Due to a few strong freezes this winter, the Guilford Marina is in need of repair. At a Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on Feb. 20, the board approved funding emergency repairs for marina damage totaling no more that $33,650.

Dock master Rod McLennan said the damage is a result of large amounts of ice that built up in the marina.

“We had quite a freeze and we had well over a foot of ice in the marina basin...It lifted four pilings straight up and then they fell sideways,” he said. “Then we had two dock sections where the piling loops got hung up on the ice, so when the tide came up, the docks went up, and when the tide went out, the docks stayed up until they broke loose and tore the side out of two of our 8x20 foot dock sections.”

The funding for repairs was approved after the fact because McLennan said he wanted to get started on repairs as soon as possible to be ready for opening day.

“The work has been started,” he said. “The pile driving I got done as soon as I could get the pile driver in there because, with the rest of the damage along the coast, I figured if I didn’t get it now ,I wasn’t going to and we are supposed to open April 1.”

Town officials said they checked with the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection to ensure no permits were needed to complete the repairs. McLennan said he hopes the total cost will come in a bit under the requested dollar amount.

“The money is all coming out of the Marina Commission,” he said. “There is a $10,000 deductible, which we are going to meet and then the rest of it will come out of the marina.”

With work already underway, McLennan said there shouldn’t be any problem opening the marina by April 1.

“The docks have been completed and they should be delivered next week,” he said. “I would expect within two weeks we will be all ready to go again.”