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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-5-1Nantucket harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board Minutes of Meeting held May 1, 2012 Approved: Conference Room, 2 Fairgrounds Road Call to Order at 4:33 Members present: Chuck Connors, Bill Blount, Dr. Peter Boyce, Wendy McCrae, Peter Brace, Michael Glowacki, Members Absent: Doug Smith Marine Dept: Sheila Lucey, Dwayne Dougan BOS: Whitey Willauer Natural Resources Dept. Jeff Carlson Others: Police Chief Pittman, Dr. Steve Estabrooks, Steve Bender, Matt Herr Approval of Agenda Unanimously approved Approval of minutes April 17, 2012 Unanimously approved Chairman's report: Goals for 2012: Mr. Brace stated a few things he would like to see accomplished in 2012 and we should think about these things before the next meeting To start he would like to see us following through with getting the whole amount of the Propagation funds in our hands, and support for the seed stranding effort. Mr. Brace also mentioned possibly putting new members on the shellfish management plans implementation committee when it is formed. Dr. Boyce said last years goals are listed on our (HSAB) page at the town website. Mr. Willauer would like to see us coordinate with the shellfish association on what the proposals for research should be. As Mr. Willauer put it Nantucket shellfish research coordination. Mr. Brace would like to offer SHABS support to the Shellfish Association on their branding efforts. Harbormaster Update: Mr. Brace met with town manager Libby Gibson to express his concern on the lack of involvement that SHAB was given during the recent changes within the marine department, mainly the changes made to Dave Fronzunto's position as harbormaster. Chairman Brace reminded Ms. Gibson of our enabling legislation of 1976 which gives SHAB the chance to recommend candidates for harbormaster. Mr. Brace noted that it wasn't right for us to read it in the paper rather than hearing it from someone in town government. Ms. Gibson told Mr. Brace that the board will make a renewed effort to keep SHAB informed on any future decisions made to the administration of the natural resources department. Ms McCrae stated that she was glad to hear that Mr. Brace met with Ms. Gibson to address the issue. Ms. McCrae called the lack of knowledge we were given a direct neglect. The board made it clear that this wasn't the first time we had been ignored and don't want it happening in the future. Mr. Brace was given some insight as to why SHAB wasn't kept informed. Ms. Gibson told Mr. Brace that since it was a union position that who ever wanted the job had to apply. Because Sheila Lucey has been assistant harbormaster for the past 5 or 6 years she was most likely to be given the job. Whoever gets the job will handle waterfront activities including enforcement, moorings, pump out, maintenance to the town waterfront, life guards, aids to navigation, rescues and so forth. Ms. Gibson said Mr. Fronzuto's job as harbormaster had him spending too much time doing day to day work rather than the overall planning and preparations needed, such as the costal management plan. This new restructuring will allow for better the harbormaster to do their job without worrying about the day to day tasks. Police Chief Pittman apologized on the town's behalf for keeping SHAB uninformed. He stated that there was a four member restructuring committee made up of himself, the fire chief, the marine superintendent and the I.T. Director. Each member was responsible for keeping there own constituents informed. Chief Pittman said Mr. Fronzuto was to blame for the lack of knowledge SHAB was receiving during the recent changes. Chief Pittman said he will do whatever is in his power to make sure SHAB isn't overlooked again. He promised us the staff support that we need to do our job as the Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board. Mr. Pittman Said SHAB will be at the table in future when decisions are being made. He said Mr. Fronzuto's position was not diminished and confirmed that his salary and benefits are safe. Mr. Pittman also explained the new town structure. Here is the break down: The marine dept. is now under the umbrella of public safety, which is also saying it's under the Police department. Reason for this is that department heads who are in the same union as the people they are supposed to supervise just doesn't work. The goal the town is after is to get all union town employees to be under a non- union department head. This is why the marine dept. is now under the police dept. Mr. Brace stressed the importance of having the marine department present at SHAB meeting, stating that a lot of the decisions we make require their input and knowledge. Mr. Brace asked if the Harbormaster would be seated at our meetings. Pittman answered the question by suggested that Mr. Fronzuto would be