Ten million dollars is the latest price tag on the restoration of Jenkins Point on the north side of the entrance into the Ocean Pines Yacht Club Marina.

A hefty price tag, to say the least, but Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) Executive Director Kevin Smith expressed confidence most of the funding would come from federal and state grants when he spoke on the project’s background and next steps during a one-hour presentation Monday night at the Golf Clubhouse.

This is an important project for Ocean Pines. MCBP jumpstarted it but OPA, particularly former OPA president Doug Parks, was very supportive, with the Parks board voting to donate $10,000 toward the design and permitting phase of the project. Parks attended Monday's meeting and is point man for OPA as the project moves forward into the final design and permitting phase. OPA president Rick Farr said the current board fully supports the restoration effort.

Also at the meeting was Chris Becraft from Underwood & Associates who discussed the design approach and objectives. Underwood is the company selected by MCBP to design and build the project. There was no mention of other bidders by MCBP's Smith or any serious discussion of alternative, perhaps less expensive, means of protection. 

Large areas of Jenkins Point eroded over the years, leaving the Pines Point Marina and homes in that area vulnerable to strong northeast wind storms. Especially vulnerable is the Osprey Point condominium community, to the north of the Yacht Club.

The project, if completed, would more or less restore Jenkins Point to what it was many years ago, and in some ways provide even better protection than the original marsh peninsula. Becraft said much of the new construction would bring part of the area to an elevation of perhaps four feet above normal tides. While man-made, the new Jenkins Point would look like a natural coastal environment, including marsh areas, and some protected sandy beaches for possible recreational use.

Becraft felt construction would take 45 days and be done in the winter. His goal would be to work from land via access to the area through the Osprey Point development. This would require permission from the Osprey Point Association, as the property is a gated community and not available for public access.

Those 45 days would see a rather continuous stream of heavy dump trucks and heavy equipment delivering many loads of sand and stone to create the new peninsula. Construction could take longer and require additional access periods in the spring. 

Rick Farr asked an important question. Who would own the property once the project was completed? Smith said OPA would own the property and recreational access would be permitted or not by OPA. However, OPA needs to verify OPA ownership of the Jenkins Point property to be certain it is not owned by the Osprey Point association. The property owner will be in control of how the new Jenkins Point can be used by the public.

One audience member suggested opening the road into Osprey Point to the public for walking access to the new beaches. Not going to happen. Another wondered about the water depth. The water depth will not change. No dredging is involved. It is essentially a fill operation to rebuild Jenkins Point. There is also some concern about how well the project will protect Osprey Point condos, as compared to the excellent protection provided to Pines Point Marina area.

If the project cannot be constructed via land access, Becraft said the cost would be substantially more, but not double.

This was the second public informational meeting on the Jenkins Point Restoration project. As a practical matter, little or nothing has changed since the last meeting in May 2023. other than an estimated cost increase from $8 million to $10 million.

Is a restored Jenkins Point a pipe dream or a reasonable reality? Time will tell.