Harbor Management Commission

HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 5:00 PM Norwich City Hall, Room 319, In Person/ Turbo Bridge MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Tucker Braddock, Michael Gualtieri, Stacy Gould, Michael Richardson, David Bishop, Mark Sicuso, Mark Bettencourt OTHERS PRESENT: Coastal Area Planning Consultant Geoff Steadman (via Turbo Bridge), Brittany Dwyer (via Turbo Bridge), Kaitlyn Griffiths Recording Secretary MEMBERS ABSENT: John Salomone, Bob Phoenix CITIZENS PRESENT: None 1.Call to Order: Chair Tucker Braddock called the meeting to order at 5:06 PM. 2. Determination of Quorum: It was determined a quorum was present. 3. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Michael Gualtieri, seconded by Mark Sicuso the September 24, 2024, meeting minutes of the Harbor Management Commission (HMC) with the correction of 7. C Paragraph 1 Line 7 “American Trades Association changed to CT Marine Trades Association” were unanimously approved as presented. 4. Harbor Master Report: Chair Tucker Braddock, on behalf of Harbor Master Richard Thayer, reports that they have moved forward with the boat in the Thames River. Mr. Thayer has proceeded, alongside the police, to place a sticker on the vessel stating its’ removal. Stacy Gould entered the meeting. 5. Correspondence: None. 6. Financial Report: Michael Gualtieri reviewed the revenue, expenses, and balances of the September 1st-30th 2024 report. Mr. Gualtieri states the expenditure of $75.40 for the commission’s share of the Harbor Cam. On a motion by Mark Sicuso, seconded by David Bishop the September 2024 Financial Report was unanimously accepted by roll call vote. 7. New Business: a) Welcome New Member- Robert Phoenix: Chair Tucker Braddock announces HMC’s newest member Robert (“Bob”) Phoenix. Mr. Phoenix has been approved by City Council as a member of HMC. HMC members acknowledge and are thrilled to have him as part of the commission. Michael Gualtieri announced that Bob Phoenix has graciously taken the lead role for the Sub Committee for the Fishing Derby and Tournament. b) Consultant Geoff Steadman: Geoff Steadman reminds HMC members of the Grant Applications that were submitted, the Heritage Walkway Project and the Howard T. Brown Park Dock Completion. Mr. Steadman also reminds HMC members that once the applications are accepted, if they are, that they then go before the Bonds Commission for approval, this is where the monies would be allocated. As of right now, both applications have been approved for approx. $192,000.00 for Heritage Walkway and approx. $480,000.00 for Howard T. Brown Park. Mr. Steadman states Eric Dissolve (newly appointed by CT Port Authority) hopes that these grant approvals will be on the next agenda for the Bonds Commission for allocation approval. Chair Tucker Braddock has been in contact with Bob Castronova, Purchasing Agent, who says that we may be able to use the same contactor for the docks because of the timeframe in the original agreement. The Heritage Walkway will have to go out for bids after monies are allocated. Mr. Steadman discussed corrections to Norwich Harbor Management Plan (HMP). He has been updating the introductory and proposal sections. Mr. Steadman had a draft done and sent Stacy Gould and Tucker Braddock a copy. Mr. Steadman will have an invoice for his services completed and sent over to Michael Gualtieri, which will be voted on at the next HMC meeting. c)CT Port Authority- Small Harbor Improvement Program (SHIPP) Grants: Chair Tucker Braddock reiterated the details discussed earlier of the Grants for the Heritage Walkway and Howard T. Brown Park. It was also noted that NCDC had received a second round of Grants of approx. 4.55 million and that is additional to the original 2 million received in the first round of grants, all of which is for the use of the waterfront improvement, such as the marina towers, docks, etc. d) Committee Discussion- Fishing Tournament & Derby Details: Chair Tucker Braddock restates that Bob Phoenix has taken the lead of this Sub Committee. Their first priority is for a “Marine Event Permit” from DEEP, which Mr. Phoenix is currently working on. Brittany Dwyer is working on the design and plans to have it completed in January. The next meeting for the subcommittee is November 12, 2024, 5:30pm @ Administrative Office Marina at American Wharf to continue discussion and planning for this event. 8. Old Business a) Moored Boat in Thames River- Status: Chair Tucker Braddock restates that Rich Thayer has a handle on this and the boat was tagged. During this meeting HMC has gotten word that the boat is no longer there. Chair Tucker Braddock will go after the meeting to confirm this. 9. Citizen Comment: None 10. Other: Brittany Dwyer states that the Harbor Glow Event time has changed to 4PM- 8PM because of the interest that has been shown. She states that there has been a confirmed 400 “place holder tickets”, meaning confirmations of guests to attend the event. Michael Richardson requested to have police boats active in the Marina Area due to boats coming in at faster speeds with no visible lights on their vessels. There have been many complaints from avid fishmen, especially ones in kayaks. This is something that can be investigated and discussed further in another meeting. 11. Adjournment: On a motion to adjourn by Stacy Gould, seconded by Mark Sicuso the Harbor Management Commission meeting adjourned at 5:38PM. Respectfully submitted, Kaitlyn Griffiths Recording Secretary