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| NORWALK HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MINUTES |
CLICK HERE FOR HARBOR MANAGEMENT MAYORS WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE MINUTES
CLICK HERE FOR HARBOR MANAGEMENT APPLICATION REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES
CITY OF NORWALK
HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
OCTOBER 25, 2006
ATTENDANCE: Anthony Mobilia, Chair; Tony D’Andrea; Henry Palau; Jack Callahan;
Jason Farrow; John Pinto (7:45); John Romano (8:10).
STAFF: Geoff Steadman
OTHERS: Michael Griffin, Harbor Master
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Mobilia called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.
Mr. Mobilia informed the NHMC that Ms. Pat Clark and Mr. Jose Cebrian would not be in attendance but that they did have a quorum.
2. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Administrative Business
State of the Harbor meeting
Mr. Mobilia announced that the State of the Harbor meeting will be held on November 14th. It will not be held in the Community Room as had been said earlier; but will instead be held in Room A300, the Board of Education meeting room.
Correspondence
Mr. Mobilia reported that all the letters that were agreed to at last month’s meeting have been sent out. Letters were sent to Rex Marine for work in Norwalk Harbor; to Hilliard Bloom for work in Norwalk Harbor; to DEP; to Jeffrey Westermeyer; to Peter Francis; and to Wilson Cove regarding dredging. A letter was sent out in response to an application from Nick DiNapoli to conduct work in Charles Creek.
Mr. Mobilia stated the Commission talked briefly in September about the Ambrose Amendment. They still have very little information on it and until they get further information as to what is expected of the Commission, they will keep the issue on the back burner and table it until further information comes out.
Mr. Mobilia reported on the annual CHMA meeting, which he said was an excellent meeting. He thought the speakers were great. Col. Thalkin was there, as was Ryan Thompson, the new head of the Office of Long Island Sound. Mr. Thompson said that the DEP was not going to support the repeal of the Ambrose amendment because the DEP feels that it has to be addressed.
Mr. Mobilia stated that the packet of information about the I-95 bridge has been sent to the Mayor, who took the packet and sent a letter to Commissioner Carpenter of the Dept. of Transportation, asking for a meeting. Mr. Mobilia distributed a copy of the letter the Mayor sent to Commissioner Carpenter for their review. He said hopefully they will hear back from the DOT quickly and they will have a meeting.
Mr. Mobilia said he also received a packet of applications for the City grant, so he will meet with Mr. Cebrian and the Finance Committee to put together their application for this year. The application is due on November 30th. This is the Commission’s request for the monies to operate for the coming year. Further discussion about this will take place during the Finance Committee report.
Last month the Commission was notified about a resident, Ms. Lottie Squires, who had written a letter to the Mayor regarding a seawall at the end of Gregory Court, which is in disrepair. The Mayor spoke with Ms. Squires and wrote a letter in response, which Mr. Mobilia read aloud to the Commission.
4. STAFF REPORTS
Mr. Mobilia said they would take Mr. Griffin’s reports out of order, as he had to leave early.
a) Harbor Master – Griffin
b) Waterfront Advisory - Griffin
Mr. Griffin distributed his written report to the Commission and highlighted points. He indicated several instances where he included the year-end totals for the benefit of the Finance Committee’s budget preparation for the coming year.
Mr. Griffin discussed the creation of a line of continuity between Norwalk Marine Police and the contractor doing the work on Marker 14 since Marker 14 is at the pinnacle point for the speed zone and the no-wake zone in the harbor. After that, Sgt. LaPak called him and said he had received numerous complaints about the fact that the contractor had not clearly marked the area for speed control and that it is a hazard to navigation.
Mr. Griffin got in touch with DEP in CT who put him in touch with Coast Guard
in Rhode Island; the Rhode Island Coast Guard officer who was dealing with the
situation assured Mr. Griffin that Coast Guard will be onsite with the contractor
to be sure that there are suitable markings and that it is not a hazard to navigation,
with proper markings so the police can continue to enforce the speed zone.
Mr. Griffin said after they finish with Marker 14 they are going to Fitch Point
to work on that Day marker. They expect the work to begin in early November,
so he guessed they anticipate Day marker 14 to be done before they start on
the Fitch Point marker.
Mr. Griffin stated he had no written report for Waterfront Advisory, but asked the Commission if they had any questions for him.
Mr. Palau asked how much permits cost on managed fields. Mr. Griffin said that the language in the Harbor Management Plan excluded the large managed fields, fields that had vessels in excess of fifty boats, from paying an application fee. They supply a certain amount of their own management. Fees are $30 for vessels twenty feet or longer; $45 for vessels twenty feet to 29.11; and $60 for vessels thirty feet and up. A brief discussion about the application process followed.
Mr. Mobilia asked Mr. Griffin to introduce the subject of the mooring application they have received from a resident.
