Members Present (11/27/01): Mike Cienava, Charlie Beggs, Alan McMullen, Eric Winer, Lee Scarbrough

Excused: Fred Clancy

Others: Ted Barrett, Tom Leach, Paul Donovan.

Call to Order: Mike Cienava called the meeting to order at 1710.

Alan McMullen made a motion to accept the minutes of the last meeting without change. Eric Winer seconded the motion. So voted. (Matt Hart was appointed by the Board of Selectmen to the Waterways Commission on Oct 15^th.)

Charlie Beggs told the committee he was not getting his mail. Althoungh he live in the Port he is using a new mailing address at Box 1625, Harwich, MA 02645

The purpose of this meeting was to have a discussion about dockage rates for the 2002 boating season. The Harbormaster presented information including several charts which he said indicated that the rate of surplus cash (in the black) was increasing and that the year 2001 was the largest in receipts and "net profit" to date basing income against wages and expenses. This being the case Tom Leach proposed that the Waterways Commission not raise the rates in 2002.

Finance Committee member and liason Ted Barrett challenged the Harbormasters assessment and said that his table of numbers falls short where it comes to amortizing large cost items against dockage rates. The Harbormaster said he had not done so as few of the Capital expenses are directly attributed to the marina dockage as jetty and breakwater repair, recharging of public beaches with channel sand and parking lots and boat ramps for the public at large. Mike Cienava compared this kind of evaluation similar to those granted by the citizens to fund schools. We don't all have kids in school we don't all use the harbors or beaches but the public as a whole pays the bill.

Mr. Barrett recommended that the Harbormaster amortize all the public projects and present those to the commission so that they can see what the impact is. He was most concerned that the property taxes were about to rise with what he called $50,000 increase on his home assessment. He feels in the strongest terms that the Town should be operating its businesses and utilities as golf, harbor in a way to maximize their profitability. He said that the harbors should set rates at market value and be no different then Harwich Port Boat Works or Allen Harbor Marine. Charles Beggs agreed saying that as long as there was a long waiting list there was no reason that the rates should not be up there and make some real doe for the Town.

Alan McMullen said he had talked with the Town Attorney in Barnstable and understood that under the provisions of Proposition 2 1/2 in Massachusetts the Town must not set rates beyond profit margins. We would be breaking a law. Someone commented they need to catch you and that’s unlikely.

A request by letter from Peter Kugler to winter over his RELIANCE a wooden forty foot ketch at Saquatucket due to lack of available winter wet storage on the southside of the Cape prompted a discussion of the Waterways Commission looking for alternative revenue sources instead of raising dockage. Thoughts of paid parking, dry land storage and wet storage were discussed. Tom Leach said the wet storage is impractical as the stored boats depend on electricity for heating boats and engine blocks, running deicers etc. and the electric system is stressed in the winter with all the additional load put on by the fishing fleet. So increasing this should be the last thought.

Dry land storage is a better consideration but would require dealing with the environmental problems that are created and electrical needs and deadlines of getting boats out of the parking lot before season. A third idea was making Saquatucket a paid parking lot.

This probably would generate the most revenue and gather in a more efficient parking situation as the marina has become a catch all for surrounding businesses and day and overnight storage of vehicles.

About the Kugler wooden yacht thing, the Harbormaster pointed out that this would represent a change in policy and what is done for one would have to be offered for more. Charlis Beggs said he favored filling the whole marina with wet stored boats and giving the skeleton staff more to do with their idle winter. Tom said be very careful with this as these boats require overseeing docklines and emergencies. Alan McMullen reminded the Board of several times last winter of the harbormaster dealing with night time emergencies on the vessels in winter. To add to this problem more boats that need care taking would mean adding more help.

Members Present (12/04/01): Mike Cienava, Charlie Beggs, Alan McMullen, Eric Winer, Matt Hart

Excused: Fred Clancy

Others: Ted Barrett, Tom Leach, Paul Donovan.

Call to Order: A quorum not present, the chairman moved to not hold the meeting. There was no second to the motion but discussion. Mr. Barrett argued that a a committee can continue to meet for discussion without a quorum and visited Mr. Melville in his office and came back with an opinion from the Town Administrator that a discussion can insue without a quorum but no voting should be allowed. Finally, Mike Cienava called the meeting to order at 1725, after a quorum became present.

Matt Hart was welcomed to the Commission. However, the Chairman expressed his indignation and said that the Board of Selectmen had not notified him of the new appointment.

The commissioners again took up the discussion of recommending rates for 2002. The Harbormaster had a prepared set of tables showing amortization over 15 years as requested. The graphs and tables indicate a potential $2.07 million surplus over a fifteen year stretch banked against costs and amortization of major projects. The Harbormaster also believes that this surplus should be considered greater considering many major projects as dredging and beach sand nourishment and breakwater repair are truly town sustaining projects and not the burden of dockage operations. Chairman Ceinava agrees and believes that such large scale municipal projects should be the burden of all the taxpayers just as the cost of school and safety operations are the burden of all not just the users or the folks that have kids in school. Its how our system works.

Alan McMullen suggested that to have otherwise would be a burden on the boaters and suggested that to think otherwise would be better to have the harbors operate as an enterprise fund.

The discussion then took a turn toward the question of alternative revenue. Charles Beggs wanted to know why the Town has failed to collect the boating excise tax for nearly three years. If this excise revenue was earmarked directly for harbor funds as provided by the State Law then there would have been pressure from the Waterways Commission to see that the Accessing Department would be doing the job in this area. It is possible that the Town has lost out on nearly a quarter million dollars in revenue over 3 years from this item. It is also possible that with the frequency of buying and selling boats we may never see this as revenue.

Matt Hart says that he is interested in seeing how Harwich matches up against other marina operations but conceded that the case presented by the Harbormaster was a worse case scenario. Mr. Hart made a motion to hold the cost of raising the dockage fees in 2002 and raise the fees across the board 5% in the year 2003. Seconded by Eric Winer.

The motion passed 3-1 with Alan McMullen abstaining.

The commission then discussed recommending to the Board of Selectmen for creating the Saquatucket Parking Lot as a revenue generating operation (controlled parking lot). No motion was taken but this seemed the consensus that it would be an excellent revenue source and get control back on the use of the lot.

Mike Ceinava reminded all members to be at the Selectmen's meeting scheduled for December 17^th to hear report from the Commission on the Waterways Commission work over the past year. Hopefully the Selectmen will alos be able to accept the recommendation of the Commission for the 51% boat ownership plan; the split of the C and D waiting list; and recommendation for no dockage increases in 2002.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 PM.