Estimated cost of Long Wharf repairs set at $12.7 million

MATTAPOISETT – A $12.7 million price tag has been placed on the repairs for Long Wharf in Mattapoisett.

This estimate was provided at the Aug. 22 Select Board meeting by Childs Engineering, the firm leading the Long Wharf study and repairs.

“I was a little shocked to see this since I thought we were in the 6 to 8 million dollar range,” said Select Board member Jodi Bauer. “I think we need to relook at options.”

Select Board member Tyler Macallister disagreed, saying that now is the time to act on these repairs.

“Every year we don’t do anything, that number goes up,” he said. “So, at some point we have to say, ‘Let’s go.’ ”

Childs Engineering presented the findings on a Long Wharf study at a June 14 Select Board Meeting, where they stated it was a “generally poor classification,” meaning that the wharf has deterioration in “widespread areas,” but with no intense breaking that would cause it to be closed down.

At the June meeting, the firm gave suggestions for solutions, but did not recommend that the town spend a lot of money on “short-term fixes” that “weren’t meant to last.”

The Select Board agreed, opting to look at solutions that would last, even if they were more expensive.

On Aug. 22, the Select Board acknowledged that one of the requests that made the cost estimate go up was the use of stone rather than concrete, which was described as a sturdier option that would also preserve the aesthetic.

Select Board member Jordan Collyer suggested looking into a “hybrid approach,” that would use stone in some parts, especially on the east side of the wharf that suffers more wind and sea damage, and concrete in other parts, like the west side, which takes less impact.

Town Administrator Mike Lorenco said he wasn’t sure that it would be a “meaningful change.”

Lorenco clarified that this cost is a “worst case scenario” to ensure the estimate covers everything. He also is applying for multiple grants that will help offset the cost for taxpayers.

“I wouldn’t look at [the cost] and think it’s all going to go on the taxpayers, because it’s not,” Lorenco said.

“I think we gotta pull the trigger sooner rather than later,” said Macallister.

Collyer said this would be the first seaside restoration project that the town has undertaken in over a hundred years.

Lorenco said that the next steps would be to get the opinion of the Marine Advisory Board and to hold a meeting for public comment.