Braced against an icy wind, Woolwich Code Enforcement Officer Bruce Engert, selectmen and a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) official shivered on the snowy banks of the town park late Thursday morning discussing improvements to the town's swimming area. 

Citing summertime conflicts between recreational boaters and swimmers, selectmen have said on more than one occasion they would like to improve the designated swimming area in the park.

DEP project manager Marybeth Richardson met with three members of the Woolwich Board of Selectmen and Engert November 8 for a pre-application meeting. Town officials want to remove brush and put in sand for a beach on approximately 200 feet of shorefront. 

“No one really likes walking up to their ankles in soft, muddy bottom,” Engert said. The designated swimming area is several feet away from the boat ramp and is somewhat shrouded by shoreline brush. Selectmen have said they would like to make the area more attractive to draw swimmers away from the boat ramp.

“There certainly has to be something done down there before there is an injury,” selectman Lloyd Coombs said. 

Coombs and other selectmen have been concerned about young swimmers getting nicked by a propeller blade and the difficulty boaters have in getting their boats safely down the ramp. 

Certain parameters in the Natural Resources Protection Act could limit the scope of their intended project, but the first step town officials must take is to apply for an Individual Natural Resources Protection Act permit.

Richardson, who works in the DEP's Division of Land Resources Regulation, listened to their plans and made recommendations for next steps in the application process. She said the department would be concerned about impacts on fish habitat and indicated the dumping of sand could pose a problem. However, this does not mean the project idea would be rejected outright. There alternative solutions town officials could explore. 

The group also discussed the possibility of installing cement slabs similar to those on the boat ramp or using local sand that has been cleaned.

Engert said they do not want to remove any trees, only brush, and the project would not affect water quality in the lake, as the current flows downstream toward the Nequasset Lake Dam. According to Richardson, sedimentation from beach sand could impact fish, but more research is needed. 

In the application, town officials have to demonstrate a need for the project, its purpose and any impacts to the water body. Richardson recommended they consult with a wetlands specialist, which will help them formulate the scope of their project. 

Pending approval from the DEP, Woolwich selectmen may put out a request for proposals to do the necessary work. This would also help determine the project's approximate cost, according to Coombs. “We have to make this as attractive or more attractive than what's down there now,” he said.

Once a cost is determined and the project is approved by all of the parties involved, selectmen would then see about getting approval from voters by including it on the annual town meeting warrant. There are many steps town officials must take between now and then. Engert said he was told the application process takes a minimum of 90 days.