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News/Events - Meeting Minutes

MEMBERS PRESENT: John Murphy, Chairperson; Larry Niland; Howie Kreutzberg; Peter Toppan; Don Hourihan; Bill Schmid; Mark Patterson; Dick Eckhouse; Keith Walo. ALSO PRESENT: Mary McLaughlin; Bob Mahoney; Fran McMillen; Collin John; Stewart Rosen; Jamie Noonan, Recreation Department Liaison; Rick Murray, Board of Selectmen Liaison; Ed Vachon, Recreation Department; Brian Curreri, Scituate Boatworks; Adam Brodsky; Ken Duval.

1. Chairperson John Murphy called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM at the NoAA Annex on Edward Foster Road.

2. On a MOTION by Mr. Patterson, SECONDED by Mr. Walo, the Minutes of the January 6, 2010 meeting were approved as written by all present.

3. Harbormaster’s Report. Mr. Patterson reported that the
implementation of a salt water fishing license is becoming a reality; cost will be c $15.00 and it may be waived this fishing season. The main purpose is to create a phone book and have a count of how many fish are being counted. The Loran sea signal will be terminated after February 8 after 50 years of service. The mooring bills have gone out and fees are due March 1. Mr. Vachon is working on a homemade boat show on August 13. Re CPC meeting,they voted unanimously to support the Scituate Harbor Walk and will be bringing the proposal to the Selectmen and Advisory Committee. Ways to raise money: we are registered with grants.gov, a good way to link up with opportunities for federal grant money. Minot boat cruise planned by Historical Society on June 26. 200 tickets will be available, Boston Harbor Cruises will pick up and drop off at the Town Pier. Boat show Feb 26-28.

4. Old Business.

A SMP update.

1) Scituate Boat Works. Brian Curreri reported that ice was broken so a vessel in distress could be assisted. They will have a booth at the Boat Show and offered to put any WW-related info at the booth. They have started working on looking at a new building, they will meet informally with various Town depts including the Planning Board and Design Review Committee, Conservation etc and will present some ideas to the WWC before taking it to the Selectmen etc for approval. The goal is to get the building up by the next haulout season.

2) Mr. Patterson reviewed the draft of the RFP for upland design and went over a couple of ways to proceed once the RFP has been awarded; WWC members thought that having one company responsible for design and implementation would be best. CPC funds are available for this project and an estimate of what the actual project would cost will be requested from the engineer. Mr. Niland made a MOTION to endorse the Harbormaster to draft plan proposals including designing upland portion as well as other necessary tasks to complete the project; Mr. Schmid SECONDED the motion, all voted in favor and the motion passed unanimously.

3). SMP Improvements: ECR has worked on phragmites removal. Mr. Patterson said regarding removal of concrete and use of existing material (dirt) to fill voids: dirt would just wash out and filling the voids with riprap would be more effective. Mr. Kreutzberg suggested the work could be incorporated in the upland RFP. Mr. Patterson said that he had assumed the cost for the intermittent project would be a few thousand dollars rather than as much as $20,000; and that it would be best to roll the additional cost for riprap into the scope of upland work. Mr. Toppan will communicate this decision to ECR who did not attend the meeting; and also that we await the result of the RFP before undertaking more work with ECR.

4) 2010 Marina/dock RFP: Mr. Patterson said that this is out, bid opening is February 23 and the hope is to move forward having received some competitive bids asap. Approval will be needed by the Selectmen. Mr. Walo recused himself from this portion of the meeting. Mr. Patterson reviewed the RFP. Bottom anchors or pilings could be used, the first year bottom anchors will be used to determine where pilings should be placed. Mr. Eckhouse asked about any unforeseen costs outside of the scope of this project; Mr. Patterson said that electrical work will be a large cost and that three quotes will be needed but not a public bidding process. Mr. Kreutzberg asked about the ADA ramp; Mr. Patterson said that they will use the existing ramps at first and then replace them once the third leg is decided upon. There was a discussion about the size of the ramp. The ADA ramp will be paid for by the BIG grant. It may have to be an 80 foot ramp. Other possible alternatives such as motorized lifts for wheelchairs and zigzag ramp designs were discussed. (Mr. Toppan asked whether the TK O’Malley’s ramp is ADA compliant. ) Mr. Kreutzberg suggested adding it to the RFP that the docks must be able to accommodate an ADA ramp. There are two more years to use the BIG grant.

b) Scituate Maritime Center.

