A dozen men formed the South Bristol Fisherman’s Co-op in 1972.
The founders “took the bull by the horns and decided there was a better way,” said current co-op President Tim Alley, a son of one of the original 12.
Today, about 35 full-time fishermen belong to the co-op. The number of active fishermen rises to 60-70 during the summer, Alley said.
Earlier this month, the co-op received notification of the impending receipt of a $284,000 award from the Working Waterfront Access Protection Program.
The award amounts to a state purchase of the development rights on the co-op’s 1.25-acre property on Thompson Inn Road, Dick Clime, program administrator for Lincoln County, explained.
“They’re giving something up for payment here,” Clime said. The program, according to a Dept. of Marine Resources press release, will purchase a working waterfront covenant restricting any future development that conflicts with fisheries uses.
As Clime explains, the co-op members wanted to see the property continue in its present state, award or no award.
“The community depends on access to the water,” Clime said, and the co-op plays an important role in providing that access.
Ultimately, the co-op membership “felt there was no downside” to the sale of the covenant, Clime said. “It wasn’t a hard decision.”
The co-op must complete “a due diligence process… before they will actually receive the funds,” Deirdre Gilbert, assistant to the Department of Marine Resources commissioner, said.
The process includes an appraisal, an environmental site assessment and a survey, Alley said, all at the co-op’s expense.
Alley sat on the committee that applied for the award, along with Chuck Plummer and Arthur Poland, fellow members of the co-op board, and bookkeeper Brenda Bartlett. Clime “helped us a lot during the process,” Alley said.
The program bases award amounts on the fair market value of each property. “We were eligible for $340,000,” Alley said, one-fourth of the co-op’s property value. “By leaving $50,000 in the till,” however, the co-op “allowed somebody else to receive some funding,” he said.
The co-op intends to use the money to pay down a $150,000 loan on a steel building recently built by Steel Bolt Construction. The building contains a bait freezer and allows the co-op to purchase bait in larger volume at lower prices.
The funds will also cover the replacement of a portion of the main pier, upgrades to the fuel storage system, including underground piping; and the construction of 8-10 large floats.
“It’s a good program,” Alley said of the Working Waterfront Access Protection Program, and the funds will allow the co-op to complete the projects, which are all important to its continuing welfare, without borrowing more money.
“We’re in good shape,” Alley said. The co-op boasts a loyal membership that helps it stay viable and pay a regular bonus to the fishermen. “We’ve been fortunate,” he said.
The co-op’s membership includes second, third and fourth-generation fishermen, including Alley’s son, Luke Alley, a college student who fishes during summer vacation. “Hopefully there’ll be three or four more” generations, Tim Alley said.
“This place has been here for 40 years,” Alley said. “I hope it’s here for another 40.”
