Harbor Management Commission

HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, August 28, 2018 City Hall, Room 319, 5:00 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Tucker Braddock, Peter Barber, Michael Gualtieri, Jerry Martin, & Zechariah Stover GUEST: Ken Lee, Mohegan District Chairman of Boy Scouts OTHERS PRESENT: Officer Krodel, Consultant Geoff Steadman & Recording Secretary Melinda Wilson MEMBERS ABSENT: Alderman Joseph DeLucia, Alderwoman Joanne Philbrick & Mark Sicuso CITIZENS PRESENT: None 1. Call to Order: Chair Tucker Braddock called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. 2. Determination of Quorum: It was determined a quorum was present. 3. Approval of minutes of July 24, 2018: On a motion to accept by Peter Barber, seconded by Jerry Martin, the Commission unanimously voted to accept the minutes of the July 24, 2018 meeting of the Harbor Management Commission (HMC) as presented. 4. Community Policing: The Norwich Police Department (NPD) was represented by Officer Krodel of Community Policing. Discussion ensued regarding the boats that were formerly moored in the harbor. Officer Krodel located the owner of the boats who had moved them further south in the river. Both Tucker Braddock and Officer Krodel reported they contacted the U S Coast Guard which was unable to assist. Currently the boats are moored in a section of the river in Ledyard. 5. Correspondence: a) Mike Gualtieri presented the July HMC Financial Statement. On a motion by Jerry Martin, seconded by Peter Barber, the HMC unanimously accepted the July 2018 Financial Statement. b) Tucker Braddock presented a letter from Mel Wiese regarding his development at 190 South Thames Street. He provided an update and his plans through the spring of 2019. The site will be a full-service marina with fuel, water and power. There will be 15-20 slips ready by spring. Discussion ensued about the attributes of the boat launch on this property. Mike Gualtieri suggested requesting that the City Manager include funds in the FY20 capital budget for the HMC to use at the harbor for capital improvement projects. Mike motioned the 1  HMC draft a letter to City Manager advising him of the HMC’s desire and thoughts on capital budgeting of purchase for a new boat launch and/or entering into a lease with Mel Wiese as a stop gap in the interim with a $400,000 set-aside earmarked for the boat launch over a 4 year period. Pete Barber seconded the motion. Discussion ensued. Geoff Steadman noted that the Port Authority would not grant money for design of boat launch unless a municipality owns the subject property. The motion passed unanimously. Geoff will ask the Port Authority what commitment towards ownership they need to grant funding for a feasibility study and design. Peter Barber made a motion to authorize Geoff Steadman to pursue public funding sources for replacement of the docks at Howard T. Brown Park. Mike Gualtieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 6. Harbor Master Report: Harbor Master Rich Thayer was not present. 7. New Business: a) Survey Update: Geoff reported the survey is ongoing. The public meeting will be held in Room 335 during the next regularly scheduled HMC meeting, September 25th, 2018. He will update the Power Point he gave to the Port Authority last July. Tucker will give highlights of what the HMC is trying to accomplish with the Harbor Management Plan update and give current results of survey. The HMC will field questions. The City Manager will be invited. The HMC discussed the importance of keeping the city manager and city council in the loop with the HMC’s priorities and plans. b) Request for use of Howard T. Brown Park on 9/29/18: Tucker presented a request from the Republican Town Committee to use Howard T. Brown Park. They plan to have 40 food trucks. They propose to close the boat launch. On a motion by Peter Barber, seconded by Mike Gualtieri, the HMC unanimously approved the request of the Republican Town Committee to use Howard T. Brown Park on September 29, 2018. 8. Old Business: a) Osprey house or nest (nesting platform): Mike introduced Ken Lee, Mohegan District Chairman of Boy Scouts. Tucker update the HMC on the status of planning for the project. One property owner has agreed. He will know on second site within next few days. Tucker has grid coordinates for the sites; one site is south of the viaduct while the other is close to the viaduct. Geoff will email the general permit/registration for osprey platforms to Tucker. Tucker checked with Chris Riley and NPU is willing to help. Ken gave an overview of the process for acceptance as an Eagle Scout project. Once/month there is a roundtable of area leadership. It will be discussed at that time. The council will open the project up to New London and Windham Counties. He noted that community benefit is paramount and publicity will be important. Mike suggested issuing a press release on the 2  project. It was decided that the HMC will submit the registration form to DEEP. Upon acceptance, Ken will notify the council. b) Obstruction on east branch of the Yantic River: The HMC decided to follow-up on Rich Thayer’s suggestion to put a high marker on the object. Peter noted this would be a good place for a sign. c) Harbor Management Plan Review Update: This agenda item was discussed earlier in the meeting. 9. Citizen Comment: None 10. Other: Zechariah Stover reported that the Harbor Fire will not occur on the previously scheduled date. Also, the HMC decided that Zechariah will contact the Community Outreach Coordinator at NFA regarding organizing a work party to clear the brush away from the mural. 11. Adjournment: On a motion to adjourn by Mike Gualtieri, seconded by Peter Barber, the Harbor Management Commission meeting adjourned at 6:39 PM. Respectfully submitted, Melinda Wilson Recording Secretary 3