The damage estimates are in and the price tag for repairing the West Dock in Menemsha following the July 12 fire may exceed $1 million. And as they struggle to figure out how the town is going to pay for it all, the visibly harried Chilmark selectmen this week voiced their disappointment in the Coast Guard for its slow response on cleanup efforts following the fire.

“I would just say that it seems to me that the response from the Coast Guard has been very slow, and that’s a little distressing,” said selectman and board chairman Warren Doty at a meeting on Tuesday night. “I would have thought they’d be faster than us, because they’re a bigger organization. We’re already planning our repairs, and they haven’t started anything yet,” he added.

Selectmen accepted a low bid of $69,000 from AGM Marine Contractors of Mashpee for the pickup, delivery and installation of concrete floating docks to replace those lost in the fire. Mr. Doty said the selectmen were able to expedite the bidding process after they declared a state of emergency in Menemsha following the fire. But even that didn’t buy them the timeline they’d been aiming for in making repairs. “We had hoped that we could get it done in a couple of weeks but it’s taken some time to get the concrete floats,” Mr. Doty said. But he added that once installed, the floats should have a life span of more than 30 years. “The idea is that we have a permanent solution,” he said. “They will last beyond my lifetime.”

The board approved the purchase of the concrete docks from Bellingham Marine of Florida last month at a cost of roughly $112,000.

Now discussion has turned to a related reconstruction project to rebuild the carway and pedestrian walkway, which will be located next to the new concrete floating docks on the channel side of the harbor. Engineer Kent Healy appeared at the meeting to offer several options for construction. The selectmen directed Mr. Healy to pursue a 16-foot wide structure — large enough to accommodate an 11-foot carway and a connected walkway, which the selectmen said should be built on the channel side, rather than on the harbor side of the pier. They agreed that concrete slabs would be the best option for building materials.

Mr. Healy estimated that the price for the entire construction project would be well above $1 million.

Selectmen agreed they had little choice in the matter. “We didn’t want to do this construction project, but here we are, and we want to do it in a way that is the best possible future for Menemsha,” said Mr. Doty.

An additional expense for the town will accrue to the benefit of fishermen who lost their slips along the dock. The board voted to credit slip-holders three fifths of their annual slip fees for next year. “The fire has terminated most of the season usage,” said selectman Frank M. Fenner Jr. Selectmen also agreed to lift the length-of-stay rule that limits the amount of time vessels can park along the docks. The new regulation will expire on May 1, 2011.

But there were sharp words of criticism for the Coast Guard; Mr. Doty said that while the town has worked hard to clean up the harbor after the fire, the Coast Guard has not followed suit on the portion of the property it owns, the site of the historic boathouse that was destroyed in the fire. That fire site remains fenced off and untouched. “There has been no attempt by the Coast Guard to clean up anything,” Mr. Doty said.

Executive secretary Timothy Carroll said he had not received a planned update from the Coast Guard prior to the selectmen’s meeting, but that the organization was no doubt limited in their actions by the fact that the investigation remains open. The fire is under investigation by four agencies: The Coast Guard, the state fire marshal, state police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacoo, Firearms and Explosives.

The central question for the selectmen is how to pay for all the repairs that are needed after the fire. Mr. Fenner said he hopes the town will be reimbursed, at least partially, once the investigation is closed and insurance matters are settled. The selectmen said it could be years before the insurance monies come through. They discussed attaching the spending for fire repairs to the borrowing for the town’s Middle Line Road affordable housing project, which would allow the town to avoid paying an additional $25,000 to go out with a new bond. But there was some question about whether the town should commit to a long-term bond payment schedule when a short-term bond might suffice. Mr. Carroll said that the town will have to fund some portion of the project with a long-term bond “no matter what.” In the end, no decision was made about borrowing for the project, but Mr. Doty said the board will take up the issue at their next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 17.

Mr. Carroll said the town has also approached state representatives in Boston to help track down other potential funding options for the project.

Meanwhile, a special town meeting has been set for Sept. 27, and selectmen expect many of the articles will relate to appropriating money for repairs at Menemsha. First off will be a requested appropriation of $200,000 to cover emergency expenditures in the aftermath of the fire. Also expected is an article to fund the replacement carway, but the exact amount is not yet known. Voters will be asked to spend some $10,000 to cover harbor, engineering, police and fire-related expenses.

And more is expected by the time the summer is over.