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September 9, 2009
Meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm; a quorum was confirmed.
Committee Members Present:
Chris Daly, Nick Amdur, David Beal, Adrienne Ramsey, Alan Perrault, Bryan Sweeney, Ken
Corson - Harbormaster
Members Not Present:
Robert Mosher
Other Speakers:
Douglas Pilgrim
Ben Matthews
Jim Clarke
Nick Bonn
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Meeting called to order by Chairman Amdur at 7:32 pm.
The Committee was introduced to Bryan Sweeney as a new member of the HHDC, replacing
Warren Nottleson.
Previous Meeting Minutes:
The Committee reviewed the minutes from the meeting of July 8, 2009. A. Perrault made a
motion to approve the minutes as written. A. Ramsey seconded the motion. A vote was taken and
it was unanimous to approve the minutes with B. Sweeney abstaining from voting as he was not
a member of the HDC on July 8, 2009.
Inner Harbor Dredging:
N. Amdur advised that there was a bidders meeting at the harbor earlier that day. Kevin Mooney
of Mass. DCR was in attendance. Four companies, so far, have supplied bids for the dredging
contract. The deadline for bidding is September 17, 2009.
The RFP called for an eight hour workday. Some of the bidders commented that they may prefer
a 12 hour workday.
All mooring permit holders in the Inner Harbor have been notified via mail by the Harbormaster
that all boats have to be off the moorings by October 1, 2009 or fines will be imposed.
Dock and Pier Policy:
C. Daly gave an update on the status of the Dock and Pier Policy and the status of a few pending
pier or private dredging applications.
The Conservation Commission has denied the dredging applications for 21 and 23 Bel Air Road.
The property owners have filled suit against the Conservation Commission.
The lawsuit by the property owners of 7 Howard Road against the Conservation Commission is
still pending and in the hands of Town Counsel.
An application for a 150 foot long pier at 4 Button Cove Road has been received by the
Conservation Commission and is expected to receive approval from the Commission.
Harbor Planning Task Force:
N. Amdur gave an update on the Task Force. It was advised that A. Perrault would be the
representative to the Task Force and C. Daly will be the alternate representative. N. Amdur will
still continue to attend the meetings when possible.
Coastsweep 2009:
A Ramsey has again offered to manage the Coastsweep waterfront cleanup event this year. The
event is scheduled for September 19th from 10 am to 1 pm. Notices will be in the Hingham
Journal. Hingham High School and the Garden Club will be sending volunteers. A. Ramsey to
discuss boat rides in the Harbormaster’s patrol boat for children with the Harbormaster. A.
Ramsey to send out a flyer via email that the HDC members can forward to interested parties.
Harbormaster’s Report:
N. Amdur provided and update on the following topics:
Grant for the land based pump out station in the Inner Harbor – The Harbormaster’s
office is diligently pursuing this grant and ideally would like to have the pump out station
in place by Summer 2010.
Optimization plan for the mooring field
Payment of mooring fees – there were 200-300 boats in Hewitt’s Marina that did not pay
mooring fees. The Harbormaster has been aggressive in collecting these fees this year.
K. Corson gave an update on the following current activities of the Harbormaster’s office:
Dredging – The Town will make a quick decision after the bid deadline and will select
contractor soon after September 17th. All moorings have to be out of the Inner Harbor by
October 9th. Mooring Service providers have been notified. Fines for boats left on
moorings after October 1st will be $100 per day.
Grant for the land based pump out station in the Inner Harbor – as mentioned by N. Amdur this grant is being aggressively pursued by the Harbormaster. The objective is to have a pump station that would allow two boats to be pumped out at one time. The system would have a 4000 gallon in-ground storage tank near the Harbormaster’s Inner Harbor office. This storage tank option is significantly less expensive than trying to connect to the existing sewer pipe near Route 3A. It is anticipated that 75% of the costs that the Town pays for pumping out boats will be covered by the grant.
Optimizing and redesign of the Inner Harbor mooring field – An engineering firm has been retained and is analyzing the project. The hope is that by redesigning and optimizing the field more moorings can be added. The engineering firm will also review other locations for mooring optimization within Hingham waters.
Mooring waiting list – The Harbormaster expects significant turnover on the list in 2010.
Dinghy dock – the Harbormaster is also pursuing a grant for a dinghy dock. Several members of the Committee voiced their strong support for a dinghy dock in the Inner Harbor.
Portable toilet at Inner Harbor – will be removed by the end of September.
Geese Control:
N. Amdur advised that there was an article in the PATRIOT LEDGER on geese control on the
South Shore and the issues and possible solutions.
After publication of the article N. Amdur was contacted by Cohasset resident Judy St. Peter who
operates a service to eradicate geese from a certain area. She has a Border Collie that chases
away the geese and after several sessions the geese do not return. Her services have been
successfully employed at several local golf courses and other private and municipal properties.
New Business:
C. Daly presented an invoice that had been received from RNR Marine Supply in Hingham for
$32.40 for purchases made and charged to the HHDC. C. Daly to contact RNR and investigate.
B. Sweeney asked several questions about the role of the Task Force, the status of an actual“policy” for docks and piers, additional guest moorings behind World’s End and the HHDC
Master Plan. Questions were answered by N. Amdur and C. Daly.
C. Daly made a motion to adjourn the meeting. A. Ramsey seconded the motion. A vote was taken and it was unanimous. Chairman Amdur adjourned the meeting at 8:50 pm.
The next meeting is scheduled for October 7th at 7:30 PM.