Harwich Boaters Will See 12.5 Percent Slip Increases

It was an evening filled with confusion over votes cast by the waterways commission on the fee schedule and whether the town should continue to charge by square footage, as had been the tradition for more than 20 years, or to go to a linear foot rate as is the practice in most towns on the Cape.The waterways commission voted in October to continue charging by the square foot for vessels, but influenced by Selectman Angelo LaMantia, liaison to the commission, the commission on a 3-1 vote in early November reversed that vote recommending charging by linear foot.“We’ve been backward and forward on this,” Waterways Commission Chairman Dr. Murray Johnson told selectmen. “Each of us has been on many sides of this issue. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve moved our positions around. What we thought was the right answer in fact was not the right answer.”LaMantia had been pushing for the linear foot fee schedule citing the easier process of measuring and calculating, freeing up more time for harbor personnel to do other projects. LaMantia also said the linear assessment is the common practice on the Cape.“We have a unique methodology,” LaMantia said. “We have a marina where people don‘t know what you’re doing when charging. Two people sitting next to each other are paying different fees. There is transparency and openness with the linear foot.” But Johnson said he was not comfortable with the commission’s recommendation for linear foot fees. The chairman said he does not want to recommend a solution that is not satisfactory to live with over the next 12 months.“Our recommendation is not hard and fast,” Johnson said.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Ed McManus said sending it back for further review is not a possibility. He pointed out the decision has to be made soon so the Harbor Department can get bills in the mail. Harbormaster Thomas Leach said they have sent out notices for deposits for next year and said the actual bill will soon follow.The linear foot proposal drew much debate over decreases in fees for the top few boats in the 20, 30 and 40-foot categories, while many of the boaters in the middle to lower end of those categories would receive between 15 and 30 percent increases, Johnson said. Leach said a majority of the boat owners would receive in the vicinity of a 19 percent increase.

There was a lot of discussion about numbers and just using a percentage increase for the next boating season. McManus pointed out there had not been an increase in the previous two years. LaMantia complained the numbers used in the waterways commission meeting and upon which the last vote was taken had not even been presented on this evening. Leach had made several adjustments in rates in an effort to arrive at a more equitable percentage increase.

“What we were asked is to take a policy that was in place for 20 years and change it in four hours,” Waterways commission member Scott Morris said. “It’s unacceptable and I voted against it.”“The boats that use the harbor most intensely pay less,” commission member David Plunkett said of the linear foot proposal. “The smaller boats pay more. I wasn’t a fan of square footage at first, but it makes sense and works great.”Boat owner Paul Funk said under the linear foot proposal his slip fee would increase by 19.44 percent and if they stay with the square footage fee it would increase by little more than 10 percent.“The 19.44 percent is really a lot, but the 10 percent I don’t have a problem with,” Funk said.Speaking of former waterways commission chairman Joseph Goodhue, an engineer, who recommended the square footage fee more than 20 years ago, Funk said: “I think that gentleman was ahead of his time.”

Selectman Larry Ballantine said after looking at the information he’d be more comfortable going with the square footage fee schedule. Selectman Larry Cole agreed, suggesting they just add a percentage increase.There was discussion among board members on what that percentage should be. Selectman Robin Wilkins supported a 10 percent increase for boaters while a second proposal, increasing the fee by one dollar per square foot would have on average a12.5 percent increase. The larger increase prevailed.

Some birds have a broken compass that sends them off in the wrong direction when they migrate, he explained. They're known as "vagrants," and they pile up along the East Coast in the summer months, unwilling to challenge the Atlantic Ocean. Usually, they end up in the Southeastern states. Cape Cod is way off course, Bonter said, especially for Allen's hummingbirds, which spend most of the year along the California coast. They winter in south central Mexico, where it averages 70 to 80 degrees, and are rarely found east of the Rockies. As holidays came and went, Omar expected the bird would leave. But he was there for Halloween, then Thanksgiving. When a pre-Christmas storm dumped more than a foot of snow in her yard, and the winds howled more than 50 miles per hour, she saw it fly to the feeder, besting the winds and snow. "It is an incredibly strong flier," said Bonter.

Around 2 inches long, weighing about as much as a penny, hummingbirds are tough, and can fly hundreds of miles without rest. But the price for beating their wings at a blurring 50 or more beats per second is the requirement for constant fuel. In summer, they visit more than a thousand flowers a day for nectar and insects. At this point, Omar's guest is completely dependent on her feeder and visits it every five to 10 minutes from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. "We're not going anywhere," Omar said. "At this point, I couldn't leave."

During the storms, Omar went out every half hour to brush snow off the feeder. She panicked one day when she broke the only feeder, and sent her husband, Richard, out to buy more. Two now hang inside as back-ups should the feeder water freeze up. "At night, I wonder where he actually is and how he keeps warm by himself," she said. Local birders, some of whom recently trapped and banded the tiny bird, believe he may be finding refuge in an old juniper tree in her yard. Hummingbirds are able to survive colder weather by slowing their body temperatures and metabolic rates, and going into a deep sleep that uses little energy. Bonter believes there is just a slim chance the bird can survive the winter, but if he lasts until March, he'll be OK, he said.

