‘Our communities are in desperate need of this…. to save livelihood, businesses, to save our coastal communities.’
ALFRED, Maine - The plan to put York County’s dredge to work to help coastal communities recover from the damage wrought by a pair of January coastal storms is progressing.
York County Commissioners selected Michel’s Construction as the dredge operator July 10. The parties will now draft a contract.
Michel’s Construction, of Brownville, Wisconsin will be familiar to those in coastal areas – the company most recently performed dredging for a federal navigation project in Wells Harbor.
“We undertook a thorough review … and we believe it is in the county’s best interest to go with Michel’s Construction,” County Manager Greg Zinser told York County Commissioners. The response to the county’s request for proposals was one of two received.
Zinser said commissioners will be asked to choose from proposals from engineers for the projects, likely at an August meeting. He said engineers will help county officials determine how much sand to remove and disperse to help rebuild dunes and berms on coastal beaches, among other calculations.
The dredging season commences in November and runs through April.
Zinser told the four commissioners present at the July session – Vice Chair Robert Andrews, Richard Clark, Donna Ring, and Justin Chenette – that Wells and Saco appear to be positioned to dredge.
“It is going to be a successful program, and we are going to make this happen,” said Zinser. He called the project “a very large undertaking.”
He said the project is taking many hours and thanked York County Emergency Management Agency Director Art Cleaves for his work on the project.
Communities across York County sustained $20 million in damage to public infrastructure – roads, sidewalks, culverts, beaches, sand dunes, and more in the Jan. 10 and 13 storms. In all, there was an estimated $70 million in damage in eight of Maine’s coastal counties.
President Joe Biden on March 20 formally declared a disaster from the storms at the request of Gov. Janet Mills – which means communities are eligible for reimbursements through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help cover costs associated with repairs and, in some cases, mitigation.
York County Commissioners agreed in late 2022 to purchase an Ellicott dredge with $1.54 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help combat coastal erosion, nourish beaches with sand, and help keep waters navigable. It had originally intended to be turned over to a nonprofit, but that entity was not operational, and there were federal complications over the disposition of the dredge, so the county decided to retain it with the intent to put it to use locally. Then came the storms and the damage – and the desire of the county to help its coastal communities mitigate damage.
“I want to thank Art and Greg and the entire team; I know it’s a lot of effort,” said Chenette as he moved to approve Michel’s Construction as the dredge operator. “The county is providing hope to countless coastal communities because of your efforts; it does not go unnoticed. Our communities are in desperate need of this…. to save livelihood, businesses, to save our coastal communities.”
Commissioner Clark seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved.
York County Commissioners have chosen an operator for its dredge program, intended to help coastal communities repair damage after a pair of January storms that devastated sand dunes, berms, and beaches. Michel Construction will operate the Ellicott dredge, which can be seen here at its mooring at Wells Harbor.