New Shoreham committee presses for construction funds for Corn Neck Road in state regional application

At a Coastal Resilience Committee meeting, Coastal Resilience Committee Chair Nora Clark said the state is seeking input to include New Shoreham in a regional application to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and related state funding, and asked the committee whether the town should request construction or design dollars for sites including Corn Neck Road.

The discussion centered on where New Shoreham is in the planning process for Corn Neck Road and related sites, which GZA is studying, and on how specific the committee’s input to the state application must be. Allison Lisonbee, the town planner, said the state asked whether the town wants design dollars or construction dollars and asked for guidance on which sites to include and what level of funding to request.

Why it matters: construction dollars would move projects toward implementation; design dollars keep the work in the planning phase. Committee members repeatedly said they prefer more construction funding to move beyond planning, while also noting public engagement and permitting remain necessary before any physical work.

Allison Lisonbee told the committee that Corn Neck Road is listed in the state’s regional submission and that the state “would like some specifics as to the site and what dollars we're looking for, construction or design.” Lisonbee said GZA will provide options for the sites and that the state application is being finalized shortly.

Committee members pressed for clarity on timing and on whether the town must pick a single option now. Multiple speakers noted confusion about the application deadline after staff referenced “the seventeenth” and other members later mentioned “August 17”; Lisonbee said the state requested input immediately and that she would work with the committee to keep the application language general enough to cover the town’s preferred direction.

Nora Clark warned that accepting outside funding still imposes town staff time and resources: “It's not free because there's always a cost,” she said, noting town employees would be involved in any on-the-ground work such as installing monitoring equipment or coordinating permits.

Committee members also noted the town already has some construction funds awarded for parts of the project and that the state application would be a chance to request additional construction dollars. Lisonbee said the sites being discussed for the next phase include the dune pass, Scotch Beach realignment and the beach parking lot, and said the state and NFWF partners are likely to prefer natural infrastructure solutions that strengthen a regional application.

Next steps: GZA will present three design options at a public meeting and at a working session with outreach staff; the committee will review those options and advise Allison Lisonbee on the content to include in the state's regional application. Lisonbee agreed to share the draft submission with the committee before it is final.