HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-12-5Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board
Tuesday, Dec. 5 2017 at 5:00 p.m.
Community Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road
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Members present: Andy Lowell, Ken Gullicksen, Frederick McClure, Joe LiPuma, P*
Brace 4�
Members Absent: Bill Blount, Ken Kuntz
Marine Dept:
Natural Resources Dept:
Others:
CALL TO ORDER
5:03 p.m.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Draft minutes of Oct. 17, 2017
Unanimously approved.
Draft minutes of Nov. 7, 2017
Unanimously approved.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Mr. Lowell updated the board on the efforts of the Nantucket Shellfish Association from
their November 2017 meeting.
Mr. Brace asked the board if it wanted HSAB televised. The board indicated it did, so Mr.
Brace agreed to follow up with Assistant Town Manager Gregg Tivnan for the Dec. 19
meeting.
Mr. LiPuma said the larger issue over the public not attending HSAB meetings is the
Marine Department's and Natural Resources Department's infrequent attendance of
HSAB meetings. Mr. Lowell agreed that this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Mr.
Lowell said it couldn't hurt to have HSAB meetings filmed to be shown later.
MARINE DEPARTMENT REPORT:
General Marine Department report - Sheila Lucey
No report. Harbormaster not present.
NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT
General Natural Resources Department report - NRD staff
No report. NRD staff not present.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON MARINE DEPARTMENT / NATURAL RESOURCES
REPORT
OLD BUSINESS
Cruise ship anchorage — Discussion
Mr. Lowell said the board should wait until Mr. Blount could make it to a HSAB meeting,
since he raised this issue, to discuss this issue. He noted that it would be a great idea to
have a couple of giant moorings on the east end of the mooring field for larger vessels
such as cruise ships. Mr. Gullicksen said there could be a liability aspect to this if these
moorings drag. Mr. Brace said Ms. Lucey should really push for cruise ships to anchor in
the Cord of the Bay, what with cost of a new mooring and the hassle of getting out there.
Mr. LiPuma said the board needed to hear from Natural Resources on where these
moorings should be where they'll cause the least amount of damage to eelgrass. Mr.
Brace said the number of these large moorings should be limited to a certain small
number.
Mr. Lowell suggested recommending to the Board of Selectmen that the town should try
moorings 2,500 boats outside of the harbor for one summer to see if less boats in the
harbor might relieve congestion. Mr. Brace suggested having moorings on the west side
of the west jetty. Mr. Gullicksen asked which boat owners would want have their boats
moored outside of the harbor.
During this discussion, the board briefly discussed harbor water quality maintenance
efforts both in the harbor and on land with outflow pipes emptying into the harbor.
Mr. Brace suggested the Cord of the Bay continue to be used as overflow for the
megayachts parked at the end of Straight Wharf and the large sailboats east and northeast
of Hussey Shoal.
Mr. Lowell questioned the capacity of the harbor. The board agreed that the board should
have this number for the continuation of this discussion. Mr. Gullicksen said Nantucket
can't deny boaters from coming into the harbor to anchor for up to 48 hours. He added
that mooring capacity in the harbor is a separate issue.
Mr. Brace suggested that the HSAB move this discussion to workshop meeting
specifically for this topic and invite mooring handlers, the harbormaster and other
stakeholders.
Mr. Lowell said he would track down Mr. Blount to get the lengths of the cruise ships in
question.
Local commercial fishing dragger survival - Discussion
Discussion continued to the next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Status of M/V Nautical Lady - Discussion
Mr. Lowell noted that a recent story in the Inquirer & Mirror was inaccurate in stating
that this boat was neither a safety hazard nor an environmental issue. He added that the
boat is anchored not moored, which makes it a safety issue. Mr. Lowell said the owner
intends to keep it where it is so he can live on it during the summer. Because the boat is
in in violation of the town's 48-hour anchoring limit, the owner is being fined S 100 a day
for every day beyond this limit, said Mr. McClure.
Mr. Lowell said this boat and its owner needed to be dealt with expeditiously and that it
was up to the town to take action regardless of cost. Mr. McClure stressed that this is a
Marine Department issue and that it should be dealing with it ASAP. Mr. Lowell said it
was HSAB's job to recommend that to the Board of Selectmen that they get the Marine
Department to deal with the Nautical Lady. Mr. Brace recommended that the HSAB not
go around Ms. Lucey to the selectmen and that the HSAB work with her and her
immediate supervisor, Nantucket Police Chief Bill Pittman, to learn the status of the
vessel and what the town is doing about getting it out of the harbor. Mr. Lowell said he
would speak with Ms. Lucey and Mr. Pittman. Mr. Brace said he could reach out to
Dwayne Dougan, owner of the boat.
Mr. LiPuma lamented a certain level of lawlessness of Nantucket's harbors that allows
such a violation of town regulations to exist for as long as it has.
The board agreed that before it could make any sort of recommendation to the Board of
Selectmen, it needed to hear from Mr. Pittman and Ms. Lucey on how the town is
working with Mr. Dougan to solve the issue with his boat.
Follow-up discussion on Department of Public Works director Rob McNeill's Q&A
at the Oct. 17 HSAB meeting
Mr. Lowell expressed his dismay over the town's using of what is in his view, too much
salt on town roads during snow and ice storms. Mr. Brace said he hopes the town finishes
the Consue Springs watershed cleanup project, but he added that Mr. McNeill appears to
be on a fast track to get this project done. Mr. McClure agreed and added that Mr.
McNeill has a long list of projects that he's actively working on.
Environmental educational outreach program for island newcomers, visitors — Andy
Lowell — Discussion
Mr. Lowell the Nantucket Shellfish Association has been talking about how to deal with
this issue for a while now. He added that the town needs to do a better job on this front.
He then asked the board for suggestions on how to get this information out to the public.
Mr. Brace explained that the forthcoming publication of the Nantucket Blue Pages would
meet a lot of the town's public education needs. Mr. Lowell and Mr. Gullicksen
offered/asked about distribution ideas. Mr. Brace explained that he was awaiting printing
quotes and working on getting the blue pages converted to Spanish version.
Mr. Lowell reiterated the importance of getting the message to year-round residents and
those from other countries who may not speak the language and who may not be aware of
who Nantucket operates with the regards to keeping hazardous waste materials out of the
groundwater, ponds, harbors and wetlands. Mr. Lowell said the shellfish association
might be able to help with whatever additional funding needed to complete the blue pages.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENT
RECAP and ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
ADJOURN
6:43 p.m.
Future Meetings:
Dec. 19 and Jan. 3
Respectfully Submitted,
Peter B. Brace, Secretary