Brunswick’s new opportunity for low-impact public recreation access on the western side of Mere Point deserves full consideration. Public comment opportunities include a Recreation Commission meeting, 7 p.m. July 20 at the Town Hall Council Chambers. Our recent history can help guide this contentious issue.

Eleven years ago, with the Mere Point Boat Launch construction underway, Brunswick secured a decades-long goal: providing all-tides boater access to the public waters of Casco Bay. Today’s embrace of the boat launch, including by many former opponents, and its low-key existence, was impossible to imagine at its inception.

As the District 2 Town Councilor, I initially leaned against the launch. Maine’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department planned a massive 110-space parking lot on 7.8 acres. Virtually every phone call and council meeting yielded virulent opposition. Dire predictions were made about the consequences of public access. Dangerous winds. Inexperienced boaters. Terrible traffic. Reduced property values. Environmental harm. Child molesters. Teenage partying. Theft. Vandalism.

I knew some of the opponents. I disregarded none of their concerns. But my vote would not determine the council’s support for the state-owned, state and federally funded, and mainly state permitted project. I started hearing from numerous, quieter, supporters. They shared Brunswick’s history of informal access evaporating as farms, camps and homes were sold to new residents, and past efforts to secure access on Mere Point thwarted.

Just before the vote, a local politician called with advice: oppose the launch. It’s going to happen anyway, so why inflict political damage on yourself ?

I decided supporting the launch was the right thing to do. There would never be public access without nearby residents. As a proponent, I could give the opponents something they wouldn’t get without my leadership — a say over every element of the launch through a Citizen’s Advisory Committee. The CAC reduced parking spaces by 50 and increased non-boater amenities, adding picnic benches and a kayak launch area. But we could not, then or now, limit the site to Brunswick residents or add uses such as swimming. Federal and state funding used to create the site prohibit uses that interfere with the flow of boat traffic. The narrow window of shoreline precludes swimming.

Town staff, current Town Councilor Steve Walker among them, my husband since 2008, researched the heck out of the concerns and ideas raised by the CAC. Property values were not negatively affected near other public access sites. Police reports showed no increases in crime nor noise complaints. Most of the concerns did not hold up.

But when opponents said they wanted to help buy the site to enable Brunswick-only access and a different suite of uses, including swimming, I believed them. When asked for a show of actual pledges, none were forthcoming. Instead, opponents pledged funds to mount a costly legal battle.

Today, the town has temporary ownership of a 4.1 acre parcel on the western side of Mere Point with over 300 feet of coastline. As with most of our coastline, it’s rocky and slope-y. But the views would be outstanding, and water access for intrepid swimmers possible.

While the site might have high resale value, properties acquired for back taxes impose an extra burden to clear the title. A moldering tear-down plus title uncertainty will limit the town’s return. And, additional public coastal access is simply never going to be in Brunswick’s reach without a very substantial investment if this is turned down.

Predictably, abutters and some Mere Point residents are strongly opposed. The possibility of change is unwelcome. Conflicting claims include that there is enough public access, but also that a new site would be terribly overrun. Once again, anxiety and antipathy about the presence of the public seems the greatest theme. Yet, every coastal property owner in Brunswick is surrounded by what is public. Their property values depend upon public water they do not own. The far more intensively developed boat launch shows that public access on a 4.1-acre site with a small parking lot for low-intensity recreation would not be burdensome. While the opposition is loud, I believe the vast majority of Brunswick residents support additional public access to their coastal waters.

This past Sunday, glorious and hot, we ventured to Simpson’s Point at high tide, when, it was rumored, renegade swimmers ply the waters despite the complete absence of any amenity, including parking. There were three cars. One swimmer waded at the concrete ramp. Two middle-aged Brunswick natives sat on beach chairs, enjoying the view. A newcomer waved cheerily, tucked her chair onto the slender shoreline, and pulled out a book. When I asked if they’d heard about the potential access site and the opposition, one gentleman shrugged his shoulders, took in the scene around us, and chuckled. “We look like troublemakers, don’t we?”

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Jackie Sartoris is a former Brunswick Town Councilor. She is married to Steve Walker, the Town Councilor presently serving District 2.