The male dolphin that came into Saquatucket Harbor last week was not as lucky. The six-foot dolphin was spotted from a nearby home by Tom Szado, a local charter boat captain, who called the harbormaster’s office, Leach said. Leach said the dolphin was in a little meander that flows in toward Szado’s home and it got stuck in the marsh, where there is soft, gooey mud. There was probably something wrong with the marine mammal; it looked a little malnourished, the natural resources director said.

The harbor department called the marine mammal stranding network and representatives from the International Federation of Animal Welfare arrived about an hour-and-a-half afterward. The stranding occurred about 1:30 p.m. that afternoon and Tom Telesmanick, an assistant harbormaster, tried to work to free the dolphin, but it became more difficult in the outgoing tide. Telesmanick said when he could not move the dolphin he spent time running water over its skin to keep it cool and moist. When the IFAW staff arrived they proceeded to lift the dolphin onto a cart with the thought of transporting the mammal to a beach location for release. But, Telesmanick said, the dolphin died as he was holding its head.

There was a brief discussion of closing the pier completely to vehicular traffic until the town can determine in what fashion it is going to address conditions there. A letter from John Bologna, President of Coastal Engineering, Inc. of Orleans, suggested some light traffic could be allowed on the town pier, but he questioned how the town would police that use.Selectman Larry Cole said he thought there was a general sense among the board they would place jersey barriers across the dock to prevent vehicular access.“I’ve always thought that pier was like a rock,” Leach said. He said they have put 30-ton cranes on it to drive pilings and they have had heavy equipment lift boats to the pier, which was constructed in the late 1970s. But, Leach said the study found compromised concrete from saltwater impregnation. The harbormaster pointed out the pier goes under water at least six times a year on big tides.“…We believe the pier may continue to be used on a limited basis provided the pier is monitored and limited to light weight vehicles. This means the pier should be restricted to all large commercial carrier-trucks. If necessary, the pier could continue to be used for pedestrian foot traffic, passenger and light vehicles (three-quarter ton single axle pick up trucks), but nothing greater,” Bologna said.

Leach agreed with the letter from the engineering firm recommending a reduction in weight to increase life expectancy. The harbormaster said he has been in touch with fuel trucks operators and commercial fish buyers, larger trucks, which burden the pier and there seems to be agreement they will stay off, using the parking lot as a staging area.Leach emphasized the importance of the pier to the commercial fishing fleet. He said there are 40 commercial boats which use the pier to offload and more vessels when the winter D-permits are in use.“This pier is very important to Harwich,” the harbormaster said. “I don’t feel putting a barricade up is the right thing to do; maybe a sawhorse to remind people heavy trucks are not allowed.”

Leach said Town Planner David Spitz is working on a grant through the Seaport Bond Council for reconstruction of the pier, But Spitz has been informed not to expect any funding until at least 2012. Leach said they also need the bulkhead rebuilt and drainage repaired. The hope is to get funding for one big project so the town does not have to pay $1 million.“I don’t think the fishing community is moving away,” Leach said of having watched the industry reinvent itself as fishing opportunities change. “I’d hate to see it head to a tourist attraction and away from what it is; a commercial fishing facility.”

Selectman Angelo LaMantia said he understands a closure might be a hardship to fishermen, but added it is no different that what commercial fishermen experience in Saquatucket Harbor. Leach said that is why they use the Wychmere pier for loading.Captain Eric Hesse of the fishing vessel “Tenacious” said he has been working out of Wychmere for 24 years and he understands what is at stake here. Hesse said he has watched commercial fishing infrastructure “dry up and disappear” on the Cape. The fishermen have come to “rely on Harwich as a friend of the fishermen.”But it was clear selectmen were looking to future needs and associated costs for infrastructure in Wychmere Harbor. Board of Selectmen Chairman Ed McManus cited an earlier presentation on the capital plan in which Capital Outlay Committee Chairman Arthur “Pete” Watson questioned expending $1 million for facilities housing only seven commercial fishing boats.Hesse said the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association has been winning the battle of accessing fishing grounds only to lose it to a loss of waterfront facilities. He spoke of how difficult it is to load 20 to 30 tub trawls onto a boat without accessing the pier. He said it is too labor intensive to carry gear down the dock and that is why vessels in Saquatucket Harbor come to Wychmere to use the facilities.People within the community come out onto the dock to talk with the fishermen and learn about the business. He said they are starting a program that will allow commercial fishermen to sell a portion of their catch at the dock, which will provide more interaction between fishermen and community in keeping with the town’s heritage.

Ben Martens, a policy analyst with the CCCHFA, said he concurred with Leach’s assessment that fishermen reinvent the way they apply their trade generation upon generation and this one will not be the last generation of fishermen on the Cape.He said the CCCHFA is in the midst of a program to purchase $10 million in federal fish permits designed to keep fishermen on the Cape. Having the facilities in place for these commercial ventures is important, he added.

Retired police officer Earl LeGeyt said he has a slip at Wychmere town pier and does rod and reel fishing and a few charters. He stressed the importance of being able to access the boat from his truck to offload equipment and land fish. He also said the Coast Guard periodically uses the pier in cases of emergency, bringing an ambulance onto the dock.“What we’ve heard here tonight is this is their work setting,” Selectman Robin Wilkins said. He said the town recognizes there is a problem, but questioned placing a barrier to prevent access. Wilkins said the harbormaster should join with the highway department and the fishermen to develop a proposal that will work and come back to selectmen with a plan.

