Harbor Management Commission

HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION July 24, 2012 MEMBERS PRESENT Alderman Tucker Braddock City Manager Alan Bergren Chairman John Paul Mereen Gerald Martin Vice-Chair Richard Benoit MEMBERS ABSENT Alderman Charles Jaskiewicz OTHERS PRESENT Geoffrey Steadman Jill Brennan-Recording Secretary Jason Vincent-NCDC 1. Call to order – Chairman J.P. Mereen called the July 24, 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 June 26, 2012 meeting-motion to accept R. Benoit, 2nd G. Martin, motion carried. 4. Citizen Comment None 5. Correspondence a. City Clerk letter re: Philbrick resignation b. G. Martin distributed survey results from an on-line boaters and shore bound anglers survey that he posted. The general feedback was that the boat launch needs improvement and there is not enough space to load/unload boats and to park. The survey is posted on the public part of a forum on ctfisherman.com. c. June Budget Report The paperwork to obtain funding from the NFWF signage grant is still in the works. Motion to accept budget report, T. Braddock, 2nd A. Bergren, motion carried. Harbor Management Commission July 24, 2012 Page -2- 6. Harbor Master Report Edith Prague’s office is working on facilitating the appointment with the Governor’s office. 7. Old Business a. Concert Series – currently in progress and attendance has been good. Next year NCDC will be taking the lead role in organizing the series. J.P. Mereen recommends that the series be reduced to 6 nights and begin after July 4th. G. Martin pointed out that while attending a concert he was approached by someone asking for money and he feels that more of a Police presence would be beneficial and help avoid concert goers being approached. b. Planning for relocation of the boat launch-a meeting is scheduled for August 8th at NCDC to establish definitive plans as to the best way to move forward. A meeting is also scheduled with the DECD Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Esty on September 4th. c. LISFF-River trails map grant application-a letter was sent to Lynne Dwyer on 7/20/12 providing clarification that was requested regarding the application. G. Steadman and J. Vincent prepared the clarification and an answer should be forthcoming. Copies of the interpretative panels were also sent to NCDC for us in promotional materials. d. Installation of a “harbor cam”-no update available e. HMC Plan update-G. Steadman distributed high resolution aerial black & white and infra-red photos as a possibility to replace the old maps in the plan. He plans to edit them more. The maps would fit in Chapter 6. By next month he will have these incorporated in with the text and they will be ready for the meeting in September. G. Martin pointed out that Google Earth has extremely minute detail and wonders if they can be used. G. Steadman and JP Mereen felt that these photos would not copy well. G. Martin asked if improvement proposals could be superimposed on the current maps. He feels this would be in helpful in presentations to obtain funding for projects. G. Steadman will prepare a brief power point presentation and incorporate this technology for the September 4th meeting. JP Mereen asked what will be expected to be presented at the meeting. HMC will be going in with a wish list of things for the entire harbor area. He would like to make sure everyone is all on the same page as far as future plans for the Harbor. He feels that the focus should be primarily the move of the boat launch and the aesthetic along the scrap yard area. G. Steadman suggested Harbor Management Commission July 24, 2012 Page -3- providing a copy of the Vision document then focusing on one or two priorities and having a couple of large poster boards as visuals. A. Bergren feels that they will be allotted an hour, probably not more. T. Braddock and R. Benoit like G. Martin’s idea of providing a visual overlay of what is here and what future proposals may be and how they could fit them into different available programs. A. Bergren feels that the more specific the presentation is, the better chance there will be of accessing funding. G. Steadman suggested hiring an engineer to provide a more precise cost estimate to compare sites. JP Mereen stated that this has been done for two of the sites and in a general sense for one other. JP Mereen would like a general consensus of priorities from all Agencies to be reached at the August 8th meeting before the meeting with DECD. f. Fundraising idea update-T. Braddock spoke to Surf & Turf and they would be willing to provide a dinner for $20 and the HMC could sell tickets at a price above that to make a profit. JP Mereen suggested considering holding a campaign event at which candidates would be present and people could come and speak to them and it could be a fundraiser for the HMC. JP asked if there would be enough time to get this organized. T. Braddock and JP Mereen will get together and meet with Harve. R. Benoit suggested an informal get together after one of the concerts. The cancelled concert would be re-scheduled for August 22nd and this will be the last concert. g. Website-T. Braddock reported that Richie Thayer is all set to go, but is having some technical difficulties. T. Braddock to have him contact J.Brennan to arrange putting a link on the City site h. Parking spot elimination recommendation to Parking Commission-the spots are being removed. 8. New Business G. Martin gave a report on the King of the Docks fishing derby. He has contacted Barry Ellison to arrange this and also DEEP to request a permit. He will pick up a trophy this week. The derby will take place on September 22nd, 2012 from 6AM until 12PM. He will be looking for volunteers to verify fish size. This will be a catch and release derby. Harbor Management Commission July 24, 2012 Page -4- 9. Other G. Steadman submitted an invoice to JP Mereen for payment $9591.75. Motion to pay, T. Braddock, 2nd R.Benoit, motion carried unanimously. JP Mereen thanked G. Steadman for his patience. 10. Adjournment Motion to adjourn, J. Martin, 2nd T. Braddock, meeting adjourned at 5:55 PM.