Harbor Management Minutes 09-18-2024 Harbor Management Authority
Minutes of September 18, 2024 Meeting Cl 1'1' I _ Y
CITY OF BEVERLY 0 I T Y
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES Z025 AN 3 0 A 10: 12
Board: Harbor Management Authority
Date: September 18, 2024
Location: Beverly Public Library-Barnet Gallery
and via Google Meet
Members Present: Chair Paul Earl, Scott Freeman, Joe Crowell, Todd
Rotondo,David Suminsby, Scott White
Members Absent: Todd Callaghan, David Lane, George Simon, Danielle
Spang
Others Present: Peter Dickman(Harbormaster),Erin Schaefer(Economic
Development Planner)
Recorder: Brett Bauer
Earl calls the meeting to order at 6:55 pm.
Approval of Minutes
Approval of the August 21, 2024 minutes will be deferred until the next meeting as there are not
enough currently present that were also at the last meeting to have a valid vote of approval.
Financials
Earl reports that they closed out FY24 with the capital fund at$701k, and they've added $14k so
far this year,
Harbormaster Update
Dickman reports that his office has been getting caught up on permitting vessels. They have 586
vessels permitted at this point. They have also been working on the mooring wait list and have
assigned 35 this season,mostly new moorings off West Beach and Rice's Beach. He is still
waiting to get the department truck registered as there has been an insurance issue. Dickman was
notified that they have been awarded the Seaport Security grant for a patrol boat,but it hasn't
been officially announced yet. The harbormaster building and the marina are still running on a
generator. Dickman and his staff have noticed a faint smell of gas occasionally in the building.
The city plumbers looked at it but have not identified the problem. This may result in another
future project/expense.
Facilities Report
Ciancarelli has not heard any complaints from the recreational or commercial customers. The
dinghy bar should get installed when the pier planks are replaced, as well as a wind sock
installed. He has not heard from the welder about the work to the gates. City workers have the
conduit ready to fix the electrical issues, and Ciancarelli had received two quotes ($24k and
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Harbor Management Authority
Minutes of September 18,2024 Meeting
$90k),but he just learned that this work needs to follow a formal procurement process. Collins is
trying to see if city workers can complete the work but Rotondo notes that the work needs to get
done this year. There are no updates on the hoist pier construction. Collins asked Ciancarelli to
put together a summary of the transient float project on the Rowand's property for the mayor.
Rotondo relays that Spang was at a North Shore Chamber of Commerce meeting and ferry
service was brought up. The HMA should consider if this is possible at Glover Wharf.
Ciancarelli notes that he will execute the survey about the walk-in cooler or ice machine to the
commercial customers. He also reports that there is an opening in the commercial marina,but the
next name on the waiting list is known amongst the commercial fishermen and could be another
problem customer like the Riley Too that was just removed. There was some discussion about
how and whether to vet potential commercial customers. Rotondo suggested first checking with
the City Solicitor. Ciancarelli will wait for direction before contacting anyone to fill the slip.
Harbor Fest
Earl spoke to all the food vendors and they all made a lot of sales. Todd R sent a thank you to the
Endicott volunteers and also to check-in if they were interested in coming back next year. There
were some complaints about noise from a generator for the inflatable whale but it turned into a
nice demonstration for a solar generator from a neighboring vendor. A couple of beer vendors
mentioned their customers had trouble finding the location of the beer garden. There was a brief
discussion about moving this outside in the future but it doesn't seem feasible at Lynch Park.
The bongo drum player arrived late and was able to play during one of the band's 15-minute
breaks but he never returned a signed contract, so the question of if and how much he gets paid
remains unresolved until he contacts Earl. Barrence Whitfield had to miss the event because of
an engagement he forgot about in Finland.
Dockwa&Transient Floats/Moorinas
Earl reports that they have brought in about$8,000 from the transient floats so far this year—
more than double last year. And they brought in$5,500 from the transient moorings; over five
times from last year. Earl,Dickman, and Ciancarelli will look at ways to maximize this revenue
for next year, such as hiring a dedicated staff to manage.
Public Pier Interactive Project
Earl notes that Spang is still waiting for info from Historic Beverly and the grant has been
extended.
Falco Project
Earl is looking at occupancy percentage of transient floats to gauge and justify the transient float
expansion. The occupancy percentage has increased from last year. Regarding the electrical
usage monitors,Earl has compared National Grid billed data with Falco's data and there is about
a ten percent discrepancy(sensors generated is less than metered). Earl is working on a
multiplier to also include a fair share of the delivery charge to customers. The current plan is to
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Minutes of September 18, 2024 Meeting
charge winter customers any excess over the admin fee and an initial communication is drafted.
Crowell suggests asking Falco to create a dashboard that allows customers to see their electrical
usage.
Webcam
Earl suggests they could start a conversation with the Mission Boathouse about this idea by
approaching Leon, the manager there,just to gauge their interest. Crowell volunteers to reach
out.
Document Archiving
Earl needs to connect with Freeman after reviewing his work and suggestions.
Ferry Way and Public Pier Activation
Earl met with the City Solicitor at Glover Wharf and confirmed that all of that area is under
HMA's authority to improve. Earl has looked at benches in Gloucester and the nicest ones were
made with wood. He has also seen several nice composite ones in various coastal locations. They
will need a policy in place for donated memorial benches_ Earl is hoping they can have
something new installed by spring.
New Members
Earl is open to suggestions for new members.
_Adiournment
There being no further business before the Harbor Management Authority this evening, Rotondo
makes a motion to adjourn. Crowell seconds. Motion to adjourn is approved(6-0).
The HMA Meeting is adjourned at 8:30 pm.
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