Loading...
HMA 10-6-24 Harbor Management Authority Minutes of October 16, 2024 Meeting Illy 0-IT OF CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES _ : 52 Board: Harbor Management Authority Date: October 16, 2024 Location: Beverly Public Library-Barnet Gallery and via Google Meet Members Present: Chair Paul Earl, Scott Freeman, Joe Crowell, David Lane, Todd Rotondo, Danielle Spang, David Suminsby, Scott White Members Absent: Todd Callaghan, George Simon Others Present: Larry Durkin, Sean Ciancarelli (marina manager), Peter Dickman (Harbormaster), Recorder: Brett Bauer Earl calls the meeting to order at 6:45 pm. Housekeeping Notes Earl notes that the November meeting will be at a different location; either Jubilee Yacht Club or the BevCam studio. And Earl is hoping to move the January meeting up one week, on January 8th. Member of the Public Guest, Larry Durkin, introduces himself. He has a background in public service and civil engineering, and he is interested in becoming a member of the HMA. Approval of Minutes Lane motions to approve the August 21, 2024 minutes. Seconded by Rotondo. The motion is approved, 8-0. Crowell motions to approve the September 18, 2024 minutes. Seconded by White. The motion is approved, 7-0, with Lane abstaining. Financials Earl reports that the capital fund is at $682k, the encumbered fund is at$95k, and the WIF is at $84k. There is are three long time commercial customers who have not paid anything yet. Harbormaster Update Dickman reports that the Harbormaster department truck is registered, insured, outfitted with lights, but still needs a radio installed. Dickman explains a new mooring numbering system that is being implemented. He reports that there was a boating fatality at Bass Haven Yacht Club. His office received training in oil spill response that they have already put to use. They worked to contain a diesel spill of about 5 to 10 gallons at Tuck's Point Marina. The new patrol boat has 11 Page Harbor Management Authority Minutes of October 16, 2024 Meeting not been ordered yet,but Dickman was able to tour the manufacturer's facility while on vacation on the West Coast. After meeting the manufacturer,Dickman says the order is penciled in. He hopes to have the boat in about a year. Facilities Report Ciancarelli reports that the recreational customers are starting to leave the marina. All but one customer has already confirmed they are returning next year. And the one remaining customer, the sail boat,just hasn't replied. pour winter customers have signed up thus far. Ciancarelli and Earl will start notifying the kayak customers about pulling their boats. The work on the pier planks and dinghy bar will hopefully start in the next couple of weeks. Surveys went out to the commercial customers and five have responded back. So far, the responses show interest in an ice machine and willingness to pay for ice. Regarding the electrical issue,the decision to have the work done by city workers has been made. Ciancarelli reports that the bid documents for the hoist pier are ready for the City Engineer to review. GZA has already started talking with Procurement. Construction will hopefully be done this winter. Asked about the gas smell at the Harbormaster Building, Dickman responds that he still notices it. Ciancarelli can help coordinate an inspection with National Grid. The recreational marina rates, including the kayak and dinghy rack rates, are due to be set. Suminsby reports that the rates used to be at$160/ft, but they lowered them because of the construction of the new restaurant at Glover Wharf. Two years ago, it was raised back to $160/ft. Suminsby proposes that they raise the rates about 5% to $170/ft. And when the commercial rates come up for review, they could go from$80/ft to $85/ft so they would still be half of the recreational rates. Suminsby motions to raise the recreational rates from $160/ft to $170/ft. Seconded by Rotondo. Discussion: Rotondo asks about the parking situation with the recreational boaters, and the general response is that the matter seems to be settled. Crowell notes that the rates at Beverly Port Marina are currently$200/ft. Lane cautions against trying to match Beverly Port Marina, as the current recreational customers may start complaining about parking again. Spang asks if they will be charging for electric overages, and Earl responds affirmatively. Ciancarelli adds that the waitlist for the recreational marina is currently at 50 people. A vote is called, and the motion is approved, 8-0. Floats/Rowands Expansion Ciancarelli has sent his summary of the project to Collins for use in discussion with the mayor. Earl would like to get Foth started on permitting as it will take a long time. He feels it may be possible to have this completed by the summer of 2026. Dockwa & Transient Floats/Moorings Earl reports that the