Town of Chatham, MA - Selectmen's Meeting Minutes 3/25/08

Chairman Whitcomb called the meeting to order at 4:00PM with Ms. Connors, Mr. Bergstrom, Mr. Summers and Town Manager William Hinchey present.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to approve the minutes of the March 18, 2008 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Mr Whitcomb read the list of renewals noting that if the Board members wanted to talk about any businesses’ individual license they would could take it off the list for further discussion.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to approve the list of licenses for renewal. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Finance Director Jennifer Petit said the Operating Budget had been adjusted and asked the Board of Selectmen to vote the new totals.

Mr. Summers and Mr. Bergstrom asked why funds were being transferred from dedicated accounts. Ms. Petit explained the monies will be used for the dedicated purpose (Waterways Improvement was specifically discussed) but need to be transferred into the General Fund to be appropriated by Town Meeting.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to present the adjusted Operating Budget at $31,418,512. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

During further discussion Ms. Petit explained legislative action requires the money be deposited in the Waterways Improvement Fund. Mr. Hinchey speculated that the State may want to keep track of revenues for a variety of purposes.

Ms. Petit explained this amount has been adjusted to reflect debt payments. Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to present the Water Department Budget at $2,819,227. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Mr. Charles Bartlett introduced this Warrant Article. This Article will accept an updated Pleasant Bay Resource Management Plan and enter into a successor Inter-municipal Agreement with the member towns of the Alliance.

Mr. Bartlett described the work the Alliance has been doing to protect Pleasant Bay resources and introduced Ms. Carol Ridley who provided the Board of Selectmen with a detailed history and actions of the Alliance including habitat assessment, wetlands protection, watershed planning and future goals of the Alliance which will include the development of a bay wide sediment management plan, intertidal mapping, quahog nursery restoration, and safety for navigation.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to place this Article on the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen recommend approval of this Article to the Town Meeting. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion.

Mr. Bergstrom asked Ms. Ridley about the water quality after the new break. Ms. Ridley said they will be looking at updated models. Director of Health and Environment Robert Duncan said the Town is looking forward to receiving new data from the State’s laboratory which will analyze information from last summer. He said this will be repeated during 2008 and will provide a full year’s worth of information. Dr. Duncanson said a tide gauge at the Fish Pier will also provide information about the tides since the new breach.

Mr. Bergstrom asked if the study area includes Chatham Harbor. Ms. Ridley confirmed that the area is part of the study but remains separate because dredging has been allowed in the Harbor whereas it is prohibited in the ACEC areas. Pleasant Bay has been designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern.

Mr. Summers asked if dredging in Pleasant Bay is a possibility. Ms. Ridley said this has been a subject of discussion. The Sediment Management Program will discuss the need or possibility of dredging in the ACEC depending on results of the modeling.

Mr. Whitcomb asked if being a member of the Alliance will be advantageous when considering action in the Bay. Ms. Ridley said membership will not give priority to the programs but is certainly not a negative to any action that may be recommended. The Sediment Plan will provide a system wide context for considering future action.

Mr. Whitcomb asked about finances for the Alliance. Ms. Ridley explained Chatham pays for 35% of the budget, Orleans is also at 35%, Harwich pays 18% and Brewster contributes 12%.

Mr. Whitcomb introduced Town Counsel Bruce Gilmore. Mr. Gilmore said since the last discussion, the bylaw does not settle the question of appeals for transient boaters but does include the inspection of moorings in the proposed bylaw.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen place this Article on the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen recommend approval of this Article to the Town Meeting. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion.

Mr. Whitcomb asked the Board of Selectmen if they were comfortable with the number of moorings being assigned to the boatyards. He noted on Page 3 section I that it states the mooring assignment would remain as they existed on April 1, 2008. He also noted that on Page 6 it states if a boatyard has no waiting list they will go to the Harbormaster’s list but a person assigned this mooring would have to pay the marina and agree to the terms set by the marina. Mr. Whitcomb said he felt that if a boat yard is in an area where the Town has access and parking, the mooring should become part of the Town inventory and be assigned by the Harbormaster.

Mr. Whitcomb asked if the boat yard owner could have the same number of customers but use floats, and have more moorings for the Town. Mr. Smith said they boat yards could apply for additional floats. Mr. Whitcomb noted if the boat yard went to floats they could still have the same number of customers.

Mr. Bergstrom expressed some consternation that a boatyard could double their numbers of patrons if they applied for floats. Mr. Smith pointed out that the new bylaw was in response to a report from the Inspector General about equity in allocating moorings to the public. Floats were not a part of the Inspector General’s report. Mr. Smith said during the deliberations, many compromises were made to arrive at a consensus for the proposed changes.

Mr. Bergstrom felt that having people be allowed to expand the number of floats while some people still cannot get moorings was wrong.

Mr. Summers noted anyone can apply for a float, not just the commercial boatyards. Mr. Summers said he has listened to the debates at length and is satisfied with the present proposed changes. Ms. Connors agreed saying the Waterways Advisory Committee and others addressed the items in the Inspector’s report. She felt other issues could be addressed by the Committee if requested.

Mr. Stephen King, from the Waterways Advisory Committee told the Board of Selectmen the Committee did not discuss the concept of adding floats to each mooring, but could be considered in the Harbormaster’s regulations.

Mr. King discussed putting a policy for self inspection in the bylaw. Mr. Smith said he advocates self inspections and he would rather address it in the Regulations to see if the program will be successful. If there are concerns, the Regulations could be changed much more easily than the bylaw.

The Board of Selectmen voted three in favor to recommend approval and one opposed (Mr. Whitcomb). Mr. Whitcomb said he would like to support the proposed changes to the bylaw, but had reservations about making someone off the Town’s waiting list have to pay for a mooring at the boat yards.

Mr. Daniel Eizenburg, owner of 1629 Main Street recognized that the Board of Selectmen did not renew the seasonal business for that location. He told the Board of Selectmen in order to negotiate a lease or sale, he needs to be able to have all permits in hand.

Mr. Whitcomb said although the Board of Selectmen supports this business, a license cannot be granted without the required fire suppression system. Mr. Bergstrom noted it is not within the Board’s authority to issue a license without a viable business.