer population, parking enforcement and controls in areas such as Manset, a potential flashing light at the fire station entrance, and having an emergency management plan presentation. Investigating term limits for all boards and committees was also a suggestion.