HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-15-14Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board
Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 5:00 p.m.
Community Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road
Members present: Bill Blount, Wendy McCrae, Peter Brace, Doug Smith, Dr. Peter
Boyce
Members Absent: Chuck Connors, Michael Glowacki
Marine Dept: Sheila Lucey
Natural Resources Dept. Jeff Carlson, Tara Riley
Others:
CALL TO ORDER
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Unanimously approved
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Unanimously approved
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Statement of commitment form
Mr. Brace explain the necessity of this form.
Last meeting with current slate of officers
Mr. Brace said the board needs to elect new officers at the May 6.
Mr. Brace updated the board on Town Meeting at which the voters approved the
allocation of town funds for Ms. Lucey's Sealeggs amphibious rescue boat and for the
hiring of a new town biologist. He added that the Board of Selectmen voted not to extend
the commercial scallop season an extra week.
Ms. McCrae asked to poll the board to see who is interested in what positions. Mr. Brace
said he'd stay as chairman if that's what the board wanted.
Don't forget to vote today!
MARINE DEPARTMENT REPORT:
Harbors update — Sheila Lucey
Ms. Lucey reported that a live- aboard boat sunk in the Nantucket Boat Basin causing its
owner to lose everything he had in that boat. She said she's trying to gather donations for
him and that the Nantucket Shellfish Association is going to donate a generator so that
when he moves out to his mooring, he'll have power. She said the boat sunk because its
owner removed the exhaust manifold prior to a storm this winter. She added that his
2014/2015 commercial shellfish license has been paid for. Ms. Lucey added that no
petroleum products or other pollutants leaked from this boat into the harbor.
Ms. Lucey explained how she's trying to change the regulations pertaining to the slip
lottery at the town pier to benefit commercial fishermen. She noted that because the
selectmen couldn't schedule a public hearing for the proposed changes until April 23 and
Ms. Lucey couldn't advertise the slip lottery until May 1 and May 8, a required two -week
advertising period, those who win slips in the lottery wouldn't be able to get their boats
into the water until May 15, much later than usual.
Mr. Lucey's proposed changes are that fishermen who make their year -round income
solely on the water or earn greater than 60% of their annual income from fishing
shouldn't have to enter the slip lottery every year and be subject to the random selection
process of this annual slip lottery competing against others for whom commercial fishing
is just one part of their overall annual income. She also proposed an increase of the
annual slip fee for these fishermen, which Ms. Lucey deemed as fair because these
fishermen make their living off the water by using town facilities, the upkeep and repair
of which is paid for with their annual fees, they'll keep their slip every year and because
this fee is substantially below other town piers and marinas around the state. Additionally,
Ms. Lucey proposed that boatmen who only make a portion of their income, less than 60%
annually, on the water be required to participate in a separate slip lottery every year. And
she is recommending a wording change in the mooring inspection regulations that
changes 'Any mooring may be inspected... " to "Moorings shall be inspected by the
Harbor Master, or by a designated representative at least once every three (3) years to
determine their compliance with the regulations herein."
The board agreed to support these changes by proposed by Ms. Lucey and Mr. Brace
agreed to write a letter to the selectmen in support of Ms. Lucey's recommended town
pier and mooring regulation changes.
Mr. Smith offered the HSAB's help in making storm moorings required. Ms. Lucey said
there is room for storm moorings, but it's in environmentally sensitive areas. Dr. Boyce
asked new A -group boaters get a slip if only six slips are offered. Ms. Lucey said the total
should be increased to 14 slips from 12 to make sure there's enough room for any new.
The HSAB voted to recommend to the selectmen that the number of slips offered in the
lottery be upped to 14.
NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT
General report from Jeff Carlson and or Tara Riley
PUBLIC COMMENT ON MARINE DEPARTMENT / NATURAL RESOURCES
REPORT
OLD BUSINESS
Scheduling a public hearing for revised shellfish regulations /SBRW update
Mr. Brace reported that the Shellfish Bylaw Review Workgroup had completed its
revision of the town's shellfish regulations and had a draft to recommend to the HSAB.
He added that the board needed time to review. Mr. Boyce agreed. Mr. Brace said the
board could discuss it at the May 6 meeting without taking public comment and then on
May 20, hold a public hearing at which the board would vote on whether to recommend
the revised regulations to the selectmen. Mr. Smith suggested that the board get the
revised regulations into a story in the Inky and get it onto the HSAB's web page on the
town's web site.
Changing HSAB to a partially appointed board — update
Mr. Brace asked that the board have a full discussion of this issue at its next meeting. He
noted interesting relevancies in the town's statement of commitment and how Town
Meeting voters adopted Article 87, a home rule petition that would give the selectmen the
power to make the Historic District Commission a partially appointed board. He
expressed his frustration with the mixed messages being sent to this board by the
selectmen.
Mr. Brace said it might be a good idea to speak with Rep. Tim Madden. Mr. Brace
suggested following up with former harbormaster Dave Fronzuto who offered help in
getting the state senate to support this effort through a state senate friend of his in
Gloucester. Mr. Brace gave out the dial -an- attorney number for conflict of interest
questions related to HSAB matters and said he wanted to research the efforts creating the
HSAB to see if conflict of interest was a topic of concern during that time. Mr. Brace also
said he wanted to send a letter to the selectmen after the election to set up meeting with
them so this issue can be solved because the board can't function without members
recusing themselves all the time. Ms. McCrae said the HSAB couldn't operate without
the expertise of fishermen on the board. Mr. Brace described a conversation he had
recently with island attorney Sarah Alger about how board members who recuse
themselves can then speak in the audience as private citizens on the issue. But some
members of the HSAB didn't agree with this premise. Mr. Brace said that either way, the
HSAB needs to resolve this issue.
Dr. Boyce said the HSAB doesn't really have a solid statement of purpose and that
something like this should be drawn up and presented to the selectmen. Mr. Blount noted
that if the board rewrites its mission statement, that this might help the board avoid
conflict of interest issues. Mr. Brace asked the board to think about how they want to
proceed and bring their thoughts to the next meeting. Mr. Smith said he liked the idea of
speaking with Mr. Madden and Mr. Fronzuto. Mr. Brace said he go up to the statehouse
to speak the right people to solve this situation. Mr. Smith and Dr. Boyce said they'd go
with Mr. Brace. Mr. Brace said he'd like to see some of the conflict of interest cases in
Massachusetts regarding shellfish boards to see what all the fuss is about. Mr. Blount
announced that as secretary of the Nantucket Fishermen's Association, he had a role in
writing the language that would become the legislation to establish the HSAB.
NEW BUSINESS
PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENT
No public comment
RECAP and ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
ADJOURN
Unanimously approved
Future Meetings:
May 6 and May 20
Respectfully Submitted,
Peter B. Brace, Chairman