BHMA Minutes Mar 16 2016Harbor Management Authority
Minutes of March 16, 2016 Meeting
CITY OF BEVERLY
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
Board: Harbor Management Authority
Date: March 16, 2016
Location: Beverly Public Library - Barnet Gallery
Members Present: Chair Paul Earl, Vice Chair Rinus Oosthoek, David
Suminsby, George Simon, Pat McAleer, Scott Houseman,
Emily Flaherty, Don Neuman, Paul Miedzionoski, Estelle
Rand
Members Absent: Chris D'Alfonso
Others Present: Facilities Manager Rob Dever, Matt Smith, Bass Haven
Yacht Club Dredging Committee Chair John Hayes,
Beverly Purchasing Agent Dave Gelineau, President,
Bourne Consulting Engineering Ron Bourne
Recorder:
Aileen O'Rourke
Earl called the meeting to order at 7:05pm.
Public input
No members of the public were present.
Approval of Minutes
Houseman motions to approve the March 16, 2016 meeting minutes with minor edits. Seconded
by Suminsby. All approved, motion passes (10 -0).
Charitable Fishing Tournament
Matt Smith presents his plan for creating a charitable fishing tournament in Beverly. His plan is
to start small and eventually expand the tournament every year. He sits on the board of his
company's (Baystate Financial) charitable foundation. The Foundation raises funds for
disadvantaged children and families. His goal is to fund a children's charity in Cape Ann which
he has yet to be determined. The tournament will be held Father's day weekend Friday June 17
and 18'. The fish will be weighed in at the Landing. Smith is currently asking local restaurants
for gift cards for a raffle. He has at least 14 boats committed and his goal is to raise at least
$10K. Earl thinks this is a great idea, raising money for a good cause, and it's nice that it is
early in the season. Dever thinks he can manage the boats with the help of the Harbormaster.
Suminsby is the HMA's liaison with the Harbormaster's office so he will coordinate with the
Harbormaster, Dever, and Smith to make this a successful event. Oosthoek asks about liability
insurance as most events in Salem require it. They will not have liquor at the event this year but
will look into partnering with a local brewpub in future years. Smith states with his previous
events, participants sign a waiver and that protects the City. He will have the Foundation which
is a 5016 be the insurance holder. Earl will check in with Stephanie Williams, the City Solicitor
Harbor Management Authority
Minutes of March 16, 2016 Meeting
regarding insurance and liability issues. Rand thinks it's a great use of the space and is happy
the HMA can support it.
Bass River Update
Ron Bourne from Bourne Consulting Engineering is present to provide a status report on
permits. Testing for dredging of the Bass River was redone in 2006 and it was ruled suitable. The
issue has been with National grid and the NEPA filing. There is authorization to dredge in the
area north of Bridge Street which was approved as a variance and an EIR was done. Once
Beverly gets authorization for Phase 11 which includes dredging south of Bridge Street, National
grid will do the remediation to get rid of the contamination. Phase I has additional mitigation to
include cleanup of the shoreline at Obear park, drainage for the salt marsh, and cleaning up of
shoreline, as well as debris from storm water discharge. From a shellfish point of view, 80,000
sq feet is impacted. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) approved Chapter 91water quality on
March 3 d which is good for 5 years. It is now with the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps has
stated previously they did not believe the area south of Bridge Street was maintenance dredging
because they couldn't find a Corps permit. The new Director should be favorable as he has
managed the maintenance dredging in the past. The Phase I dredging is not dependent on Phase
11. The maintenance issue is only with Phase 11. This is the last permit needed. Hayes asks what
is the shelf life of permits, especially with Phase I. There is a risk they may ask for additional
testing (retest the same area to make sure nothing has changed). Conservation commission
expires 4/3/2019, DEP expires July 13, 2017, DEP 401 water quality /waterways expires July 3,
2017, and Army Corps expires July 31, 2018. Bourne states it may be difficult to get a long -term
extension, so 6 months before they are set to expire, Bourne will ask for an extension and show
there is progress being done. Neuman wonders if the water quality permit could be folded in
Phase I and Phase 11. Bourne states they have to be careful with merging because it might open
up the issue of mitigation again. Houseman asks what is the next permit or license they need to
be concerned with. Bourne replies it is Phase I with the Corps Dec 31, 2018 deadline. Suminsby
asks whether building a structure would affect the inner -tidal area or is it displacing the current
footprint and is there a difference with creating a new habitat with dredging. Losing inner tidal
but gaining subtidal habitat says Bourne. Simon asks where previous dredging funding came
from. Bourne states the Seaport Council (before it was known as the Seaport Economic
Advisory Council) was able to fund this. There was a study done by a Harvard architectural
project that shows if dredging created a recreational marina that could help with future growth
and development of the area and help fishermen, it could be tied into economic development.