Martens said the CCCHFA would be glad to convene a group to work with town officials to develop a plan. LaMantia said they should look at the type of facilities that should be built into the Wychmere pier to address needs going into the future.“Get some fresh ideas,” Leach said. One would be to raise the pier higher so it is not underwater at certain times of the year, the harbormaster said of the problem with the concrete caused by saltwater.McManus said they should define the purpose and role on the waterfront for that pier, given the issues of cost raised by the capital outlay committee.

The board took the action after the Army Corps of Engineers responded to a town inquiry about switching to a two-tier system of fees. It approached the Corps because back in 1973 a Federal Navigation Project was performed in Saquatucket Harbor, creating the six-foot deep by 75-foot wide channel into Nantucket Sound as well as a 3-acre area inside the harbor that is also six-foot deep.At the time, the town and the federal government signed a Local Cooperation Agreement, which said that in exchange for the work done by the federal government, the town agreed to operate a 50-slip marina inside the harbor that is available to the public.But the town wondered: Given the agreement, would the federal government permit it to change the way fees are charged?

In a Nov. 19 response from the Corps, William Scully, deputy district engineer for project management, did not directly object to the two-tier fee system but also did not endorse it.“In general, it is not the intent of the federal government to prescribe how local communities manage their harbors,” stated Scully, who confirmed that covering the costs of repairs to the town’s infrastructure “may be a legitimate basis for a fee differential.”While there appears to be no dispute on the Corps’ part, the letter also noted: “Be advised that the Corps of Engineers will not provide the town with any authorization or permission to implement a two-tier fee structure.”This was the response selectmen were looking for.

Board Chairman Ed McManus said, “I read it that it says ‘Yes you can,’” adding that a careful analysis is needed so that any new fees are rational and do not result in an exclusive use by one type of user.The town is looking at raising fees to help fund a massive improvement project at its waterfront structures. A study earlier this year found that piers, bulkheads, ramps and other infrastructure need upgrades that are estimated to cost nearly $8 million.

The land at Harbor Road on Wychmere Harbor was given to the town as a site for the pier in 1927 by the Gray Family of Detroit. The Grays lived next to what was then the town pier off Snow Inn Road and were upset with the noise generated from fishing activities. “The story goes that Mrs. Francis Noble Gray was upset with the noise of the fishermen using the dock next to her house on the west side of the harbor. In an effort to resolves their differences and at the same time spread good will, the heir to the Gray Marine Engine fortune bought the land directly across the salt pond and donated it to the town as a permanent landing for the commercial fishermen,” Harbormaster Thomas Leach writes from information gathered from longtime residents along the harbor and placed on his website.

Leach said this week it is likely the five shacks that are now located along the north side of the town parking lot at the town pier were picked off the shoreline and taken to that location. While the harbormaster knows the history of the shacks, he has recused himself from discussions underway about licensing. He said his brother, Mark, a commercial fisherman, has owned the shanty close to Harbor Road for at least 20 years. In his letter to selectmen citing the potential for a conflict of interest, Leach said the town has “allowed commercial fishermen to maintain these shanties as a convenience to this maritime industry presumably to store gear, bait and repair equipment.” Leach did say the fishermen followed a tradition of passing these shack along to the next generation. Whoever owned one and was getting out of the business probably had a few dollars into it, and sought to get it back through a sale, he said.

The shacks are owned by Ron Menard, Mark Smith, Ian Barker, Roscoe Chase and Mark Leach. Assistant natural resources officer Heinz Proft is the point person for the harbor department in Leach’s absence. “I’ve been told to standby,” Proft said. He is waiting for the town to formulate a proposal and as yet has not talked to the shanty owners about the land issue. In the years before Saquatucket Harbor was built, the pier and shacks were the center of fishing activities. The fishermen congregated there, gamming, and may have fermented the need to develop Saquatucket Harbor, Leach said.

“It’s to assure the town gets its ownership claim properly documented,” Selectman Angelo LaMantia said of putting a licensing agreement in place. “They’re there and nowhere in town are there regulations legally allowing them there,” Board of Selectmen Chairman Ed McManus said. “It gives them (the owners) some status, but it’s also protecting the town from somebody coming forward and claiming the site by adverse possession.” LaMantia said the discussion has been ongoing in the waterways commission’s meeting for some time, and when selectmen did a marine facilities site visit more than a month ago the issue was raised. The selectman said the town might want to lease the land for a dollar a year, or more, but that’s a different issue. All this is to clarify the ownership, LaMantia said.

The other issue, LaMantia said, is that the pier needs to be repaired eventually and the question is what does the town want to do there. That is a question the selectman said he does not have an answer to at this time.

Town Administrator James Merriam said they have the town’s real estate legal counsel, Michael D. Ford, looking into drafting a license, which Merriam defined as a little weaker than a lease. Ford, who serves as legal counsel for the town of Orleans, drafted a license agreement for that town with several gunning camp owners on Nauset Beach. The town took ownership of the land under those camps in 1957. The license crafted by Ford was put in place in 2007 and extends for 50 years with a $1 fee.

Merriam said the shanties are similar to the Nauset camps in that they have been on town land for several decades. He said the license would address liability and adverse possession, and could be written to assess taxes on the building value, if so desired. “The town granted me use of it,” Rocky Chase, owner of the Pogey Johnson shanty, said on Tuesday. “I’ve got a letter from the town.” Chase called the shanties quaint and historical and said most people in town like to have them there to look at. Chase also said he understands the town wants the owners to be responsible. He said they take care of the shanties and basically use them for dry commercial fishing storage. “There’s nothing out of the town’s pocket,” Chase said of the maintenance of the shacks. “I can’t argue with what we’ve had all these years,” Mark Leach said. “I hope if there is a fee it is not exorbitant, not much comes with them. It’s just a convenience for the fishermen.”

