03/20/2018

Harbors Committee work nearly complete, report due April 30

The harsh winter has necessitated a 30-day extension for the Harbors Committee to deliver its report and recommendations to the Town Council. The Town Council on March 12, 2018 granted the committee an extension to April 30, and appropriated an additional $2,500 from undesignated funds.

The ad hoc committee, established in October of 2016 primarily to review and recommend updates to the harbors ordinance, was also charged with updating maps used by the harbormaster to show potential locations for moorings.

"We are working with the Harbormaster to gather coordinates for the mooring locations, but have been unable to do the field work thus far due to the cold weather," according to a committee memo to Town Manager Matthew Sturgis. "Now that the weather is improving, we believe that this work will be done within the additional extension period."

Scheduling meetings around vacations and other conflicts have also been a challenge, said Town Councilor Caitlin Jordan, a member of the committee.

Another charge for committee - to help draft the marine resources chapter for the pending comprehensive plan update - is also ongoing, and should be complete within the extension, the memo says.

Other charges are complete and will be part of the committee's report. These include an inventory of public-water access and developing a long range plan for boat access in the Kettle Cove/Crescent Beach State Park areas.

Jessica Sullivan, Town Council chair, said she was not happy about spending more tax dollars on the project, but understood the technical aspects and felt comfortable with the $2,500 allocation. The council initially appropriated $15,000 for the project, and another $5,000 in December 2017, when the committee's deadline was extended to March 31. [news article]

Sturgis recommended the additional funding to compensate Town Engineer Steve Harding for the hours he is putting in to support an increasingly complex project. "This will be a great report, but to get there we have to compensate the external staff we have hired for it," Sturgis said.