Construction of the U.S. Coast Guard's housing project in Perry, which had stirred an outcry from neighbors on the Shore Road when it was proposed in 2019, is expected to begin this summer. The Coast Guard has awarded a contract to Ducas Construction of Scarborough in the amount of $8 million, and work is anticipated to start in July or August. The plans have been revised since initially proposed and are now for seven single-family homes, but some nearby residents still have concerns about the lack of direct communication from the Coast Guard and the inability to now have input on the plans.
     In response to the initial concerns from neighbors, the Coast Guard did eliminate a community center and reduced the size of a maintenance building, and Coast Guard representatives held a public meeting in Perry to hear from local residents in November 2019. The Coast Guard also completed further water studies, made efforts to keep existing buffers with abutting properties and is allowing neighbors to walk across the property to a nearby cemetery, as they have done for years.
     Rob Simpson, assistant public affairs officer for the Coast Guard in Boston, states, "The Coast Guard has worked closely with the community and made design changes based on feedback from the environmental assessment completed in August 2020." An electronic copy of the final designs was provided to the Perry Planning Board on May 5 for advisory review and the board's comments.
     Referring to Coast Guard Station Eastport, where there are 22 active-duty positions and families have faced a shortage of houses that they can afford, Simpson states, "This is an important and critical housing project that will support Coast Guard members, who provide vital services in the region, and we look forward to improving their quality of life with this new housing project."

An 'inconsistent' relationship
     One of the neighbors of the Shore Road project, Sue Carroll Duffy, says that, while she and other abutters felt they were heard during the meeting in 2019, as changes were then made in the plans, she characterizes the relationship between the Coast Guard and neighboring property owners as "inconsistent." While ongoing communication with the neighbors had been offered by the Coast Guard, in time those communications were only with the Perry Planning Board, which limited the involvement of the nearby property owners to the public planning board meetings. Some of the neighbors hired an attorney to help understand the process and reestablish communication with the Coast Guard. According to Duffy, both Ducas Construction and the engineering firm, Acorn Engineering, "were not permitted to talk with us. This was a bit of a shock since we had a previous relationship with Acorn Engineering, who we had paid to review the water studies in the draft environmental assessment, and they had specifically recommended an informational meeting with the community."
     With the Coast Guard no longer engaging directly with community members, some of the property owners created the Perry Neighbors Committee to provide a means of communication, but the Coast Guard declined to participate. Duffy says that at the May meeting of the planning board she learned that construction might begin in two weeks. "We were shocked, not having had a chance to ask questions or make any comments," she says. "We had hoped that the town permitting process might hold the possibility to ask questions and make comments through a public hearing." The planning board, though, only is conducting an advisory review of the plans, with no local permits required for the federal government's project.
     The plans are now on the Town of Perry's website, and Duffy is still hoping that the Coast Guard will provide local residents the opportunity to ask questions through a Zoom meeting that includes Acorn Engineering, Ducas Construction, the town and the Coast Guard. Among her ongoing concerns are whether there will be ongoing monitoring of the septic system and stormwater runoff at nearby wetlands and a pond and whether pollutants could affect nearby homes that have basements that flood during heavy rains. She also has questions about blasting and plans to place a fence around the pond, which has vernal pool species.
     Duffy comments, "The current plans are much better than the initial plans, and I am very grateful for the changes that were made by the Coast Guard. They really did listen to us, initially. I want very much for Coast Guard families to be welcomed, happy and well housed in our community. I feel lucky that these families will be my new neighbors and look forward to a positive relationship."
     However, she adds, "What feels threatening is the federal government from the start not including local people in deciding how we can best meet the needs of Coast Guard families."
     Duffy comments, "I am grieving threats to my sense of 'home.' I love the songbirds nesting in the field. They won't just come back as indicated in the environmental assessment. For those threatened species, it is death by 1,000 cuts. I think about the vernal pool species in the pond. I love hearing it sing each spring. Will it keep singing? My children love skating on it in winters. Now there is going to be a fence around it? Is that to keep kids out? If so, it speaks to the fundamental distance between life in the country and the Coast Guard perception of safety and home. This property has historically been a farm. Now it is the loss of another farm in Maine."
     Noting that "transparent and thoughtful communication is the foundation for a responsible relationship with land and neighbor," she is still hoping that the Coast Guard will resume direct communication with the neighbors, that the town will facilitate an informational meeting and that the Coast Guard will participate in the Perry Neighbors Committee.

Making a difference
     Another neighbor, Rhoda Dougherty, says that, while she would prefer that the housing project not be on the popular rural road, as she feels there are more appropriate parcels on Route 1, the comments from the neighbors "resulted in the Coast Guard responding in a very positive way." She points out that Capt. John Barresi, who is in charge of the building and development of Coast Guard housing units in the country, came to the 2019 public meeting in Perry, along with an environmental specialist from Virginia, the regional commander from Portland, the public liaison officer from Boston and the regional project manager from Rhode Island.
     Dougherty notes, "We asked that the houses be single units, that lighting be kept low to the ground. They reduced the size of the maintenance building and did away with the community center. They moved the playground at our request. They carefully observed the wetlands regulations. They gave a neighbor a right-of-way to a path out to Restlawn Cemetery where her son is buried."
     "Naturally the noise and traffic from the construction period are going to be annoying, but in the end I believe the development will be nicely placed and not look like typical government housing," she says. "We made a difference. Our voices were heard. One can make a difference if you speak out in a calm and informed way."
     Expressing her appreciation to Capt. Barresi, she says, "He was overwhelmed by our concerns and learned a lot about going into a small community."