The Independent — Beach facilities damaged by Sandy will be rebuilt or remodeled

Town officials are assessing the damage at Narragansett Town Beach, where the parking lot, dunes and cabanas were severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Photo: Bill Koch

Nov 8, 2012

By Bill Koch — NARRAGANSETT — With electricity restored and roads cleared throughout the town, the second phase of recovery from Hurricane Sandy has started to play out in piles of paperwork and daily briefings with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Acting Town Manager F. Dean Hoxsie is urging residents and business owners in Narragansett to dot their i’s and cross their t’s in anticipation of preparing requests for federal help to flood into town, state and federal offices in the coming days and weeks.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of practice lately,” Hoxsie said. “We had the floods in March 2010 and we had Irene last year. We have a representative from [the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency] who works with us directly to help us through the FEMA paperwork. Certainly we’re getting much more familiar with the paperwork. We’re pretty confident that we’ll move the process along pretty smoothly.”

Repairs along the sea wall and a complete restoration of the town beach are among Hoxsie’s immediate priorities, with Sandy’s pair of tidal surges shattering the town’s coastline. A portion of the sea wall near South Pier Road and the town beach parking lot crumbled as heavy waves and sand from the town beach covered Boston Neck Road.

“We’re working on permitting, particularly with the [Coastal Resources Management Council] for any sensitive areas – particularly with the beach,” Hoxsie said. “That is certainly our largest area of concern.”

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