SCARBOROUGH – Time is running out on a project to build a new Pine Point Pier off King Street, but officials are confident a plan will be in place by the Oct. 10 deadline.

That is when a contract must be finalized for the construction of the new pier, which would make it easier for commercial fishermen to work the waters off Scarborough.

“It is right down to the wire if we can pull this off because of the timing, but it is worth a shot,” said Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall.

The town has been working on a project to create a new Pine Point Pier since 2004. The 6-foot-wide, 100-foot-long pier is becoming harder and harder to accommodate the 66 commercial fishermen who rely on the pier for their livelihood. As it stands now, the pier can only be used at low tide.

“It is remarkable the fisherman have done what they have been able to do,” Hall said. “Their work is totally tide dependant and the pier is not big enough for a vehicle to get down.”

Since embarking on the project in 2004, the town has received a number of grants from state organizations to fund the project, including Small Harbor Improvement Project money and funds from the Working Waterfront Program. In 2006, the Town Council approved appropriating $400,000 to the project. Between that appropriation and the state funds, Hall said, there is upward of $800,000 available for that project.

However, some of the money could evaporate if the project doesn’t move forward soon. Currently the project, which includes building a 14-foot-wide timber pier to the west of the existing pier and outfitting it with two mechanical hoists, is out to bid.

The timeline, Hall said, is largely predicated by permitting, which states a contract for the project must be reached by Oct. 10.

“With the council finally getting the easement issues solved, we hit the streets with this almost immediately,” Hall said of the council’s recent decision to accept an easement exchange with Pine Point Fisherman’s Co-op, something the state indicated was needed for the project to proceed.

A pre-bid meeting was held earlier this week, with eight contractors participating. The bids, Hall said, are due back to the town by Oct. 5. The winning bid will be awarded two days later, by Oct. 7, with a contract signed by Oct. 10.

Hall said it is a quicker bid process than he would have liked, but because of the situation, a quick bid process was needed.

“We have an opportunity to get this done now,” he said. “I sincerely hope we can get it done.”

The eight contractors who attended the pre-bid meeting were all from large, experienced companies that can get the project completed fairly quickly, Hall said.

The town has mandated that the company that does the work keep the existing pier open and operational throughout the entire period. The company must also work with the co-op to make sure the pier work does not interrupt its business.

Hall said substantial completion of the project must be done by April 30, 2011, with some of the work beginning this fall.

The pier, built in 1971, was intended to be accessible only to foot traffic. At that time, there were 15 fishermen who used the pier for commercial purposes, but as time passed, the number of both commercial and recreational fishermen who used the pier continued to grow.

As the number of fishermen grew, the town continued to make the needed improvements to the pier to assist the fishermen in their work, which includes primarily lobstering and clamming, but also seasonal harvests of scallops and some crabs and shrimp. David Corbeau, Scarborough’s marine resources officer, said the pier is used today by 30 full-time commercial fishermen, as well as many of individuals with recreational fishing licenses.

Hall said beginning in 2002, meetings were held with the fishermen to determine their needs. The biggest concern voiced by the fishermen was the need to find a better way to hoist their equipment in and out of the water. Currently, fishermen have two hours a day to load and unload gear, as access to the water is only available at low tide.

“The outcomes of those discussions were the beginning stages of their pier project,” he said.

Corbeau said the new pier would allow for 24-hour access to load and unload equipment with new hoists and be built to accommodate vehicular traffic. The fishermen would no longer have to be dependent on the tide to load and unload their equipment.

The new pier, Hall said, would also provide room for extra floats to accommodate additional fishermen in the future.

With the improved working conditions, it is estimated that fishermen would gain an extra 10 to 20 days per year fishing, which would in turn help increase their revenues and help the local economy.

It was originally hoped that the project would be completed by now, but it ran into a few snags when the state determined that, to access the new pier, fishermen would have to cross a small section of property owned by the co-op. Therefore, the town would need to get an easement from the group.

The state also determined, after reviewing maps of the property, to access the cooperative property, the public and the business’ workers had to cross town-owned property.

The solution, as proposed by Hall, was to swap easements so the pier project could move forward and the co-op could access its building. The two parties also reached a formal lease to firm up an agreement reached in 1991, in which the co-op is permitted to use 25 spaces in the municipal lot by the pier for its restaurant. The 1991 pact had been extended through a gentleman’s agreement, but had never been put into writing.

As part of the 10-year lease, which the town approved on Sept. 15, the co-op will pay $5,000 a year to use the unmarked parking spaces. The lease agreement also spelled out other provisions such as early termination and insurance.

Hall said reaching that lease agreement and the agreement on the easements took the better part of a year.

Now that the agreements have been reached, both Hall and Corbeau said they are excited to see the project advance and the new pier materialize.