Mismanaged Million Dollar Project Turns Into Messy Debacle
Most residents of Oxford didn’t know what was coming to their shoreline in 2021 when the town, under the direction of former Town Manager Cheryl Lewis, contracted Underwood and Associates to design and complete a “beach restoration” project on the Town’s Historic Strand beach.
The Oxford Strand Beach Prior to the Project
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Most town residents didn’t even know there was a problem to be corrected. The beautiful Strand Beach had been there for hundreds of years; simple, gorgeous, and a town landmark.
To understand how the Strand Restoration Project has proceeded, one must view a timeline of the project. It’s the only way to accurately see how and why the project was proposed and why it has turned into an expensive and destructive debacle.
Lewis was “approached” in 2018 for a grant from the National Wildlife Federation who wanted to collaborate with a community to try out the use of “green” vs. “gray” preservation of Shorelines. The phrase “try out” is critical, since it’s evident that NWF was using Oxford as a test case for this kind of restoration. It had been done in wildlife areas and private residences, but not on such an iconic shoreline as the Strand Beach. The approach is controversial and many say, not effective or practical.
Lewis was known for constantly looking for grants for the town. Maryland DNR and the National Fish and Wildlife Federation wanted a town to experiment with their new “green vs. gray” infrastructure solution to erosion, regardless of the fact that sea wall structures and bulkheads have worked for hundreds of years. It was a recipe for a huge spending debacle. One thing about the former Oxford Town Manager, there wasn’t a grant, needed or unneeded, that she didn’t apply for. She applied and the town got the grant.
In March 2019, Lewis told the Commissioners that the town had received a grant for $90,000 to help preserve the Strand Beach, Strand Parking lot, a portion of the Yacht Club Beach and the town’s “pocket parks.” At the time, Lewis bounced back and forth from the explanation that this was both restoration and flood mitigation in order to sell it to whichever audience she was addressing at the time.
National Wildlife had just entered into the green infrastructure field and in September 2019, Lewis, acting as the sole representative of Oxford, met with the Maryland Department of Environment, DNR, and a rep from the National Wildlife Federation and they chose UNDERWOOD AND ASSOCIATES as the contractor to complete the Strand Restoration Project design. Underwood had done shore restoration projects on private property and in wildlife areas, but not in a project located in a town such as Oxford’s beach. They were not road or infrastructure engineers, something that became apparent later on in the project as they proposed an improbable solution for lifting the Strand Road and the Parking lot.
In April 2020, Lewis told the Commissioners that the project was now estimated to cost $2,000,000 dollars and they were seeking additional funding from other entities. Eventually, additional funds were made available from National Fish and Wildlife.
Plans were drawn up in April 2021 and shared with the Town Commissioners. From the Star Democrat April 28,2021:
An engineering firm will create marshy island buffers in the Tred Avon off Strand Road and erect a long sand dune on Strand Beach in an effort to break stormwater surges and reduce flooding, a major concern in Oxford.
The Drawings of the Oxford Beach Restoration Project (Link: Concept (36×60)
Ultimately, Underwood and Associates got the bid in 2023 contracting with the town for the completion of the Strand Beach Restoration. Commissioner Tom Costigan, at a meeting on January 10th, motioned to approve the request to allow STAFF to move forward with the negotiation of an “agreeable contract” with Underwood and Associates that would allow for the completion of the desired projects. The Commission President at the time, Jimmy Jaramillo (who attended virtually), agreed to sign the contract and then, at her request, the Commissioners agreed to allow CHERYL LEWIS TO SIGN ALL PROCEEDING DOCUMENTS regarding the project.
There was only one other bidder on the project. Many other state and local contractors were rebuffed when they asked about bidding, never even getting a chance to submit a proposal. Some claimed they never got responses to inquiry emails sent to the town.
The contract contained specifications for different phases of the project, the beach, the road, and the parking lot. Oxford Town Manager Lewis and Nicole Carloza of DNR were designated as “key personnel.” However, it seems that National Fish and Wildlife’s Amanda Poskaitis also played a key role in many decisions. And let’s not forget the chief designer from Underwood, Chris Becraft.
During this time, Lewis kept promoting the project to the town as a “flood mitigation” project and a way to save the Strand Road, parking lot, and condominiums on that road. However, Keith Binstead of Underwood and Associates said just the opposite, stating that this project would not prevent tidal flooding, only prevent damage to the beach. Residents questioned the decision to take on the Strand Project as there were much more pressing issues in other different areas of town. The Strand, while a flooding problem, fell far down the list of priorities in studies done about Oxford flooding.
Lewis dismissed their concerns while the town hid the 2016 Stormwater Management and Shoreline Protection Plan by keeping it off their website:
Many alleged that it was hidden because the analysis of flooding priorities in different areas of the town didn’t match the goals of the Strand Beach Restoration, which was far down the list of critical areas. It was finally released in 2023.
