7:00 PM Monday, September 20, 2010
Task Force Members Present: Susan Murphy, Hingham Planning Board; John Riley, Selectmen; Alan Perrault, Harbor Development Committee; Tom Foley, Trustees of the Hingham Bathing Beach; Katy Lacy, Town Planner, Ken Corson, Harbormaster.
Minutes
The Task Force voted to approve the minutes of May 12, 2010.
Member Updates/Recent Correspondence
Harbor Master
Ken Corson reported that he is working on the mooring optimization plan for the Yacht Club area, and it is going well. He reported that the new mooring optimization plan put into place this past summer in the Harbor and around the World's end area has worked very well, and that mooring rentals are up significantly. He presented the scope of work for two amendments to the Hingham Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project, one for a survey and mooring optimization plan for the Back River, and another for a full waterside conditions survey of the Harbor area. The plan is for both projects to be paid for with funds from the Division of Waterways. Ken reported that Brian Sweeney, a member of the Harbor development Committee, had worked with Ken to review the scopes of work. The Task Force members present voted unanimously to recommend that the Selectmen approve the proposed scopes of work.
Bathing Beach
Tom Foley reported that they had a relatively busy summer at the Bathing Beach. He noted that the ongoing arrangement with the Hingham Farmers Market has worked out well. There was a discussion about the ongoing geese management program, and an assessment of whether it was working very well. There was also a discussion of whether the cost of continuing this program shouldn't be included as a line item in the Town budget; currently this program is funded strictly through donations.
Mr. Foley went on to note that the Trustees of the Bathing Beach were still assessing the need to replace the Bath House as opposed to simply repairing it. Mr. Riley noted that with the new Harbor By-Law it would be possible to have some sort of snack shack or concession,that could potentially generate funds for the ongoing operation of the Bathing Beach.
Harbor Development Committee
Alan Perrault stated that the HDC had three new members and that he would be acting as Chairman. He noted that the HDC would continue to work closely with the Harbormaster on the ongoing mooring optimization projects. He also noted that the HDC was still interested in the idea of creating an Enterprise Fund with which funds brought into the Town through mooring fees, etc. could be directed towards ongoing maintenance and projects at the Harbor.
Nice Amdur wanted to know if a decision had been made whether to replace the railing around Whitney Wharf. Mr. Riley stated that the Selectmen had voted to take the railing down, but that this had not happened yet.
Selectmen
John Riley initiated a discussion of whether it would be a good idea to disband the Harbor Development Committee or whether there was additional work yet to be done. He pointed out that it might be a good idea to transition over the Harbor Development Committee, which is a standing committee appointed by the Selectmen.
Mr. Perrault noted that he was not sure if it would be a good idea to disband the committee, as it was very effective in serving as a clearing house for events and decisions that impacted the multiple stakeholders at the Harbor.
The issue of disbanding the Task Force remained unresolved.
Ms. Murphy noted that the Committee needed to complete their report and meet with the Selectmen and provide a status update. Ms. Lacy agreed to generate a revised draft for review by the Task Force. She suggested that Ms. Lacy contact the Selectmen's office to see if the HTF could get on the agenda for November 2.
The next Harbor Task Force Meeting was scheduled for October 21.
The Meeting was adjourned at 9:05 PM.
Respectfully Submitted, Katy Lacy