Dear Editor:

On June 14, Wiscasset voters must address numeous articles in the town warrant, which include proposed acquisitions or projects that will deplete the Capital Reserve fund of nearly $2 million, far in excess of the $450,000 per annum that is considered financially viable. One such proposed project is Article 48, which would take up to $174,500 from Reserves for a “Harbor Expansion Project.” All seven members of the Budget Committee unanimously opposed funding this project, as did one Select Board member and I urge voters to follow their studied assessment and vote “no” to Article 48.

At a time when the town should be addressing serious infrastructure issues and maintenance backlogs, this project is both non-essential and premature. It would essentially put the town in the expensive business of building and operating a marina and maintaining such facilities. While I, like perhaps most citizens, would love to see restoration and exanded marine use of our historic waterfront and praise the Waterfront Committee for its progressive thinking in this regard, the proposal in its current form is flawed by a “build it and they will come” assumption and rather overly optimistic cost-benefit scenarios that are open to challenge (or, at the very least, require further study and testing).

The town of Wiscasset has been operating its existing waterfront properties, including the public piers, at a loss for many years. The fees collected from pier vendors (absurdly low, almost non-existent) don’t even cover the basic costs of waterfront management and services, such as trash removal and restroom maintenance (including water, sewer and cleaning). Our public boat launch is in terrible disrepair. If the town cannot even break even and provide proper maintenance of existing resources at present, it would be a fool’s errand to assume the costs and longstanding financial commitments to operating and maintaining a marina.  

James L. Kochan

Wiscasset