“We have debated at length and through use of active spreadsheet analysis of our slip fee structure, comparing the current square footage charge versus a by length (per foot) charge (and) have concluded that the fairest method and most cost effective to implement is the current square footage charge,” the commission’s minutes from that meeting state. However, the commission did an about face in its Nov. 10 meeting, stating it had debated at length the slip fee structure, comparing current square foot charge versus a by length (per foot) and decided to go with the per foot charge. “Vessels in a given size class with a length exceeding slip minimum will have an up charge per foot added,” the minutes of the meeting state. Between the two meetings the commission met with selectmen to provide their annual report and there was a sentiment espoused by some selectmen that the per-foot measurement was more suitable to them.

“I’m not a fan of this,” Harbormaster Thomas Leach said of the per foot fee, “Square footage is the innately fair way to charge.” Leach said the town has been using the square footage formula for more than 20 years. He said the decision to use square footage was put forward by Joseph Goodhue, a waterways commission chairman, who was an engineer, and who did the calculations to show the fairness. “The criticism is all other towns don’t do it this way,” Leach said of the majority of communities using the per foot fee. Waterways Commission Chairman Murray Johnson said the commission was “kind of directed by selectmen” to go to the linear foot fee. He said that was the message from Selectman Angelo LaMantia, the commission’s liaison. Johnson said the commission did exhaustive research and in the end used the square footage calculations to set the linear foot fee in each category. The chairman also said he sees the advantage to a linear slip minimum charge based on the size of the slip and an additional charge per foot for a vessel larger than the slip. The proposed per foot fee for recreational vessels in the 40-foot slip would be $104; 30-foot would be $88 and the 20-foot, $70. In the commercial category it would be $98 per foot for 40-foot vessels, $90 for Allen Harbor fishing vessels and $80 for 30-foot. Passenger-carrying vessels have individual fee schedules based on size, and six-passenger charter boat fees would be $100 per foot for 30-foot and $78 for 20-foot. “This will represent big jumps for many boats and a windfall for others,” Leach said.

In the 20-foot category, Leach said, six boats would be playing less, but a huge number of people would be paying 22 percent more in dockage fees. In the 30-foot category three boats would be paying less, but just about everyone else would be paying a 25 percent increase. In the 40-foot category, six boats would be paying less, but the majority of people would be paying 18 percent more. Johnson said they tried to keep the increases in the 9 to 12 percent range, but there are fluctuations. He said the larger vessels in each of the categories would receive a fee decrease while the other boats could expect an increase.

A newly proposed waterways user fee also seeks $125 from any vessel moored or docked in Harwich saltwaters. This fee would apply to all vessels, but those vessels currently paying dockage or mooring fees to the town have this user fee contained within the current fees. The fee applies to all vessels 16 feet or larger. Johnson said there are costs associated with waterways management, including waterways overhead such as dredging and infrastructure. “There are people who use Harwich waterways who pay nothing to the town,” Johnson said. The fee is similar to the one in place in Chatham, the commission chairman said. It will be policed by using a sticker on the vessel and should also serve to increase boat excise tax collection for the town, he said. “The fee applies to all boats on private docks and docked at private marinas,” Leach said.

Also newly proposed is a $50 fee for docks and moorings for vessel 16 feet or larger in freshwater ponds. The idea is to capture a user fee, Johnson said, similar to the one in saltwater. He said if the town needs to replace a ramp or put in a dock, there will be revenue to cover those expenses. He said the towns of Brewster and Harwich used to have a patrol boat in Long Pond, but absent funds, the patrol was discontinued. Funds could be used to re-establish that patrol, he said.

Ornithologist Vern Laux will be the event’s featured speaker. “Bird News,” hosted by Laux, can be heard weekly on WCAI-FM, the Cape and Islands NPR radio station. HCT will honor the town of Harwich Department of Natural Resources with its Conservationist of the Year Award and honor volunteers with the HCT EverGreen Awards for outstanding volunteer dedication.

The town of Harwich Department of Natural Resources is comprised of Tom Leach, Heinz Proft, Tom Telesmanick and Michelle Morris. Leach is the department head and the town harbormaster. They will be honored by HCT with its Conservationist of the Year Award for outstanding contributions that have helped to protect the woods, water, wildlife, and quality of life in Harwich. The natural resources department has assisted or partnered with HCT to coordinate “citizen science” projects including HCT’s eel migration ramp project and the first annual Herring Count in 2009. Leach leads astronomy walks at HCT’s 60-acre Bank Street Bogs Nature Preserve (located next to the harbormaster’s workshop). Proft, who holds a private pilot’s license, donated a scenic flight to support HCT and led a presentation about the town shellfish lab in Wychmere Harbor. The natural resources department has issued grant support letters for multiple HCT and town land acquisition projects, and coordinates the pond monitoring program with Frank Sampson and the Harwich Water Quality Task Force. Of all the programs, the eel ramp project is the most unique. “HCT and the Natural Resources Department form a natural partnership, specifically through projects like the eel migration ramp,” says Michael Lach, HCT’s executive director.

