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Home My WebLink About07/23/1999 . f ~rAr:;" \'1. i~j ,,-' 0":-"""""" . . ,..,......- f'!\ .,..,.....1 " - Fishers Island Harbor Committee MINUTES Friday, July 23, 1999 at 4:30 P.M. Utility Offices Guests: Elby Burr, Mike Conroy, Chippy duPont, Louisa Evans, Leslie Goss, Luis Horn, Bobbsie McLeod, Steve Malinowski, Harris Parsons, Marguerite Purnell, Ali Raridon, Scudder Sinclair, Nina Schmid Bill Taylor, East Hampton Harbormaster; Bob Darenberg, Rameshwar Das, East Hampton Town Planner, Steve Ridler, NY Department of State Frank Bohlen, Barron Kidd, Kenneth Edwards, Jr., Tom Johnson Present: Absent: The meeting was opened by Leslie welcoming everyone and introducing the four guests from East Hampton and Albany who were present to educate the Committee'on the subject of the "no discharge zone". Steve Ridler began his presentation by describing his position and his function, which is to assist municipalities in obtaining State funds to defray the costs of no-discharge start up pump-out operations and disposal. Easthampton was the first town he assisted in applying to EP AlDEC. Orient Point, Montauk, and Riverhead are working on their applications now, Rhode Island currently has an "all marine water no-discharge zone"; Massachussetts just applied for the same, along with Connecticut. In his opinion, the majority of coastal municipalities will have no-discharge zones within 4 or 5 years. Steve asked that the Committee not confuse a no discharge zone with "zero discharge". He explained that a no discharge zone pertains only to treated and untreated sewage from boats (not "grey water" such as galley sink waste). In East Hampton, officials began the process by talking about and educating the public on the subject of no-discharge. Steve stressed that pre-education ofthe public sector is the key to success in this endeavor. East Hampton began their education process in 1991 and encountered strong opposition from the marine industry. (The marinas were informed they could obtain State funding for pump out facilities at their locations.) As with other applicants for a no discharge zone, East Hampton had to identify natural re- sources in need of protection or enhancement (ie., beach, shellfish beds) and had to provide some method of collecting boat waste and then disposing of it. Leslie asked what some of the benefits would be if a discharge zone were to be designated at Fishers Island. Benefits would include possibly opening up harbors for shellfishing, and to keep our harbors clean. Steve indicated it is important to not put the onus for water pollution strictly onto boaters. Contamination and pollution occur due to other sources, such as faulty septic systems on land or road run-off in storms. The no-discharge zone is simply one way of correcting some ofthe damage. Bob Darenberg spoke briefly on collecting waste from boats. He said I pump out facility (fixed or mobile) is required for every 300 boats over 16 feet in length. He said on a typical boat, 25 to 30 gallons of waste is generated in a weekend. He said a mobile pump out boat could collect as much as 2000 gallons before needing to . . . . dispose of collection. Elby inquired how waste is removed from boats? Bob Darenberg responded that most boats have a special fitting that attaches to the pump-out boat's vacuum equipment. A discussion followed as to the uniqueness of Fishers Island's situation - would a Connecticut mobile pump-out operator come to Fishers Island to pump out New York waste and transport it to Connecticut? Would that be legal? Chippy asked "what happens to a discharge zone surrounded by a no-discharge zone?" and, "does Fishers Island need its own fixed facility?" Is it possible to just have an "on call" pump out boat? Elby asked how enforcement is handled? Bill answered that in Easthampton marine police are included in all vessel inspections. Steve indicated that is why education is so important - so that people learn about why a no-discharge zone is important and willingly comply- the key is voluntary compliance vs. enforcement. A no-discharge zone makes it illegal to dump treated waste; public education is the solution, not enforcement. Brochures, meetings, and public service announcements are good ways to raise public awareness before establishing no discharge. Chippy suggested that ifthere were any possibility that the Town could fund pump and disposal, it would certainly make things easier. Ramesh suggested transient mooring fees or a portion thereof could help pay for a mobile pump out boat. Steve pointed out that there needs to be a contract with a sewage facility to dispose of the waste. To sum up, Steve said the State can help write the application; Fishers Island can decide how to handle the execution. Steve also wanted to reiterate that the grant for this type of application is a reimbursement grant; the applicant