Harbor Management Commission

Harbor Management Commission Meeting Tuesday, June 24, 2014 5:00 PM City Manager’s Office MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman John Paul Mereen Gerald Martin Alderman Bill Eyberse H. Tucker Braddock Jr. MEMBERS ABSENT Alderman Pete Desaulniers Vice-Chair Richard Benoit Alan H. Bergren, City Manager OTHERS PRESENT Jill Brennan-Recording Secretary Michael Richardson Geoffrey Steadman-Consultant Laura Napier Kyle Richardson Tim Richardson 1. Call to order-Chair Mereen called the meeting to order at 5:00PM. 2. Determination of Quorum-It was determined a quorum was present. 3. Minutes of May 27, 2014 meeting. Motion to accept with correction: Michael Richardson changed to Michael Valentine, G. Martin, 2nd T. Braddock, motion carried unanimously. 4. Citizen Comment-Michael Richardson feels that the Harbormaster being employed as both the Harbormaster and as an employee of the Joyal Management Group is a conflict of interest. JP Mereen stated that both Corporation Counsel and the HMC did not feel it was a conflict. The complaint has been noted and the people with the ability to address the situation should be notified. The City Manager and Chair will write a letter to both the Harbor master and Police. G. Steadman stated this issue has come up in other towns. The Harbormaster is a State appointed person and it would have to be the State that would deal with any complaints. Tim Richardson would like the boat launch to be better maintained or moved and not shut down for events. K. Richardson agrees. The Chair stated that the HMC is actively pursuing an alternate site for a new boat launch. The Howard Brown Park is a municipal park and not a state launch which provides for a different set of circumstances and activities there require permits from City departments. The HMC is an advisory board with no enforcement powers over anyone. He does  Harbor Management Commission June 24, 2014 P -2- not agree with the launch being closed on some of the most active days of the year. He is prepared to entertain a motion at some point to draft a letter to the Mayor, Council and Public Works that the Howard Brown Park is not an appropriate place for a carnival. G. Steadman feels that the HMC should be in the approval process for any activity on in or near the water, including events at the Park. JP Mereen would like to invite the Police Community Policing Rep back to discuss several of the issues. Alderman Eyberse offered to bring to the Public Works Committee a review of permit requests on, in or near the water. L. Napier feels that there are too many unsupervised children at the launch. JP Mereen thanked the public for their comments. 5. Correspondence a. May Budget Report-Motion to accept T. Braddock, 2nd B. Eyberse, motion carried unanimously. b. 6-2-14 Attorney Driscoll ltr. Re: water trail panel text-no action required. 6. Old Business a. Harbor Cam installation: JP Mereen will contact Randy Black for an update before the next meeting. Additional funding sources need to be pursued. b. River Trails Map Grant Status: G. Steadman presented a blown up version of the poster. There are still a few minor revisions to be made, but it is near completion. He also presented pamphlet drafts. He has made minor changes per Attorney Driscoll’s suggestions. Jason Vincent and Dave Kozak from the DEEP responded to Geoff’s request for comments. He can have the final versions done by next week. Commission members gave Geoff the okay to make final copies. c. Fundraiser Planning: T. Braddock discussed the tent rental with Joyal and they are willing to give the HMC a $500 break. They need to nail down the food and music. They should have final details for the next meeting. d. Rock the Docks: Nothing new to report. e. Petition to State re: demarcation line: This has been accomplished. Remove from the agenda. f. Boat launch relocation funding: Brownfield assessment money has been awarded for the Shipping Street area. 13 responses to the RFP have been received by the Chair this afternoon to narrow down to three. They are hoping to get everyone’s recommendations back by July 11th and have a company named by August. The feeling is that now there is municipal and State support behind this, Federal applications may have more success going forward. This money is earmarked for Phase II and Phase III testing. G. Steadman commented that we need to get the results of the brownfields  Harbor Management Commission June 24, 2014 p -3- assessment and then they will have a better idea about the design needs and what funding sources there may be out there. He thinks that after a contractor is selected, it would be an ideal time to write an update/thank you letter to everyone that has been involved. T. Braddock stated his concerns about the following: The VCI study talked about the synergy created when businesses are in proximity to each other which in turn creates a vibrant community. He is aware of the need for a new boat launch that is not at Brown Park, but he feels that the Shipping Street area is not the place. This will create a no-wake zone farther down the river, it will be unlikely that boaters will travel back up the river to patronize businesses. He is concerned that it is not part of a plan and there is no overall plan coming back to the RDA to create long term success. He is concerned that this looks a lot like what has been done in the past. JP Mereen stated that there has been a lot of study and time put into locating an appropriate spot for a new launch. He feels that more needs to be looked at than benefitting the immediate downtown. The scrapyard area can be the focus for economic development outside of the boat launch. G. Martin stated that he does not look at the boat launch as a magnet for people to come to the City. The boat launch should not be a satellite to other different types of businesses. It is not a tourism draw; it is just a place to launch boats. It is not an economic driver. T. Braddock commented that the launch at One Terminal Way it is a deep, fast running current. A launch at the scrapyard lets into an eddy and there is plenty of land. He does not feel that there will be any more than 15 boats parked and launched per day. If we are trying to enhance our inner harbor development then that is where he feels the focus should be. JP Mereen agrees and feels that the scrapyard property can be put to better use than a boat launch. G. Martin reported that the no wake buoy is 500 yards too far downstream. g. Downtown Policing: JP Mereen would like to invite Sgt. Camp to the next meeting. 6. Harbor Master Report-M. Valentine was not present. 8. New Business a. Permitting for regattas and races on the Thames River: G. Martin distributed ideas for a permitting process for events at Howard Brown Park. JP Mereen stated that the HMC can only recommend in the permitting process. There is no enforcement authority. He asked everyone to look over G. Martin’s suggestions and make comments and them it will be forwarded to Corporation Counsel. Regattas require Coast Guard approval. G Martin would like an inventory of City owned craft. 9. Other None 10. Adjournment-Motion to adjourn T. Braddock, 2nd B. Eyberse , meeting adjourned at 6:08PM.