Proft coined the name “eel-a-vator” for HCT’s eel ramp, which restored the seasonal migration of American eels from Nantucket Sound through HCT’s 60-acre Bank Street Bogs Nature Preserve to Grass Pond in Harwich Port. The invention is a low-tech, low-cost but highly effective ramp on private property, allowing young eels to wriggle up and over a flume to their freshwater destination. The project proves that cranberry farming on a nearby private bog and eel migration can co-exist. Leach, Proft and HCT volunteers document eel counts. In 2008, more than 6,000 eels successfully migrated. In 2009, more than 25,800 eels migrated. The general decline of the eel, along with habitat disruption, have created opportunities to aid migration and survival of this unique species. HCT’s eel ramp is only the second in Massachusetts. Almost all of the eels measure below the legal catch length of six inches. The eels provide an important food source for a variety of wildlife, and will hopefully mature into spawning adults in the years to come. HCT, the town, state and federal government are partners in this project.

HCT will also honor volunteers with its annual EverGreen Awards for dedicating their time and talent to conservation. Beth Bierbower will be honored with the individual EverGreen Award for her volunteer work documenting eels and herring, land stewardship, providing office support, and assisting with special events. HCT’s group EverGreen Award for outstanding effort to protect and enhance wildlife habitat will be given to volunteers who discovered, certified, and protected 38 vernal pools over the last three years. Vernal pools are unique and sensitive wildlife habitats upon which certain species like spotted salamander and wood frog depend for survival. The vernal pool volunteers include Rain Ryder, Peggy Rose, Kathleen Welch, Chris Singer (2009 coordinator), Tony Pane, Beth Bierbower, Kathy Fogle, Betsy Sanders, Beth and Terry Fletcher, Evelyn Tobey, Jan Cormier, Susan (Sue) Lin, Danielle McKenna, Vince and Eva Dewitt, Lou Parker, Paul Schlanski, Richard Cooper, Kelly Sattman Lynch, Anya Sweetland, Larry Seberg, Christin Marshall, and Monica Farmer.

Town officials said last month a survey shows portions of the public beach remain at the end of Beach Road, but should it be wiped out by a storm the town would lose the right to build upon the beach through renourishment. In the report presented to selectmen last week by the town administrator, Merriam said the harbormaster is recommending renourishment as soon as possible. He added the town is constrained “by both time and money.” A countywide meeting was scheduled for Sept. 16 in which a fall dredging schedule is to be established, he noted. The other issue is money for dredging, Merriam said. He pointed out town meeting appropriated $150,000 for this year’s dredging. The priorities identified are for $84,000 to be spent on the Saquatucket Harbor channel; $28,000 for Allen Harbor channel; $28,000 for Wychmere Harbor channel; and $28,000 for Round Cove. Merriam told selectmen there is a scheduled bid opening on Sept. 23 providing the opportunity for private property owners to purchase surplus sand for renourishment projects. The town may gain revenues from the bidding process through placement of sand on private property allowing renourishment of the Beach Road beach.

HARWICH – (8/21/09) A waterfront infrastructure study has identified the need for between $5.5 and $7.5 million in improvements over the next decade, and the report contains a surprise. The surprise in the report, Harbormaster Thomas Leach said on Monday, is the need for replacement of the Wychmere dock, which is proposed for 2013 and estimated to cost $1.2 million.

The draft report was completed by Coastal Engineering, Co., Inc, of Orleans this week and the $50,000 assessment identified needs along the waterfront over the next decade. It recommends infrastructure repairs in several of the town harbors. Leach said the Wychmere pier was built around 1978 using bottom-driven piles and pre-cast concrete caps and decking. Coastal Engineering did an extensive study of the concrete at the pier, sending samples out to a New Hampshire-based company to examine the condition of the concrete. “Saltwater has compromised the concrete; it’s crystallizing,” Leach said. “It’s going to be a higher priority and we weren’t even looking at it as a priority. That’s the surprise; we thought it would last a lifetime.” “It is our opinion that the existing pier has reached the end of its service life due to the extensive deterioration of the concrete pile cap beams throughout the structure. In particular the condition of the beam concrete is poor…”, the report states. Leach said the report also calls for replacement of the entire Wychmere Harbor bulkhead and he is seeking the funding also for 2013 with an estimated cost of $189,700.

Drainage is also a major concern at Wychmere Harbor, the report states. The current StormTreat system does not provide an effective and efficient method to treat stormwater.Leach said this finding is not surprising because the StormTreat system was designed for freshwater and it gets inundated with saltwater because of changes required in locating the system along the harbor bulkhead. He said a report done by Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, which funded the drainage system, said the system was located in the wrong place, an inter-tidal zone.

The harbormaster said the study will be used as the harbor department prepares to go before the capital outlay committee to make its presentation for prioritizing capital improvements in the seven-year capital plan. The most immediate project in the harbor capital planning program, Leach said, is the need to replace the bathhouse at Allen Harbor parking lot. The hope is that will be funded in 2011 and is anticipated to cost $120,000. The following year a bathhouse replacement is proposed for Wychmere Harbor parking lot at $126,000.

