Politics & Government

Middletown Beach Commission Revamping Boat Ramp Plan

In the wake of public outcry, new plans to replace the aging Third Beach boat ramp are in the works.

In the wake of over plans to give Third Beach a new boat ramp with a fixed pier system and pump-out station, the Middletown Beach Commission is drafting a scaled-back version that calls for a “more low profile” design.

At a meeting held Tuesday at the Beach Commission reached a consensus to recommend a new plan that, when finalized next month, would result in a new recommendation to be presented to the Planning Board and Town Council. Tuesday's meeting also was attended by several Third Beach neighbors, including the Peabody Family that owns on Third Beach Road.

Commission Chairman Rian Wilkinson outlined the issues the new proposal is to address:

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  • No pump out station for boats' wastewater.
  • No fixed pier.
  • A series of linked floating docks to provide shore-to-boat access alongside the new ramp.
  • A fixed handicapped accessible walkway that extends from the parking lot to the floating dock system that meets the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) standards required by federal law.
  • An area in the floating dock configuration for temporary boat tie-offs as boaters unload and retrieve their trailers to remove their boats.
  • Improved general beach access and safer access between the boat ramp parking lot to the Third Beach bathing areas for families and beach visitors.

Other commission members suggested that a stipulation also be included that cautions the town against accepting a federal grant to fund the bulk of the project’s cost if it meant “changing the way we do business down on Third Beach.” The Beach Commission will meet again in October to take a final vote on the proposal before submitting it to the town for further review and considerations.

Beach Commission member John Bagwill noted that the Town of Middletown is no longer required to submit its request for federal funding to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for a 75-percent reimbursement by the original Sept. 30 deadline. He encouraged the advisory board to take more time and suggested that voting in October still rushes the process.

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“I think we should take the pedal off the medal, slow down,” Bagwill implored his fellow commission members. 

Others on the commission argued they already had weighed the viable options and now had a clear direction from the community.

“This has been a very trying process over the last six months,” Wilkinson said, as he reviewed the number of meetings and public hearings held in recent months to finalize the plans, and the limited scope of the Beach Commission as an advisory board. He noted that the Planning Board and Town Council each will have and gather further input before the plan is finalized, as well as the authority to order conceptual designs or engineering reports, or to discuss federal funding or boat ramp usage fees, if necessary, to fund the project.


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