Work slated to begin on Lobsterman’s Landing in Saugus

SAUGUS – After waiting idly for nearly three years the town has finally received the first installment on a $550,000 grant that will allow for repairs to begin at Vitale Park and Lobsterman’s Landing.The Massachusetts Seaport Advisory Council signed off on a $150,000 grant last week to pay for the first phase of major repairs and improvements to the Ballard Street waterfront area.”We got the grant about three years ago but they never funded it,” explained Town Manager Andrew Bisignani. “This is the first step in that funding.”In 2006 the town received a study grant from the advisory council that recommended a range of repairs to the waterfront. Improvements to the landing and docks were recommended along with installing better storage and refrigeration facilities as well as electrical and ventilation upgrades, replacement of piles and the addition of new floats and gangways.The area is of critical importance to the town’s small but strong fleet of lobstermen, and it is used by a number of recreational boaters as well.Last summer William Robinson, chairman of the Boats and Waterways Commission, said he thought the work would focus namely on installing cameras and cooling pots for bait for the lobstermen. Bisignani said he also would like to see floats refurbished and deteriorated pilings replaced as well.In fact this first phase is expected to allow for certain key upgrades such as modifying the gangway, drainage improvements along the south side of the building, replacement of cooler evaporator units and the cooler doors as well as the cooler lighting fixtures. There will also be upgrades to the attic ventilation for the condensing unit and, as Robinson hoped, installation of security cameras.Peter Bogdan, who manages the waterfront area, said the bulk of the entire grant will likely go towards rebuilding the dock facility using a concrete foundation.”That will preclude damage done annually from the buildup of ice,” he said.Bogdan said when the temperatures drop low enough the river will become iced in, sometimes as thick as four feet. When the tides change and the water runs out, it has nowhere to go but the center of the river that is largely taken up with the wooden dock.”The ice pushes against it and breaks it,” he said. “A lot of time and effort has gone into repairing that dock.”By switching to a more stable concrete dock, Bogdan said the ice would no longer be an issue.The total cost of the recommended improvements is estimated at $600,000 but the $150,000 will help get the ball rolling.”It’s been a long time but anything to do with the state takes a whole lot of time to approve,” Bogdan said. “Just how far away the money is I’m not sure.”Bisignani said the first phase is expected to include the completion of the engineering plans and construction documents. Repair work should go out to bid within a month or two and the improvements are expected to be completed by the fall.