Harbor Management Commission

HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION February 28, 2012 MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman John Paul Mereen Vice-Chair Richard Benoit Alderman Tucker Braddock City Manager Alan Bergren Joanne Philbrick Alderman Charles Jaskiewicz MEMBERS ABSENT None OTHERS PRESENT Geoffrey Steadman Gerald Martin Lauren Miner Jill Brennan-Recording Secretary 1. Call to order – Chair J.P. Mereen called the February 28, 2012 meeting to order at 5:00 P.M. 2. Determination of Quorum It was determined a quorum was present. 3. Approval of Minutes Minutes of January 24, 2011 meeting-motion to accept T. Braddock, 2nd R. Benoit, motion carried unanimously. 4. Citizen Comment Jerry Martin introduced himself and expressed interest in becoming a member the Commission. Lauren Miner introduced herself and expressed her interest in becoming a member of the Commission. 5. Correspondence Letter from Daniel Watson regarding construction of a new boat launch. Letter from the GNACC regarding the Dragon Boat races- to be discussed under new business. 6. Harbor Master Report No appointment has been made yet. Letter will be sent next month requesting action from the Governor’s office. Harbor Management Commission February 28, 2012 Page -2- 7. Old Business a. Informational plaque installation status Geoff Steadman delivered the series of plaques for installation in City Hall. A press release will be sent out when they are installed. CM Bergren thanked G. Steadman for his quick response in providing the second set of plaques. The electronic version will be sent to all members and placed on the web. b. Concert series Scheduled to begin the 27th of June. The bands are lined up and over half of the funds have been raised. Advertising and publicity is being planned. Hall communication has offered spots for ads with sponsorship and Camaro Signs will sponsor banners. A request has been made to the Coast Guard and a slot will be scheduled. T. Braddock asked what the funding shortfall is. JP Mereen said if the pledges come through then the shortage will not be significant. He has not contacted the new Recreation Director yet, but will do so. There is an excess of bands willing to play. Donation checks to be written to the Business and Industry Foundation-City of Norwich. c. Council action on the Waterfront Vision statement/DEEP Presentation The presentation of DEEP went well. JP asked the Council members to comment on the presentation. They felt it went well and that we have something to look forward to with the Harbor here. It is important to keep the momentum going. C. Jaskiewicz suggested asking non-profits to provide volunteers to assist NPU with re-stocking. Fish reports on the web-site? To be discussed along with installation of the harbor cam. There seems to be some confusion regarding the Vision Statement. The Harbor Management Plan needs to be approved by the DEEP after adoption. This is not the Vision Statement. G. Steadman explained that the Harbor Management Plan has already been adopted and changes have been sent to the State for approval. The Waterfront Vision document is a completely separate document and does not need State approval. One of the strategies of the Vision Statement was to have the HMC act as the coordinator of involved agencies regarding Harbor development to create continuity and collaboration and that is what they are asking the Council to approve. CM Bergren will try to expedite this into an action with the Council. d. Planning for relocation of boat launch J.P. Mereen discussed a planned meeting in the Shipping Street area with property owners along with State representatives to discuss steps to Harbor Management Commission February 28, 2012 Page -3- accomplish this. There are two locations that may be looked at. He is very encouraged at the progress. Meeting needs to be posted as an informational. Agenda to list: Evaluating & review of Shipping Street sites and finding out what permits will be needed and potential funding sources. DOT Harbor Infrastructure Improvement Funds-G. Steadman discussed this potential funding for a boat launch. G. Steadman to ask a DOT rep to attend the meeting also. Funding needs to be obtained for a feasibility/design study. Getting cooperative landowners will be the first step. e. River trails map grant application No further progress has been made. The applications are due April 6th for 2012. G. Steadman suggests revising the previous proposal for the canoe and kayak trail. He will work on this. f. Installation of “Harbor Cam” NPU has a camera on the fish ladder that can be viewed on-line. Is there some way to put one in the Harbor that can be linked from the City site to the NPU web site and also use their knowledge to install the second camera. This would be the most cost effective way. J. Martin had suggested cameras on the boat launch and the dam that were placed on a downtown building. CT Fisherman.com is a site that anyone can post a comment on. CM Bergren to discuss collaborating on the cameras with John Bilda. g. New marina owner’s concession stand HMC approval was not needed-no action needs to be taken. h. HMC Plan update Is not complete yet. G. Steadman has all of the information and he has only to put it together. It should be ready next month. i. Fundraising idea update: Dinner update Braddock has to wait until the end of March to speak to Harvey as he is out of the country. JP Mereen suggests holding it on a Thursday evening when the venue may not be as booked. He suggests a lobster type dinner near the end of September. 8. New Business a. Dragon boat racing at Riverfest Motion to approve the use of river for the race, C. Jaskiewicz, 2nd T. Braddock, motion carried unanimously. Harbor Management Commission February 28, 2012 Page -4- b. The financial report was discussed. G. Steadman needs to submit an invoice for payment. J. Philbrick asked what the feasibility is of the HMC having a line item in FY 2012-13 budget and future budgets. CM Bergren stated that there are already plans to do this. c.DEEP Commissioner meeting-G. Steadman explained that they will be discussing changes in legislation and different ideas. There is a proposed bill to strengthen HMC initiatives. One of the topics is the need for the State to provide some type of funding assistance to make up for the loss in boating fees among other revenue loss. d.JP Mereen discussed planning a fishing tournament. JP Mereen asked if G. Martin would be available to meet to discuss planning the tournament. A fishing show is also proposed. G. Martin suggested a fishing show on the cable access channel. JP would like to schedule a meeting to discuss. 9. Other 10. Adjournment Motion to adjourn, T. Braddock, 2nd C. Jaskiewicz , meeting adjourned at 5:55 PM.