Lewis then shifted the narrative as a way to “save the Oxford Beach” for visitors. Again, residents wondered if this was truly a priority for a town that suffered extreme tidal flooding in the past 20 years. Many residents in the town and particularly on the Strand didn’t want a larger, more trafficked beach. They liked the beach the way it was.
It didn’t seem that the will of the residents of Oxford mattered in making these decisions.
From THE BAY JOURNAL:
With assistance from the National Wildlife Federation and a commitment of matching funds from the DNR, the town applied to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation coastal resilience fund to construct the beach portion of the design. Counting the match, total funding is $2.8 million. Construction is still some time off, as the project must go through regulatory review and gain permits.
The project was underway.
As the project started, Chris Becraft*, the head of the project for Underwood and Associates blithely worked on his vision of what the Strand changes would be, telling people who asked for more details that he “didn’t really know what it would look like when finished because he had to wait and see how it developed.” He preferred to do the work and then decide what the final outcome would be, his version of shoot, ready, aim. He said this despite having prepared a visual representation of the restoration which the Commissioners of the town had approved.
Town Manager Lewis stated at the time that “no one knows what the best design would be” for the Strand. However, she and the Commissioners were willing to take what seems like a big chance on the “green” infrastructure solution so they could collaborate with the National Fish and Wildlife Federation on new initiatives to partially save (and possibly increase) an “historic beach”.
From Left to Right: Chris Becraft, Nicole Carloza, and Amanda Postaikis Explain Strand Project to Oxford Citizens (Credit Maggie Trovato, Star Democrat)
In an article in the STAR DEMOCRAT, Bhaskar Subramanian, the Shoreline Conservation Section Chief for the Chesapeake & Coastal Service at DNR, stated the main motivation for this project as it was being completed:
“The goal of the project is to make Strand Beach both ‘bigger and better,’ he
added, and the Strand Beach Shoreline Improvement Project is bold but
efficient. ‘We want innovative projects’ he explained. ‘And especially ones that push
the science forward.‘ “
He never mentioned that they wanted innovative projects that actually work. Oxford was a guinea pig. He also didn’t seem to know that the Strand Project was sold to Oxford residents as a solution for flooding. “Innovation” won. Practicality and preservation of the beautiful Strand lost.
There were plenty of specifications in the project design. First, there would be four islands creating a breakwater for the beach. These “islands” would NOT be visible when it was high tide. There was no mention of boulders and logs. A quote from Cheryl Lewis to the September 29,2023 Star Democrat: “Most of the time you won’t even see [the islands]. They’ll be underwater, but they’ll have grasses on them.”
Island on Oxford Strand Jutting Out Above the Water. The Marker in Front Designates Elevation 2 Feet
The sand dunes along the road were to be 6 feet tall and the grassy strip that was supposed to exist between the road and the sand dune. The pathway was to be four feet wide to allow pedestrian traffic.
Top Picture: Dunes at Their Current Height (Not As Planned) Along Strand Road. The Red Lines Mark Where the 4 Ft. Grassy Walkway is Supposed to Be.
Picture Above: Current Angle of Dunes From Another Location on Strand Road. Notice the Lines for the Walkway Travel Up the Dune.
It was the Fall of 2023 when work began and the ugly mess on the Strand became stark reality for the citizens of Oxford. The project was destroying the historic beach. Not only that, but the plans for lifting the road and parking lot did not seem to be based on sound engineering theory. That portion of the plan had not been started and still hasn’t to this day.
A Picture from 2023 Shows the Construction of the New Beach Contour
A couple of enterprising citizens who had the tenacity, intellectual ability, and professional background to evaluate the project began to sound the alarm, quoting engineers and their own experience to point out that Chris Becraft, who once referred to himself as a “Professional Shoreline Guy,” didn’t seem to have a clear idea of what he was doing. (We thank them for their consultation on this article.)
Sign Posted By Underwood in November, 2023 as They Left the Strand Project After Several Weeks of Construction to Allow “Nature” to Take Over
Many asked if the Strand Project was a scam and if the Town of Oxford was a guinea pig in a destructive experiment that was ruining their historic beach. They demanded answers. On February 7, 2024, Becraft, Carlozo (DNR) and Postkaitis did an “Oxford Town Talk” at the Oxford Community Center. Here’s the link:
JT40275_V1_JM37660_v1_Cabbage+(AY36695_V1_Hook)+(PC35250_V1)+Cholesterol_Mistake_16x9.mp4
When asked about the new landscape on the shoreline and how ugly it was, Postkaitis said, “You’ll get used to it.”
Immediately after that talk, Poskaitis of The National Wildlife Federation spiked the football on the Strand Beach project, saying in an article dated February 27, 2024, “One successful such project just wrapped up construction this October in the Town of Oxford, Maryland.” The picture below is what the project looked like that Fall:
Although the grass strip is pictured here in this photo, when Becraft returned in April of 2024, he covered the strip with sand and created the sand dune right up to the road.
