Harbormaster Stonington Harbor Stonington Ct

Two resign from harbor group

STONINGTON - The chairman and another member of the Pawcatuck River Harbor Management Commission has resigned, citing frustration that the select did not put their plan on a port management agenda the city.

Chairman Scott Dilley and member Joyce Ballou submitted letters of resignation earlier this month, which were accepted at a recent meeting of the Board of Selectmen.

"The current draft plan is good and should have gone to a town meeting," Dilley wrote in his May 12 letter."It is obvious that the current administration is more concerned about some opinions of some residents, then the good of the whole city."

Ballou, who said she served on the committee for 5 years, said there was "no end in sight" of the management plan. The draft proposal has been given to the Board of Selectmen at the time of the last election, she said, and was ready to be put before voters, but the newly elected select wanted to take a look first.

A few town meetings have come and gone, and the plan was not placed on an agenda.

"You just lost faith in what will happen," said Ballou. "It's just very frustrating that the select did not raise this issue."

First Selectman Edward Haberek Jr. agreed that the pace of progress has been slow.

"It was a frustrating process," he said.

A town meeting in June 2010 had too many items on its agenda to include the plan of the port, he said, and the Water Pollution Control Authority has requested a joint meeting to discuss planned improvements to sewage n ' have nothing else but this particular issue on the agenda.

Haberek added that as democracy, the city must address the concerns of all stakeholders before submitting the plan to a council meeting.

"There were a number of people who had concerns," he said. "We worked hard as a board to incorporate all the concerns."

In his letter, Dilley suggested that if the city did not advance the plan, it should dissolve the Pawcatuck Harbor Management Commission. And in his letter, Ballou suggested that the state can continue to monitor the river with state regulations already in force.

Video QuickTour: Stonington, Connecticut | BoatingLocal.com

Last summer I traveled to the lovely town of Stonington in eastern Connecticut to check out the boating scene. Along the way I ran into Dann Lockwood, general manager of venerable Dodson Boatyard . Lockwood graciously gave me lift aboard one of the marina’s launches and conducted a personal tour of the harbor and its many charms. Check out the video to learn more, or read our feature destination article on Stonington, which starts below. Stonington Harbor, located just west of Watch Hill, on the eastern end of Long Island Sound, is an ideal boating destination and a wonderful place for transients to stop on extended trips along the coast. Not only does the harbor offer excellent marine services and things to see and do, it’s close to many other boating and fishing daytrip destinations, among them Fishers Island, Napatree Point, the Race, Mystic, Watch Hill, Montauk and Block Island, some 16 nautical miles distant. Stonington’s proximity to deep water did not escape the notice of commercial fishermen. Indeed, the harbor is home to the last commercial fishing fleet in the state.

Once strictly working-class, Stonington has become fashionable city. On most summer weekends Water Street is packed with residents and daytrippers, many of them looking for bargains in the town’s eclectic shops and boutiques. Skippers Dock, a well-known lunch and dinner hot spot with live entertainment and a long pier for boating patrons, bustles during summer. Farther north, at the venerable Dodson Boat Yard, the Dog Watch Cafe offers award-winning waterfront dining as well.