7:00 PM Wednesday, December 16, 2009
MEETING MINUTES
Task Force Members Present: Susan Murphy, Hingham Planning Board; 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 December 3, 2009
It was moved, seconded, and SO VOTED to approve the minutes of October 28, 2009 as amended with minor changes at the meeting.
Member Updates
Peter Fee reported that he got an estimate for striping the parking lot at the Bathing Beach of $1800 for the first year, and $900 every two years thereafter. Mr. Fee estimated that with the stripping the parking would be much more organized, and there would be approximately 150 spaces plus 5-6 handicapped spaces.
Members discussed the fact that there was an informal agreement between the Town and the Bathing Beach that the Bathing Beach parking lot could provide overflow parking for up to ten car/trailer combinations. Ken Corson indicated that at this point he usually sent extra trailer parking to the Station Street parking lot.
Peter Fee reported that he had attended the annual meeting of the Farmer’s Market Board meeting. They discussed the possibility of making a contribution to the ongoing efforts to solve the goose problem and the parking lot stripping, but nothing was concluded.
Nick Amdur indicated that he is still conducting research on revenues and expenditures associated with the Harbor, and should have a draft report in January.
Ben Wilcox noted that there was a recent meeting between Hull and Hingham officials with State Representative Garrett Bradley about the proposed improvements to the Rotary. It does not appear that the project will happen for a few years.
Ken Corson noted that the dredging project is a bit behind. If they do not finish this year, the dredging company will have to return again next year, and assume all costs associated with the delay.
Harbor Regulations
Task Force members reviewed the draft Harbor Regulations, which are currently being prepared by Ken Corson. The Harbormaster gets the authority to promulgate regulations from the Hingham Harbor By-Law; the Selectmen review and approve prior to putting them in place. This draft pulls together and updates many existing regulations, as well as providing new regulations, and includes the following sections:
§ 1 Authority & Enforcement
§ 2 Definition of Terms
§ 3 Applicability
§ 4 Mooring Permits
§ 5 Moving, Relocating, Removal of Moorings
§ 6 Mooring Rentals
§ 7 Mooring and Tackle Specifications
§ 8 Mooring Inspection
§ 9 Town Floats
§ 10 Mooring Float Regulations for Private Use
§ 11 Mooring Float Regulations for Commercial Use
§ 12 Marinas
§ 13 Stray Vessels
§ 14 Obstructing Navigation
§ 15 Special Situations
§ 16 Penalties
§ 17 Conformance with Existing Regulations and Disclaimer
Hingham Harbor Overlay District
Ms. Murphy distributed a rough draft of an initial Harbor Overlay District By-Law, and noted that the Task Force would be focusing on this at their next meeting. The Planning Board hearings on proposed amendments to the Zoning By-Law are scheduled to begin on January 7. In particular, it was important for the Task Force to come to some sort of consensus about the “Purpose” section of the By-Law, to ensure that everybody is on the same page going forward.
Next Meeting Date
The next Harbor Task Force Meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, January 6, 2010.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM.