Saint Andrews town council to vote on controversial Market Wharf infill project

St. Andrews council will vote on a controversial proposal to refurbish the town wharf.

The town council in Saint Andrews, N.B., will vote on the controversial Market Wharf infill project Tuesday night.

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at W.C. O’Neill Arena Council Chambers.

In January 2024, town council approved a plan to refurbish the deteriorating wharf with a hybrid of steel and infill at a price tag of roughly $7 million. The plan was one of five options presented in public consultations.

In May, former mayor Brad Henderson told CTV News the topic has been discussed in the community for more than six years.

Henderson said, since announcing plans for the hybrid fix using both steel and infill, there had been little backlash from the public until recently.

While no one in the seaside community is debating that the wharf needs to be restored, some residents and business owners have raised concerns, such as the blocking of natural tidal flows, an increased flooding and erosion risk, and the impact to the environment and marine ecosystem.

In June, the final decision on refurbishing the wharf was delayed following the addition of an environmental impact assessment.

The $25,000 coastal study by GEMTEC was implemented to identify how a refurbished wharf might impact the town’s Market Wharf and Market Square shoreline areas, as well as water quality and sedimentation in Saint Andrews Harbour.

The town has $5 million in external funding from various levels of government for the project that expires at year’s end if work hasn’t begun.

Henderson told CTV News in May the GEMTEC study was a compromise to address concerns about the refurbishment, while keeping it on track.

“It also gives us a path forward where we aren’t gambling with $5.4 million,” said Henderson, regarding a deadline for government funding. “We all know we’re running out of time with this funding.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Avery MacRae and Nick Moore.

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