The project was far from finished but Amanda must not have gotten that memo. She did, however, get something else. In March of 2024, Postkaitis left the NWF and went to work as Partnership Development Manager for Underwood and Associates.
Fast forward to 2025. Lewis retired from her job in 2024 but not before making sure that Commission President at the time, Tom Costigan, signed off on the check to pay Underwood and Associates on the first phase of the 2-million-dollar project even though it had been discovered that they had NOT completed the project as specified. Not only were most of the plantings missing but it seemed that the islands in the project did not meet the specifications in the contracted plan among other major problems.
One wonders if Lewis breathed a sigh of relief and washed her hands of the project as she walked out the door.
In short, Oxford had a huge, potentially expensive problem on their hands.
After meetings between Commissioners, the new Town Manager, the Contractor, DNR and Army Corps of Engineers, it was clear that changes in the Strand Project MUST be made to maintain compliance. First, the height of the islands needed to be lowered. Also, the “tombolos,” the areas c that connected those islands to the shore, had to be removed.
If the project was out of compliance, there would be huge penalties for the town. It would cost the town financially AND would hurt the continued permitting of the rest of the project or any other projects the town might want to pursue.
Commissioner Katrina Greer had enlisted help after it was clear that the project was paid for, but not complete and delivered as promised. She wasn’t the only one who noticed. Upon hearing during a meeting last summer (2024) that the project had not been finished, Commissioner Tom Costigan suggested that the town not pay the contractor. It was pointed out to him that sadly the town HAD paid Underwood and that Costigan, as President of the Commissioners, had signed off on that payment.
There were other issues. The town was promised over 2600 plantings on the beach and the islands. Fewer than a quarter of those had been delivered. These were plants that were specifically suitable for shoreline areas.
And then there were the boulders and logs that sat on the islands creating a jarring landscape and a dangerous hazard to those who may venture out near them on foot or in boats. This was a potential legal issue for the town. When this was mentioned to Becraft at the February meeting, he said the citizens had requested them as a “feature” of the project.
No one in the town remembers that being something they asked for.
When the Commissioners were told in a meeting that adults, children and pets were being hurt on those “features,” appointed Commissioner Susan Delean Botkin’s response was, “People should control their children.” It’s left for us to wonder how that would hold up in court.
For the time being, they will remain due to the cost of removal and lack of a place to put them.
For now, the contractor is back at the Strand making required changes in order for the project to be in compliance. The pictures below show some of the work and resources. Bear in mind, Underwood and the National Wildlife Federation, proclaimed the project DONE in the Spring of 2024. It is one year later.
Contractor Lowers Islands
Plants to Be Used in Project
The town was not the only potential victim of misrepresentations and empty promises. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Underwood, Becraft is rumored to have left their employ, leaving someone else to clean up his mess.
Disabled Citizens Ignored: In May, 2022, a memorandum signed by the DNR, Chesapeake Service and Coastal Division of DNR, and the town stated, “The Project shall provide equitable access to outdoor activities” and ” the project should support this access and enable to area and public parking to be accessible even after storm events.” That didn’t work out. This story from 2024:
As of this week, no handicapped access has been created, even though the Maryland Department of Environment issued a Water Quality Certification to Underwood requiring the ADA ramps. The Town is working to find a solution to the issue. However, with the construction the way it is, any access will be at least a tenth of a mile from the beach parking lot and not conducive for easy movement.
Presently, there is no money available to solve this problem.
Agreement With Resident Not Fulfilled: In a town meeting on March 25, resident Mac Sommerlatte, who lives at the end of the Strand, expressed dismay that his property, which is attached to the Strand Beach, did not receive the alterations and improvements that were supposed to be made by the contractor (and therefore the town) as part of the project.
In a contract signed by Commissioner Costigan on November 6, 2023, Sommerlatte gave permission for Underwood and Associates to access his property in order for it to be lifted and the bulkhead covered, lifted and protected to assure the integrity of the Strand restoration. His property comprises 19% of the linear feet of the project and is the “head” or beginning of the Strand Beach Restoration . In a letter from Amanda H. Pollock, P.E. Center for Watershed Protection, this was the description of and rationale for the improvements:
“The design includes construction of a boulder outcrop retaining wall on the Sommerlatte property with fill behind the wall. The three existing trees will be protected by six-foot radius tree wells which will drain through the boulder retaining wall.”
“We agree with the approach that raising the adjacent property is necessary to provide flood mitigation. Since we cannot assure that the existing bulkhead has the structural integrity to support the boulder retaining wall, we recommend replacing the existing bulkhead and raising it to serve as the retaining wall for the fill that will be placed in the yard. (Note: fill from the Strand Restoration).”
