Harbor Management Commission

HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, November 26, 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, Bob Phoenix OTHERS PRESENT: Kevin Brown, Coastal Area Planning Consultant Geoff Steadman (via Turbo Bridge), Brittany Dwyer (via Turbo Bridge), Mark Sicuso (via Turbo Bridge), Kaitlyn Griffiths Recording Secretary MEMBERS ABSENT: John Salomone, Mark Bettencourt CITIZENS PRESENT: None 1.Call to Order: Chair Tucker Braddock called the meeting to order at 5:04 PM. 2. Determination of Quorum: It was determined a quorum was present. 3. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Stacy Gould, seconded by David Bishop the October 22, 2024, meeting minutes of the Harbor Management Commission (HMC) were unanimously approved as presented. 4. Harbor Master Report: Chair Tucker Braddock, on behalf of Harbor Master Richard Thayer, has nothing new to report 5. Correspondence: None. 6. Financial Report: Michael Gualtieri reviewed the revenue, expenses, and balances of the October 1st-31st 2024 report. Mr. Gualtieri states the expenditure of $75.40 for the commission’s share of the Harbor Cam. On a motion by Stacy Gould, seconded by Michael Richardson, the October 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 the City Council as a member of HMC and tonight is formally introduced as the newest member. HMC members acknowledge and are thrilled to have him as part of the commission. Bob Phoenix has graciously taken the lead role for the Sub Committee for the Fishing Derby and Tournament. Mr. Phoenix will share details within this line item on the agenda. b) Consultant Geoff Steadman: Geoff Steadman reminds HMC members of the Grant Applications that were accepted, the Heritage Walkway Project and the Howard T. Brown Park Dock Completion. Mr. Steadman also reminds HMC members that the applications 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 hopes that these grant approvals will be on the next agenda for the Bonds Commission for allocation approval scheduled for December 4, 2024. Mr. Steadman states Eric Dissolve (who was newly appointed by CT Port Authority) has his last day on Friday November 22, 204. Mr. Steadman stated that Paul White Carver is still acting as Chair of the CT Port Authority. Also, that Mr. Hammond was honored for the “Environmental Legacy Award. Mr. Steadman discussed corrections to Norwich Harbor Management Plan (HMP). He has been updating the introductory and proposal sections. Mr. Steadman stated that New London’s Mayor is requesting a meeting with DEEP to go over the legislative terms of HMP throughout CT. Mr. Steadman talks about the potential of round 5 of the SHIP Grant Program. He stated that that CT Port Authority would need to hire someone to replace Mr. Hammond and Mr. Dissolve to manage it. If there’s a next round, it wouldn’t be until roughly mid-year of 2025. c) Consultant Invoice Approval: Michael Gualtieri presents the invoice for Consultant Geoff Steadman. This invoice includes his professional services for July 1st, 2023 – October 31st, 2024. The total for professional services is $4,875.00. On a motion by Michael Gualtieri, seconded by Michael Richardson, the Invoice for Consultant Geoff was unanimously accepted by roll call vote. d)Small Harbor Improvement Program (SHIP) Grants- Heritage Walkway & Howard T. Brown Park Completion: Chair Tucker Braddock reiterated the details discussed earlier of the Grants for the Heritage Walkway and Howard T. Brown Park. e) Marina Towers – Status: Kevin Brown presents some details that NCDC have been in production with. He states they have the completed grants that were approved and monies allocated for the Waterfront Development; these included a 2-million-dollar grant in round 4 and a 4.55-million-dollar grant in round 5. Mr. Brown shared the results of the survey they put out to the public to receive public opinion for the Marina Towers. There was a 7% response rate from the public in which popular opinion was to have the building come down. The current plan being discussed is to use allocated funds to take down the building and have an environment assessment regarding any hazards posed for the process. An RFP will then go out for bids for the development of the property. NCDC will continue to work with HMC on ideas and collaboration for the ongoing development of the waterfront. f) Committee Discussion- Fishing Tournament & Derby Details: Chair Tucker Braddock restates that Bob Phoenix has taken the lead of this Sub Committee. Kevin Brown left the meeting. Their first priority is for a “Marine Event Permit” from DEEP, which Mr. Phoenix has completed. Brittany Dwyer worked on the design and completed it. Mr. Phoenix presented a lot of ideas that the subcommittee has been in discussions about. They plan to iron out lots of details soon. Michael Gualtieri has talked to the Coast Guard, and they would love to do a safety program for the kids. Brittany Dwyer will have a booth at the boat show in January 2025 and plans to have a handout with “Coming Soon” for this upcoming Tournament. More details are to be discussed and will keep HMC updated as they are finalized. The next meeting for the subcommittee is January 7, 2025, 5:30pm @ Administrative Office Marina at American Wharf to continue discussion and planning for this event. g) Mooring Possibilities: Chair Tucker Braddock presents to the members of HMC the idea of having a mooring somewhere on the river. He states that because of the recent circumstances with the illegally moored boat on the Thames River, that maybe there is a section where mooring could be constructed. Discussion pursued with HMC members of potential areas for moorings and what could be done. More information is needed for further discussion. 8. Old Business: Stacy Gould wanted to mention that the Harbor Glow became an awesome event. It was stated that only 2 of the 3 balloons were able to inflate and that the cauldrons on the water could not be lit due to drought conditions in the state, but overall, everyone enjoyed this event and things went well. 9. Citizen Comment: None 10. Other: Chair Tucker Braddock and Bob Phoenix had discussed last Sunday of potential fundraiser ideas. Some Events presented to HMC were Gala Dinners, Golf Tournament, Trivia Nights (at local brew houses), Silent Auctions, or donation pages. Mr. Phoenix states that he was looking at the City’s page of Harbor Management Commission and that HMC needs to have a mission statement. He has drafted one and would like input from all members of HMC. It will be sent out for members’ opinions and additions. 11. Adjournment: On a motion to adjourn by Stacy Gould, seconded by David Bishop the Harbor Management Commission meeting adjourned at 6:35PM. Respectfully submitted, Kaitlyn Griffiths Recording Secretary