Old Lyme Backs Point O’ Woods Bid for State Dredging Funds

OLD LYME, CT – The Old Lyme Board of Selectmen on Monday unanimously approved a resolution in support of a project to dredge a channel in the Point O’ Woods beach area after a large amount of sand accumulated over the winter. 

Abe Krisst, president of the Point O’ Woods Association Board of Governors, told selectmen the private association is applying for a grant from the Connecticut Small Harbor Improvement Projects Program (SHIPP) for up to $100,000, which requires the town to submit the application. 

“It has to flow through the municipality,” Krisst said of the requested $100,000 in funding. The association will cover the remaining cost of the estimated $215,000 project through its budget, according to Krisst. 

Point O’ Woods is a beach community chartered under state law to govern itself in certain areas, including infrastructure maintenance. But the quasi-municipality remains under the town’s authority in other matters. 

Krisst said structural problems involving a bulkhead and jetty contributed to the sand accumulation. The association is working to address those issues while pursuing the dredging project.

Krisst said the estimate includes costs for disposing of the dredged material, but he was optimistic the price could go down if another beach is interested in hauling away the sand. 

“We can’t sell it, but we can give it to other beaches that might have a sand deficit,” he said. 

He said the association has already spoken with beaches that might want to use the material, which he said was described as good quality sand by the Branford-based engineering firm Coastline. 

The proposed dredging would restore the flow of water through the Point O’ Woods channel from the Three Mile River and help prevent sand accumulation from impeding road traffic, according to the resolution approved by the selectmen.

Krisst said the association has made temporary repairs to the jetty to keep more sand from coming in. 

“The Band-Aids are on,” he said. 

He told selectmen the association is in the planning stages of a more permanent fix for the existing bulkhead and jetty, adding that the plans rely on repairs rather than new infrastructure.

“It’s very possible we’ll be back here next year asking for the same type of help with another application for the actual repairs,” he said. 

The SHIPP program is designed to improve small ports, harbors and marinas by providing up to 50% of project costs for dredging, construction or repair projects, accessibility improvements and related planning activities, according to the Connecticut Port Authority.  

Grant applications will be accepted until Sept. 30, with award announcements expected about a month later. 

The local resolution specified that the town will administer the funds and establish an agreement with Point O’ Woods spelling out how the money and project responsibilities will be handled.