revenue so far for this season is at $13,800; more than triple from last year. He is hoping to break$14k after this weekend. Earl, Ciancarelli, and Dickman have some ideas about how to improve the process. Earl notes that the transient floats and moorings bring more 2 Page Harbor Management Authority Minutes of October 16, 2024 Meeting visitors and money into Beverly. White asks if Dockwa or Falco have any data on where the visitors are coming from. Lane notes that Dockwa has this data,but we should ask if Dockwa is willing to share it. Falco Project Earl met with the Main Streets staff and both had the Glover Wharf app on their phone. They often show it to business owners, people they come across, and in their meetings, as it is a good promotion tool for Beverly. Earl asked Falco to allow them access to the dashboard so they can publish upcoming events on the APP. Earl notes that Main Streets is also interested in helping more directly with Harbor Fest. Erin, the Executive Director, will bring this up to their board. Public Pier Interactive Project Spang reports that she met with the artist and he is working on getting the language for the exhibits in Spanish. She is still waiting to hear back from Historic Beverly. She is looking at spring for the installation. Ferry Way and Public Pier_ _Activation Earl got a sample policy for donor picnic tables from the Parks &Ree department. They charge $4500 for purchase and ten years of maintenance. Their replacement schedule is ten years and the donor gets the right of first refusal to continue their memorial on a bench. We can model their approach appropriate for benches. Earl spoke to Barrett about grants for additional public improvements and furniture and she thinks they may be available in the ballpark of$50k. Spang said Doig, the Parks Director,has a list of interested donors. If the HMA provides enough lead time on the announcement,they could potentially have all the benches paid for. Doig had noted there is a particular demand for water-facing benches. Earl is also interested in Callaghan's idea of painted foot steps to mark the public path. Spang notes that National Grid plans to tear up the end of Congress Street for the new conduit this spring. She spoke with neighbors and the owners of the Sedna Apartments, and between National Grid and the Sedna Apartment owners there may be an opportunity to improve the area with steps and a kayak rack. Freeman gives a report on his impressions of the bench vendors he spoke with. Vetting New Customers Earl likes Crowell's idea from Gloucester about putting terms to be agreed to as a condition of being on the waiting list. He notes that they need a better system to have customers sign their contracts, as the City Solicitor has indicated this would help/be required to enforce the contracts. Earl wonders if adopting DocuSign could help. He will work with Ciancarelli on this. Webeam Crowell is waiting to meet with Leo from the Mission Boathouse and still need to connect with Brian, who installed the webeams at Jubilee Yacht Club, about any issues they should consider with the installation. 3 Page Harbor Management Authority Minutes of October 16, 2024 Meeting P Beverly 400 Rotondo reports that he just reached out to Harold Burnham to check-in. He adds that there are improvements that speak to the legacy of Independence Park that will apply for a Community Preservation grant. Rotondo notes that he has struggled to get in contact with the right people about arranging a sail-by of the USS Constitution and the Boston Tall Ships event. There is some discussion about where boats could be tied up in Beverly Harbor. Public comment: Durkin mentions that he would love to see some sort of grant for irrigation at Independence Park and Dane Street Beach. HMA: The general response is that it is a matter of finding the money. Kayak Racks Earl reports that he sent an email to ask about the status of a kayak rack at Norwood Pond. The group leading this effort indicated they plan to send Earl a proposal for his review. Earl notes that 13 of the 16 spots at Pleasant View Beach got filled. We may want to just leave the second rack at that location rather than moving it. And, alternatively, we could consider an additional rack at Lynch Park. We have been approved by the Conservation Commission for three additional racks. Document Archiving Freeman has taken this over and is getting the files, and directory structure, organized. Other Announcements Rotondo mentions that the HMA report to the City Council is planned for December or January, and they will need to find a date that works for Earl. Adjournment There being no further business before the Harbor Management Authority this evening, Suminsby makes a motion to adjourn. Spang seconds. Motion to adjourn is approved(8-0). The HMA Meeting is adjourned at 8:25 pm. 4 Page