Sherman officials consider taking six dock slips at Town Park as resident letter objects to beach-side expansion

First Selectman Don Lowe opened a July 9 special meeting to discuss unused boat slips at Sherman Town Park and the town’s interest in acquiring six of eight slips currently associated with CLA.

A letter from resident David Wieder was read into the record by Lowe, urging the Board to “permanently abandon any plans for town resident docks south of the town beach.” The letter said expansion south of the beach would pose safety and navigational hazards for kayaking, paddleboarding and swimming and noted reports that the Town Beach Dock Slips project may be “nearing approval.”

Mark Howarth of CLA told the board he has reservations about non-medical uses of the slips and said he spoke with Brian Wood at First Light; according to Howarth, “the permit is currently written for CLA use only.” Selectman Bob Ostrosky suggested asking First Light to modify the permit to allow shared use between the Town and CLA.

Kris Fazzone said SVFD has used Sail Harbour as a command center and clarified that the department does not transport patients to those docks. Fazzone and Howarth raised security concerns about a shared slip area; Fazzone suggested surveillance and fenced, locked areas as protective measures.

Martin O'Connor summarized a proposed next step: the Town would request First Light change the CLA permit to a multiuse permit, move the single CLA boat to the unused SVFD dock, and allocate six of the eight slips to the Town. Board members thanked participants for the discussion but did not adopt a formal motion at the meeting.

No formal vote or permit change occurred; the discussion concluded with the board signaling it would continue working on the issue and pursue clarification with First Light and CLA if necessary.