Borough budget to address storm damage to Wayland’s Wharf

— Borough voters Stonington on Saturday approved the proposed $1,477,151 budget for 2024-25 which includes a tax rate decrease from 2.2 to 2.05 mills and a $100,000 increase in infrastructure funding to address climate change problems.

“Starting with a major December storm, we have been challenged by severe weather and its impact on our Borough. Sand, seaweed, debris, wave action erosion, storm water drainage issues and resulting flooding have impacted our residents, our expenses, and our staff,” Warden Michael Schefers said at the borough’s annual meeting.

The additional money will increase the infrastructure reserve fund to $200,000 and includes $70,000 for road maintenance, $80,000 for sidewalks and $50,000 to address parking lot erosion, collapsing sidewalks and the structural integrity of Wayland’s Wharf.

Resident Lisa Tepper Bates encouraged borough officials to undertake an engineering study of the wharf at a Board of Warden and Burgesses meeting earlier this month.

In a letter to the board, she noted the accelerated pace of erosion and collapsing sidewalks at the small park, adding that during recent storms the wharf was under water.

Last week, Schefers explained that during storms that coincide with low tide, the wharf walls block the waves, but during high tide storms, water flows over the walls, eroding the parking lot and potentially undermining the sidewalks.

Bates noted last week that for most of her more than 20 years of living near the wharf, she only saw water overtop the pier during two hurricanes, but recently, it has happening much more frequently, causing rapid deterioration of the property.

Last Thursday, sidewalks adjacent to the gazebo at the small park were noticeably uneven, with portions sunken by several inches and large hollow spaces visible beneath the concrete.

Schefers said the issue at Wayland’s Wharf is just one of a number of infrastructure issues the Borough is wrestling with related to rising sea levels and increasingly strong storms.

Examples he gave included the public right-of-way near

Stonington Commons as well as the ends of Ash Street, Diving Street and Omega Street, which see similar problems of erosion and sand and debris washing over walls. He also said the parking lot at Stonington Point, which is normally regraded twice a year, has required regrading several additional times over the past year.

Schefers said the infrastructure reserve fund increase is just one of the steps the Borough is taking to address the issues.

On Monday, Schefers confirmed an engineer visited Wayland’s Wharf Friday afternoon to examine the exterior walls and voids beneath the concrete to determine what is causing the collapse. He said he hopes to have a report from the engineer before the May 20 Warden and Burgesses meeting.

Schefers said a state Emergency Management and Homeland Security representative is scheduled to visit the borough in June, and with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, will assist the borough with coastal resilience and mitigation strategies along with available federal and state funding.