The Select Board voted to endorse the 100% design for an alternative access to the Baxter Road neighborhood, a project Arcadis estimates will cost about $24 million for the first construction phase.

The endorsement, made by motion and approved by roll call, clears the way for permitting and further negotiations on permanent and temporary easements needed for utilities and access. Arcadis project manager Bill Casey told the board the firm has completed archaeological and topographic surveys and refined route alignments after property-owner feedback. “We are at 100% design and pretty much ready to put this out on the street whenever the town is ready,” Casey said.

Town staff and board members emphasized that securing the necessary easements and completing permitting remain obstacles. Vince Murphy, project manager from the Natural Resources Department, said the town will seek most permits this spring and that the town has received preliminary indications from about 65% of permitting bodies; he estimated permissions could ultimately reach about 80–85%. Murphy outlined two types of easements that will be required: temporary construction easements and permanent utility or access easements that may attach to deeds.

Murphy and other staff described a likely funding path that relies on town capital to build the project, with post-construction betterments charged to benefiting properties. “The town would have to come up with the initial funding through an appropriation,” Murphy said. He and others noted the project may rely on a debt exclusion at Town Meeting and then betterments spread over roughly 20 years to recover private shares; town staff estimated the town’s retained share could be small but has not been finalized.

Board members and the public pressed staff on cost and fairness. The current construction estimate for phase 1 is about $24 million; staff said a broader phase 2 concept could bring the total toward $36 million. Select Board members warned the figure will prompt pushback and asked that staff not present final homeowner betterment figures until permitting and easement negotiations narrow project impacts. A member of the public asked why the town would pay to “save houses” when shorelines are changing; staff replied that state rules and existing service obligations make it difficult to decline to provide utilities or access in some cases.

Project schedule in Arcadis materials shows the design posted to the town website and a construction window that would begin after a 2026 Town Meeting appropriation; Arcadis said construction is expected to last about two years once funded. Casey said the team will focus on permitting and easement negotiation in the coming months so the project can be “shovel ready” when funding is approved.

The board’s vote was recorded by roll call with all members voting yes.

Why this matters: the Baxter Road alternative access is both a coastal resilience and infrastructure project. It adds water and sewer, restores access, and creates a legal framework for long-term maintenance; it also raises major policy questions about how small communities pay for infrastructure in high-risk coastal areas.