At the Dolphin Marina, located on Basin Point in Harpswell, “Every inch of the property is being reorganized,” says Bill Saxton, who with his brother Chris, has been representing their family in the marina’s redevelopment project.
Both Bill and Chris started working at the marina when they were five years old. If you happened to pick up a mooring there in the mid-1980s and called for a launch, a skiff run by a boy who couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10, wearing an old-fashioned orange life jacket, would zoom among the mass of moored boats and expertly maneuver next to your boat to pick you up. That would have been Chris.
Both attended North Yarmouth Academy and left Maine to attend college, Bill to study economics at the University of Connecticut, Chris art and social sciences at Wheaton College, but rather than seek jobs in other parts of the country, they returned to help run the family marina.
Established by their grandparents, Jean and Malcolm Saxton, in 1966, it is located on land owned by their great grandparents, a gem of a 7-acre parcel on the edge of Casco Bay. It could be a developer’s dream, but the Saxton family has committed to retaining the land as working waterfront with an environmentally friendly marina and three protected acres at the tip of the point.
Bill and Chris say the redevelopment process began about two summers ago, when they, their parents, siblings and other family members took a hard look at the marina’s aging infrastructure and the essential upgrades that had to be completed to comply with state and federal regulations. They began to assess what they needed to do to create a premier transient destination for recreational boaters, and how they could, at the same time, make the marina environmentally friendly.
Their plans encompass several services and infrastructure upgrades: a restaurant with a second story space for marine offices and a room that can be used for events such as boating safety and survivor training classes; a chandlery with marine items and provisions; a boaters’ lounge with showers, laundry facilities, and a computerized weather center; a state-of-the-art fuel system; an improved pump-out station; additional moorings with a changeover to a bottom-friendly type that eliminates tackle that scrapes the bottom; a new dock with an increased number of boat slips that include American Disabilities Act access; an improved launch ramp, haul-out services and indoor or outdoor storage for both local and transient boaters; plus stabilization of shoreline bulkheads and institution of a storm water prevention plan.
They had been hearing from boaters: “I wish you had showers, wish we could do our laundry, wish you had groceries,” and so forth. “They wanted amenities,” Bill says. But before drawing up any plans, they sought professional input from the agencies they would be working with for permits and grants, including The Maine Department of Transportation (DOT), which administers U.S. Fish and Wildlife grants, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (DEP), just about every department within the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, plus town officials.
Through the process of gathering information, Chris and Bill learned about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Boating Infrastructure Grant program that is funded by a portion of boat excise taxes. The program reinvests in public and private marine infrastructure all over the country.
They decided to apply. “It was just us in this little room writing the grant with advice from Kevin Russo of Maine DOT,” Bill says. “We were competing with huge marinas in Chicago, Miami, all over the country. When we learned we were selected, we were shocked; we never thought in a million years we would get it.” The grant brought $363,000, with the stipulation of matching funds totaling $134,000.
They also won a $25,000 grant from Maine DEP’s Pump-out Grant Program, which is part of the recently reauthorized federal Clean Vessel Act. This aims to reduce the pollution from recreational vessels by providing a safe and legal method for disposing of human sanitary waste.
The Saxton’s site plan was approved unanimously by the Harpswell Planning Board in August. By then, they had already completed several major environmental upgrades. One is a huge septic field. This area also can be used for outside boat storage, thus confining the sprawl of boats that had been extending down the point into the area that is now in a family trust and will revert to its natural state. Bill and Chris say consolidating the footprint of the business has reduced their environmental impact from seven acres to two acres.
Last summer, they installed the new fuel tank and dispensing system that exceeds regulations and put in a new well. The new pump-out station is up and running, is free and available 24 hours a day. Recently, it was hauled to shore for service by a septage hauling company, saving 500 gallons of sewage from Casco Bay or other ocean waters. Pamela Parker of Maine DEP says only Paul’s Marina in Brunswick has a remote pump-out that is available 24 hours per day. “The addition of the Dolphin pump-out float makes it much easier for boaters to comply with the Casco Bay No Discharge Area,” she says.
In November, work will begin on other stages of the redevelopment. These include constructing a multi-use building on the hill above the current parking area for the restaurant and other facilities, and eventually turning the present restaurant structure into a large indoor boat storage area. Bill and Chris say they will use as many local workers as possible in all stages of the project.
The Saxton’s efforts have earned Dolphin Marina designation as a Maine Certified Clean Marina from the Maine Clean Boatyards and Marinas Program. This collaborative partnership among industry, state and federal agencies and environmental organizations promotes management practices in boatyards and marinas that will protect natural resources by reducing pollution.
Bill and Chris say they also aim to be the first marina on the East Coast to earn LEED certification for their upgraded marina. LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Despite the scope of the redevelopment, some things will remain the same. The cherished fish chowder recipe developed by Jean Saxton and kept secret all these years will remain, as will other items on the restaurant menu. And, visitors will always find a member of the Saxton family at the restaurant. “This is a Maine waterfront business,” Bill says. “We’re not going to hire anyone else to come in and run the place.”