must pay for costs incurred, and then the State reimburses those costs. Again, the main theme is public education and awareness. Chippy also feels strongly that Fishers Island does not need a fixed pump house on the Island, nor would he want the ferries to transport collected boat waste via a tanker truck. Report by Bav Constables - Mike Conroy indicated that people have been very pleasant as patrols were performed. He said there had been one overnight complaint in Hay Harbor and no complaints in East Harbor. Elby commented that the harbor looks great! Margie inquired if logs given to the constables are being used, and Mike and Luis said they are using the logs. A member inquired if the "No Anchoring" signs were still posted at the entrance of Hay Harbor. No one could recall when or ifthe signs were posted. Shore Front Prooerty Owners -How should these mooring requests be handled? How will each mooring be used? This issue surfaced again when Dan Doyen called Leslie asking how many moorings a shorefront property owner can have in front of his house. The Committee agreed to review these requests on a case by case basis. Past minutes reflect discussions on specific moorings. Fitzgerald Property Uodate - Leslie advised Committee that the sign is up and the dock looks good. Mike Conroy reported minimal use ofthe dock. Steve Malinowski observed that there is not much depth for a bulkhead style dock in the event reconfiguration of the dock is considered. Ali indicated that there is some interest in moving the entrance to . . Dock Beach further away from the road in order to make it a safer ingress and egress. Another idea is to fill in the parking area with "greenspace" all the way over to the Mobil station. JR Edwards has indicated that the lobstermen do not really need the dock space. Chippy feels it is imperative that the view be kept open. All also said she seeks input on the site design and the property "across the street" will be kept as is. But surrounding property owners have now indicated an interest in cleaning up the whole area. One name suggested for the park was "Harbor Park". Scudder suggested "Dock Beach Park"; others indicated it should just be left as "Dock Beach". A discussion followed concerning suggestions for quality and types of plantings to be used at the site to preserve the view and that require very low maintenance. Committee Vacancv - Bill Ridgway's retirement from the Committee leaves a vacancy for the Hay Harbor Property Owner's Association. The president of that Association recommended Barry Hall to fill the vacancy. The Committee agreed to forward Barry Hall's name for Town Board approval. . Amendments to Chapter 33 of Southold Town Code - Leslie handed out and briefly reviewed the same technical amendments. All were approved and forwarded to the Town Board for consideration and approval. New Mooring Reauests - Liz Furse asked to take over the Judy Edwards mooring. Leslie indicated that Liz currently does not own a boat and that there was very low water at that location. The request was denied. Bob Doyen requested an application but there was some discussion as to where the mooring is located. It could not be located on the grid and it was recommended that it be tabled till the actual application is received back from Bob Doyen. Fall Tackle Inspection Reminders - Elby suggested that a post card go out reminding mooring owners to have tackle inspected in the full instead of waiting till spring, when there is usually a delay due to diving not starting till the water warms up. The post cards will be going out late September. Mooring Grid in West Harbor - Margie and Ali suggested that Fishers Island School science teacher Carol Giles be contacted to organize students to plot and locate moorings in West Harbor using GIS tools as a school science project. Their work could serve as an update to existing West Harbor mooring maps. Leslie agreed to contact Carol. Vessel Noise - Two Committee members said that they had been contacted by Community members about the noise from BD's work boat, the "Baby Doll". All agreed that the boat was indeed noisy. One Committee member explained that BD had already retrofitted the boat to diminish noise. The Committee agreed to write to BD and ask iffurther steps to muffle the boat could be taken. (see attached correspondence) Budget - Leslie briet1y went over the proposed budget. She said it has doubled from $360.00 to $620.00 due to extensive review of mooring files, stickers, phone bills, . . buoy anchors, etc. The Committee approved the budget request and agreed to forward it for Town Board consideration. There was some discussion by Ali about getting Nina online to cut down on phone bills with the possibility of that happening at a later date. Meeting was adjourned at 6:30 pm. Next meeting at 4:30, Friday, October I, 1999 at Utility Offices. Respectfully submitted, 'lit ' . J.Schmid Secretary