Select Board weighs geotube expansion and coir-log alternative for Baxter Road erosion projects

Select Board members spent extensive time on Jan. 8 reviewing a coastal-protection package for Baxter Road that includes a town co-sponsored geotube expansion covering 41 to 119 Baxter Road and a separate coir-log proposal that would cover a smaller central reach (59 to 83 Baxter Road).

The town is a partner with a nonprofit (SBPF) on a multi-reach geotube expansion intended to protect the North End roadway and properties; that joint Notice of Intent (NOI) before the Conservation Commission is proceeding toward a likely order of conditions, town staff said. Separately, SBPF has pursued an application to reinstall coir logs that historically occupied part of the middle reach.

Why it matters: Town staff, counsel and the board cautioned that the two filings overlap. If town meeting approves a license or lease that is not aligned with the Conservation Commission's order of conditions, or if voters select the smaller coir-log approach, the town could fail to secure protection for the road in the north reach, staff said.

George Pucci, KP Law, advised the board that any license or lease for town-owned coastal land for erosion-control purposes will require town meeting approval. He recommended keeping a warrant article on the annual town meeting so that, if the Conservation Commission issues an order of conditions, the town will be able to proceed with a license or lease without delay.

Vince Murphy, Natural Resources Department, said hearings were nearing completion and the commission was likely to hear the matter again Jan. 15. He described the geotube expansion as a phased project and noted that the center reach where coir logs were historically installed had been heavily damaged by storms and now presents competing options.

Several Select Board members urged care in framing the article for town meeting so voters would understand which project they were authorizing. Select Board member Malcolm said he favored keeping an option for coir logs as an interim measure because they might win voter approval more readily than the full geotube expansion; others warned that a coir-only vote would leave the town without protection for the north end of Baxter Road.

Diane Atherton (public) noted the town's 2022 memorandum of understanding with SBPF required bringing existing geotubes into compliance and argued the MOU's terms had not been fulfilled. Stephen (SBPF representative) said the two filings are not mutually exclusive; the coir replacement would be temporary in some reaches and the geotube expansion remains the longer-term plan.

Legal and contract safeguards were discussed. Board and counsel advised the town to insist on escrow or other financial assurances tied to sand-replacement obligations and clear failure/removal triggers in any license. "You have to have an escrow account in place to cover the removal of whatever structure SPPF put on the ground with the permits," one staff member said.

Outcome and next steps: The board did not finalize language but directed staff and counsel to draft either (a) two separate warrant articles (one narrowly for the coir-log reach and one for the full geotube expansion), or (b) a single article made explicitly "subject to an order of conditions" from the Conservation Commission. Several board members favored the two-article approach so voters could approve an interim coir-log fix for the middle reach while separately considering the larger geotube plan.

Votes and formal actions: none taken on the article language; board asked staff to return with draft warrant language and, if possible, an updated Memorandum of Understanding and proposed license for review before town meeting.