Waterfront Upgrade Awarded Federal Grant
By Melissa Pionzio, The Hartford Courant, Conn.
Mar. 8–PORTLAND — – The federal government has awarded a $1.8 million grant to help restore and upgrade an aged Connecticut River marina owned by the Saint Clements Foundation.
The foundation, created for the purpose of preserving the historic buildings, gardens and courtyards on its 82-acre riverfront estate, is among 15 marinas and water-related agencies and organizations nationwide to receive funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Boating Infrastructure Grant.
Grant recipients are required to use the money to construct, renovate and maintain tie-up facilities with features for boats that cannot be trailered and are at least 26 feet long.
Saint Clements will receive $1.8 million, which will be used to expand and improve its marina that has been rented to smaller crafts, but the eventual upgrades and renovations will accommodate up to 35 large vessels which will be able to dock there for up to 10 days.
“It fits our clientele, because people who will be using our facility will be coming from New York or Long Island, bringing the whole wedding party on their boat,” said Peter Callan, president of Saint Clements, which is regularly rented for weddings, celebrations and corporate events as a means to pay for the ongoing preservation of its structures and grounds. “The smaller boats have more accessibility, they can go in and out on trailers all over the place. Large boats need an area to dock. If you have somebody coming up the coast, they could dock here and pay a fee based on the footage of their boat.”
Though offered through a federal agency, individual states are responsible for administering the grant money — which falls to the Department of Environmental Protection in Connecticut. Eleanor Mariani, director of the DEP’s boating division, said it’s the first second-tier grant offered by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service that’s been awarded in Connecticut.
Saint Clements competed against 35 proposals from 20 states and was the only organization in Connecticut to submit a tier two proposal. Wendy Flynn, head of the DEP’s grant department, said she is unsure why there weren’t more proposals from Connecticut.
“They are very competitive,” she said of the tier two grants. “We have had a few [from Connecticut] over the years, but they are so very competitive that we don’t receive many.”
The proposals are scored on several variables, such as the amount of matching funds the applicant is willing to provide, other agencies involved in the project, the degree of project innovation, cost efficiency, access to recreational, historical, cultural or scenic opportunities and impacts on the local economy. Saint Clements scored high in all areas, and will provide a 50 percent match to the grant.
“We took a different approach to the grant writing and we wrote it more as a marketing piece and really made it stand out with some nice graphics and pictures,” said Callan who hired a consulting firm to help with the technical aspects of the grant. “You are competing with marinas all over the country, some that are open 12 months out of the year.”
Funding for program comes from the Sport Fishing and Boating Trust Fund, formerly known as the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, which is supported by excise taxes on certain fishing and boating equipment and boat fuels.
“Since its inception in 1984, a certain percentage of the money that came in had to be spent on boating access and that was generally considered boats under 26 feet,” said Mariani. “A number of years ago, some of the organizations said they felt left out of it, even though they paid into the funds. So now, moneys are available for boats 26 feet and above — transient boats.”
Saint Clements has constructed a road on its grounds that links East Hampton and Portland to its waterfront, but has made no renovations to the marina. Callan said he has submitted permits for the proposed work to the DEP’s Office of Long Island Sound and the Army Corps of Engineers and is eagerly awaiting their responses.
“Once this goes through we will be able to have people come here by the water for events and use the facility,” said Callan, who also has plans to build a hotel on the grounds. “It’s an affluent clientele that will be coming here and they will be going out there, using restaurants, antique shops, and it will be a good economic boost for the community.”
Contact Melissa Pionzio at .
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