SWAMPSCOTT — Members of the Swampscott Fishermen’s Alliance went before the Select Board to argue against the $20 million pier-redevelopment project at Fisherman’s Beach.
Alliance member Neil Rossman told the board he believes the new pier’s design will be detrimental to the town’s commercial fishermen. He argued that instead, the existing structure, the Albert J. Williams Pier, should be rehabilitated.
“My purpose here tonight is to transmit to this board, and also to the public, the position of the commercial fishermen who make their living off that beach,” Rossman said. “It’s a $20 million project that is going to change the topography of the beach, it’s going to change the wave action, and it’s going to have a major effect on what was at one time one of the most beautiful beaches on the east coast.”
Rossman gave the board documents that explain the reasons behind the alliance’s position. The alliance named the new pier’s proposed height, which could be up to 9 feet taller than the existing one in response to rising coastal tides, as a major concern.
Earlier this year, the alliance hired Smith Engineering to conduct an assessment of the current pier and estimate what it would cost to return it to an adequate state. According to Alliance member Mike Gambale, the assessment found that the cost to maintain the current pier would be between $150,000 and $200,000.
Gambale also warned the board that he feels the construction of the new pier could put an end to the commercial-fishing industry in Swampscott.
“There’s seven commercial fishermen left in Swampscott,” Gambale said. “We’re already scrambling to get our names on lists in other ports.”
Prior to Rossman’s and Gambale’s comments, Harbor and Waterfront Advisory Committee Chair Jackson Schultz spoke to remind the community of his board’s upcoming meeting Thursday night, in which McAllister Marine Engineering will provide an update on the pier-redevelopment project’s progress.
Select Board members David Grishman and Doug Thompson expressed their concern to Chair MaryEllen Fletcher that the way in which the Fishermen’s Alliance was added to Tuesday night’s meeting agenda could potentially be a violation of the Commonwealth’s Open Meeting Law. They said the agenda item, titled simply “Fishermen’s Alliance,” was not specific enough.
“The list of topics must be sufficiently specific to reasonably inform the public of the issues to be discussed at the meeting, and that’s really what the question here is,” Grishman said. “I would just caution that this could be an open-meeting violation.”
Thompson interjected during Rossman’s comments to suggest that board “follow the rules” and Fletcher responded by saying she would “fluctuate with the rules” for this particular situation.