The next step is to meet with the Army Corps of Engineers in Mid - April. Neuman will be the
point of contact for dredging. The process will likely take 2 months. Earl asks if Phase II is
ruled as not being maintenance dredging what are options. Bourne states it creates a greater
review by other agencies.
Houseman leaves the meeting.
Oosthoek motions to enter into an Executive Session to discuss edits to the session minutes.
Neuman seconds. A roll call vote is taken. Changes are suggested. Suminsby motions to
approve the minutes as amended. Seconded by Rand. All in favor, motion carries unanimously
21 Page
Harbor Management Authority
Minutes of March 16, 2016 Meeting
(9 -0). Oosthoek makes a motion to get out of executive session. Seconded by Rand. Motion
carries unanimously (9 -0). A second roll call is taken.
Regular meeting resumes
Facilities Report
Dever ordered 2 pedestals for the piles. Facilities have been 100% devoted to the Brown
building for the last 2 weeks. The floor is in, framing is completed. The electrical will be done by
Friday. Rough plumbing will be in on Monday and that will take about 2 days to finish.
Inspections will then be completed. The two bathrooms are both unisex and will have showers.
Finishing the showers will be priority over the office. Bathroom locks will be controlled
electronically. Dever states the summer helper will help clean the bathrooms but during other
times of the year it is the harbormaster's responsibility. Earl wonders if the showers could be
closed off to the public. Rand is uncomfortable asking the harbormaster to clean the bathrooms.
She wonders if the City could contract all city -wide cleaning of bathrooms out. Dever will work
with Gelineau to get a quote for the harbormaster bathrooms for twice a day cleaning during the
summer and get a quote to Earl. The Harbormaster may not be moved in the building by this
summer as originally planned.
Financials
Earl states the Recreational marina is sold out. There are 2 new members for a total of 23 boats.
Revenue is now $20K above what was budgeted. Neuman would like a strict policy that if a
boater does not pay they cannot put their put in the slip. Dever states this is hard to enforce and
the veteran boaters who have been there for years always pay, even if they pay a little late.
Members review the Commercial marina numbers. Oosthoek has a question on some of the
numbers. There is someone who hasn't paid yet but will pay eventually. Dever states there is no
admin fee if a boater pre -pays but it looks like that is not reflected in the spreadsheet, he will
double check. Only $20K has been spent from Algonquin funds so far as the City is using its
own resources first.
Dever states the firefighters found the originally setup was not done correctly, sinker blocks were
looped, not shackled down, first high tide they rolled down. Smith Marine will move them if
they can. Neuman states since blocks require more maintenance, piles are still the best solution.
Permitting for piles
Neuman spoke with Cheryl at GZA. He will send NEPA the input she drafted for the city's
signature. There are 20 days to comment then DEP has 30 days to review, after that it will go to
the Conservation Commission for approval and then it will likely be permitted.
Separate Gangway
31 Page
Harbor Management Authority
Minutes of March 16, 2016 Meeting
Suminsby goes over D'Alfonso idea for creating a separate gangway down the recreational
marina. It seems like a simple engineering solution. They would attach beams to the gangway to
extend it and add an additional small float to make it wider for the gangway. This won't affect
the fishing area. A gate would be added, making it easier for recreational folks to access. This
would mean no connector piece and a separate access for the recreational area. Neuman says this
will not take the place of piles. Rand would like to know the priority for pilings and quantify the
return of investment if pilings mean less maintenance and time saved.
Salem Sound Coastwatch Symposium
Flaherty passes out postcards for the Salem Sound Coastwatch 25 anniversary symposium. The
areas which would be of interest to members are on the first day, Mayor Driscoll will be talking
about the living shoreline and UMASS Boston has someone speaking about dredging. Earl will
call the Executive Director to inquire about discounted tickets for HMA members.
Adjournment
There being no further business before the Harbor Management Authority this evening,
Oosthoek makes a motion to adjourn. Rand seconds. Motion to adjourn approved unanimously
(9 -0).
The HMA Meeting was adjourned at 8:59pm.
41 Page