7:00 PM Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Task Force Members Present: William Ramsey, current Planning Board representative; John Riley, Selectmen; Alan Perrault, Harbor Development Committee; Katy Lacy, Town Planner, Ken Corson, Harbormaster; Joan Williams, Trustees of the Hingham Bathing Beach; Ben Wilcox, HDIC.
Also present: Susan Murphy, former Hingham Planning Board Representative; Tom Foley, Trustees of the Hingham Bathing Beach; Dave Fenton, Harbor Development Committee.
Minutes
The Task Force voted to approve the minutes of September 20, 2010.
Elect New Chairman
Susan Murphy resigned as Chairman due to the fact that she was no longer on the Planning Board, and would be going off the Task Force. It was moved, seconded and SO VOTED to have Alan Perrault and Ben Wilcox serve as co-chairs.
Member Updates
Ken Corson provided an update on mooring permit enforcement, the completion of the mooring permit plans, and where he stood in terms of issuing mooring permits and 10A permits for floats. He is continuing to work on providing some sort of dinghy dock for public use. Ken discussed the potential merits of creating an Enterprise Fund to redirect money generated at the Harbor back to Harbor operations. John Riley suggested that Ted Alexiades attend a meeting of the Task Force in the near future to discuss this further.
Alan Perrault reported that the Harbor Development Committee is continuing to work with the consulting firm CLE on the completion of a full conditions survey of the Harbor. He noted that they have been working with the HDIC on how to better link the Harbor with the Downtown, and both groups have chosen to focus on improving the crosswalk leading from the Harbor to North Street. Dave Fenton of the Harbor Task Force showed examples of the type of bridge that was being considered to cross Town Brook at Otis Street.
Joan Williams reported that the Farmers’ Market will be at the Bathing Beach in May. They are still hoping to pursue improvements to the Bath House or reconstruction of the Bath House.
The group revisited the issue of goose droppings and how to manage them. The Border collie that had been used to manage them was “retiring.” Task Force members agreed to look into alternative approaches.
Short and Long Term Goals for Task Force
Task Force members closed the meeting with an effort to identify top priorities for the group.
1. Improving intersection linking North Street to the Harbor
2. Examining pros and cons of Enterprise Fund
3. Continuing to pursue the construction of a bridge across Town Brook
4. Completion of CLE Study, and identification of feasible and desirable land uses
5. Zoning/legislative/regulatory permits and amendments needed to allow for desired land uses
6. Building support for Task Force projects among all harbor users, including members of Lincoln Maritime Center.
The group concurred that it would be beneficial to have the consulting firm CLE in for the next meeting to go over their findings from the full conditions survey. Ken Corson will coordinate with them to identify a date after Town meeting.
The Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.
Katy Lacy
Director of Community Planning