Harbor Management Commission

HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, April 23, 2019 City Hall, Room 319, 5:00 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Tucker Braddock, Alderman Joseph DeLucia, City Manager John Salomone, Peter Barber, Michael Gualtieri, Jerry Martin, Mark Sicuso & Zechariah Stover OTHERS PRESENT: Harbor Management Consultant Geoff Steadman and Recording Secretary Melinda Wilson MEMBERS ABSENT: Alderwoman Joanne Philbrick CITIZENS PRESENT: Kyle Heard 1. Call to Order: Chair Tucker Braddock called the meeting to order at 5:03 PM. 2. Determination of Quorum: It was determined a quorum was present. 3. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Pete Barber, seconded by Jerry Martin, the March 12, 2019 meeting minutes of the Harbor Management Commission (HMC) were approved as presented. On a motion by Zechariah Stover, seconded by Mike Sicuso, the HMC unanimously voted to suspend the rules to discuss agenda item 8.b. Osprey Nest Kyle Heard updated the HMC on the progress of his Eagle Scout project to build an osprey nesting platform to mount on a pole on the Thames River. Chair Tucker Braddock reviewed the locations. Mike Gualtieri asked Kyle to notify the HMC prior to planting the pole so that members could invite the press and watch the event. Geoff Steadman pointed out that the location is needed for the registration form for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. On a motion by Mark Sicuso, seconded by Pete Barber, the HMC unanimously returned to the order of the agenda. 4. Community Policing Report: Officer Michael Lax of the Norwich Police Department was not present. 5. Correspondence: a) Financial Reports: Mike Gualtieri reviewed the financial report’s year-to-date disbursements and revenues. On a motion by Pete Barber, seconded by Zechariah Stover, the March financial report was unanimously accepted as presented. 6. Harbor Master Report: Harbor Master Rich Thayer was not present. Chair Braddock brought up the Welcome to Norwich 1  buoy. Jerry Martin said the welcome buoy needs a permit. Tucker will look into it. The no-wake buoy does have a permit. 7. New Business: a) Need for New Boat Launch: Tucker introduced the agenda item. Discussion ensued on the merits and challenges of the boat launch at Howard T. Brown Park. Mike Gualtieri gave an overview of the city budget process. He also spoke to the economic development factors involved. Alderman DeLucia reminded the HMC that in Norwich the Mayor has the economic development responsibility. On a motion by Mike Gualtieri, seconded by Pete Barber, the HMC voted to have Chair Braddock write a letter to the City Council on behalf of the HMC requesting that they direct the City Manager to establish a relationship with Mel Weiss regarding public use of his boat launch. Mark Sicuso voted nay. All others voted in favor of the motion. b) Maintenance on Harbor Cam: Tucker reported that the camera’s lens became compromised. The City Manager and his Executive Assistant have been very helpful. The camera will be replaced. 8. Old business: a) Survey Update: No update. b) Osprey nest: Discussed previously in the meeting. c) Obstruction on east branch of the Yantic River: No update. d) Harbor Management Plan Review Update: Geoff reported he has made much progress on the report. He and Tucker met with City Planner Deanna Rhodes. She made suggestions for the plan to correlate with the city’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). He will have drafts next month. e) Port authority grant opportunity: Geoff reported that the SHIP grant opportunity should be posted within days. It needs to be worked on in the next month. Proposals will be due June 12, 2019. Tucker reported that the docks have been measured. The plan would be to replace the existing docks in the same footprint. Docko has not completed the dock replacement estimate. The plan drawing has to be done to go into the request for a certificate from Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Docko’s estimate of the cost of the drawings is $13,000. Geoff spoke with Mr. Salvatore from the CT Port Authority and was told that as long as the certificate application is in process, the grant proposal can be submitted. Costs incurred in the permitting process can be applied to the 20% match. On a motion by Mark Sicuso, seconded by Pete Barber, the HMC unanimously voted to recommend that the City Council approve 20% matching funds based on the completed estimate from Docko. 2 f) Police Station Nautical Flags Update: Mark Sicuso reported he is working on the replacement of the flags and will keep the HMC informed. 9. Citizen Comment: Kevin Blacker of Noank spoke to the economic development of targeted industrial uses around the harbor. He has spoken to Josh Protus. He suggested looking into federal exemptions for property in the flood plain. 10. Other: None 11. Adjournment: On a motion to adjourn by City Manager John Salomone, seconded by Mark Sicuso, the Harbor Management Commission meeting adjourned at 6:35 PM. Respectfully submitted, Melinda Wilson Recording Secretary 3