Salem Harbor Port Authority

SALEM HARBOR PORT AUTHORITY 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 (978) 619-5685 PLANNING (978) 741-5685 HARBORMASTER MEETING MINUTES: Dec. 5, 2019 A public meeting of the Salem Harbor Port Authority was convened at 5:00 pm in the medium conference room located on the ground floor of Salem City Hall Annex, 98 Washington Street. Members present: Chairman Michael Rutstein, Mayor Kim Driscoll, Bob McCarthy - Ward 1 Councilor, Fred Atkins and Meaghan LeClerc. Others Present: Capt. Bill McHugh – Harbormaster, Tom Daniel – Planning Director, Kathy Winn – Deputy Planner, Seth Lattrell –Port Authority Deputy/Planner, Rinus Oosthoek/Jeff Swartz – Salem Chamber of Commerce, Erika Spanger-Siegfried – Union of Concerned Scientists, Dan O’Connor – Collins Eng., Capt. Bob Blair – Eastern Point Pilots, Capt. Thomas Evans, Jeff Cohen – Salem’s Sustainability, Energy & Resiliency Committee Meeting called to order at 5:05pm. Chairman Rutstein opened the meeting. Mr. Lattrell provided an update on the Municipal Harbor Plan/DPA Master Plan. The RFP was published on November 18th and responses will be due on December 12th. Following receipt of proposals, it is anticipated that the selection/contract award process would be complete by the end of January. The process will officially begin with submission of a request for notice to proceed with the state which includes a public comment period on the scope of the plan. Once notice to proceed is issued the State, the City’s consultant will begin an involved community engagement process and begin developing the harbor plan, a process anticipated to last for several months before a draft harbor plan is prepared for state review. Councilor McCarthy requested a timeline of the harbor planning process once it is prepared. Mr. Lattrell indicated that the city has an anticipated timeline, but would prefer to hold on presenting it publicly until a consultant has been onboarded and the state has generally agreed with the proposed approach. The Port Authority discussed the receipt of a draft letter of intent from DEME Offshore requesting that the Port Authority submit the letter on their own letterhead to DEME to signify their interest in the wind industry. There was a discussion of the intent/audience of the letter and agreed upon that additional coordination is needed with DEME prior to taking any action. While the City supports the wind industry and is interested in the role that the Port of Salem could play, the City/Port Authority does not own the property DEME is interested in and needs further clarification from DEME on the goals/audience of the letter. Harbormaster McHugh will reach out to DEME (Sidney Florey) to discuss.  Meeting Minutes Dec. 5, 2019 Page 2 The Port Authority discussed the merits of having an appraisal conducted for the adjacent undeveloped land. The members agreed that it is likely too early in the process and there are too many variables at play; however, they suggested that Mr. Lattrell begin to develop a list of appraisers with expertise in industrial waterfront properties so the Port Authority has the resources at their disposal when/if helpful. The Port Authority discussed the status of the conveyance of the land surrounding the pier from Footprint to the Port Authority. A revised wharfing agreement was received from Footprint that was intended to serve as an interim agreement until upland uses were confirmed, the specific 3-5 acres could be located, and a formal conveyance could be established. Harbormaster McHugh and Mr. Lattrell acknowledged that while the revised wharfing agreement has benefits to the Port Authority, there are several concerns with the content of the agreement, the logistics of managing the future use of the wharf, and remnants of the prior agreement that should no longer apply. There may be benefits to separating the agreement so that the wharf can be conveyed now, but the 3-5 acre upland section can continue to remain flexible as established in the revised wharfing agreement. Harbormaster McHugh and Mr. Lattrell will work to update the current draft conveyance/wharfing agreement to better satisfy the needs of the Port Authority and will report back to the Port Authority at the next meeting. Mr. Lattrell stated that he has been in discussion with Lorri Krebs (Salem State) regarding opportunities to update the 2008 economic analysis of the Salem Ferry Wharf to compare past projections to current conditions, and potentially extend those projections out an additional 10 years. Mr. Lattrell has also discussed opportunities to work with Salem State to support a market analysis/alternatives analysis for the reuse of the undeveloped property around the Power Plant. It was noted that this secondary analysis would need to wait until the Harbor Planning effort was advanced, but the economic analysis update could be advanced sooner. There was a discussion of future presentations to the Port Authority, including interest in a presentation of the wind industry from Conti Coluntino from Foss Maritime as well as interest in having someone from the state come and report on the status/future of the industry. Mr. Lattrell and Mayor Driscoll will coordinate on an appropriate presenter from the state for future meetings. It was also noted that NH recently signed executive order to advance offshore wind development. Mr. Lattrell confirmed that a meeting has been scheduled between the City and Massport leadership to discuss the potential for greater collaboration, including Salem’s participation in the Cruise Canada New England Symposium/Port Owners Group. Harbormaster McHugh reported that he has generally received positive feedback from recent visiting cruise vessels, some of which may be attributed to the improvement to the condition of the upland area. There has been feedback that the berth configuration isn’t ideal for the large yacht market, however the planned maintenance of the North Berth should help address some  Meeting Minutes Dec. 5, 2019 Page 3 concerns, particularly when a second ferry is acquired. Harbormaster McHugh also confirmed that the Ritz Carlton ships are still planning on visiting in 2020 and 2021. There was a discussion of the need for a defined marketing plan for cruise ships and an interest in attracting naval vessels or other goodwill ambassador vessels. A presentation on climate change, sea level rise, and resilience was made by Erika Spanger- Siegfried from the Union of Concerned Scientist. Chairman Rutstein opened the floor to public comment. Bob Blair, Eastern Point Pilots, noted that the Port needs to be forward facing to the market and show that it is open for business. Mr. Blair recommended that this could be done through various trade associations. Mr. Blair also noted that the wind industry is coming, and the Port Authority should position itself to capitalize on this opportunity. Meeting minutes from the November 7th meeting were unanimously approved. Salem Harbor Port Authority adjourned @ 6:15 pm.