Harbor Management Commission

HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETING The Harbor Management Commission Meeting of December 22, 2009 was held in Room 319 at City Hall. Vice Chairman Richard Benoit acted as chairman and called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Attendance was as follows: MEMBERS PRESENT Richard C. Benoit, Vice Chairman John Paul Mereen Edward Seder James Paulsen Alderman H. Tucker Braddock, Jr. MEMBERS ABSENT Alan Bergren, City Manager Alderman Pete Desaulniers OTHERS PRESENT Geoff Steadman, Harbor Management Consultant Joan Seder, Resident 2. Determination of Quorum It was determined a quorum was present. 3. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Mr.Benoit, seconded by Mr. Paulsen, to accept the minutes dated November 24, 2009. Mr. Mereen abstained from voting. All were in favor. 4. Citizen Comment-None at this time. 5. Correspondence The Commission received a thank-you note from Mrs. Aliano acknowledging the families appreciation of the Commissions kind expression of sympathy in the passing of Mr. Aliano, was read and a copy was given to each member. 6. Harbor Master Report No report offered as Mr. Harrison was not present at the meeting. 7. Old Business A. Harbor Management Plan Update-Mr. Steadman Mr. Steadman advised the Commission he has spoken to Carol Syzmanski, the DEP representative, and will be meeting with her approximately the second week in January to discuss the changes in the policy. He noted that in the existing plan the HMC had a appendix where they proposed certain revisions to the Norwich Code of Ordinances that deal with the HMC and the jurisdiction and use of the Howard Brown Park. It is unclear when the City Council adopted the HMC plan that they also adopted the changes to the ordinance. If not, then he would need to be sure that the ordinance is updated to reflect the changes. Mr. Steadman then gave examples of what was proposed such as; at least 50’ linear feet of city dock space reserved for overnight or transient use at Brown Park free of charge for a 24 hour period, the HMC account within the City’s general fund, which was a proposed revision to the code. He stated the DEP needs to approve the plan before it is submitted to the Council. B. City Pier/City Dock/Seawall Mr. Bergren and Mr. Loyacano are in the process of working on it at this time C. Yantic River Dredging Update Mr. Steadman brought Mr. Mereen up to date on the total estimated cost for the sampling and testing by the DEP. The total estimated cost at the worst case scenario would be $28,000. Mr. Mereen stated that even with budget constraints, it may be possible to consider any grants available given the current tourism situation. A brief discussion of possible areas where the dredging area would be were noted. 8. New Business Mr. Steadman presented the Commission with an invoice of all work performed (attachment A) from January 1, 2009-November 30, 2009 for the amount of $6,100.73. The invoice included two bills from the engineer who submitted dredging maps to the DEP in the amount of $600.00. He informed the Commission he had spoken to the finance department in the Legislature about the funds owed to the City from boating registrations. The City will receive the money owed but a timeline was not given. Mr. Steadman sent correspondence to Mr. Bergren that he will relay to Mr. Ruffo. Mr. Benoit made a motion to pay Mr. Steadman $4000.00 for the time being due to the current funds in the HMC account. It was seconded by Mr. Mereen and the members unanimously agreed leaving a balance of $2159.73. The remainder of money owned to Mr. Steadman would be discussed with Mr. Bergren. Mr. Seder made a motion to give a vote of confidence and continue hiring and working with Mr. Steadman. Mr. Mereen seconded the motion and it passed amongst the members unanimously. The December HMC fund report was discussed. Mr. Benoit advised the Commission that approximately $8000.00 would be returned from the State. It was noted that a lot of the monies received have been spent on the dredging project, Shipping Street project and the engineering report. Mr. Benoit stated he will try to contact one of our State Representatives to attend a future meeting to explain the current state budget situation. Mr. Steadman told the HMC that he appreciated their vote of confidence and assured them that he would like to help the HMC achieve and implement a lot of the ideas Mr. Aliano was instrumental in bringing to the HMC. Mr. Tucker asked to be briefed on the duties of the HMC. Mr. Steadman gave a narrative on the duties and authority of the HMC. Mr. Seder pointed out that he would like to see more industrial sites that could provide jobs to Norwich. Ideally, he would like to see he railroad operable which could run business all the way to Canada. He would also like to see the bridge rebuilt larger so tall ships could come in through the canal. Mr. Steadman spoke about the Waterfront Vision and Implementation Strategy for the City of Norwich that was prepared and discussed but never formally adopted by the City Council on July 15, 2004. It is basically a vision for the future of Norwich and the waterfront. Mr. Tucker asked if the HMC has any connection to the Heritage River Walkway. Mr. Steadman stated it wasn’t a project of the HMC but a goal to provide public access to and along the harbor wherever its feasible and possible. Mr. Benoit answered questions by Mr. Tucker regarding the authority the Harbor Master, Mr. Harrison has, regarding enforcement. He enforces abandoned vessels, speeding, boaters not wearing the proper PFD’s and works in conjunction with the NPD. Mr. Steadman informed the Commission that neither the Harbor Master nor the HMC has any authority over the marina since it is a private entity. Mr. Benoit also explained that Norwich doesn’t have a Harbor Pilot and any commercial boats or ferries or ships that come in are under their own Captain. He stated there is a Federal turning basin at the head of the harbor that’s been modified since the original conception in the 1870’s. They have found out over the years that part of the turning basin that was designated was actually on Howard Brown Park. They have since gotten it moved down the river and reduced the size to a 600’ diameter circle in the center of the harbor. That is where big commercial ships can come in and turn around in the basin and head back down the river. There are Federal guidelines which state what the City and people can do within the turning basin and how far away they have to be from it for installing docks and etc. Mr. Seder stated he gave up 30’ of his property for the turning basin years ago. Mr. Benoit noted that the HMC has been trying to relocate the turning basin for years but the DEP wouldn’t give the HMC the grant. 9. Other None at this time 10. Adjournment On a motion by Mr. Mereen and seconded by Mr. Paulson, the Harbor Management Commission Meeting of December 22, 2009 was adjourned at 5:55 p.m. Respectfully Submitted By: Darlene Fedus-Papineau Recording Secretary