On Monday, Oak Bluffs town administrator Robert Whritenour hosted a meeting of town officials, dredge contractors, and members of the Oak Bluffs beach committee, to discuss plans for the sand and gravel that will be dredged from Little Bridge channel, starting on June 1.
“It’s a different approach to this kind of meeting,” Mr. Whritenour said. “We’re lucky to have local residents that want to be so involved with the process. We were able to walk the site together, and make plans of what to do with the dredged material.”
Mr. Whritenour said a large portion of the estimated 6,300 cubic yards of sand and gravel will go on Pay Beach. Some of the finer, dry sand will cover the remnants of much-maligned dredge spoils placed on Inkwell Beach prior to last summer. The rockier dredge spoils will renourish the beaches closest to the Steamship Authority terminal. The remainder of the dredge material will be stored at the town highway barn.
Beach committee Chairman Richard Seelig and Selectman Gail Barmakian recently inspected the material under Little Bridge, and were encouraged by the sand quality.
“The top layer of sand is very nice,” Ms. Barmakian told The Times. “It’s dry, so there shouldn’t be any drying period.”
“From what we have seen and been told, there is no organic matter in the dredge material, so bleaching will not be an issue,” Mr. Seelig said in an email.
International Golf Co., along with Island contractors Watercourse Construction and the R.M. Packer Co., will dredge the channel and transport the material. Seventy-five percent of the $350,000 cost will be covered by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds designated for Hurricane Sandy relief. Mr. Whritenour said this is the first time the town has received FEMA funds designated for Hurricane Sandy repairs. The storm hit the East Coast in October 2012.
