Harbor Management Commission

HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION January 24, 2012 100 Broadway, Room 219 MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman John Paul Mereen Alderman Charles Jaskiewicz Alderman Tucker Braddock City Manager Alan Bergren Joanne Philbrick MEMBERS ABSENT Vice-Chairman Richard Benoit OTHERS ABSENT Geoffrey Steadman OTHERS PRESENT Adam Benson-Norwich Bulletin Mel Wiese Jill Brennan-Recording Secretary I. Call to order – Chair J.P. Mereen called the January 24, 2012 meeting to order at 5:00 P.M. II. Determination of Quorum It was determined a quorum was present. III. Approval of Minutes Minutes of December 27, 2011 meeting-motion to accept C. Jaskiewicz, 2nd T. Braddock, motion carried unanimously. IV. Citizen Comment None V. Correspondence VI. Harbor Master Report The Commission is still waiting for the Governor to make the appointment. VII. Old Business a. Informational plaque installation status Two have been installed; the other will be installed when planned landscaping is complete. Harbor Management Commission January 24, 2012 Page -2- b. Concert series JP Mereen has met with the new marina owners and the stage will have to be moved as it will interfere with the location of the planned ice cream shop. Plans are being discussed for new locations. Norwich Public Utilities has pledged their assistance. Many performers have expressed interest so there will be plenty to choose from. JP Mereen would like to involve the new Recreation Director in the planning of this series as he has experience with developing concert series. c. Council action on the Waterfront Vision statement The Council has forwarded the Vision Statement to the COCP. The Commission would like the HM Plan to be incorporated into the POCD, not necessarily the Vision Statement. d. Planning for relocation of boat launch Funding sources needed to be explored. There are no adequate boat launches between Norwich and New London. J. Philbrick commented that the Commission should come up with 3 physical sites appropriate for a launch. Chairman Mereen stated that this has been done and the locations were not considered suitable by the State officials after soil testing, etc. had been done. J. Philbrick suggested that public input is solicited as to a boat launch location. Boat launch locations are extremely limited due to railroad locations. JP Mereen suggests enlisting State assistance for looking at suitable locations. T. Braddock suggested looking more closely at the Shipping Street location, but funding to acquire the property is not available. C. Jaskiewicz asked what the state of the current boat launch on the South Side of Shipping Street is. JP Mereen stated that it is no longer in use. The DEP used to administer funds that could be accessed to construct boat launches but these funds are no longer available. JP Mereen suggested a follow-up meeting with Courtney’s staff. T. Braddock feels that these meetings need to be followed up on. JP Mereen to follow up with Bob Mills in conjunction with the work being done at Uncas Leap with the National Park Service. C. Jaskiewicz will touch base with the US Dept of Agriculture. e. River trails map grant application JP Mereen will get an update from G. Steadman regarding this. f. Installation of “Harbor Cam” JP Mereen spoke to Michael Aliano who gave him the name of a company out of New York and the cost to monitor and transmit the signal, not Harbor Management Commission January 24, 2012 Page -3-  including the hardware, could be prohibitive. He suggests meeting with the Police Department to get information about transmitting the information in a cost effective manner. The initial start up cost would be between $8-10,000. C. Jaskiewicz suggested contacting the DOT regarding the cameras that they currently use to monitor traffic. J. Philbrick to contact the Martha’s Vineyard Times regarding their camera use. g. HMC Plan update G. Steadman is currently working on this. Carry over to next month’s agenda. h. Status of DEEP presentation to council Steve Gephardt from DEEP will present an informational session to the City Council before the council meeting on the 21st. Increasing the Shad population will be the focus. T. Braddock suggested a Harbor Seal auction similar to New London’s. T. Braddock will investigate this fund raising option. VIII. New Business a. New marina owner’s concession stand Chair Mereen inquired if the HMC has to approve plans for this. CM Bergren to check into this. b. Coast Guard meeting w/Mayor VII. Other Fundraising ideas: Chair Mereen suggests putting on a fund raising dinner towards the end of the summer. J. Philbrick suggested a clam bake and a limited auction of a high end item. C. Jaskiewicz also suggested doing a silent auction. T. Braddock will check with Harvey regarding prices and date availability for 8/24 or 8/17. VI. Adjournment Motion to adjourn, T. Braddock, 2nd C. Jaskiewicz, meeting adjourned at 5:55 PM.