Town of Chatham, MA - Selectmen's Meeting Minutes 5/22/07

Mr. Whitcomb announced this meeting was called to reorganize the Board of Selectmen after the election of May 17, 2007.

Ms. Connors nominated Mr. Whitcomb to be Board Chairman. Mrs. Bohman seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations. Mr. Whitcomb called for a vote. The Board of Selectmen voted four in favor, on opposed (Mr. Bergstrom). Mr. Whitcomb was voted Chairman.

Mrs. Bohman nominated Ms. Connors to serve as Vice-chairman. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations. Mr. Whitcomb called for a vote and all voted in favor. Ms. Connors will serve as Vice-chairman of the Board of Selectmen.

Mr. Summers nominated Mrs. Bohman to serve as Clerk. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations. Mr. Whitcomb called for a vote and all voted in favor. Mrs. Bohman will serve as Clerk of the Board of Selectmen.

The reorganization meeting adjourned at 1:35PM with an announcement by Mr. Whitcomb that the Board will reconvene at 2:00PM for their meeting with the Orleans Board of Selectmen.

Attending from the Orleans Board of Selectmen were: Mr. Hinckley, Mr. Fuller, Mrs. Fulcher and Mr. Carron. Also attending from Orleans were Town Administrator John Kelly and Administrator of Parks and Beaches Paul Fulcher.

Mr. Whitcomb reviewed the process the two boards used over the past several months to arrive at an Intermunicipal Agreement concerning North Beach. Mr. Whitcomb said the Orleans Town Meeting has voted the Agreement and the only part that can be negotiated is the revenue split which is 85% Orleans and 15% Chatham.

A large part of the discussion was about limiting the number of vehicles and self contained overnight vehicles because the parking on the Chatham property has been reduced.

Mr. Fulcher did a comparison on the number of vehicles obtaining stickers in 2006 vs. 2007. Mr. Whitcomb pointed out it is very early in the season to try to determine how many stickers will be sold.

Mr. Whitcomb also noted that the revenues may be diminished, but the percentage of distribution is still equitable.

Mrs. Fulcher said she felt the ratio should be adjusted since the Chatham property has been reduced. Mr. Summers said he felt the Town needs to be able to analyze the current capacity before changing what was negotiated.

Mr. Bergstrom said Chatham may have to consider if it is even worthwhile to allow permit holders on the beach noting the costs may exceed the revenues Chatham receives.

Mr. Whitcomb also said it may not be practical for Chatham to finance monitoring and policing the beach if revenues are reduced.

Police Chief Mark Pawlina told the Board of Selectmen the area has been reduced by about 35% but it is a wide section of beach. He suggested that figure could be used to begin discussions of limits of vehicles on the beach. He did say the area was wider than the breach area and may be building width wise. Chief Pawlina suggested measuring to determine how many self contained vehicles could be parked on the six tenths of a mile that is there on the Chatham side. The beach is closed after marker #7.

Mr. Whitcomb said to simplify matters, it should be assumed marker #7 is the end of the beach. He said we still have monitors on the beach and the escort service remains as it is in the contract.

Mr. Carron said he believes Orleans will require more of the revenues to cover expenses. He also introduced the topic of further closings this year for the piping plovers.

Mr. Whitcomb suggested that the two Towns collect date over the summer months since the payment for shared revenue does not come due until the Fall.

Mr. Summers said he is more interested in keeping the area open for the recreation of the citizens than he is the revenue.

Director of Coastal Resources Ted Keon attended this meeting to report on the new breach at North Beach. He said, since the weekend storm and the shifting of tides, he and other consultants feel less confident that the breach will repair on its own. It is believed the new inlet will develop and grow wider.

It is Mr. Keon’s recommendation that the Town pursue actions to fill the breach with dredge materials through a pipeline. He feels the Town should continue to close the way to vessels since if it was to continue to widen it would not be navigable to vessels for a long while and it may damage the bottom if we allowed boats to traverse. Other damage is being done to the eel grass in the area. Which may help in our attempts to fill it, since that would be beneficial to habitat and may receive the support of agencies trying to preserve certain species.

Mr. Keon said permitting could take one or more years, but he has learned of projects that have been authorized as emergencies with documentation followed up after the fact.

Mr. Richard Miller told the Board property owners are forming a group called Save Our Shores. His group encouraged the Board of Selectmen to pursue filling the breach. He suggested the Board of Selectmen appoint an ad hoc committee to keep communication flowing and to form an alliance with the Town.

Mr. Summers suggested we need to keep working towards a solution and he would like staff to gather information on what has worked in other places, (what projects have been successful and what has failed) to justify whatever action the Town Meeting might take.

Mr. Hinchey said there is start up money to pursue the permiting. Transfers of funds from the Stabilization Fund would have to be approved by a Town Meeting vote. Estimation of the costs were as much as $600,000.

Shellfish Constable Stuart Moore attended this meeting and explained he asking the Board of Selectmen to vote annual closures.

Mr. Bergstrom moved the Board of Selectmen vote effective June 1, 2007 the waters and flats of Taylor’s Pond north of a line drawn across the mouth of the pond are closed to the taking of all shellfish until further notice. Mrs. Bohman seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Mr. Bergstrom moved the Board of Selectmen vote effective June 1, 2007 the waters and flats of Mill Creek north of a line drawn northeasterly from the western breakwater to the eastern breakwater at the mouth of Mill Creek, and south of a line drawn across the mouth of Taylor’s Pond, are closed to the taking of shellfish until further notice. Mrs. Bohman seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Mr. Bergstrom moved the Board of Selectmen vote effective May 22, 2007 the waters and flats of Buck’s Creek north of a line across the mouth of the creek and east of a line across the mouth of Cockle Cove Creek are closed to the taking of all shellfish until further notice. Mrs. Bohman seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Mr. Bergstrom moved the Board of Selectmen vote effective June 1, 2007 the waters and flats of Muddy Creek west of Route 28 to the Chatham-Harwich town line and East of the Route 28 culvert are closed to the taking of shellfish until further notice. Mrs. Bohman seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Mr. Ronald Holmes, Chairman of the Bikeways Committee attended this meeting. Mr. Holmes reviewed the charge given to the Committee and reviewed the projects they are working on including safety enhancements, a terminus on Depot Road, and planning for new spurs. The Committee members attend various bicycle planning meetings at the local (Cape Cod) and State levels.

The Committee sponsors a Bike Safety Rodeo in conjunction with the Chatham Police Department and one of their new goals is to increase communication with bikeways committees in nearby towns.

Ms. Connors said she has witnessed speeding on the Bike Path and inconsiderate behavior around pedestrians. Mr. Holmes said one of the goals of the Committee is to increase information and education by placing kiosks at various locations to post the Rules and Regulations approved by the Board of Selectmen and encourage etiquette on the Trail.

In response to Ms. Connors inquiry, Mr. Holmes said the Committee is trying to discourage bicycles downtown by having a terminus at Veteran’s Field and encouraging people to walk into the downtown area.

There was further discussion of the new terminus which was the next agenda item. Highway Superintendent Jeff Colby attended this meeting and was available for questions. Mrs. Bohman asked about having more crosswalks for the bikers who have to cross public ways. Mr. Colby said work is planned to improve safety as soon as two weeks from now.

Mr. Bergstrom asked about funding for the Trail since the Community Preservation Committe denied a request for funds. Mr. Hinchy told the Board of Selectmen there are funds in the budget for maintenance of the Trail.