good to have at our meetings. Chief Pittman explained the new restructuring of the marine department and described how it all works. He said the newly formed Natural Resources Department will report to Town administrator Greg Tiddman. The Natural Resource department consists of Jeff Carlson (coordinator) and Tara Riley (Shellfish Biologist) Mr. Fronzuto now reports to Chief Pittman since his job now falls under the umbrella of public safety. Mr. Fronzuto is responsible for emergency management / marine safety. Sheila Lucey (or who ever is chosen as Harbormaster) reports to Mr. Fronzuto. The Harbormaster is responsible for two full time employees, Dwayne Dougan, J.C. Johnsen and several seasonal employees such as lifeguards pump out boat operators and a Mooring Enforcement officer (Ken Lappin). Mr. Blount suggests that someone from the natural resource department should be present at SHAB meetings. Mr. Carlson said either he or Ms. Riley will make every effort to attend. Mr. Carlson stated that SHAB is a valuable resource. Marine Dept. Report Mr. Connors Shellfish grant is running May 3 & 10 in the I &M and that the public hearing will be held on May 16th. Mr. Herr's grant was approved on April 18th by the BOS. Ms. McCrae asked that we have the Natural Resources Department seated at the table during meetings. Mr. Carlson acknowledged her request. Dr. Boyce mentions the importance of the chairman meeting with the harbormaster before meetings. Mr. Brace assured him that has met with Sheila and spoke to Dave and will continue to do so. Public Comments: No Public comments Article 68 Workgroup update: BOS dissolved the article 68 workgroup Seed moving: Mr. Herr suggested that we move some more seed out of fourth bend and out to better growing areas. Mr. Herr stated he got 5 bushels out of 4 dredges. Mr. Connors said he had also observed the number of seed in 4th bend and agreed they should be thinned out. Mr. Bender called it anecdotal saying that moving seed is in general counter productive, arguing the scallops were put there by nature so they would have good fecundity. Mr. Bender would like to see more research done on what the density of scallops needed for good fecundity is before we continue moving seed. Mr. Connors suggested that the large amounts of seed in fourth bend is more likely a result of the larval releases done by Ms. Riley and the Marine department as opposed to nature putting them there as a way of increasing fecundity. Water temperature was then discussed and Mr. Bender said the water was 58 degrees and there wasn't enough time to move them before they begin to spat. The board decided it needs to discuss the matter with Ms. Riley before we make a decision. Mr. Brace made a motion that Ms. Riley had the final say about seed moving. The motion was second by Dr. Boyce and unanimously approved. Shellfish Management Plan update - Matt Herr Matt said the public forum was on April 17t`. Urban harbors will be re- writing the final draft and will be presenting it to the SHAB for adoption. The SMP will go to the BOS for adoption and then we will have our SMP for the town of Nantucket. Mr. Herr said that he hopes SHAB uses the SMP as part of a protocol on how we assess the way we would reward the propagation budget. Saying that with the new reorganization of the marine department we should now have more insight on how our propagation budget is being awarded. Mr. Herr would like to see a future agenda item discussing the breakdown of the propagation budget. Dr. Boyce said the propagation fund should be used to keep the boat house propagation efforts going. Dr. Boyce spoke about getting all of the proceeds from the shellfish permit sales into the propagation funds and Mr. Carlson said they are working through it and may be able to give us a direct answer by the next meeting. Mr. Carlson said as a result of the new restructuring of the marine dept. the natural resources department is now responsible for the propagation fund. Mr. Bender urged SHAB member to give as much money as possible to the propagation efforts. New Business: Meeting Schedule: A discussion on whether we should meet once or twice a month during the summer. Ms. McCrae said due to all the recent changes and the towns restructuring that she believes it's to early to make that decision. The board agrees we need to know more about what is going on with all the new changes and will put this on the agenda for June 5`h Research funding request from Dr. Steve Estabrooks to study the effects of Rapamycin on the lifespan of bay scallops. Dr. Estabrooks research proposal was explained. Before making any decision on funding the board wants to review the propagation fund budget. Dr. Estabrooks funding request will be put on the agenda for the May 15th meeting. Recap and items for next meeting. Seed moving and Budget will be discussed next meeting. Adjournment Unanimously Future Meetings May 15�', June 5`t'