Sandwich Selectmen Receive Update on Town Neck Beach

SANDWICH – Sandwich Selectmen are considering a Dune Protection Bylaw for Town Neck Beach that may go before voters at town meeting in May.

Director of Natural Resources Mark Galkowski updated town officials on the beach Thursday night after recent winter storms ate away protective sand that was placed onto the beach.

That sand was dredged from the Cape Cod Canal last month by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at a cost of $1.2 million for the town.

Galkowski said that the beach’s sand has not disappeared despite the winter storms.

“The sand is still there, it’s 120-125,000 yards that wasn’t there in November, so there’s sand in the system,” said Galkowski.

Town officials met with the Army Corps Thursday morning to discuss the beach grass plantings.

The town has asked the Army Corps to cancel out of their contract any beach grass planting because re-grading of the sand needs to be done first.

The town plans to re-shape the sand on the beach within the next six weeks.

Town Manager Bud Dunham told selectmen that the maximum amount of sand that the Army Corps was going to dredge from the canal and place onto the beach was 180,000 cubic yards, but the town received 50,000 cubic yards less than that number.

Galkowski added that the town held a pre-bid meeting on Thursday for those interested in building walkover stairs at the beach and there were eight potential bidders, with the final bid due in two weeks.

Fencing on the beach still has to go out to bid, but a two-rail, five foot high fence has been suggested to the town, which will go around the front of the beach and across the back of the beach to discourage the public from walking on the dunes.

“It’s a symbol, it’s drawing the line in the sand as we say,” said Galkowski. “That along with the proposed bylaw.”

The bylaw is unique to the Cape as no other town has one like it.

Galkowski said that they found a similar bylaw in North Carolina, adjusted it to Massachusetts law and have been contacted by towns who want a copy if it is adopted.

By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter