PROVINCETOWN HARBOR COMMITTEE

Town Hall Judge Welsh Room
Provincetown, MA

May 4, 2005

Members Present: Gerard Irmer, Chairman, Kerry Adams, Alice Brock, Heather Bruce, Ann Colbourn

Member Absent: Melville Cote, Alternate

Advisory Staff Present: Rex McKinsey, Pier Manager; Ted Meyer, Acting Marine Supervisor; Doug Taylor, Building Commissioner

Advisory Staff Absent: Maxine Notaro, Permit Coordinator (Excused Absence)

AGENDA

The meeting was called to order at 4:34 p.m.

Review/amend/approve minutes of 4/27/05

The minutes were read. The Chairman said that Heather Bruce had made the comments about the cost of the Bennett Chapter 91 license decreasing after the Harbor Plan amendments go into effect.

MOTION: A motion was made by Kerry Adams to approve the minutes as amended and was seconded by Alice Brock. They were approved unanimously.

PUBLIC STATEMENTS

There were none.

OLD BUSINESS

Doug Taylor said that there is $37,122.84 in the Gift Fund account. Mr. Taylor said that he will put the Harbor Committee on the mailing list to receive information about the account once a month. Gerard Irmer said that in order to spend the money, the Harbor Committee would make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen who would dispense the money.

Chapter 91 License Applications

333R Commercial Street, Bennett

The motion from the last meeting was presented again.

MOTION: A motion was made by Heather Bruce to have the Chairman write a letter to the D.E. P. approving the license application for 333R Commercial Street with the following recommendations: 1) The deck will extend no more than eight feet from the building (the same size as the existing second floor deck) with no stairs on the side facing the water. 2) The Committee is concerned about privatization of the area and would like to see plantings that deter parking, but are as natural as possible. They suggest a strategically-placed scattered planting of Rugosa roses. 3) No beach grass should be planted. 4) A letter concerning the "proper public purpose," which is missing from the application, must be supplied. The motion was seconded by Ann Colbourn. Yeas: 3 Nays: 1 Abstain 1 (Kerry Adams recused himself) The motion passed.

Gerard Irmer said that he received letters from the State concerning both 333R Commercial St. and 253 Commercial St. Neither one has to supply an environmental impact report, but there are sticking points on both which will have to be looked at later.

BEACH CLEANUP

Alice Brock had consulted the tide charts. She suggested having the prisoners do a clean-up in the middle of town before Memorial Day since there is not much time to plan the town-wide event by then. She suggested Friday, May 13th or Monday, May 16th. The area to be cleaned will be from Johnson Street to the Post Office, with a concentration on the area around the pier.

The next low tide after that would be on Memorial Day, so the town-wide cleanup would have to be after that. She suggested June 14, 15, or 16. Derelict boats would also be taken away at this time. The cleanup will start at 9:00 a.m.. Ted Meyer said that the trash bags from the DPW are not very strong. Ann Colbourn said that she will donate about 30 heavy duty bags. For the town-wide cleanup the Harbormaster must ticket derelict boats. Donations will be sought for food to feed the prisoners. Kerry Adams said that he would like to see the cleanup become an annual event with t-shirts, hats and kids involved. The committee chose June 15th for the cleanup. The notice concerning the derelict boats must be put in the newspaper.

HARBOR PLAN AMENDMENTS

Gerard Irmer received an email from Truman Henson saying that he hadn’t received anything from the town requesting an extension. Mr. Irmer emailed Keith Bergman on Sunday who said he would check into the matter. Mr. Bergman sent a letter to Mr. Henson, but it didn’t request an extension. This was of concern to the committee, because today (May4th) is the one year anniversary of the request for an extension and the State has not approved the amendments. After some discussion it was realized that the Town does not need another extension, since the Town has done all they need to do within the previously requested extension. Rex McKinsey said the ball is now in their (the State’s) court. He also said that they are probably still going through the amendments and advised the Committee to be patient. Mr. Irmer said that he will make sure that all the Committee members receive any communication from the State on this topic.

BOARD OF HEALTH

The Chairman had written a letter to the Board of Health regarding old septic systems on the beach and the Committee’s desire to have them removed. The Chairman of the Board of Health, Mark Baker, replied in an email that the regulations did not require the actual removal of the old systems. He said that it could be very expensive and a hardship for property owners. Heather Bruce thought that the systems at the old Mews and the Lobster Pot should definitely be removed. Ann Colbourn thought that specific properties should not be focused on, but a standard definition of what the Committee considers a problem property should be developed. Rex McKinsey suggested forming a subcommittee who could write up the Harbor Committee’s concerns for the Board of Health and possibly other boards. The Chairman asked for volunteers for the subcommittee. Ann Colbourn, Heather Bruce and Alice Brock volunteered.

MOTION: A motion was made by Kerry Adams to form a subcommittee of members, including Heather Bruce, Ann Colbourn and Alice Brock (and any other members) to act as a liaison with the other Town boards and committees. The motion was seconded by Alice Brock and was approved unanimously.

The subcommittee would decide on what they thought was important in regard to the other boards and then bring their suggestions to the full Committee for approval. They would then ask for a meeting with the other board, such as the Board of Health. Doug Taylor said that he thought that the Board of Selectmen should be also be met with. Heather Bruce added that the Committee still needed to talk to them about the Harbor Plan.

Other Business

Gerard Irmer said that he has looked at the agendas for the Cons. Comm. and the Planning Board. They both have items on their agendas which could concern the Harbor Committee because they are dealing with waterfront properties.

Kerry Adams said that he had been contacted by David Ditacchio and Jim Downey. They said that higher charges for non-resident mooring fees are in violation of Chapter 91 regulations. Rex McKinsey said that the Town’s stand is that they are allowed to differentiate if the cost of administering the program is higher than the money taken in.

NEXT MEETING: May 18, 2005 at 4:30 p.m.

MOTION: A motion to adjourn was made at 5:40 p.m. by Ann Colbourn and seconded by Kerry Adams.. The motion was approved unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Cynthia Curran