Mr. Griffin said that in the spring he was contacted by the agent of the owner of The Boatworks in Rowayton, who was looking for a mooring. This was at the same time when Aquaculture was pressing hard because of the number of moorings that were riding on anchor over shellfish beds. The shellfishermen were upset because Aquaculture wanted to change the language on their permit, and changing the language on the permit meant that their product was at a higher level of risk and their insurance would be either nonexistent or more expensive to acquire. It would be more difficult for them to bring their product to market because of this.
Mr. Griffin asked for a meeting between Aquaculture and the shellfishermen and they got it moving along on a kind of a status-quo basis, without any formal close to the situation. When he was asked what did he do about the permits, he said he made it clear to the captains that the permits were being issued on a provisional basis until this entire issue was put to bed.
Mr. Griffin said it was never formally put to bed. During meetings with the Shellfish Commission, he asked them to draft a formal letter themselves, because some of the beds there were natural and public beds, and they needed to protect the public interest. He was supposed to receive a letter from the Shellfish Commission and from each of the individual shellfishermen who owned the bottom, agreeing to allow these moorings to be placed between April and October.
Mr. Griffin said that when Hilliard Bloom was alive, they would have a conversation and Mr. Bloom would agree to allow the moorings for another year, and this meeting would take place each year. Now Mr. Bloom has passed away, and there has also been a change of guard at Aquaculture. During this change, Dave Calley came into the picture, and Mr. Calley dusted off some old regulations and came up with a carrying capacity equation for water quality in that area, based on the number of boats; the sizes of the boats; the number of pump-out facilities and other plusses and minuses. This is when the agent contacted Mr. Griffin about the permit.
The agent was seeking a mooring for a 25-foot boat in Wilson Cove. The mooring was going to be actively used, and Mr. Griffin said that was fine. Then the owner brought up a larger 60-foot boat, and Mr. Griffin said under no conditions are we talking about the mooring being set up as an “either and/or”. They sent in an application for the smaller boat, which was processed expeditiously and not checked with Mr. Griffin; and he was issued a permit and a permit number from the State.
Some time later Mr. Griffin was contacted by the owner about the permit for the bigger boat. About a month ago, Mr. Griffin received a formal application for this boat, along with a check. Mr. Griffin put it into his file, which was the procedure. Monday morning Mr. Griffin received a phone call from the individual directly, who wanted to speak to him. Anticipating what this would be about, Mr. Griffin asked for a meeting with Don Capone and Chip in which they could go over the language which excluded the lack of use. When Mr. Griffin sent his email to Mr. Mobilia, in which he indicated they would review the situation and get back to him, he copied the individual with it, and figured that was the end of it.
Then Mr. Griffin began receiving emails in which the individual stated that he knew his rights; he was entitled to this mooring; he was the highest paying taxpayer in the City, he pays $500,000 in taxes to the City of Norwalk, and if he was told that he couldn’t get the mooring he was prepared to sue. Mr. Griffin sent back a response email that said he was denying him the mooring and if the individual wanted to pursue it, to do so. And this is where it remains.
Mr. Griffin said he thought there was language that said a person could not put a mooring in the water unless it was going to be actively used, but tonight he searched for the language and could not find it even though they have a recollection of it. There is no formal written language. Mr. Griffin suggested they approve the individual’s request since there was no formal written language, and that would end the situation, because otherwise it would be perceived as discriminatory.
After a short discussion, it was agreed to approve the individual’s request for the mooring.
** MR. CALLAHAN MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE HARBOR MASTER’S REPORT.
** MR. PALAU SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Griffin left the meeting at 8:20 p.m.
c) Consultant – Steadman – HM Plan Revisions
3. COMMITTEE REPORTS
b) Nominating Committee
David S. Dunavan Award
The Nominating Committee announced the three names chosen for the award. Dr. Pinto gave a brief description of each nominee’s accomplishments, followed by discussion between the Commission members. Voting followed.
The winner of the 2006 David S. Dunavan award will be announced at the annual State of the Harbor meeting to be held on November 14, 2006.
c) Application Review - Clark
Mr. Mobilia said that because no applications had been received Ms. Clark cancelled the committee meeting for the month. One application came in yesterday (10/24) for the Rowayton Yacht Club.
1. #206067 CT DEP – COP ROWAYTON YACHT CLUB – 77 BLUFF AVENUE
RENEWAL OF EXISTING APPLICATION
** MR. PALAU MOTIONED THAT THE NORWALK HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION FINDS THE APPLCIATION TO THE OLISP BY THE TORWYATON YACHT CLUB, 77 BLUFF AVENUE, NORWALK, FOR WORK AT THE SAME ADDRESS INVOLVING RETENTION AND MAINTENANCE OF AN EXISTING MOORING FIELD IS CONSISTENT WITH THE NORWALK HARBOR MANAGEMENT PLAN AND RECOMMENDS FAVORABLE ACTION ON THE APPLICATION WITH THE FOLLOWING COMMENT AND CONDITIONS:
COMMENT:
THE HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION ASSUMES THE APPLICANT HAS MET THE MOORING CONDITIONS
SPECIFIED IN SECTON 26-157a(e) OF THE CONNECTICUT GENERAL STATUTES.
