A poster of a painting of the fishing shacks at Willard Beach by Julie Bernier. Half of the purchase price for this and three other posters will go toward rebuilding or rehabilitating Willard Beach and the shacks. courtesy photo/Julier Bernier
SOUTH PORTLAND — Following a series of January storms, the city of South Portland convened a coastal resiliency workshop on Feb. 13 that brought together a diverse array of stakeholders to address the widespread damage inflicted upon its coastline and to chart a course for future resilience.
City Manager Scott Morrelli set the tone for the workshop, emphasizing the urgent need for collective action. “The storms have had both immediate and long-term impacts on our coastal community,” Morrelli said. “It’s imperative that we join forces to assess the damage and develop comprehensive strategies for the road ahead.”
One question town officials received was, ‘What is the impact of sea level rise on property values?’
The summary is that, effectively, there is an immediate and long-term impact for climate change. “Right now the market is still very hot for coastal waterfront properties, even those in high risk flood zone areas” Morelli said.
Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Phil Selberg said. “The next day after the storm, we were out doing damage assessment and recovery, at Bug Light Park and Spring Point Shoreway.”
Selberg highlighted the extensive efforts undertaken to evaluate and address the destruction by the weather.
Selberg said Bug Light Park and the Shoreway were pretty significantly damaged.
“The tide had come up over the breakwater that leads out to Bug Light,” Selberg said. “Willard Beach of course took a pretty direct hit. Lots and lots and lots of debris down there. The water came up as far as I’ve ever seen it. I think probably the most comparable tide was 1978. I was 3 (years old) then so nothing I remember but, certainly you know, dramatic for all of us to see that neighborhood look like that. The end of Myrtle Avenue, this is pretty much where the fish shacks ended up washing up.”
The top of the shacks are visible after they were swept into Simonton Cove in January. Courtesy photo/Russ Lunt
Parks Director Carl Coughlin said the majority of the damage was from the Liberty Ship memorial down to the lighthouse.
“The water surged to unprecedented levels, inundating areas like Bug Light Park and Willard Beach,” Coughlin said. “Thankfully the lighthouse itself didn’t sustain any damage at all. I think the Rotary Club actually followed up with us and said that there was not a drop of water in there. So, all things considered, Bug Light Park will be able to recover. Willard Beach sustained more damage, as we know the fishing shacks did get washed away.”
Coughlin said a significant part of the dune system got completely washed away as well as the fence protecting the dunes.
In a press release, Morelli addressed the fishing shacks. “Regarding the former fishing shacks on Fisherman’s Pont that were destroyed on Jan. 13, initial research and information from state agencies indicates that the city cannot recreate these structures in the same location or re-build as they were,” he wrote.
The fishing shacks have not been used for fishing in many years and stood in a Federal Flood Zone and Shoreland Zone. “Any rebuild would need to meet local, state, and federal standards, which would include meeting elevation, setback flood resistance and height limitation requirements,” Morelli said.
There was debate regarding whether or not the city would be suspended from the National Flood Insurance Program if the shacks were rebuilt as they were.
“Rebuilding the shacks as historical replicas is essential to preserving our city’s heritage,” said resident Ed Rowe.
“Those buildings stood in that spot for generations and were very special to our community,” Morelli said. “While it’s clear that we can’t replace them exactly as they were, the city is eager to learn more and further explore our options.”
Carol Epstein voiced apprehensions during her public comment. She voiced concern about the erosion of the dune system and called for proactive measures to protect the coastline. “Safeguarding our coastline against erosion requires decisive action and strategic planning,” Epstein said. “We also have a front row seat to have watched over the last four years the gradual deterioration of the dune system. This is not only because of the storms we have had, but we are in the area where the public sewer was replaced. That sewer replacement caused major damage to the dunes and like in the storms, we got to see the city’s lack of aggressive protection and repair of the dune system. This set us up for this last storm. We were wide open without an effective dune system to protect our properties.”
Morrelli reiterated the city’s commitment to exploring diverse funding sources for coastal resilience projects. “We are actively exploring non-property tax revenue streams to fund critical initiatives aimed at fortifying our coastline,” he said.
Councilor Elyse Tipton underscored the importance of collaboration and informed decision-making in charting the city’s course forward. “We must prioritize collaboration and transparency as we navigate the complex challenges posed by climate change and coastal erosion,” Tipton said, highlighting the need for a unified approach to address the multifaceted issues facing the community.
A final question from the public was, “Where does the city plan on cutting to have the money to renovate and rebuild damaged areas of our waterfront that won’t burden taxpayers anymore?”
“If there is a federal presidential declaration of disaster … we would be eligible for some or entire reimbursement from FEMA. Other solutions might require seeking funding sources that are available from federal or state resources which I think we heard tonight, there could be some.”
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