MATTAPOISETT – The Ned’s Point Lighthouse may soon become town property.

At the Select Board’s Oct. 4 meeting, Select Board Member Jordan Collyer expressed interest in acquiring the deed from the United States Coast Guard due to the deteriorating condition of the lighthouse.

“I’m pretty passionate about saving the lighthouse and keeping it from turning to rubble,” he said. “But right now it's hard to do anything because of the ownership.”

Select Board Member Tyler Macallister agreed, saying that due to the lighthouse’s position as a focal point in the harbor, the town “should do what they can to preserve [it].”

Town Administrator Mike Lorenco stated that there were three potential options: the town could own the lighthouse and take care of it, the government continues to take care of it, or the government could declare it as surplus, and a third party could take care of it.

“I think it makes sense to take on the lighthouse, because at least we control our own destiny at the end of the day,” said Macallister.

The situation is more complicated than just asking the Coast Guard to turn over the deed, said Sal Giglia, one of the Flotilla 67 Coast Guard members who gives tours of the lighthouse.

Giglia says that anyone who wanted to buy or lease the lighthouse would have to go through a “complicated process” with the flotilla and “through Washington.”

The flotilla adopted the lighthouse back in 1993, and has been caring for it since. They recently regained the ability to give tours there in 2019 after they did restorations that removed lead paint from the structure.

In addition to his work with the Coast Guard, Giglia has been part of a $290,000 effort to restore the lighthouse as a member of the group The Friends of the Ned’s Point Lighthouse, who are currently organizing funds to help pay for restorations.

Anyone interested can read more about their efforts and their assessment of the lighthouse’s needed repairs at https://friendsofnedspointlighthouse.com/.

Many lighthouses are caged in by the Coast Guard and inaccessible, but at Ned’s Point, visitors can take tours and even have a picnic nearby, Giglia has said.

The lighthouse isn’t just important for tourists — it’s used by sailors, too. The fully-operational lighthouse serves as a guide for ships to port.

The Select Board discussed bringing the question of ownership to the fall town meeting, but Giglia says that voters likely won’t have their say until at least the spring.

“There’s a lot of paperwork involved,” he explained.