WELLS, Maine — Wells Beach has been slowly washing away for the past 50 years. Now the town is fighting back with a new plan to return sand to the shore, but the price tag is more than $1 million.
The Wells Board of Selectmen is talking about buying sand from an Army Corps of Engineers project that is set to happen in a year in Portsmouth.
The board did vote to move forward with the next step of the project, but not before a few hours of heated debate.
Town selectmen have been looking into buying sand for years. Geologist Stephen Dickson encouraged the town to move forward. He said it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“This is a chance to add volume: 375 yards is a fairly significant volume. It doesn’t come along every day,” Dickson said.
The room was packed with residents, who came to voice their opinions on the project. Public comment covered concerns that varied from too much sand and too little sand. Many voiced concerns about the $1.2 million price tag of the project
The board did move forward Tuesday night. They will begin the process of trying to get state and federal permits to move forward with the project.
If they do they get the permits, voters will still have to sign off on the $1.2 million bill that will come up in the form of a bond question next June.