REGULAR MEETING

Minutes of Tuesday, September 16, 2008

7:30 PM, East Lyme Town Hall

108 Pennsylvania Ave.,

Niantic, CT 06357

Present: Chairman Don Landers, Treasurer Steven Dinsmore, Secretary Frank Skewes, Marvin Schutt, Barbara Johnston, Greg Murin

Absent:  Bill Mountzoures

Also Present:  Ex-Officio Jack Hogan, Bob Gadbois

1                    Call to Order

Chairman Landers opened the Regular Meeting at 7:34 PM.

2                    Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of August 19, 2008

MOTION 1: A motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 19, 2008, as amended, was made by Mr. Dinsmore, seconded by Mr. Murin.  Motion carried (6-0).

Amendments to the original minutes were to strike the second sentence in the first subparagraph in Paragraph 7, and to strike the third sentence in the second subparagraph in Paragraph 7.

3                    Public Delegations

 None.

4                    Old Business

A.                Mooring Permits

Mr. Murin reported that the approved mooring permits were mailed since the last meeting.  Mr. Murin stated that there were 133 permits which were approximately 30 fewer than the highest number to date.  He also passed out a spreadsheet containing a list of all mooring owners and information about their moorings.

B.                 Harbor Management Plan – Reports from Sub-Committees

Mr. Dinsmore reported that in his conversations with Geoff Steadman, it was agreed that commission members would probably do the bulk of the work on updating Part I of the Plan, and that Mr. Steadman would do most of the updating of Part II.  There was a discussion among members on how to pay for the update including requesting grant money and funding by the Town.

MOTION 2: A motion to write a letter to the First Selectman asking whether the new Town Planner could assist with writing a grant request to fund the Harbor Management Plan update, was made by Mr. Schutt, seconded by Mr. Dinsmore.  Motion carried (6-0).

C.                Connecticut Harbor Management Association

Mr. Dinsmore reported that we should plan on getting in touch with this organization in October or November to set up a meeting, as they were quite busy at this time of year.

D.                Set Public Hearing for Mooring Permits and Legal Notices

MOTION 3: A motion to hold a Public hearing on October 21, 2008 to discuss a proposal to establish mooring fees for privately held mooring permits was made by Ms. Johnston, seconded by Mr. Schutt. Motion carried (5-1) with Mr. Murin voting no.

5                    New Business

A.                 Correspondence

1.      One application for a Certificate of Permission (COP) for work waterward of the high tide line.  Application # 200800047-MG

2.      One approved permit for the Public Access Pier in Cini Park.  Permit # 200701196-CE

3.      A copy of a letter from the Waterford Harbor Master to Jim Citak from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture requesting that he attend a Waterford Harbor Management Meeting to discuss how moorings impact shell fishing in the river.

6                    Reports

A.                Shellfish Warden

No Report

B.                 Harbor Master

No Report

C.                Treasurer

Mr. Dinsmore reported.  He stated that he had paid the invoice from Save the River/Save the Hills for the pump out boat fee.  We have received no Shellfish Warden bills for 3 or 4 months.

MOTION 4: A motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report was made by Mr. Murin and seconded by Mr. Schutt.  Motion carried (6-0).

D.                Ex-Officio

Mr. Hogan reported that the position of Town Planner would probably be filled within the next week or so.

7                    Comments from other Commission Members

Ms. Johnston stated that she thought that the Moorings List maintained by Greg Murin for the Harbor Master should be filed with the Town Clerk.

Mr. Dinsmore reported on his efforts to get the derelict boat in the Giants Neck area removed and disposed of.  The boat has now been removed from East Lyme waters.

Chairman Landers reported on the notification he had received from Ledge Light Heath District on a sewage spill in July.  He also reported that DEP head Gina McCarthy had visited the area and had been given a tour of the Niantic River.  He also reported on the progress on the Niantic Watershed Protection Plan.

Mr. Schutt expressed concern that there still seemed to be some disagreement over the Waterford/East Lyme boundary in the area of Waterford Island.

8                    Adjournment

MOTION 5: Mr. Skewes moved the meeting be adjourned at 9:45 PM, seconded by Mr. Murin. Motion carried (6-0).

Respectfully Submitted,

Frank Skewes, Secretary