Port Authority, New London agree to fund study at Fort Trumbull piers

Deal is a step toward a better relationship between city, agency

New London — The Connecticut Port Authority has agreed to use some of the $ 3 million promised by the offshore wind industry to explore the feasibility of expanding the piers at Fort Trumbull to also accommodate two commercial fishermen being displaced from State Pier.

Danish offshore wind giant Ørsted has agreed to release up to $500,000 of the $3 million for design, planning and permitting for the project, Connecticut Port Authority Board Chairman David Kooris said Tuesday at a Port Authority meeting.

He said the initial work will allow for an assessment of the “opportunities that do or do not exist” at the piers located at the north end of Fort Trumbull. They are leased by the city’s development arm, Renaissance City Development Association, to New London Seafood.

The Port Authority is using $ 170,000 of the $ 500,000 for this work. The engineering firm doing the work, AECOM, is already contracted for work at State Pier. The firm has been exploring possible sites along the city’s waterfront for the fishermen in anticipation of a $157 million overhaul of State Pier by a partnership that includes the state, Ørsted and Eversource.

Mayor Michael Passero, who has previously rejected a suggestion by the port authority to use the $3 million for relocation of the fishermen, said Tuesday that this agreement allows for early access to the funds for the work and the city is saving some money by partnering with the port authority to use its existing contractor.

The incentive for the CPA is the possibility that the $3 million will cover both the needed upgrades at Fort Trumbull and accommodations for the commercial fishermen.

“It’s our hope that the result of these analyses demonstrate there is opportunity for targeted enhancement that could accommodate the fishermen at State Pier. But that’s not inevitable,” Kooris said.

Passero said he remains skeptical the $3 million would cover both the needed improvements and additional berths at Fort Trumbull but agreed a feasibility study was needed.

Both Kooris and Passero signaled that the agreement was a step towards a better relationship between the city and port authority.

“I’m pleased with the conversations we’ve been having with the mayor ... and I really think it’s a great example of the ways in which we can work well together,” Kooris said.

Passero has for months decried the Port Authority’s lack of transparency associated with the development of State Pier. He is also attempting to negotiate a host community agreement with Ørsted for a larger financial return for the city.

“This does seem to be the first time the CPA has shown any willingness to work with the city, albeit because it is also in their own self interest,” Passero said.

Passero said he is not opposed to developing the waterfront at Fort Trumbull to increase the commercial fishing industry in New London. Earlier this year he floated the idea of alterations to Custom House Pier on the city’s waterfront to accommodate the fishermen. New London Seafood owner

Gary Yerman has previously said he could accommodate the two fishermen but would first need significant infrastructure upgrades.

The commercial fishermen — Montville-based Donna May Fisheries and Waterford-based Out Of Our Shell Enterprises — are currently working off of Central Vermont Railroad Pier, better known locally as CV Pier, which is one of two piers at the Port of New London.

The $3 million for improvements at Fort Trumbull was first promised to the city by Deepwater Wind, which was later purchased by Ørsted. Ørsted is honoring Deepwater’s agreement.