The study identifies several locations where there is a need for bulkhead replacement, including Saquatucket Harbor, Round Cove and new sheeting for Allen Harbor. Boat ramps in Allen Harbor and Herring River are also identified for replacement at $282,000 and $173,000, respectively. The Wixon Dock in the Herring River is also in need of replacing, Leach said. The variation in fund estimates comes from needs at Saquatucket Harbor. The harbormaster said they would be looking for $876,800 in 2016 to replace the bulkhead.

In the report the estimate for pier work on the east side of Saquatucket Harbor was $527,800, but Leach said that was just to replace the floatation foam. The Harbormaster said much more work is necessary on the infrastructure of those docks. Leach said with Freedom ferry passengers traversing those docks and the commercial fleet operating out of the end of those docks, they are looking at establishing that a fixed-dock T-section for more stability and to have the floating wing sections extending off that dock. That estimate could run more than $2 million. The oldest of the docks in that harbor are 24 or 25 years old, Leach said and the life expectancy for those docks are 30 years. He said they are looking for replacement on the east side in 2017 and then west side replacement, estimated at $500,000 in the report.

Leach stressed the report is a draft and they are making adjustments to it as seen fit. But the plan is to bring many of these items before the capital outlay committee on Thursday for inclusion in the capital plan.

Those regulations allow construction and maintenance of a new roadway or driveway of minimum legal and practical width acceptable to the planning board, where reasonable alternative means of access from a public way to an upland area of the same owner is unavailable. The commission, in its decision, was not satisfied the proponent made a concerted effort to obtain an easement along Colonial Way and avoid the more expensive approach of constructing a bridge across the brook from an easement granted by Brax Landing restaurant.“No offer document was presented to the Harwich Conservation Commission,” the denial stated.

The conservation commission issued an order of condition at the end of June denying the project because of its impacts on a coastal bank, salt marsh, bordering vegetated wetland, riverfront area, land subject to coastal storm flowage and an anadromous/catadromous fish run.

The project called for a 150-foot long, 16-foot wide elevated driveway to a parcel upon which a single-family home is proposed. Construction of the home was not part of the filing. Carding Machine Brook is a river which carries head waters from Grassy Pond down through cranberry bogs to Saquatucket Harbor.

Attorney Sarah A. Turano-Flores of Nutter McClennen & Fish, LLP filed the request for a superseding order of conditions with the state Department of Environmental Protection last week. In the appeal, the applicant said the structure represents the only legal access to the property and “there is no other available, practicable alternative for accessing the upland portion of the trust’s property.” “In its denial, the commission inexplicably found that the project site contained a salt marsh and a catadromous fish run, in addition to a coastal bank. The commission cites no evidence to support its contention in this regard,” the document states. It further states there was no challenge during the public hearing to the trust’s expert consultants, yet their scientifically supported findings were ignored.“The challenge appears for the first time in the denial,” the appeal states. “The only explanation that can be given for the commission’s sudden reclassification of the wetlands is that it made the reclassification in an attempt to purposely deprive the trust of the use of the ‘limited road project’ exemption provisions …”

The document goes on to charge “the after-the–fact (and after the hearing) maneuvering is patently transparent and should not be tolerated nor upheld by the department.” As for the contention the brook has served as an eel and herring passageway, the document stated the only evidence comes from Harbormaster Thomas Leach, the town’s natural resources director, in a letter to the commission. “No evidence was proffered supporting the contention that Carding Machine Brook is presently, or was ever in the past, a catadromous fish run. The commission’s conclusion that the project will impact salt marsh and catadromous fish run is, therefore unreasonable, not supported by the evidence and should be overturned by the department,” the document states.

State Division of Marine Fisheries officials have been working with the Harwich Conservation Trust to improve eel passage into Grassy Pond along Cold Brook, the name given to Carding Machine Brook as it extends through the cranberry bogs to the pond.

HCT reported 6,400 eels making the passage last year, and it received a grant to construct an eel ramp leading into the pond. That ramp was constructed by the DMF fishway crew.“I was surprised,” Brad Chase, a local resident and aquatic biologist with the DMF, told The Chronicle in early April of the number of eels counted in the stream. Chase was appointed by selectmen to serve on the conservation commission last week.

The document also speaks to minimal impact by the construction of the bridge. Only 61 square feet of bordering vegetated wetland and its associated buffer zone would be impacted by emplacement of the pilings. It further states the pilings will not cause siltation or erosion on the face of coastal bank and thus it will not be adversely impacted.The land under water bodies will not be impacted, the appeal states, because the pilings will be placed outside the center channel. The commission’s denial is erroneous, unreasonable and should be overturned, the appeal concludes.

Some cyanobacteria produce toxins that are among the most powerful natural poisons known and they have no known antidote, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Although the algae are an annual phenomenon, the Cape response is a precaution resulting from pond water sampled last week that showed levels of blue-green algae with the potential to cause health problems, said George Heufelder, director of the Barnstable County Department of Health and the Environment.The state standard is to take action when tests show 70,000 cells of cyanobacteria per milliliter, he said. Hinckleys Pond had over 400,000 cells per milliliter and Walkers Pond was close behind at 380,000.With those levels, "We felt we had to decide not only to close the public beach where they took the samples but the whole pond, which has the bike trail going across the southern end and the dense housing on Headwaters Drive," Champagne said of the Harwich pond closing.

Champagne's research indicates possible reactions to the algae include: rashes, hives and skin blisters, and allergic reactions from water contact; runny eyes and nose and sore throats from inhaling water droplets; and diarrhea and vomiting from swallowing affected water.Dogs that drink the water can exhibit neurological symptoms, including salivation, weakness, staggering, convulsions and death. People may experience numb lips, tingling fingers and toes and dizziness.

