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04/24/2020 12:00 AMBranford has approved bonding $350,000 to shore up the concrete wharf and loading ramp connected to the Stony Creek town dock, and address fixes to the wharf's summer house. If costs fall within the scope of bonding, work on the summer house could include flipping its location from one side of the wharf to the other, based on some early feedback regarding such a request, said Town Engineer John Hoefferele.
The discussion of the idea arose briefly during a Stony Creek Association (SCA) digital meeting when RTM Rep. Peter Hentschel gave an overview of the town's plans to work on the Stony Creek Wharf project, but no position or vote was taken, said SCA president Dan Bullard, noting, "...it was a matter we thought we might discuss formally in the future."
The picturesque Stony Creek town dock is a popular spot for residents, and a heavy summer tourism location accessing several Thimble Island tour boats and water taxis. Vehicles servicing the boats and island residents can drive onto the concrete wharf and ramp for loading/offloading. Vehicles enter the dock area via Indian Point Road, which ends in a paved parking area and leads to the concrete wharf and ramp.
Hoefferele said the aging concrete wharf and it's ramp section is deteriorating and will be replaced with little to no aesthetic changes.
"It's most likely going to be in-kind; taking concrete out, replacing it with concrete," he said. "It's more of a structural issue. We want to get those fixes done and make sure we can keep it open for servicing the islands."
As for the possible changes to the summer house, that's a little different. Initially, the scope of the summer house portion of the project was to replace the building's support pilings, which extend down into the water under the summer house off the north side of the wharf. The move would instead move the roofed, open-air wooden gazebo to the opposite side of the wharf. The move would also free up space to create more public docking area for transient boats on the north side of the wharf.
In his March 27 letter to the Board of Finance in support of the bonding issue, Hoefferele estimated the cost of the wharf repair and summer house piling replacement project would be approximately $340,000; including the cost to retain a structural engineer due to the complexity of the concrete wharf and ramp structure.
Ahead of the $350,000 bonding project being approved by unanimous vote of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) on April 22, Rep. Peter Hentschel (D-District 2) shared SCA's support of the bonding issue, saying the SCA was "very much in favor" of having repairs made to the heavily-used town dock.
Following a required 15-day waiting period following the RTM's approval of the bond issue, the project money is scheduled to become available; at which point documents for the project will be processed and a request for proposals issued, said Hoefferele.
This article has been updated since it was first published, in which a detail stating the Stony Creek Association had initiated a request to possibly reposition the summer house was incorrect.