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$5.7 million coming to city in harbor grants
By Joe Cohen
Standard-Times staff writer
 The
port of New Bedford was awarded $5.5 million in its
largest harbor dredging grant ever by the state today,
along with funds to put into service the first fireboat
in modern port history.
State and city officials pointed to the funds for
dredging, the fireboat restoration and raising a sunken
vessel as proof of their commitment to continual
upgrading and improvement of New Bedford Harbor for the
commercial fishing fleet, other commercial uses and
recreational boaters.
A total of $5.715 million will be available, it was
announced following a meeting of the Massachusetts
Governor’s Seaport Advisory Council in Gloucester. The
funds include:
— $5.5 million for New Bedford and Fairhaven dredging.
— $100,000 for Fairhaven Union Wharf engineering design
for rehabilitation.
— $75,000 for restoration of the New Bedford fireboat.
— $40,000 to raise a sunken vessel off the Gifford
Street boat ramp that is impeding navigation.
The funds for New Bedford Harbor comprised the vast
majority of port development project dollars voted on at
the Seaport Advisory Council’s spring meeting, which
dealt with a total of $8.25 million in projects planned
for the next few years.
Among other projects was $1.1 million for floats and
docks at the Fall River State Pier.
Woods Hole and Provincetown also received a total of
$70,000 to be used for raising sunken vessels.
State Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford, chairman
of the Senate Bonding Committee, said the state funds
help “maintain the lifeblood of our local economy” and
will help expand the commercial capacity of the
waterfront. He said the port of New Bedford is the
economic engine for the city and “gateway to our city’s
economy.”
Sen. Montigny said funding for the bond bill is an
outgrowth of public officials working with commercial
interests to see that the best interests of the harbor
are properly considered. “We have had a string of good
news stories — it is the result of hard work. We are
leveraging private investment.”
The goal is to maximize mixed commercial use of the
harbor, including making it a tourist destination, but
“not at the expense of the commercial waterfront,” he
said.
New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang praised the
administration of Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Tim
Murray and the legislative delegation for making the
funds available.
The $5.5 million will be used for dredging at different
places in the harbor, including entrance and exit ways.
It is the third phase of a multi-stage dredging project;
the second dealt with the primary navigational channels.
Mayor Lang said the funds are critical “to sustaining
New Bedford’s ranking as the number one fishing port”
based on value of catch landed.
At the meeting in Gloucester, Mayor Lang told the
council that New Bedford has tremendous capacity to grow
its commercial activity, saying, “We are at 10 percent
capacity of import/export freight.” He also cited the
operations of the Steamship Authority, Cuttyhunk and the
New England Fast Ferry Co., which operate ferries to the
islands and have spurred economic activity by drawing
more than 130,000 passengers a year.
Mayor Lang also highlighted the funds for the fireboat.
“The addition of a first-class fireboat to the port
significantly enhances our ability to prevent and
mitigate fire threats and better equips our first
responders in life-threatening situations.”
He cited the theoretical example of firefighters trying
to deal with a blaze on a boat at the outer side of four
or five boats rafted together.
The fireboat was given to New Bedford by Boston’s Fire
Department as surplus property. It needs general
maintenance before it can be used. It will be manned by
the New Bedford Fire Department.
Before the Seaport Council meeting, officials including
Mayor Lang and Port of New Bedford Director Kristin
Decas were guests of Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk, who
told Mayor Lang she could use assistance in following
the Whaling City’s progress on port activities.
Mayor Lang responded that he would be glad to assist,
saying the two fishing ports are somewhat related in
that, “We are the big cities on the water in the best
locations in the state. There are no trade secrets —
we’ll share.”
Information from Richard Gaines of The Gloucester Times
was used in this report.
Contact Joe Cohen at jcohen@s-t.com
April 01, 2008
Source URL:
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/NEWS/80401029/-1/TOWN1001 |
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