With the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) last week, the town’s award of a $127,000 federal grant to rebuild the Kirkland Boat Landing on Route 145 is secured. The project scope will include updating the parking area, improving the site’s stormwater management to prevent sediment flowing into the river, and fixing the launch ramp.

The town was eligible for this grant because Kirkland Landing provides water access for watercraft users of Westbrook’s Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. Small boats and kayaks can be launched into the Menunketesuck River from the landing’s ramp; once in the river, boaters and kayakers can explore the river and view its wildlife while floating through the national wildlife refuge.

Although the town was the grant applicant to the Federal Lands Access Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s has agreed to supply the grant’s required $30,000 match, since the landing provides water access to the refuge. The Federal Highway Division has committed to provide about $6,000 for administration of this Federal Land Access Project.

Because the funding commitment is tied to the U.S. fiscal year, the grant funds cannot be tapped until Oct. 1, 2017. At that point, the town can seek submissions of qualifications for engineering consultants interested in completing the project design and drawings.

Once the design phase is completed in 2018, the town will seek bids for the second construction phase. Most likely construction work to update Kirkland Landing would not begin until spring 2019.

The town first applied for the grant for the Kirkland Landing update 18 months ago. The landing is located adjacent to Route 145 at the point where the state road crosses over the Menunketesuck River.