CONDITIONS:
1. AUTHORIZATION OF THE MOORING FIELD SHALL BE VALID FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS
AND MAY BE RENEWED EVERY FIVE YEARS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NORWALK HARBOR MANAGEMENT
PLAN;
2. PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 1 OF EACH CALENDAR YEAR, THE CERTIFICATE HOLDER SHALL, AT THE REQUEST OF THE SHELLFISH LEASEHOLDER(S), REMOVE THE MOORINGS AUTHORIZED HEREIN FROM THE LEASED BEDS AND SHALL NOT INSTALL SAID MOORINGS PRIOR TO MAY 1 OF EACH CALENDAR YEAR WITHOUT SPECIFIC WRITTEN APPROVAL BY THE SHELLFISH LEASEHOLDER(S);
3. THE APPLICATION SHOULD BE REVIEWED BY THE NORWALK SHELLFISH COMMISSION; AND
4. ALL MOORINGS MUST BE APPROVED BY THE HARBOR MASTER, CONSISTENT WITH THE NORWALK HARBOR MANAGEMENT PLAN AND THE HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION’S RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR MOORING AND ANCHORING VESSELS.
** MR. CALLAHAN SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
d) Finance - Cebrian
Mr. Cebrian was not in attendance but Mr. Steadman had received an email from him, which he copied and distributed to all members.
h) Water Quality Committee – D’Andrea
i) Watershed Initiative Advisory Committee – Rep. D’Andrea, (Alt.) J. Romano
Mr. D’Andrea said he did not have a written report this evening, but wanted to state that Buck Scientific has agreed to volunteer to assist in the water quality testing.
Mr. D’Andrea reported that he sat through another month’s meeting of the Watershed Initiative Advisory Committee and continued discussion of the goose poop problem. He said the WIA was going to table the discussion again, but he kept it going and they have adopted the egg “addling” program to try to combat the goose poop situation.
f) Web Page/Newsletter – Farrow
Mr. Farrow reported that the newsletter is almost ready to publish, as they now have the final date for the State of the Harbor meeting. He distributed a copy of an article to Mr. Mobilia and Mr. Steadman for their comments and said once the comments are received, the newsletter can go to the publisher by Friday. Mr. Mobilia suggested the newsletter go out ASAP in order to be included with the flyer for the State of the Harbor meeting notification.
g) Boating and Harbor Safety – Farrow
There was no report at this time.
e) Plans and Recommendations - Callahan
Mr. Callahan informed the Commission that Mr. Cebrian had come up with a $35.00 increase for mooring permit holders. He pointed out that Mr. Cebrian has had a great deal of difficulty trying to pin down Mr. Griffin as to the numbers he needs in order to create the budget projections for the coming year, and explained what Mr. Cebrian had been able to accomplish so far, as well as indicating where he was falling short because of not being able to get the rest of the information necessary to complete the projections.
Discussion followed regarding increasing the cost of permits across the board. It was suggested that this is the time to bring the increases up and vote on them because they then have to take it before several other committees, including the Parks & Recreation and Cultural Affairs Committee. Discussion continued for 45 minutes regarding the upcoming budget and the fees for the position of Harbor Master, and preparation for the upcoming budget meetings.
** MR. PALAU MOTIONED TO RAISE FEES AN ADDITIONAL $45.00 ACROSS THE BOARD OVER
WHAT IS BEING CURRENTLY CHARGED.
** MR. FARROW SECONDED.
** MOTION DOES NOT PASS, WITH TWO IN FAVOR (D’ANDREA, CALLAHAN) AND FIVE OPPOSED
(PALAU, FARROW, ROMANO, PINTO, MOBILIA).
Further discussion about whether to raise the fees and by how much continued. Mr. Mobilia reminded the Commission members that their application needs to be in to the City by November 30th and then they go before the other committees to have it reviewed.
Mr. D’Andrea said that Mr. Mobilia, in his capacity as boss, will ask Mr. Griffin to provide the numbers that Mr. Cebrian needs to complete his budget projections in time for the next meeting. Mr. Palau suggested that the Commission put the numbers in for whatever they think they will need, and then go to the City and see what the City will agree to. Mr. Mobilia said they can go to the City and then see what the shortfall is, and then they can rethink the budget at that time. He said he was not tabling finding out the mooring specifics, but will wait until he has the meeting with the City Finance Dept.
5. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 26, 2006 MINUTES
Mr. Mobilia stated that he did not have any corrections to the September 26 minutes as he did not have his copy with him. No other members had corrections.
** MR. CALLAHAN MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 26, 2006 MEETING
AS AMENDED.
** MR. FARROW SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
6. NEW BUSINESS / OLD BUSINESS
There was no new business.
There was no old business.
7. ADJOURNMENT
** MR. PALAU MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.
** MR. MOBILIA SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda J. Hayes
Telesco Secretarial Services
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