State says the present site of Chebeague ferry is best

By Peter Pochna
Staff Writer
©Copyright 1998 Guy Gannett Communications

CUMBERLAND - State transportation officials delivered some news on Wednesday that no one wanted to hear. They said the best place for the wharf that serves the Chebeague Island ferry is the one that's being used now.

The state's decision means that Cumberland and Yarmouth must continue to struggle with a controversy that has plagued both towns for more than 20 years.

State officials admitted that the wharf at Doyle Point on Cousins Island has many drawbacks. But after spending three months studying 19 other sites, they concluded that no other site works better.

''I realize this is frustrating,'' Ron Roy, director of the state office of passenger transportation, told about 60 people gathered at Cumberland Town Hall. ''But there aren't a whole lot of options.''

A committee with members from Cumberland and Yarmouth grudgingly accepted the state's report and agreed to meet in May to try to resolve problems at Doyle Point.

A resolution must by found quickly, because the lease for the parking lot at Doyle Point expires at the end of 1999 and the owner of the lot has said she does not want to rent it out any longer.

''I think it can be done,'' said Cyrus Hagge, a member of the committee. ''But it's very discouraging.''

Roy said the state could help the towns make Doyle Point work by seizing the parking lot through the state's right of eminent domain.

The issue affects both towns, because Chebeague Island is in Cumberland and Cousins Island is in Yarmouth. Chebeaguers use the ferry to Cousins as their primary access to the mainland.

The two towns have debated the issue for decades. People from Yarmouth say traffic at the wharf disturbs a quiet little seaside neighborhood. People from Cumberland say the wharf is too small and doesn't offer enough parking for Chebeaguers.

The towns appeared to have the issue resolved in February of 1997, when the resolution committee proposed building a wharf at Spruce Point on Cousins Island. The committee had spent a year analyzing the problem.

But this January, the state rejected Spruce Point, saying that building a wharf there would cost too much - about $6.8 million - and would cause too much environmental damage.

After making that decision, the state analyzed the other sites that the committee had considered. It reported its findings Wednesday.

Committee members did not take the news well. They said the state should continue to try to make the Spruce Point site work, because no other site is acceptable.

''I think it's almost insulting to the resolution team to tell us we have to dig into other sites,,'' said Gary Varney, who lives on Chebeague Island.

''There are not other sites that work,'' said Stan Milton, a former Yarmouth town councilor.

Roy said the state will do more work on the Spruce Point site, but he said it is very unlikely that a wharf can be built there. He said that, aside from the cost, environmental problems would probably make it impossible for the state to get federal permits.

Roy said the only alternative to keeping the wharf at Doyle Point is to run the ferry into Portland. But that route would be too long for Chebeagures who need to get to the schools and stores they use in Cumberland.

Donna Damon, who lives on Chebeague Island, said she's disappointed that the issue is still far from a resolution.

''We've done study after study,'' Damon said. ''This has cost people too much money and too much agony to be where we are right now.''

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