Staff Writer 

Construction of a new $800,000 municipal pier at Pine Point could begin in the next few weeks and if state officials have their way, it will be the last thing ever built in the area.

“They’ll give you money, but they want a covenant on the land,” Town Manager Tom Hall said. “Obviously we don’t want to apply that to more [land] than we have to.”

Earlier this month, officials from the Department of Marine Resources, and the Land For Maine’s Future Program allocated more than $700,000 for three projects focused on preserving coastal access for commercial fisherman. The disbursement will help fishing cooperatives in Friendship and Vinalhaven buy additional land to construct new storage buildings and could also include up to $318,750 for construction of a new pier at Pine Point. That money will be matched by $400,000 in local funding Hall said was approved by the town council in 2005.

Hall said the new pier has been specifically designed to accommodate the fisherman who use Pine Point and are currently restricted by tidal access and the relatively small size of the pier. The new structure will be large enough for fisherman to back trucks down to the float, making loading bait and unloading catches easier, and mechanical hoists to assist with the process.

“It will drastically improve production,” Hall said.

Maine Coastal Program Senior Planner Jim Conners said a panel consisting of Department of Marine Resources officials, commercial fisherman and coastal property owners considered Pine Point worthy for the funding – available through a state-funded Working Waterfront Access Pilot Program – based on several factors.

“They look at where it is, what’s already there and how many fisherman use the facility. With 65 fisherman operating there – that’s a pretty good amount,” Connors said. 

“It was mostly a question of ‘What would it cost to build a pier that will do what you’re looking for?’”

The answer to Conners’ question comes with a price; Hall said to receive funding the town must agree to place a certain amount of coastal property under a covenant that prohibits any further development. Conners said the state will reimburse the town any value the land loses by being place in the covenant. 

 “They’re basically selling their development rights to the state,” Conners said. “Their initial request was $318,750 but there is still some appraising that needs to be done.”

Hall said the town parcel where the new pier will sit – appraised at nearly $489,000 – and approximately half of a two-acre, town owned lot that abuts the property – appraised at more than $918,000 – will be placed in the covenant. Conners said a $278,750 loss in value had already been identified and more funding would likely be available before construction of the new pier begins. 

He said the town must acquire permits from the Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers before construction can begin, which he hopes will be sooner rather than later.

“I’d like to put the project out to bid before the stimulus money hits the street,” he said. “One of the unintended consequences of the [American Recovery Reinvestment Act] is that it will spoil the favorable bidding climate we’ve had – basically because it will put people back to work.”

Hugh Coperthwaite, spokesman for Coastal Enterprises Inc. – one of the organizations that assists municipalities throughout the working waterfront grant application process -– said the Scarborough project could be one of the final few to be funded. 

The program has allocated $3.2 million during the past three years and is nearing the end of its $5 million lifespan, he said. 

“There is money still available, and we’re accepting another round of applications through May, but after that it’s hard to say,” he said. 

“[Gov. John Baldacci] is trying to recoup the program through a $3 million bond program, but we’ll see what happens.”

Coperthwaite said applications for the next round of working waterfront funding are currently being accepted. For more information on the program or the application process call 772-5356 or visit www.wwapp.org.