The town may put permanent concrete barriers next to the new Rogers Street boat ramp to prevent sand buildup on the recently renovated amenity.

At a meeting on August 10, the board asked Town Administrator Shawn MacInnes to confirm that jersey-style concrete barriers will be allowed to shelter the ramp on a permanent basis. 

The ramp — which provides access for boats into Clark’s Cove from Rogers Street — was reconstructed just a few months ago in a project that cost more than $150,000, with $40,000 coming from town coffers and $136,000 from an oil spill recovery grant. 

It replaced a rudimentary access point that was also covered in sand and rocks.

The barriers had previously been used during construction of the ramp — but when they were removed, officials said, the tides filled the new ramp with sand and rocks.

Harbormaster Steve Melo said at a July 21 Waterways Management Commission meeting that construction issues meant that the ramp “is now lower than intended.”

“Every time the tide comes in, it gets covered with sand,” Melo told the commission members.

Commission member Andy Herlihy, who runs the Community Boating Center right beside the ramp, said that the town has made the beach “a lot more dangerous in the ramp area than it was before.”

Select board member Stanley Mickelson said that according to Herlihy, the construction caused some damage to a drainage pipe at the site as well.

He suggested simply putting the concrete barriers back in place, a cost-effective solution that Waterways Management Commission Vice Chair Roger Race called “elegant.”

“I think if we make it safe so the sand is not there, the kids will be able to launch the boats for the training and the regattas that are there,” he said.

At the same meeting, the Select Board also thanked Melo and his assistant Robert Miller for their work keeping the harbor safe during Tropical Storm Isaias — including saving town attorney Anthony Savastano on his boat, according to Select Board Chair Frank Gracie III.

Melo — along with his staff and a New Bedford Yacht Club crew — also saved a 32-foot power catamaran moored near Smith Neck Road from sinking in the storm.

“Anybody can have a bad day on the water, including the professionals,” said Melo. “That’s why we’re here.”

Savastano could not be reached for comment.

MacInnes also updated the board on the search for an interim town clerk, stating that he has narrowed it down to two finalists for the board to meet.

With both the Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerk positions open and a primary election on September 1, all hands are currently on deck to help process the mail-in ballots that are already coming in, MacInnes said.

The town has also hired an election consultant to help outline necessary preparations for the upcoming primary.