Saint Andrews council has voted to delay putting out a tender for its nearly $8-million wharf project by several weeks.
Instead, it has commissioned an engineering consultant to conduct a coastal study after concerns were raised by residents.
The wharf, an iconic backdrop of downtown Saint Andrews, is plagued by a weight restriction and under threat from rising sea levels.
In January 2024, council approved a proposal by engineering firm CBCL to expand Market Square and infill a significant area to build up the wharf and repair much of the damaged structure.
However, over the last several months, questions have been raised about the need for an environmental assessment and the impact on neighbouring properties by several councillors and residents.
A petition has been created and circulated within the community, along with an open letter showing the various impacts of the wharf on local properties.
The council has also questioned how CBCL has handled the situation, including ignoring concerns raised by several councillors throughout the process.
On Monday night, council voted to spend $25,000 so GEMTEC can simulate sediment transport in the project area, assess potential shoreline change and evaluate water quality in the wharf area.
“I would much rather potentially delay this project by a couple of months than forever be impacted by assuming that our engineers and DFO measured their concerns properly,” Outgoing Mayor Brad Henderson said during the meeting.
“It also gives us a path forward where we aren’t gambling with $5.4 million. It answers the questions that people have about the concerns of what it’s going to do to the ocean.”
There is $5.4 million available for the project from other levels of government, but changing the scope of the project or deciding not to do it would put the money at risk.
Henderson said he would hate to gamble with that much money from other levels of government, adding that around $400,000 has already been spent on engineering work.
Coun. Mark Bennett, who represents the Chamcook ward, was the only councillor to vote against a delay in tendering the project and waiting for the new study to be completed.
“At the end of the day, what’s the study going to tell us that’s going to change the fact that this town desperately needs the wharf fixed, wants the wharf fixed, and the choice in front of us is what the community voted on, and we have funding for it,” said Bennett.
“No matter what the study says, are you prepared to say ‘no, we’re not going to go ahead with the wharf and we’re going to give back the $5.4 million, we’re not going to go to tender process with the $400,000 with spent on engineering’ and start all over again for another council?”
Bennett said he believes the public consultation process has been fair and reasonable, noting that council opened up consultations again to include the communities of Bayside and Chamcook, which were not part of Saint Andrews when the process first began.
The study by GEMTEC is expected to take about five weeks, which puts the timeline of starting the work in October and having it completed by next May in jeopardy.
Town staff said the delay should not affect the provincial and federal funding, provided the work has started before the end of March 2026.
Some councillors questioned whether the tender process and study could be done simultaneously, but staff cautioned against that.
“Contractors incur significant costs when they do projects like this, and in good faith, we should know that we’re going ahead with this project,” said Henderson.
With files from The Courier.
