CAMDEN – Estimated damage from two winter coastal storms to town-owned property along Camden Harbor is nearing $896,000.

The storms that arrived out the southeast Dec. 23 and Jan 9-10 bashed and battered structures on the coast with storm surge driven by strong winds during extreme high tides.

On Jan. 22, the Federal Emergency Management Agency notified the town it will receive $395,768  in reimbursement for repairs to public property on Camden Harbor damaged during the Dec. 23 storm. Reimbursement for repairs include the wharf seawall and pier at the Public Landing, Steamboat Landing boat launch, Camden Yacht Club Pier Walkway and debris removal at the Public Landing and Yacht Club.

On Jan. 29, Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Chris Farley had his hands full preparing damage repair and debris cleanup estimates for town-owned property due to the Jan. 10 storm. Farley said the repair and debris removal estimates would total about $500,000. The repairs focus on damage within the area spanning from Sherman’s Cove, where debris from destroyed piers ended up, to Laite Beach.

Estimates of repair costs from the January storm to be reported to FEMA include $200,000 for the seawall at the Yacht Club, where the earth it protects was scoured out, undermining the wall, which is now bowing. The seawall at Harbor Park was also eroded and damaged, with repairs estimated to be $30,000.

Repair estimates at Laite Beach total $30,000. The beach saw 50-feet of shoreline erosion, according to Farley, and the stairs and public access to the beach need to rebuilt. 

The part of the town pier rebuilt in Spring 2023 held up well during this storm, Farley said, but the remainder of the pier – between the Harbor Master’s shack and Peter Ott’s Restaurant – needs an estimated $30,000 to rebuild. 

The public launch at Steamboat Landing was put back into a usable condition after the December storm, but was destroyed again, he said. The repair estimate is $60,000 and the town hopes to work with FEMA on a more sustainable plan for this area. 

Rebuilding a public access stairway to the shore at Marine Avenue, which overlooks Shermans Cove, is estimated to cost $10,000.

A major clean up of debris blown into Sherman’s cove includes parts of destroyed piers and will require a barge and heavy equipment. This cost will be included in the estimate for FEMA.

Town Manager Audra Caler informed the Select Board Jan. 23 that the town has been able to refocus the purpose of two state grants originally for engineering design to make the public landing more resilient to climate change. The state has agreed to allow the grants to cover an inner harbor resiliency plan, she said. The two grants totaling $60,000 were issued from the State’s Community Resilience Partnership program. 

Planning and Development Director Jeremy Martin described the area the grants will now cover as from the Bean Yard at Lyman Morse to the Yacht Club. He expects outcomes from the work to also be helpful to private property owners. The assessment and resiliency plan will have to take into consideration water flow, storm surge, wave action and other issues we have, and can be used to draw correlations to other parts of the harbor, he said.

Caler said FEMA is trying to do the best they can within their guidelines, but does not allow rebuilding to be more resilient. This will lead to rebuilding things that are going to be vulnerable to the same type damage Camden has seen in the last couple of storms, she said. She said the town is going to have to work with federal and state partners to try to figure out flexibility in rebuilding.

Reach Susan Mustapich at news@penbaypilot.com