Ooops Sorry…Wrong Lighthouse
By Sue Clark on Sep 20, 2007 in Lighthouses For Sale 
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It seems the person in charge of listing the lighthouse Notices of Availability messed up and put the wrong lighthouse on the GSA excess list, according to a story in the Shore Line Times. Although the lighthouses are only about a mile and a half apart, they are completely different. Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, built in 1886 and featured on Connecticut’s license plate, police cars and more, is totally different from the Lynde Point (Saybrook) Lighthouse (pictured at left), built in 1838. Both lighthouses are still active aids to navigation in the waters of Long Island Sound. It was widely publicized that Saybrook Breakwater Light was being excessed by the Coast Guard and available to municipalities and non-profit organizations for one dollar.
Controversy was generated due to the limited access to the light, as it’s at the end of a private road through a gated community, and the town was hesitant to take on ownership if public access couldn’t be guaranteed. However, at the September 6 Old Saybrook Board of Selectmen meeting, town officials said General Service Administration Property Disposal Zone employee Saundra Robbins admitted another employee at the Boston office made the mix-up after visiting Fenwick, and it was actually Lynde Pointe Light that was up for grabs.
While that bit of news is good, there is still a problem of access at the other light also. A Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facility is attempting to build near there, and the required security zone would put boaters dangerously close to the lighthouse. Town attorney Michael Cronin is strongly against the town taking ownership. “The legal problems would be insurmountable…I wonder how many layers of lead paint are on the lighthouse and how inadequate its septic system is; it should be left with the feds,” Cronin said. And First Selectman Michael Pace states he feels that both lighthouses should stay under federal ownership.
While a lot of us in the lighthouse world feel that the government ought to still maintain these lights, we know that isn’t going to happen. The Coast Guard is ridding itself of as many as it can, at an historic pace. Unfortunately, if a town isn’t willing to step up and accept stewardship, Lynde Point may also end up in the auction process. What do you think? Should lighthouses remain under federal control? Or should there be some mechanism in place to provide support from the government? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Edit:
Lighthouse News wrote to Saundra Robbins to confirm that there was a mixup in which lighthouse was being offered. I received this reply from her today (September 21):
Old Saybrook has been declared excess to the needs of the USCG. The property has not been offered as a Notice of Availability under the National Lighthouse Historic Preservation act of 2000. I don’t know anything about the other light Lynde Point.
Hmmm, sounds to me no one seems to know which lighthouse is which. Or which is being offered. So which is it? On the NPS site, the two are the Saybrook Breakwater and the Lynde Point (Saybrook) Lighthouses. Totally different from each other, but only one has been excessed. According to the GSA site, it’s still listed as Saybrook Breakwater Light, but in the story referenced above, it’s not that one, it was a mistake by “some guy in Boston.” It’s really scary to think that these are the people administering our Lighthouse Preservation Act. For a related post about this, see Old Saybrook Lighthouse Quagmire? at the New England Lighthouse Blog.
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More About Saybrook Lighthouse
- Old Saybrook Light Next Up For Disposal
- Saybrook Light Access a Problem for Town
- Ooops Sorry…Wrong Lighthouse
- Saybrook Selectman: Keep the Lighthouse
September 21st, 2007 at 5:12 pm
In reply to your comment on the Lighthouse Quagmire (nelighthouse.blogspot.com/2007/09/lighthouse-quagmire.html):
I am not surprised by the confusion with the Lighthouses located in Old Saybrook!
Seems to me, the news article used a sensational controversy about the alleged Lighthouse mixup to keep the key major concerns of Old Saybrook alive in a public forum.
September 21st, 2007 at 5:50 pm
It sounds to me like the town is trying to get out of stewardship, no matter which lighthouse it is. I wasn’t aware there was such an issue with the Lynde Pointe access. But that’s what the town is making it out to be.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:04 am
[…] name, but in the state of Washington. With the recent mix-up on the Saybrook Lighthouse being the wrong one listed, and another more minor mistake caught by a vigilant reader of Seacoast Online regarding Whaleback […]
November 15th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
[…] time that the GSA has put out something that was withdrawn, due to someone’s mistake. The mix up over which Saybrook Lighthouse was available still hasn’t really been resolved. So come on, GSA, please get the facts in […]