Task Force Members Present: Susan Murphy, Hingham Planning Board; John Riley, Selectmen; Ben Wilcox, HDIC; Alan Perrault, Harbor Development Committee; Peter Fee, Trustees of the Hingham Bathing Beach; Katy Lacy, Town Planner, Ken Corson Acting Harbormaster.
Review Minutes of October 28
It was moved, seconded, and SO VOTED to approve the minutes of October 28, 2009.
Member Updates
Nick Amdur of the Harbor Development Committee volunteered, on the part of the HDC, to look deeper into the financial aspects of the Harbor, including the identification of all relative costs and revenues (Town services vs. property taxes, fees, etc.). As a part of this effort he will also look into the details of the Waterways Fund, including how it is generated, what it can be spent for, and how the account is allocated.
Ken Corson, Katy Lacy and John Riley reported that they had met with Kevin Mooney of DCR and Carlos Pena of CLE Engineering to discuss further proposed modifications to the Dredging contract. Specifically, on the recommendation of Kevin Mooney, the Town was seeking a modification to the scope to conduct a “full conditions survey” from the water-side of the harbor, with the goal of identifying possible and feasible alternative locations for a Town-owned marina operation. Mr. Pena will draft a scope and get back to the Town with it as soon as possible.
Peter Fee noted that there was a meeting planned between the Farmers Market and the Trustees of the Bathing Beach to discuss the introduction of a more formal agreement between the two groups. Currently the Farmer’s Market is held at the Bathing Beach on Saturdays from approximately May to October, and also on Wednesday mornings in September and October.
Discussion of Proposed Harbor Regulations
At the last meeting the group briefly discussed the pros and cons of the Town issuing an RFP to procure mooring service providers vs. continuing the current practice of allowing for open competition between mooring providers. At this meeting Selectmen Riley stated that he wanted to discuss the issue with the other Selectmen before proceeding further with this discussion.
Ken Corson brought the group up to speed on where he was in terms of revising the Town’s various Harbor Regulations, including the Harbor By-Law, as well as the Harbormaster’s own regulations (mandated by Section 5 of the Harbor By-Law) governing mooring specifications and other specific technical issues.
Ken’s goal behind this effort is to increase the Town’s control over current harbor operations, ensure a high level of service to harbor users, and, ideally, generate additional revenue for the Town. At this point he has completed portions of the By-Law, but has not fully fleshed out the overall structure, scope and content of the new regulations. It is his goal to bring the proposed modifications to the Harbor By-Law, as well as the associated regulations, to the 2010 Town Meeting for consideration, which would mean that they need to be drafted by January. Ken will be discussing the detailed specifications for the regulations over the next month or so with the Harbor Development Committee.
Susan Murphy offered her assistance in terms of helping Ken develop a framework for the proposed regulations.
Mr. Corson noted that the dredging was running approximately two weeks behind schedule.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Katharine Lacy
Next Meeting Date: November 18, 2009