The warning signs will stay up at least two weeks because state rules require two consecutive "clean" weekly tests before the alert ends, Brewster assistant health director Sherrie McCullough said.Such algae blooms are not unusual in the spring and fall, according to Heufelder, as warming temperatures bring up nutrients from pond bottoms. "You'd be hard-pressed to find any pond on Cape Cod that doesn't have blue-green algae at some time of year," he said yesterday.

Ashumet Pond and Santuit Pond in Mashpee have hosted blooms. The West Reservoir in West Harwich also did in 1996, 2001 and 2004, and Walkers Pond in 2000, according to Cape Cod Times archives.

In 1998 two poisoned dogs died and several others sickened after swimming in Cliff Pond in Nickerson State Park in Brewster.This summer's blooms are unusual for a few reasons: Often, the first sign of a harmful algae bloom is a sick dog or calls about scum or mats on a pond's surface. Nobody reported a dog becoming sick after swimming in the pond. Nobody saw any blanket, foam, scum or mats of algae on the pond surface or blown over into windrows along the pond shore.

HARWICH - (06/17/09) The town has been working on a long-term plan for dredging the Allen Harbor basin, and the county dredge last month removed 8,500 cubic yards of sand from the outer channel. Harbormaster Thomas Leach went before selectmen looking for additional approval for emergency dredging there.Leach said his e-mail box is full and his office has received numerous pone calls from boaters in Allen Harbor complaining about the condition of the channel between the two entrance jetties.

The project was identified Monday night as an emergency dredge project, but Leach told the board it shouldn’t be characterized as an emergency. Board of Selectmen Chairman Ed McManus responded in order for the board to act it has to be an emergency.Leach was looking for approval to use funds from the town’s dredge reserve fund to have a private contractor remove 1,000 cubic yards between the jetties.

The bar built up on the west side of the channel has created a bottleneck, the harbormaster told selectmen, squeezing boats to the east side and leaving one lane of passage. Leach said he had hoped boaters could get by with one lane this summer. The plan was to have the county dredge return in the fall to clear the channel. However, he’s been inundated with calls.The harbormaster said the area between the jetties could not be dredged in early May when the outer harbor was being done because of time-of-the-year restrictions put in place by the state to protect spawning winter flounder.

The initial plan was to have the county dredge finish the outer channel and move over to Saquatucket Harbor, dredge the outer channel there, then return to the Allen Harbor channel to finish the project after May 30, when restrictions are lifted.The Saquatucket channel dredging was contingent upon private funding through the purchase of sand for beach nourishment, but the town received no bids from residents along the shoreline this spring. Absent the money, the county dredge moved on to its next project and the bottleneck between the jetties remained.

The county dredge will not return to this area this summer, Leach said. So he contacted AGM Marine for an estimate on the cost of removing the bar. He said they quoted $48,000, and the town would have to spread the sand with its own equipment.So Leach went to Patriot Marine, the company doing dredge and bulkhead work at the home of James Carney along the east side of Saquatucket Harbor channel. They gave Leach a quote of $18,148 and $1,500 a day for equipment and a machine operator to spread the sand.

Leach checked with Conservation Administrator John Chatham and the town’s consulting engineer Roy Okurowski of Coastal Engineering, and they both agreed the permits were in place to do the work.The plan was to bring the excavator over land owned by the Allen Harbor Beach Association to the west side of the jetty and use the dredge material to fill in a scoured section of the beach along the jetty.“There is another little piece,” Leach told selectmen.

There are piping plovers on the land owned by the association. So the harbormaster scurried about seeking permission to bring the equipment across the beach.Leach said he has a letter in hand from the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program that will allow passage of the equipment under the guidance of monitors from the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s coastal waterbird program. He said that move was scheduled Tuesday morning. There were no birds in the area, Leach said on Tuesday, after the equipment was put in place.

HARWICH – (6/17/09) Property owners along the parameter of Allen Harbor have learned the magnitude of a proposed dredge project that would impact public and private boating interests, as the town forges ahead with plans to remove 45,700 cubic yards of muck at a cost of as much as $2.6 million.

The plans have been in the works for a couple of years, and consulting engineers from Coastal Engineering Company, Inc. of Orleans have helped get most of the permits are in place. The outstanding permit relates to disposing of the dredge spoil and may be the driving force in the cost of the project. At this point the engineers are looking to place material at an approved landfill in Bourne. But they are also in negotiations with the state Department of Environmental Protection over use of the former town landfill on Queen Anne Road. With an anticipated $500 a cubic yard tipping fee in Bourne, use of the town landfill site could reduce the cost by as much as $2 million. Town officials, in a session on Thursday at Allen Harbor Yacht Club, asked members of the club to use any influence they have with legislators to push for financial assistance for the project. “Coming together in a meaningful dialogue is an important step to take,” AHYC Commodore Carroll B. Follas said at the onset of the gathering. She said the yacht club has had a harbor committee working to facilitate dredging over the past couple of years.

