Those points were made clear at a Dunkirk Department of Public Works Committee meeting Thursday. Committee head Don Williams, who is leaving the Common Council as of Jan. 1, sought to spotlight the breakwaters idea in his final act as chairman.

Williams said he and DPW chief Randy Woodbury were in a meeting about six years ago where the idea of segmented offshore breakwaters, similar to what are in place along the western side of Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pa., was mentioned.

“We thought that would have been a wonderful thing to have out here,” he said.

Ever since, they have been advocating it. Though Williams acknowledged there is no funding in place, he hopes to “at least get some groundwork started.”

City of Dunkirk officials meet with marine engineers Thursday at a Department of Public Works Committee meeting to discuss the idea of erecting segmented offshore breakwaters off the lakeshore. Photo by M.J. Stafford

Part of that groundwork included inviting a couple of civil engineers, Tom Bender and Paul Parker, to Thursday’s meeting to discuss the benefits of the breakwaters and the logistics of building them.

“You have to be very careful about how you place them,” Parker said, noting that they cannot hinder anything that drains into the lake.

There are currently breakwalls to the west of the area in question. They are located closer to Dunkirk Harbor, to protect it. The outer breakwall was built “pre-1836,” according to Woodbury. The inner walls, one of which connects to Lakefront Boulevard yards away from the Steger high-rise, were built much later.

Several previous studies commissioned by the city, which go back to the 1990s, have proposed segmented breakwalls along Dunkirk’s eastern waterfront, which is not currently protected by any lake barriers.

Woodbury reviewed the situation along Lakefront Boulevard, noting how a severe storm in 2019 wrecked the lake wall. It was rebuilt this summer and held up well in a similar tempest on Dec. 11, because the railings are now held in place with rebar and not just gravity.

Putting in the breakwaters would protect the lake wall, allow the city to keep Lakefront Boulevard open all winter, and create a beach along the entire wall, Woodbury said. There used to be a beach in that area but it washed away decades ago.

“The city would like to maximize the usability of the beach from Main Street all the way to the sewage treatment plant,” he said.

Williams, who lives in the area, said breakwaters would also protect properties near the lakefront. As it is now, “you get some freezing weather and wind and stuff, you’ve got debris coming all over the place,” he said.

“Yes, a beach would be a great thing, but for the longer months of the winter, it’s more a safety thing” when it comes to benefits of the breakwalls, Williams said.

As for funding and construction, Bender said the city could do it but it would be very costly. However, “the federal government pays for it, they’re going to play by their rules,” he said.

The actual cost of the project is entirely unclear. Woodbury, quoting previous studies, said it could be $8 million.

Bender felt the city should only do the project if it passed a cost-benefit analysis and he sounded skeptical that it could. He said the major benefit would be protection of Lakefront Boulevard from damage.

Woodbury said he doubted the Army Corps of Engineers would participate in such a project, for a long list of reasons.

Committee member Nancy Nichols said there should be positive economic development effects from creating a beach that would be an additional area for families to hang out along the waterfront.

Woodbury directly asked Parker if the breakwalls would be an asset to the city. Parker said they would.

However, the DPW director then acknowledged that the project could be so costly that it might not get done all at once, if it happens at all.

“The only way we’re gonna do it is hit it in segments (or) we get some miracle funding,” he said.