Bristol Borough unveils the Municipal Pier and Day Docks, a $3 million project set to bring new life to the Delaware waterfront
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
Trust the process.
These are the words that got Ralph DiGuiseppe through nine years of trying to make his vision a reality. On June 29, the president of the Bristol Borough Council stood proudly on stage as he unveiled the completed project that became both his and the community’s heart and soul — the Municipal Pier and Day Docks.
For several years, Bristol was focused on taking care of things on the homefront, improving traffic safety and building up its infrastructure and business district. But after the sense of rejuvenation the Small Business Revolution brought to the borough, it was time to start attracting visitors to come share in the specialness of the town. For DiGuiseppe, the obvious move was to capitalize on Bristol’s scenic waterfront views.
Though he has been involved in every major project over the last 16 years as council president, the pier and docks are the biggest project DiGuiseppe has seen the borough put together. A $3 million project, he predicts it will be one of the borough’s biggest assets, allowing Bristol to welcome people into the community through an access point that hasn’t been available for decades.
Throughout the nine years of making the pier and docks a reality, DiGuiseppe and the council questioned whether it would actually happen many times. But four years ago, he was informed by former U.S. Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick the borough was awarded $1.5 million to kick off the construction, a grant that only Annapolis, Md., and Maui, Hawaii, were awarded.
A donation of $250,000 was given by Gene Williams and the Grundy Foundation, whose mission is to help build up Bristol. According to Williams, it was an “easy sell” because the project fit perfectly with that.
With additional support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and County Commissioners Robert Loughery, Charles Martin and Diane Ellis-Marseglia, more money was raised but a balance was still needed. Thanks to state Sen. Robert “Tommy” Tomlinson and state Rep. John Galloway, the remaining $770,000 was secured with only one instruction from the two — “start building the docks.”
“This is a great night,” Galloway said. “Everything you see here today is the very definition of having a vision.”
As far as promoting the project, DiGuiseppe explained how there was only one man for the job. Bill Pezza and his Raising the Bar association were “relentless” in helping to make it a reality. Still on a high from the impact of the Small Business Revolution, Pezza wanted to keep making the town the best it could be.
Taking the microphone, Pezza informed the crowd of a new $50,000 grant received to allow 10 properties on Mill Street to renovate their spaces, hence the construction seen throughout the blocks. He also revealed an additional project Deluxe is working on to help promote the docks — the creation of visitbristol.com, which will be promoted on visitbuckscounty.com so everyone in the county will be directed toward the borough.
“This is the biggest project for economic development in Bristol,” Pezza said.
At the end of the ceremony, Pezza presented an emotional DiGuiseppe with a commemorative brick to recognize the perseverance and persistence he exhibited in successfully completing the pier and docks. Afterward, the crowd rushed forward for the official ribbon cutting ceremony to kick off years and decades of putting Bristol’s unmatched waterfront views to good use. ••
