Although it was only the second-ever meeting of the Sea Level Rise Committee, the members were asked to commit to a plan from town planner Allison Ring to apply for an “Action Grant” from the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank to enhance “resiliency” on the island.
Ring told the group that funding had just been released and that applications for the grants were due in February. Funding amounts were expected to be, on average $250,000, and that she had a couple of potential projects in mind. Final approval of the grant application will need to come from the Town Council upon the advice of the SLR Committee.Some members of the committee seemed a bit taken aback, as they understand their mission is to explore and make recommendations themselves. But Ring referenced the town’s 2017 Hazard Mitigation Plan and the “Corn Neck Road Study” that both incorporate lessons learned from the damage done by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
During that late-October storm, the raging ocean swept through dunes on Corn Neck Road, particularly at Scotch Beach where waves ripped through the access roadway to the beach and then dumped sand and debris onto Corn Neck Road.
The erosion from Sandy
