Narragansett reports stronger 2024 beach season, $5.1 million fund and plans for dune restoration

Michelle Kershaw, director of parks and recreation, told the Narragansett Town Council during a work session on Oct. 21 that the town’s beach operation finished 2024 on a stronger financial footing and that officials are planning capital and coastal-resilience work in coming budgets.

"The Beach Enterprise Fund is a self-sustaining entity" that pays for annual operating, capital and storm-related costs, Kershaw said, adding the fund’s 2023 audited unrestricted balance is about $5,100,000. She said the 2023 audit showed operating revenue of $2,668,000 and that the town also benefited from some investment income.

Why it matters: The town uses the Beach Enterprise Fund — not general-tax revenue — for beach maintenance and capital projects. Kershaw and Recreation Advisory Board members urged the council to plan sooner rather than wait for external sand from dredging, saying dune nourishment and engineered sand placement will be required to protect parking lots, pavilions and public amenities as erosion continues.

Kershaw detailed user and enforcement data for the season. She said 40% of beach users are nonresidents, a figure derived from daily admissions and parking counts, and that handheld visitor counts rose to 198,101 in 2024 (from 187,759 in 2023). On enforcement, she reported one juvenile arrest and 10 juveniles cited for fraudulent transferable beach passes.

On policy and operations, Kershaw reviewed changes the council approved in 2023, including a 20% increase in facility lease costs (cabana, changing room, locker), discontinuation of the commercial transferable beach pass and limits on nonresident seasonal locker rentals beginning in 2025. She said opening the South Parking Lot to nonresident parking after the West Lot fills contributed to higher parking and admission revenues.

Carrying-capacity and coastal work: Kershaw and Dennis Lynch of the Recreation Advisory Board summarized recommendations from the town’s carrying-capacity study and a Woods Hole report. Those recommendations include consistent monitoring of shoreline transects, dune nourishment and vegetation plantings, removal of invasives, and increased sand replacement to widen the beach and offset sea-level rise. "We’ve lost on average 21 feet of beach," Lynch said, citing Taylor Engineering’s 10-year analysis, and urged the council to include design and planning money in the 2025 budget.

Kershaw said staff are working with FEMA to document storm impacts from January 2024 and may use drone surveys and Taylor Engineering transects to track shoreline changes and support FEMA coordination. She described a pending roof project at the Knoche/North Beach Clubhouse expected to start in mid–late November and said renovations to South Pavilion lockers and other facility changes remain under discussion.

On an accounting question from the council about a roughly $99,000 line, Kershaw said an audit revealed a billing error: "there was an error in taxation where a certain piece of property that was being billed to under the Beach Enterprise Fund" and that the charge has been moved to the correct department. She said the adjustment did not change beach-generated revenue totals.

Council reaction: Councilors praised the enterprise-fund framework and the rec advisory board’s role. Several councilors and advisory members emphasized the need for an engineered, scientific approach to dune restoration rather than ad hoc sand placement. Kershaw reiterated that fee policy changes will be presented at a future council meeting and were not addressed for action during the work session.

The session ended with thanks to staff and volunteers and the chair adjourned the meeting.