By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The State Bond Commission on Friday awarded the city a $152,900 grant for improvements to the April Street boat launch, Mayor Dorinda Borer announced.
The grant, through the Connecticut Port Authority’s Small Harbor Improvement Projects Program, will fund the planning, design and permitting of renovations to West Haven’s public boat launch, including making it more accessible to boaters.
The existing boat launch on April Street is more than a mile from the federal channel, and users are limited to narrow periods of high tide to ensure sufficient water depth for launching, according to RACE Coastal Engineering of Stratford, which specializes in coastal, structural and geotechnical engineering.
In addition, the existing launch has a single one-sided dock that limits the number of boats docking at any given time, RACE said.
“As a shoreline community, we need the marine resources necessary for all of our water-based recreation,” Parks and Recreation Director Mark E. Paine Jr. said. “These funds give us the ability to properly vet our facility and design a safer, user-friendly launch that overcomes the issues we currently experience. It’s a huge quality-of-life issue for our local boaters.”
Borer said the state-funded plan and design will hopefully indicate how the city can upgrade the launch with additional, safer docks to make the area usable in most stages of the tide.
Assistant grant writer Vanessa Hruszko, who prepared the SHIPP grant for the city, said the improvements would support the state’s maritime policies by increasing the interest of boaters to use the launch.
“The increase in boaters will help the state’s goal of increasing the use of our waterfront for recreational purposes,” Hruszko said. “Many applications for various grants were submitted last year, and I’m grateful to start seeing them all come to fruition.”
West Haven Harbor Master Robert Pimer said the boat launch site also serves as an emergency staging area for water rescues and recoveries.
“The boat ramp serves as the public boat launch for the city,” said Pimer, who serves on the city’s Harbor Management Commission. “It also launches emergency vehicles for the police and fire departments and allows a safe haven to tow disabled boats.
“Thanks to this grant, the ramp will receive the attention it needs to bring it back to a safe and functioning boat launch.”
Borer said she used idle American Rescue Plan Act funds last year to upgrade the boat launch with new paving, lighting and fencing to make the area more user-friendly and cleaner.
“An upgrade to the boat launch will complement that effort tenfold,” the mayor said. “I want to thank Harbor Management Commission Chairman Eugene L. Pacapelli for his leadership and support for the revitalization of our boat launch.”