A new round of funding and funding authorizations totaling $1.3 million is slated for the 1st Barnstable District. These announcements from State Representative Timothy Whelan (R-Brewster) Monday include more than $101,000 in Coastal Zone Management monies for the Town of Dennis in funding improvements to the Coastal Resiliency of Dr. Bottero Road and Chapin Beach. These funds will finalize engineering plans and permit documents for a project that will stabilize an eroding section of Chapin Beach using added sand and a coastal structure to hold the sand in place. The project will mitigate impacts to Dr. Bottero Road while preserving shorebird habitat and salt marsh and maintaining access to Chapin Beach and the Aquacultural Research Corporation.
In addition, Rep. Whelan has announced $1.2 million in funding authorizations which were included in the final Economic Development Bond Bill enacted last week by the House and Senate. Included in this comprehensive bond bill were two amendments filed by Rep. Whelan for local projects. $ 1 million is authorized for the Town of Dennis to be used toward the dredging of Sesuit Harbor while $200,000 is authorized for the Town of Barnstable toward culvert and drainage improvements in the Blish Pint section of Barnstable Village.
"Like last week, this too has been an exceptional week for the 1st Barnstable District. I am grateful to the Baker-Polito administration for their continued commitment to Cape Cod and protecting our fragile environment. I am also proud of the work my office did with legislative leadership on these important bond authorizations in the Economic Development Bond Bill,", stated Representative Whelan. "We have made it a priority in my office to work harder than ever to ensure that the 1st Barnstable District gets it's fair share, returning more of our hardworking citizens' tax money back over the bridge to help local projects of high importance."