PORTSMOUTH — Despite concerns over potential costs, the Town Council Monday night voted unanimously to study the feasibility of renovating the old Stone Bridge for use as a neighborhood recreation area.

Council Vice President James Seveney had proposed the idea, saying the Portsmouth abutment could be an asset to the community if major improvements were made.

“It’s a real eyesore,” said Mr. Seveney. “It’s dangerous now to the point where they put up a chain link fence there. We’ve got a piece of wonderful waterfront property. We’ve got a beach, it abuts a waterfront restaurant.”

The town should do something, he said, “to turn it into something the residents of Island Park will be proud of.”

Mr. Seveney’s idea, which we outlined in a previous story, would bring new life to Stone Bridge, built in 1907 and once the connector between Portsmouth and Tiverton before being replaced by the old Sakonnet River Bridge in 1956.

Currently, the town does not own the bridge, but Mr. Seveney said he’s confident the state Department of Environmental Management would give the property up if the town so requested.

“DEM owns the bridge and DOT owns the beach. Figure that one out,” said Council President Keith Hamilton.

The town would first need to carefully study the bridge’s structural integrity, Mr. Seveney said, noting that the Town of Tiverton wanted to make repairs on its Stone Bridge abutment but learned that the costs were significantly higher than originally anticipated.

As for paying for the needed renovations, “We’d have to go out and look for funds,” said Mr. Seveney, noting that DEM recently awarded the town $100,000 for renovations at the former Elmhurst School property.

Expense questioned

Several council members said while they liked the idea of fixing the bridge up, they were concerned about the costs involved.

“This is not a $100,000 project. This is not a $400,000 project. This is millions,” said council member Elizabeth Pedro, adding that the town has bigger things on its plate, such as the need for a new police station and a revaluation that will cost an estimated $350,000.

“My biggest fear is taking this on with the grants, and then the grants don’t cover it and then we’re stuck with it,” she said.

Peter Roberts, an Island Park resident, agreed. “Right now, we don’t have the money to do it. I think we should fix all our town roads and repave them before we even think about doing something down there,” he said.

Another resident, Judi Staven, noted that the grants Mr. Seveney mentioned usually require a funding match from the town. “It sounds like a fun idea, but I thought we were in a financial crisis,” she said.

Despite these concerns, the council voted 7-0 to direct Town Administrator John Klimm to determine which of the town committees should take the lead into studying the feasibility of the idea and to report back to the council.

Thomas Grieb, chairman of the Harbor Commission, said his panel has already been studying the “Stone Bridge pier problem” and is willing to help the town go forward with any study. He cautioned, however, that the council get accurate costs estimates on the needed work before making any deal with DEM, noting that Tiverton was misled about renovation expenses.