“The new bulkhead elevations should be coordinated with the proposed hook that will be installed adjacent to the Sommerlatte property to provide for a cohesive shoreline enhancement project.”
In other words, if Sommerlatte had NOT agreed to access and this change to his property, the project would not be successful. Yet, nothing has been completed on his property leaving him worse off now than he was before. He is not aware of a plan to complete it at this time.
In the March 25th meeting, Sommerlatte asked the Commissioners and current town manager Holly Wahl to meet with him to go over the agreement which had been brokered between him and the contractor. He was promised that a meeting would occur “soon.” In a conversation today, he confirmed that, two weeks later, he is still waiting.
He, like the residents of Oxford, is a victim of a project which was doomed from the beginning by inappropriate and unnecessary intent, poor design, poor oversight, poor communication, misinformation, insufficient bid procedures and any other problem one can imagine. There seemed to be total disregard for what the “restoration” would do to this beautiful, iconic vista that had lasted for hundreds of years in Oxford. It was a project seemingly created to gain publicity rather than solve a real problem. And, once it was begun, the town could never undo the damage.
There are plenty of people responsible for this expensive debacle. At no time did it seem like anyone involved asked if this project was a priority in a town with massive flooding issues that don’t involve the Strand, if this was the best answer to address any flooding/erosion on the Strand, and if this truly was something the citizens wanted. Why weren’t more contractors encouraged to submit bids?
Flooding on Strand Road Continues Even After Mild Rainstorms
Work on the Strand – The Sommerlatte House is in the Background
It also seems like no one monitored the work of the contractor who was completing the project. A look at what is getting “fixed” right now proves that the project designer worked without regard for engineering, practical beach protection strategies, or his own plan! No one listened to those voices in town who knew something was very wrong and pointed out the problems to those in charge.
Where were the Commissioners as the project proceeded? Why didn’t they press Lewis and the contractor for specific updates, especially if they involved changes in the plans? Why didn’t they involve the Army Corps of Engineers sooner when it was clear the project was not done as promised?
In an October 3, 2023 interview on the National Wildlife Federations blog, Cheryl Lewis said this about her role in the Strand Restoration:
This project is time consuming and overwhelming, and I am just me! You know, I have a staff member that answers the phones and handles billing, and I have another that handles building permits and planning. The rest of it is all me. So, for me—for Oxford—to be able to pull off these resilience projects, get them funded, and make them actually happen, it’s all really dependent on the support of National Wildlife Federation’s team. As we were getting this project off the ground, any time something was getting left behind or falling off the deep end, somebody like Amanda [National Wildlife Federation’s Mid-Atlantic Coastal Resilience Program Manager] would go “Hey, we need to do this next.” And without that, I don’t think we would have been that successful, because at times my job is totally overwhelming. Link to Blog below:
Surely a project of this size needed more people to pay attention to what was happening.
There are questions about this project that will take months and possibly years to answer. Phases Two and Three don’t seem to be on the horizon. Many of the principal players have either left office, changed employment or retired. Lewis retired on June 30, 2024, approximately 8 months after work on the Strand started.
The Oxford Strand is still there as it has been for hundreds of years. However, it’s beauty has been tragically altered, and it will never be the same.
MANY THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS FOR THEIR EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND INFORMATION.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Here are four Easton Gazette stories about the Strand Project. In these articles, we write about all the information, plans, misrepresentations and half-truths that were used to sell the project to the town as one thing when it was something completely different:
Why Are They Destroying Oxford’s Beautiful, Iconic Shoreline? – The Easton Gazette
Hundreds Of Years Of Nature’s Work Destroyed On Oxford Strand – The Easton Gazette
Oxford Strand Restoration: An Ugly Unsafe Test Case? – The Easton Gazette
OTHER STORIES:
A New Look at Oxford’s Shorelines – The National Wildlife Federation Blog
Strand Beach Project Update | Local | stardem.com (9/29/2023)
Oxford, Md. to Get $2.87 Million in Coastal Protection Projects | Chesapeake Bay Magazine (2020)
Oxford Residents learn more, ask questions about Strand Beach project | Local | stardem.com (Feb. 2024)
UNDERWOOD PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS:
Microsoft PowerPoint – Underwood & Associates
Other Underwood Projects in the News:
Jenkins Point restoration project outlined at meeting – Worcester County News Bayside Gazette
*It is our understanding that Becraft is no longer with Underwood and Associates. We have not confirmed that information.
Jan Greenhawk, Author
Jan Greenhawk is a former teacher and school administrator for over thirty years. She has two grown children and lives with her husband in Maryland. She also spent over twenty-five years coaching/judging gymnastics and coaching women’s softball.
The post Oxford Strand Beach Project: Doomed To Fail From The Beginning appeared first on The Easton Gazette.
