Waterfront owners ought to share cost of dredging tab

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To the Editor:

The residents of Vineyard Haven and the town FinCom should be questioning why the cost of dredging is doubled by using additional costly equipment to pump a relatively small amount of sand to West Chop, when cheaper alternatives are available, but ignored.

Erosion is a problem everywhere on-Island, along the entire coast of Massachusetts and the entire East Coast. People choose to live along the coast. It is not the responsibility of the town to protect private property values by doubling the cost of a public dredging project. The private residents should be paying for their share of the project.

Public access easements to allow strolling are required, because this project uses public money on private beaches, and easements should be demanded by the selectmen. Those refusing to sign easements should not receive any sand.

These issues have been deflected by those who benefit from this project, while selectmen push to substantially raise mooring fees to pay for dredging. Finally, the selectmen voted more than a yearago to require that, due to the extra cost of a booster pump, property owners would be required to cover that extra cost beyond the cost of the least expensive alternative. This is not a new issue.

Lynne Fraker

Vineyard Haven