Stramski Pier Hits Another Snag

The seven-year will drag on into next summer because of a problem with permitting, Harbors and Waters Board members admitted at their meeting Monday night.

The project, which board members initially hoped would be completed this summer, stalled out over the spring when Stramski Way resident Jill Goodman, an abutting neighbor, aimed at having the pier extension re-angled to provide "better depth and better aesthetics."

Earlier this summer, Board Chairman Gary Gregory announced that a representative of the state's Department of Environmental Protection recommended that Goodman's appeal be dismissed.

However, after clearing that hurdle, board members learned that work on the pier would have to be temporarily suspended because they hadn't filed for a permit with the Army Corps of Engineers - a step they claim the state said wouldn't be necessary.

"The town signed a tolling agreement, where we formally admit that we did something wrong, in this case we built a pier without bothering to get an Army Corps permit," Gregory said Monday. "We don't expect to get fined because the reason we did it is because the state said we did not need an Army Corps permit and we just took their word for it."

Although board members said they don't expect to be fined for the permitting mix-up, Gregory admitted that it is an unusual situation to be in.

"No one knows what to expect here because no one we know has every gotten to the point where they built it first and then asked second, so we don't know if they're going to put the application aside for a while to punish us," Gregory said. "We do not expect there to be a problem."

Board members also discussed how much the construction delay would end up costing them and set out to finalize a plan for where they would like to store the floats that will ultimately be attached to the pier during the winter months.

Construction on the pier is expected to continue sometime next fall and board members hope to have it ready for local boaters by next summer.