SWAMPSCOTT — The Harbor & Waterfront Advisory Committee is holding a meeting this month to get feedback from the community and town officials on what changes should be made to the town’s pier.
The committee is holding a meeting on Oct. 28 about the upcoming plan to fix the pier off of Fisherman’s Beach. The meeting will provide the committee the chance to hear from community members, the Select Board, local fishermen, and the members of the Swampscott Yacht Club, in terms of what changes they want to be made to the pier.
“We’re worried we will lose it due to increased frequency in tropical storms and hurricanes,” said Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. “This is a real critical infrastructure need that we’re facing.”
In March, the town received a grant for $80,000 from the state’s Seaport Economic Council to make improvements to the pier. One major issue with the pier is its height, said Jackson Schultz, chairman of the Harbor & Waterfront Advisory Committee.
“Because the sea level rises, the water goes over the top of the pier,” Schultz said. “That issue needs to be addressed by raising it to a higher level. The process of doing that will make it more resilient.”
The pier was initially built in the 1960s and is currently the mooring place of approximately 200 vessels, including commercial fishing and personal boats. Schultz said that it’s also used by citizens who enjoy fishing off of the pier or walking the pier, and for children who jump off of it.
Schultz said there is also a plan to widen the pier so that emergency responders can drive down it. Currently, there is no way for emergency responders to get to someone in need of help in a timely fashion, he said.
“The way it is right now, it’s not serviceable to all the different communities that want to use the pier,” said Schultz.
The Harbor & Waterfront Advisory Committee’s plan is to begin a study in a few weeks to fully identify all of the problems. Fitzgerald said that the study will run from October to May.
Schultz said that he wants to be as transparent as possible about everything the committee is planning to do.
“The meeting is to keep everyone up to speed on what’s going on and let them voice their concerns and get their consideration,” Schultz said. “The committee (members) involved are very excited about doing this and about what benefit it’ll give to the (community) when it’s done.”
