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2014-02-19Harbor Management Authority Minutes February 19, 2014 Board: Date: Location: Members Present Members Absent: Others Present: Recorder: CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES Harbor Management Authority February 19, 2014 Beverly Public Library Chair Paul Earl, David Suminsby, Rinus Oosthoek, Don Neuman, Paul Miedzionoski, David Lang, Pat McAleer, George Simon, Scott Housemen Chris D'Alfonso, Rob Dever, Facilities Manager Mayor Michael Cahill, City Solicitor Stephanie Williams, Greg Howard (Public) Eileen Sacco Earl called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Public Input There was no public input this evening. Discussion with Mayor Michael Cahill Earl welcomed Mayor Cahill and City Solicitor Stephanie Williams to the HMA meeting. Mayor Cahill thanked the members of the HMA for the opportunity to meet with them. He stated that the HMA will be working closely with City Planner Aaron Clausen who is unable to attend the meeting this evening but will be attending future meetings. Mayor Cahill stated that there is a lot of potential on the waterfront and noted that the he has made a decision to ask the state for a de- designation of the DPA. Neuman asked if the Mayor is planning to couple that with appropriate rezoning to go along with it. The Mayor stated that is what they would like to do. Neuman noted that in the existing zoning there is nothing that prohibits high rise apartment buildings, and what presently prevents that from happening is the DPA. He stated that he always felt that if there were to be a change in the DPA that the zoning should change as well. Mayor Cahill stated that he did not think that they have to be sequential noting that it will take 6- 9 months for the de- designation to happen. He also noted that the de- designation will give the city some flexibility. Mayor Cahill stated that the first step for the de- designation would be to talk to all of the property owners in the area. Oosthoek suggested that the city check with the Seaport Council regarding the effect that the de- designation will have on funding. Mayor Cahill stated that there is no requirement that the DPA be in place to be eligible for Seaport funding. Page 1 of 4 Harbor Management Authority Minutes February 19, 2014 Neuman stated that Coastal Zone Management has to be considered as well. Suminsby asked Mayor Cahill if he has given any thought to modifying the DPA and suggested that maybe it could be shifted. Mayor Cahill stated that the idea of shifting the DPA is not where they want to start the conversation. Mayor Cahill asked if the HMA has secured money for the Bass River project. Neuman explained that HMA got some funding from DCR and suggested it may have come through the Seaport Council but it was not specified. Neuman noted that the Bass River is not part of the DPA. Oosthoek noted that if the harbor is not in the DPA the city will not have a seat on the Seaport Advisory Council. Councilor Houseman asked Mayor Cahill what the purpose of the de- designation is. Mayor Cahill stated that there is a lot of waterfront in Beverly and he would like to see restaurants and shops and public access, condos and boat slips. He also noted that additional parking will be need as well. City Solicitor Stephanie Williams explained that the BPM sub - proposal is being reviewed and the City has asked for clarification on it and that is where it stands right now. Neuman stated that public access from the Kenzie's is a concern, noting that past proposals were vague about public access. Councilor Lang stated that the DEP is still weighing in on their hoist project. He also noted that the Rantoul Street project will make the new parking garage closer to the waterfront. Miedzionoski suggested that bike rentals would be a great addition to the area. Earl asked if there was a strategy for the Black Cow proposal. Mayor Cahill stated that he is waiting to see what happens at the SJC. Oosthoek asked if the Black Cow proposal does not go through if any thought had been given to tearing down the McDonald's building. He explained that the Brown Building has to be given some kind of priority and once that is functional the Harbor Master will move in there and once that is complete the building should be torn down. Mayor Cahill asked what the status of the Brown Building is. Earl explained that Mike Collins has committed to doing as much of the work that can be done in house by his staff as possible and some of it will be contracted out. He explained that the money is in the HMA budget. Page 2 of 4 Harbor Management Authority Minutes February 19, 2014 Earl explained that the dredging of the upper Bass River and the installation of the steel float with handicap access at the public pier is fully permitted. He noted that a potential source of funding for that is the Seaport Council Simon asked if the City of Beverly has to give Algonquin permission for access and if so that could be a potential funding option. Lang recalled that a mitigation fund was set up when Algonquin came through the last time and $10 million dollars went to the City of Boston and nothing to the other host communities. Oosthoek stated that it was worth exploring. Mayor Cahill talked about the structure of the HMA presently and a future structure and jurisdictional authority of the members. Neuman stated that the Mayor needs to decide if he wants a Harbor Authority and explained that the function of managing the waterfront really does not come under the HMA. He explained the history of the HMA as an overseer of the waterfront but in recent years it has become more of a managerial role. He stated that they should be setting policy and overseeing finances and it is a challenge having an ongoing management responsibility. Earl explained that the HMA drafted a revised Harbormaster job description and proposal, and requested that the Mayor take a look at it - noting that it provides more clarity in the operations. Mayor Cahill questioned if the city should rescind the legislation to create a HMA by ordinance. Suminsby stated that going forward with regards to the de- designation and the rezoning, he would like part of the effort to attend to the design review of the area and look closely at what Kinzie is proposing and assure that it falls in line with what the city wants to see down there. He stated that he is concerned about what lifting the DPA without changing the zoning could lead to. Mayor Cahill stated that he has talked to City Planner Aaron Clausen about the zoning guidelines city wide and design review is included. He noted that previous attempts at rezoning by consultants did not include the participation of the owners on the waterfront and they will be reaching out to them. Councilor Houseman agreed - noting that the concept is a good one, and further noting that Pickering Wharf in Salem does not attract a lot of people, and that we need to get the zoning right. Mayor Cahill thanked the members of the HMA for the informative meeting and stated that he looks forward to working with them. Earl thanked Mayor Cahill and Ms. Williams for attending and offered the help of the HMA with any of the issues discussed this evening. Approval of Minutes Oosthoek motioned to approve the January 15, 2014 minutes, Lang second the motion. Motion carried 9 -0. Page 3 of 4 Harbor Management Authority Minutes February 19, 2014 Facilities Report Earl reported that he spoke with Mike Collins regarding the status of the Brown Building's priority for projects for the City. He indicated that there is one project in front of the Brown Building and that project should be completed within a week. Public Works will then put resources on the Brown Building with the focus on restrooms with showers including ADA access up to code. Finance Miedzionoski reported that he received an email to the new finance director, Bryant Ayles with the finance report for the HMA but it did not include the monthly financials. Website Earl reported that the marina rates have been updated on the website. Hoist Earl reported that Dever has four proposals but he has not finalized it yet. He stated that Dever was looking for additional information. Houseman moved to authorize HMA Chair Paul Earl to make a decision on the contract for the hoist vendor. Lang seconded the motion. The motion carried (9 -0). GZA Update Neuman reported that the new float to be located to the west needs a feasibility study and a quote of $5,000 was given by GZA, and they have reduced it to $2,500. Houseman moved to authorize a contract with GZA for a feasibility study for a fish float west of the hoist. Lang seconded the motion. The motion carried (9 -0). Grants Nothing new to report. New business Earl stated that he would like to see the HMA involved in the rezoning process for the waterfront. Neuman noted that the master plan for the harbor needs to be updated as well. Next Meeting The next meeting of the Harbor Management Authority will be held on Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at the Beverly Public Library. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Beverly Harbor Management Authority this evening, Oosthoek made a motion to adjourn. Miedzionoski second and the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Page 4 of 4