Rowing Club Gets Help for Paddle Through Bureaucracy

The East Bay Rowing Club’s proposal to set up shop at Walker Farm is on a fast track to approval or rejection. 

The founders, Patrick and Deb Sullivan, asked on Thursday night, March 3, for the Town Council’s approval to launch the nonprofit club at Hundred Acre Cove. Their mission to get people of all ages involved in rowing and paddle sports got glowing reviews; it was the location that became an issue.

 The result was a Town Council motion to authorize the town manager to help the Sullivans wind their way through whatever bureaucratic obstacles remain. The motion was approved unanimously.

Patrick Sullivan said Walker Farm “is the best rowing venue in town. We’ve looked at other places. The water is flat and there is not a lot of boat traffic.”

The club does need storage for boats, kayaks and related gear, he said. But there would be no permanent structures, except perhaps for a low-profile dock.

 “We can’t use the existing dock,” Sullivan said. “There is too much of a drop to the shell.”

Town Councilor Kate Weymouth said, however, that moving two steel storage containers onto the Walker Farm site and adding another dock might damage the aesthetics of the area.

“Walker Farm may not be the most appropriate place,” she said. “The concept is so positive that I would hate to vote against it.”

Conservation Commission Chairman Cyndee Fuller echoed Weymouth’s comments.

“The idea of a rowing club is great,” she said. “It would be a wonderful asset for the town. But I am less than thrilled with the idea that it might be permanent storage. I strongly object to permanent storage.”

Fuller also said that there is not enough parking near the existing dock. And the parking lot is unpaved and frequently flooded. She would oppose paved parking.

Fuller suggested the possible use of Police Cove as a site for the club. It has adequate parking, she said. “It’s perhaps a better place for the club.”

“We’ve looked at other spots,” Sullivan said. “And the town already owns the land. That’s our recommendation." 

The Sullivans have already received support from the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Harbor Commission. The director of the BAY Team added her support at the meeting.

Melissa Horne, chairwoman of the recreation commission, said: “I’m excited about new things in town. And it doesn’t use fields. Kids and adults can participate.”

Kathleen Sullivan, director of the BAY Team, said: “I believe there are plenty of people in Barrington who would use the facility.” 

Town Councilor Bill DeWitt described the rowing club as “a fabulous idea. I would hate to see it die in bureaucracy. How soon can we move on this?”

Fuller immediately invited the Sullivans to the Conservation Commission meeting on Tuesday, March 8.

Town Manager Peter DeAngelis Jr. said he would contact any other Barrington boards or commissions that might want to be involved, as well as the Rhode Island DEM and Coastal Resources Management Council.

“The bureaucracy is at the state level,” DeAngelis said.

Jeff Brenner made the motion to request that the town manager work closely with the Sullivans “to make this a reality if that is possible.”

The rowing club would provide everything from lessons for beginners to competitions for more advanced rowers, perhaps even rowing teams at the high school. There would be no cost to the town.