The first phase of Saco’s beach management plan kicked off last week with a public listening session. 

On Jan. 8, Saco residents gathered to hear updates on the plan, including a proposal to construct a spur jetty designed to help slow erosion at Camp Ellis Beach. 

Tighe & Bond, a Portland engineering consultant, is working with the city on its management plan. Rob Adams, a landscape architect for the firm said it is necessary to “nourish” the beach with additional sand.

“There is clearly a lot of erosion happening along the Saco coastline,” Adams said. “This project is really about how to mitigate erosion in the future.” 

The first phase of the project was funded through a $46,000 budget amendment approved by the City Council. The city has submitted a grant application with the state’s Community Resilience Partnership program to potentially help fund the second phase. 

In the second phase, the city will continue to work with Tighe & Bond to come up with solutions to the erosion problems, and in the third phase, they will report back to the community. 

“Essentially, this will be a roadmap on how to preserve the shoreline that Saco can implement moving forward,” Adams said. 

Tom Hopkins, who lives close to Camp Ellis Beach, said at the listening session that he was concerned about pieces of tar ending up in the ocean after major storms. 

He also said he’s not satisfied with current erosion measures.

Joe Persechino, an architect with Tighe & Bond, said some of the current measures are not functioning properly.

“I think we have to find a balance between engineered solutions, natural solutions and aesthetics of the beach so we end up with what we want,” he said.

Many residents said they wanted to see an improvement in the appearance of the beach, while others had concerns about the impact on wildlife. 

“The beach has been ravaged brutally over the last few years,” said one resident, who did not share their name. “We want part of the plan to be maintaining the beach as well as building it back.” 

Over the next few months, Saco will continue to look at solutions to the erosion along its coastline, working with York County, the University of New England and the Maine Geological Survey. 

No additional listening sessions are planned at this time.