Dear Editor:

The funding proposal for the Hendricks Head beach area construction project raises serious unanswered questions and unacceptable safety and financial risks.

We are very concerned about the safety of this project. The plan includes a large, exposed culvert stretching the width of the parking area between the beach and the marsh at the north side of the parking lot. This 60 ft. long tunnel will be 12 ft wide and 3 ft. above grade and poses a safety risk to children and beach users. There is no public-safety mitigation plan, grating design, or liability assessment. This open culvert will contain water at high tide, with no protection limiting entry - it seems like a potential disaster and a huge liability to the Town.

The financial uncertainty of this project is also at issue. The estimates for the project vary across grant documents with costs estimated to be between $1.6M–$1.8M. Despite the promise of likely public grants covering much of the initial expense, there is not adequate contingency for cost overruns.  With completion not until 2028, inflation and supply/contractor risk make overruns likely.  Southport taxpayers will likely bear this burden of additional costs.

In addition, there have been no studies completed on risks to abutting properties and no assurances or commitments on who will investigate, remediate, or compensate if wells, septic systems, private roads or structures are harmed. The Town runs the risk of having tax payer liability for damage done to private land.

Furthermore, Beach Road faces 330 days of heavy construction traffic, with no identified funding to repair the likely road damage caused by contractors and their equipment adding additional tax payer liability.

The bottom line is that this project raises unresolved safety, financial, environmental, and legal risks. Please consider a NO vote at Town Meeting this Wednesday, July 1 at 6 p.m. Thank you for your consideration of this issue.

Jen and Charlie Britton

Southport