Candidates urge incremental waterfront fixes, more grants and county talks for downtown infrastructure

Candidates described the waterfront as a long-term project that will require grant funding, county cooperation and negotiations with multiple private property owners. Scott English cited a roughly $12–12.5 million project tied to the Simmons lot and described collapsing sewer lines and incremental repairs as priorities. "We have pipes from the 18 that are sewer drain pipes, and they're collapsing all the time," he said, arguing for working project-by-project rather than large 30-year borrowing.

Stacy McMonagle urged coalition advocacy with other small historic towns to extend TDT funding to historical-district infrastructure, while Len Krieger said the city has obtained roughly $9 million in seawall grants and stressed filling vacant commercial units downtown. Candidates agreed that funding and layered approvals make waterfront improvements a multi-year effort.