The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Town works to save little red shack
Heavy rains, high waters threatened to wash it away
GUILFORD — Town officials are working to come up with a plan to secure the Grass Island shack now precariously tilting into the water after strong winds and high tides knocked it off its pilings.
And while the shack is sitting unstably in the sand, town officials say they are hamstrung from taking immediate action to secure it.
The storm April 11 brought high tides that nearly toppled the iconic red shack as water rushed through the structure. “Friday the seas were rough, there was no time to do anything between the low tide and high tide coming in in the afternoon,” said Town Engineer Janice Plaziak.
“We figured if we got through the weekend with the extreme high tides we had, the week is getting better with the tides being lower,” she said Monday.
Plaziak investigated the structure April 12 and again, with structural engineers from Branford-based Michael Horton Associates, Inc. April 15.
The problem with going ahead with the original plan to move the shack to higher ground is that it’s now “in a perilous location,” she said. “It fell not on a flat spot, but on a shore slope,” Plaziak said. “The erosion is even more significant than the last time I was out there (last November), so it’s a little concerning how much erosion we’re still continuing to see based on the storms we’ve had recently.”
There is also structural damage to contend with. “It looks like it fell forward, so the back beam ripped off and the front ledger board for the porch roof on the front side, the water side, looks like it’s pulled away from the building,” said Plaziak.
Plaziak said because the front of the building is sitting on the sand it is difficult to see underneath, but that it appears to have some damage to “the beam underneath on the front side.” Plaziak’s advice to the public right now is “to just stay off of it. We’re working on it,” she said.
There are several options being considered. The first option, said Plaziak, “is to move it to higher ground until we can build a new foundation and then move it again onto the new foundation.”
This needs to be “further assessed,” she said, to determine “If that can be done without it experiencing further damage or collapsing.”
Another option, according to First Selectman Matt Hoey, is “do we just salvage the original building and then build the new decks around it?”
Local contractors have reached out to Plaziak to offer their expertise. “It was nice to have somebody reach out and want to help,” she said.
Many residents, past and present, took to social media calling for immediate action to save the structure.
“It’s a town treasure,” read one message. “Give them a chance they will get the job done.” Hoey responded to the Facebook comments.
“I am happy that folks want to see it remain in place because that’s consistent with what we had planned all along,” he said. Efforts to save the little red shack, as it’s commonly known, have been ongoing since November.
The aging structure has sat on pilings in the same spot on the East River, for 73 years. The town has had all the necessary approvals to move the shack to higher, safer ground since the end of March.
In the town’s initial plan, the first order of business was to do testing to determine what soils they are dealing with, to determine the depth needed for the new pilings.
The plan is to “slide it back onto new pilings, just behind where it sits now,” which will push it back some 30 to 45 feet to higher ground, according to Plaziak. That proposal is still on the table.
The Board of Selectman approved the preliminary work at a cost of $15,000, to be paid for with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection had issued the town a permit for the project, which the Planning and Zoning Commission also signed off on.
In addition to boring tests, the money will pay for the “structural design for the pilings and any other structure changes we want to make to the building to put it on those pilings,” said Plaziak.
This work is scheduled for the week of April 22.
Originally, the cost of the work, after the initial tests, was to also come from ARPA funds. But this may have to be reconsidered depending on the cost, which is unknown at this time. “We may do some fundraising,” said Hoey. “There’s an awful lot of people in the community who might be willing to assist in the renovation of the shack.”
Other sources may include town budget surplus or an unassigned fund balance. “We’ve got a couple of options,” said Hoey. An original summer cottage constructed on the west shore of the island in 1914 by local druggist J. Harrison Monroe, it was destroyed by fire around 1936. The current structure was built around 1940 and moved to its current location in 1950.
The town purchased the building, plus 7 acres of Grass Island land, for $15,000 in September 1965 from Bradford Monroe.
The landmark may be the most recognized spot in town and is a popular subject for photographers and painters. It has been the goto spot over the years for picnicking, partying and prom proposals.
Under the auspices of the Parks and Recreation Department, the town has made small repairs over the years, including replacing boards and roof shingles. Volunteer work crews have made repairs as well over the years.
As for the work that needs to be done immediately, Hoey said, “I can’t promise anybody anything, but the intention is for us to continue along the path we were going, which was to relocate it out of harm’s way.” “Whether it’s that building or a portion of that building renovated, we’re still committed to having that structure over there,” he said.