Salem Harbor Port Authority

MEETING MINUTES: April 4, 2024 A public meeting of the Salem Harbor Port Authority was convened at 5:00 pm via Zoom web conference. Members present: Kathy Winn (Chair), Fred Atkins, and Captain Fred Ryan Others Present: Capt. Bill McHugh – Harbormaster, Daniel Collins – Planning Department Call to Order Ms. Winn called the meeting to order at 5:00pm. Captain McHugh outlined the format for the meeting, indicating that members of the public may provide comments during the period of the meeting designated for public comment. Port Development Updates Joe St. Pierre, from Crowley, was present to provide an update on the port development project. He reported that Crowley is still focused on permitting. Local permitting is complete. Currently working through the tree removal permit and Planning Board Conditions with City staff. State Chapter 91 permit is in its final stages. And on the federal level with the Army Corp of Engineers there is a longer lead time. Mr. St. Pierre stated the final step for the design component is the RFP and construction. The design is at 100% but there has been a need to make minor modifications to the design since. Crowley is negotiating now with a single contractor, and a contract is expected to be signed any day. Kathy Winn asked how many responses were received from Crowley going out to bid. Joe St. Pierre said six responses, which was distilled down to three. Kathy Winn asked if the Crowley had worked with the company before. Mr. St. Pierre said Crowley has not worked with this particular contractor before, but they have worked with others in the region and that Crowley has a robust vetting process and the Crowley team is confident the contractor is capable and able to do this work. Kathy Winn asked if May 2024 was still a likely groundbreaking. Joe St. Pierre stated that Crowley is still shooting for May 2024, but the date could still slip. Joe St. Pierre stated there is a turbidity curtain installed to allow work to take place during the time of year restriction. Within the next few weeks, it’s likely there will be core sampling to figure out where boulders are on the site. Mr. St. Pierre outlined the construction process. After the competitive bid process, there will be a tiered approach to the Notice to Proceeds due to the many sources of funding, grants, etc. Dense Grade Aggregate (DGA) and piles will be delivered onsite first, which will be followed by the demo of the existing pier and starting pile driving. There will be a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) that will allow the public to contact the Crowley with questions about the construction. As of now, Mr. St. Pierre will be acting as the SPOC. There is an interface on the website with the contact information. Mr. St. Pierre presented a recently completed project, South Fork Feedering Operation, a New York based offshore wind project, which consists of 132 MWs of offshore wind turbine (powers roughly 70,000 homes). It was small project, but the first full operational utility-scale wind farm in the United States. It was completed roughly one month ago. He showed images of the feedering barge set-up which is similar to what will be done in Salem. Joe St. Pierre noted that there is a potential inquiry from DEME who brought the Sea Installer to Salem in August. The new inquiry is that Salem host the Sea Challenger, another Wind Turbine Installation Vessel (WTIV) at Salem. Nothing is confirmed and it is a soft inquiry, but Crowley wanted to notify the Port Authority that it’s a possibility the vessel may come in. Captain McHugh asked if the contractor would be a joint venture or a single venture. Mr. St. Pierre confirmed that it would be a joint venture. Harbormaster Report Captain McHugh reported that Boston Harbor City Experiences is likely to be the successful bidder, though there is one outstanding item that needs to be addressed. The ferry is back, and the machinery has been fixed and she has done well during sea trials. Captain McHugh suspects the issue may have been the transmission. He expects that timing/scheduling will be the same, and start-up will happen just before the Memorial Day weekend. There will be one extra excursion out of Blaney Street. He noted the tremendous loss suffered at the port of Baltimore. He noted that Massachusetts is very rigid in terms of traffic, assists, etc. Having a tug alongside and communication is critical. The Port Authority plays a big role in ensuring best practices. He expanded on Mr. St. Pierre’s presentation about the City hosting another WTIV. He said it would be a limited impact and will be on Crowley’s facility security plan this time. Public Comment There were no public comments. Approval of Minutes Fred Ryan made a motion, seconded by Fred Atkins, to approve the March 7, 2024 Salem Port Authority meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment Salem Harbor Port Authority adjourned at 5:40pm. Salem Harbor Port Authority Approved the Minutes at the 05/16/2024 meeting.