At its Oct. 5 meeting, members of the Barrington Town Council unanimously approved a bid to build a transient dock at Police Cove.

The bid was for $155,000, with an additional 10 percent contingency, pushing the price tag to $170,500. The approved bid was from the Westerly-based company Atlantic Marine Construction, which was one of three companies to submit bids for the work.

Cavanagh Marine Inc., of Tiverton, submitted a bid with a price of $249,499, and ACK Marine & General Contracting, out of Quincy, Mass., had a bid of $487,200.

Phil Hervey, the town's director of planning, building and resiliency, spoke about the project and bid process during the Oct. 5 council meeting. He said he called references for recent projects Atlantic Marine had recently completed, and the reviews were all strong and positive. He said the projects were completed on time and on budget.

Members of the town council voted 5-0 to award the bid to Atlantic Marine.

Mr. Hervey said the construction of the transient dock has been in the work for years, and has been a longtime goal of the harbormaster, as it would assist people who want to use the new boat ramp at Police Cove Park.

The town will draw from a number of different sources to pay for the project. Last year the town received a grant for $127,950 from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration-Boating Access Program. That grant requires a 25 percent match for the project.

The town will also use $15,045 from a Police Cove account, and more than $82,000 from the Parks, Trails and Field Maintenance Fund.

That account had been called the "Athletic Field Maintenance Fund," but at the July 27 council meeting, officials voted 5-0 to change the account's name to the "Parks, Trails and Field Maintenance Fund."

That means money that had been earmarked specifically for athletic fields can now be used for a variety of other work, including improvements at Police Cove.

Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha said the fund gets most of its money from companies that lease space on town-owned cell towers. The fund also gets annual injections of revenue from the town's youth sports leagues, which must pay per-player field use fees.

According to a memo from Mr. Hervey, the account received $145,245 from cell tower lease payments in 2019, as well as $8,680 from youth soccer leagues, $2,780 from youth lacrosse, $1,445 from youth football, $7,125 from youth baseball and softball, and $175 from cross country or road races. It received an additional $4,655 from "other sources" for a total revenue of $170,105.

'Rock socket piles'

According to bid information provided by the town, the project could cost more than the total of the bid and contingency. The town included about $33,000 for "rock socket piles," which could be needed if the contractor needs to embed the piles into rock.

When completed, the dock will be 109 feet long and run parallel to the existing boat ramp. There will be a fixed portion of the dock, an aluminum gangway, and a single float.

"The scope (of the work) also includes pouring a new concrete abutment and walkway between the ramp and the existing sea wall, and additional riprap," stated the bid information.