1) Non-profit agenda. Mr. Kreutzberg said that they have been discussing this with the Town Administrator and that they have been working on an “SMC Foundation”. Funds from the function room should go back to the running of the building.

2) Planning for SMC use. The sailing program will have a better facility this year and public and function uses will begin in the spring. Ms. McLaughlin asked about the consumption of alcohol there and Mr. Eckhouse said that caterers will be in charge of getting necessary permits. A designated area for grills and picknicking is planned.

3) Fundraising/Plaques: Fundraising is ongoing; plaques are to be put up, a ceremony will be held this summer. Chuck Toohey is working on acquiring the plaques.

c) Other business.

1) Town Pier/engineering update. Mr. Patterson said that a draft has been received from Tibbetts Engineering, the pier is in fair condition, recommendations are broken down into tasks in order of priority: (1) Immediate replacement of the bolts holding the sheet plates ($95,000); (2) replacement of worn out components on east side. Total upgrade
will cost c $350,000. There is an excellent chance that the Seaport Advisory Council will provide funding for this project.

2) Harbor Management Plan update. Mr. Patterson said that Mr. Burtner will meet with DEP re Chapter 91 and it hopefully will be wrapped up in the spring.

3) Mill Wharf Marina proposal. Adam Brodsky, attorney and Mr. Ken Duval, owner of Mill Wharf Marina presented Phase II of their dock plan: Replace current double load configuration with a single load configuration. New floats will be on same footprint, 2300 additional square feet are needed for finger piers. Pilings also will be replaced—all new pilings in outer dock. Interior dock goes from 7 feet to 9 feet. The parameter is the same as before. Public comment period begins on February 12. Maximum slips will be 94; present number of slips is 85. Mr. Niland asked about proximity to the Town Pier. Mr. Brodsky said that they are aware that they will have to maintain an appropriate fairway. The rest of the dredging (600 cubic yards) will need to be completed in order to put the rest of the floats in. Mr. Patterson asked for an overlay to show the existing marina compared to the proposed marina. Mr. Brodsky said that no new fingers will be longer than the existing fingers, max length 30 feet. Mr. Patterson said he is concerned that larger boats will be on the single load dock and suggested that vessel size be limited in perpetuity. Mr. Brodsky replied that larger boats would be on the inner docks; the maximum size of vessels placed on the outer dock would be c. 42 feet. Mr. Patterson suggested that larger boats be placed toward the middle so that they aren’t sticking out impeding the view to the fuel dock and the channel. Mr. Kreutzberg said that he would like to see the overlay in order to assess the potential impact on the Town Pier and the channel. Mr. Patterson said he is concerned about having a piling at the outer edge and that visibility is a concern for boats in the channel, which is not marked there; Mr. Kreutzberg suggested a buoy be placed where the piling will be for a point of reference. The applicant said he would place a buoy at the current place and at the proposed position. There were concerns about whether this would be a safe application for the Harbor. The applicant was asked to attend the March 3 meeting, having placed the buoys, with the requested overlay and for further discussion.

4) Sailing Program. Mr. Noonan said that they met with Ms. Vitelli, the Director of Scituate Recreation; registration is March 13, they will make a presentation following the registration period. Mr. Vachon talked about holding a Recycle Regatta on August 14 to challenge students to build vessels from recyclable bottles and sail their boats.

5) New Business. Mr. Patterson said that he met with CORSE regarding the possibility of working with Access America to provide handicap accessible waterways activities in August.
Next Meeting: March 3 (rescheduled to March 17).

6) Adjournment 9:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Martin