HARPSWELL

Harpswell is vying for state funding to install a public boat launch at Mitchell Field as it tries to add more space for boats.

For decades, the unused Mitchell Field Pier has blocked building a boat launch or installing a float system at the site. The pier itself had deteriorated over the years, and portions have collapsed into the ocean. The pier is slated for a $3 million demolition and cleanup, and the town is looking at what comes next.

The town is applying for a 50 percent matching grant from the state’s Small Harbor Improvement Program to put in the boat launch. The two-lane paved launch would be on the north side of the causeway and be open to both commercial and recreational use.

As proposed in the application, the concrete plank launch would have lines of floats along each side, as well as a turn-around at the head of the ramp and a 15-spot parking lot.

The town has been eyeing the Mitchell Field property as a location for a boat launch since at least 2011, when the town conducted a feasibility study of a ramp at that location. The project couldn’t move forward until the demolition of the pier.

Officials expect the ramp project to cost $394,507, according to the application.

Town Planner Mark Eyerman said the town had stockpiled about $45,000 worth of materials from the pier demolition that could be used to build the ramp and reduce costs. Eyerman said state funding would likely become available in 2021.

According to the application, the ramp would be an important addition to the town’s small collection of boat launches. Unlike the other boat launches, the Mitchell Field boat launch would have all-tide access as well as ample parking — a lacking commodity for Harpswell boaters.

The Mitchell Field boat launch would be the latest project by the town to increase access to the ocean for commercial and recreational boaters.

Using a separate Small Harbor Improvement grant, the town made improvements to the Pott’s Point boat launch and is working to improve parking at the site. To that end, the town is likely to ask voters to allocate an additional $25,000 toward that parking project. Construction could begin as early as February if possible, said Deputy Town Administrator Terri Sawyer.

In addition to the Pott’s Point project, voters also approved an additional $40,000 to repair the Mackerel Cove boat launch in June. That project is expected to cost about $100,000 in total, including previously allocated funding and grants.

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