Committee advances affiliated-agency funding into budget process; living-shoreline proposal and sea-turtle funding share discussed

The Administrative Committee voted to forward the affiliated-agency funding requests in the packet to the full Town Council after a presentation and discussion about an outside foundation’s living-shoreline proposal and related affiliated funding questions.

Angie Stone, representing the outside foundation, summarized a draft term sheet focused on bed restoration work, saying the full program cost was roughly $100,000 and that the bed-restoration portion could be funded at about $46,000 as a reimbursement using the town’s beach-preservation fee. Stone described volunteer coordination and said cost-per-linear-foot estimates for living-shoreline restoration vary widely, citing a range "from $60 to $620 per linear foot" and noting man-made riprap options could cost up to $2,000 per linear foot.

Committee members asked for a memorandum of understanding to limit town funding to a clearly defined scope (the living-shoreline bed-restoration activities) rather than supporting the outside foundation’s entire portfolio of programs. Several members emphasized program metrics and reporting (cost per linear foot, volunteer hours and outcomes) if the town’s beach-preservation fee is used.

Councilman Alfred raised funding and oversight questions about the Sea Turtle Patrol, asserting the town provides a very large share of that nonprofit’s budget (he stated it was “in excess of 42% of their total budget” referencing a $3.74 million figure) and observed that the organization’s financial statements showed substantial liquid assets. He asked staff to evaluate how the Sea Turtle Patrol fits the committee’s eight affiliated-agency criteria for future funding and to provide clarity for next year’s decisions. The committee did not change funding for the current year but asked staff for follow-up.

A committee member formally moved to forward the affiliated-agency requests into the budget process; the motion passed after the chair called the question and the committee voted "all in favor." The motion referenced a total dollar amount in the package but the specific total was not stated in the transcript provided to this report and is recorded here as not specified.

Next steps: staff will prepare a memorandum of understanding that defines the town-supported scope for the living-shoreline work, provide requested program metrics and address the committee’s questions about the Sea Turtle Patrol’s budget composition and eligibility under the affiliated-agency criteria before the full council reviews funding during budget deliberations.