Press Release: 11/19/2025

OIG Finds DCR and New Bedford Port Authority Grossly Mismanaged Pope’s Island Marina for Decades

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

11/19/2025

MEDIA CONTACT

Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer

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Call Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer at 617-722-8894

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Email Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer at carrie.c.kimball@mass.gov

NEW BEDFORD, MA — The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has found that the agreement the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) has with the New Bedford Port Authority (NBPA) to operate and maintain the Pope’s Island Marina, which was authorized by the Legislature in 1992, was and is grossly mismanaged.

In a letter sent today, Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro provided ten findings from an OIG investigation into the Pope’s Island Marina’s operations, which stemmed from complaints to the OIG’s Fraud Hotline.

“Incomplete records and poor practices suggest DCR did not receive all the rent revenue due from the NBPA.  Considering DCR’s subpar performance in managing the NBPA’s operation of Pope’s Island Marina over the last 30 years, I am not confident in DCR’s ability to oversee the more complicated lease contemplated by a recently issued RFP, or any other lease for that matter,” IG Shapiro said.  “While being a landlord is not a core function of DCR’s mission, they are expected to be a responsible steward of public resources. At this time, it is clear that DCR lacks the appropriate systems or controls to operate in this manner.”

In 1992, the Legislature passed a measure directing the state lease an area “in and over the waters” off downtown New Bedford to the NBPA to construct, operate, and maintain a marina and recreational area.  Rather than executing a lease, as the Legislature directed, DCR and NBPA used special use permits, with an unsigned lease attached to set forth rent payments, expense reporting, and a capital repair account from 1994 to 2005. Then from 2005 to the present, the parties used two different Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to govern the terms of marina operations and maintenance. 

The OIG investigation found that the parties failed to comply with all the terms of any of these documents.

In addition, the OIG investigation found that DCR and NBPA could provide only limited evidence of the annual rents paid between 1994 and 2015 and could not account for $190,000 in capital repair funds. Beyond being unable to account for expected rent revenues, DCR did not collect contracted slip fee percentages, allowed the NBPA to claim unsupported credits on amounts due, and did not ensure that the NBPA made needed marina repairs.

“The Pope’s Island Marina and the revenue generated are public resources and the maintenance of the marina is critical to maintaining this important public resource.  As such, it must be operated in a clear, transparent and responsible manner,” IG Shapiro said. “I am troubled by DCR’s lack of management over this agreement and based upon what the OIG investigators learned, I question DCR’s ability to manage the many other leases for which it has responsibility across the Commonwealth. I lack confidence in the NBPA’s continued operation of the marina and am troubled by its actions uncovered during the investigation.”

“Due to the poor recordkeeping of both the DCR and the NBPA, the OIG is unable to determine if NBPA has paid what it owes to DCR, though it is not likely that they did so, due to many questionable and unauthorized payment deductions made by NBPA and similarly, cannot determine if DCR has received all of the monies it is owed,” IG Shapiro said. “Under these circumstances, the OIG stands in strong opposition to the NBPA’s proposal that DCR transfer ownership of Pope’s Island Marina, either in whole or in part, to the NBPA. And has concerns about the ability of DCR to meet the requirements of a 2024 law to conduct a procurement resulting in a new lease for the marina.”

IG Shapiro seeks Legislative action to resolve the current lease and further assistance to address a future lease due to concerns about the land ownership of the adjacent properties making up the marina complex.