Harbor Management Commission

Harbor Management Commission Meeting Tuesday, May 27, 2014 5:00 PM City Manager’s Office MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman John Paul Mereen Gerald Martin Vice-Chair Richard Benoit Alan H. Bergren-City Manager MEMBERS ABSENT H. Tucker Braddock Alderman Pete Desaulniers Alderman Bill Eyberse OTHERS PRESENT Michael Valentine-Harbormaster Jill Brennan-Recording Secretary 1. Call to order-Chair Mereen called the meeting to order at 5:02PM. 2. Determination of Quorum-It was determined a quorum was present. 3. Minutes of April 22, 2014 meeting. Motion to accept A. Bergren, 2nd G. Martin, motion carried unanimously with J. Mereen abstaining due to his absence at the last meeting. 4. Citizen Comment None 5. Correspondence a. April Budget Report-Motion to accept R. Benoit, 2nd G. Martin, motion carried unanimously. 6. Old Business a. Harbor Cam installation-J. Mereen asked if the work NPU was doing downtown involved fiber installation. A. Bergren believes they are installing gas lines. Harbor Management Commission 5-27-14 Page -2- b. River Trails Map Grant Status: G. Steadman distributed maps and asked if the City needs to put a disclaimer on for liability purposes. He will send a copy of the map to M. Driscoll for review and all members for comments. c. Fundraiser Planning-T. Braddock and P. Desaulniers have worked out a menu and will be meeting with the management tomorrow to go over pricing. J. Mereen would like to get silent auction items and also a basket raffle. d. Rock the Docks-This is all set. July 25th will be the first acoustic concert in G. Martin’s gazebo series and he asked that the announcer at the first Rock the Docks announce the acoustic series. J. Mereen would like to see what the attendance is and possibly expand it to include drinks at some point. e. Petition to State re: demarcation line-T. Braddock attended the public hearing and as of today the regulation changes have f. Boat launch relocation funding-The RFP will be issued this week. G. Steadman will draft a letter to the agencies that have provided assistance so far about the progress of projects. He also received a reply about his inquiry into endangered species in the planned area and there is no concern. He reported that there is additional money that is available through a DOT program and other towns are preparing proposals for funding consideration for engineering work. He asked if he could pursue getting more information about applying. Commission members agreed that he should talk to the DOT. g. Downtown Policing-no further information has been received from the Police. J. Mereen will reach out to Sergeant Camp. 6. Harbor Master Report-M. Valentine reported that the DEEP will be putting in a vessel this summer and assisting the City with enforcement in the harbor and river. He investigated the no wake permit and it is currently under American Wharf Dev. and is defunct and they recommended that the City apply for a new one. G. Martin distributed correspondence from the DEEP which gave a reference to position the no wake buoy. G. Martin will use his GPS to A letter will be sent to American Wharf Development requesting permission for the City to apply for a new permit and a letter will be sent to DEEP c/o Mike Payton applying for the permit. M. Valentine will look into what the City needs to do to get a permit for the welcome sign. 8. New Business G. Martin discussed the fishing blog. It was inadvertently removed from the web site and has since been restored, but the “fishing information” link on the home page was not. He asked that this link be restored. G. Martin would like to look into having a Norwich Harbor Day with music, floats. J. Mereen stated that there used to be harbor days, but they fizzled out. He suggested engaging a service Harbor Management Commission 5-27-14 Page -3- organization to head this up. G. Martin would like to approach the Chamber about piggybacking it with the Riverfest. 9. Other G. Steadman remarked that the panels have not been vandalized which is a great thing. They do need to be cleaned though. Maybe the police can be involved or an ordinance can be created to fine or ticket people for feeding the birds. It creates a health hazard. The Harbor Management Association is trying to convene a meeting and he asked if there was any Commission member interest in joining as they need members. He recently participated in a review of the DEEP’s coastal permitting program which was very interesting and highlighted areas which need review. G. Martin stated that the boat launch is closed too often during the height of the season. J. Mereen discussed this with the Mayor last week and alternative sites need to be investigated for some events. 10. Adjournment-Motion to adjourn G. Martin, 2nd R. Benoit, meeting adjourned at 5:44PM.