Town Administrator James Merriam said the town’s share of the dredging, 26,500 cubic yards, would be 60 percent of the cost. He said it is the intention of town officials to seeking funding, through borrowing in the FY 2011 town meeting, and if funding is approved, begin with dredging in 2012. Merriam praised the efforts of Selectman Angelo LaMantia, a yacht club member, for “putting his heart and soul” into the project. LaMantia was instrumental in shaping a betterment assessment article which was approved by town meeting this year. It is designed to set up a mechanism for private property owners to pay for their share of the cost of dredging along their docks and piers. It is important, Merriam said, that waterfront property owners who have docks participate in funding the dredge project so the town can go into town meeting and demonstrate this is a community endeavor. All but three of the property owners identified for proposed dredging have permits in place, Merriam said. The town administrator also said other towns are watching Harwich as it forges ahead, citing the more typical use of betterment assessments as being for sewer and private road improvement projects. “This has not been done before in the commonwealth,” Merriam said.

In order for the town to be able to bond, Merriam said, a small section of the Special Commission on Municipal Relief report will have to be enacted allowing borrowing for dredging. The town administrator said he has contacted Senator Rob O’Leary, D-Cummaquid, and State Representative Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, about the need for this special legislation.Once the betterment program is in place, property owners would have the choice of paying their share through a one-time payment or over a 20-year assessment, the group was told.“The one advantage to doing this all together is we can use the resources to relocate boats and docks,” LaMantia said. Also driving the cost of dredging is the need to use a polymer to solidify the dredge slurry for transportation, Merriam said. This is projected to cost as much as $914,000.

Roy Okurowski, an engineer with Coastal Engineering, said the company has been working on the project for three years and has done extensive sampling and probing of material. He said permission to place the spoil at the town landfill could save $2 million. They are looking into the possibility of using the county dredge to pump the material to the landfill. The other alternative is to hire a private contractor.The town’s division of highways and maintenance has also agreed to truck the dredged material. The engineer pointed out the department can handle 800 cubic yards a day, which would require 60 days of trucking. Depending upon the time of year and environmental windows, it could require dredging over two years.

John Bologna of Coastal Engineering said the dredge project has two goals. One is improved navigation, and the other is to improve water quality. People around the harbor should have a clear understanding of these benefits. He said it is important to improve the overall health of the harbor. He cited the town’s efforts through its comprehensive wastewater management plan, costing more than $500,000, to clean up its harbors.“We want to solve this problem for this harbor and repeat the project for other harbors as well,” Bologna said.

LaMantia pointed out state and federal dredge funds have dried up, but they would continue to seek grants and assistance. The project was one of three or four the town identified to receive federal stimulus funds, but unfortunately those funds went elsewhere.There was discussion about which property owners get charged for dredging around the harbor. There is a master plan that deals with every single dock, Okurowski said. LaMantia said the language in the betterment bylaw states a dredge permit is required to have work done and the betterment assessed.

by William F. Galvin

WEST HARWICH (5/13/09) – The county dredge Codfish put between 10,000 and 11,000 cubic yards of materials on public beaches over the past two weeks as it cleared the outer Allen Harbor Channel. But efforts to access dredge material by private property owners were unsuccessful under the new dredging and nourishment policy. Harbormaster Thomas Leach said on Thursday the Codfish was wrapping up the outer harbor dredge project by placing sand along Ocean Avenue Beach. The dredge pumped 3,000 cubic yards to Grey Neck Beach, where neighbors had been pushing selectmen to add sand over the past year.Another 2,000 cubic yards were placed on the Earle Road Beach before the dredge pipe was moved to the east, where sand was placed at the end of Wah Wah Taysee Road, and then on Atlantic Avenue Beach. He said they were finishing the project with Ocean Avenue.

There were a couple of efforts by private beachfront property owners to purchase sand for the first time under the town’s new comprehensive dredge and breach nourishment permit approved by state and federal agencies. It was also a test run for the town’s new channel dredging and beach nourishment policy, which allow private property owners and beach associations to purchase dredge material.On April 23, the town held a bid proceeding for the purchase of surplus beach sand and received one bid from Karen Agnew of Hulse Point Road. At the time of the opening it was announced a second bid from MBA Real Estate LLC., of Neel Road was being withdrawn because all the permitting was not in place.

Agnew bid $5 per cubic yard to have the sand pumped from the dredge to her beachfront property. But her bid was ruled non-responsive by Town Administrator James Merriam, who said the new beach nourishment policy requires a minimum bid equal to the cost to the town. The town’s contract with the county costs $7 per cubic yard.“The bid fell below the minimum and the board of selectmen will not have to act,” Merriam said. “We’re not going to award it.”

There is a provision in the new policy that states: “Any excess material not needed on a public beach may be procured by request from the town by a private homeowner or beach association at the town’s cost through the public bid process.” However, that information was not provided in the bid package.There is also another provision in the policy that states: “The town will issue an invitation for bid that sets forth a minimum unit bid price, which should be calculated to cover the cost to the town for performing extra dredging service.”

That minimum unit bid price was not included in the invitation to bid package. Merriam agreed it was not spelled out and said he would instruct the Town Engineer Joseph Borgesi to include it in future bid invitations. Agnew did not want to make a public comment about the determination that her bid was non-responsive. In both the Agnew and the MBA Real Estate, LLC case, neither property owner had an order of conditions in place that complied with the town’s new comprehensive dredge and nourishment permit in time for the dredging project.

Don Monroe of Coastal Engineering, Inc of Orleans was before the conservation commission the night before the bids were open seeking an amendment to the order of conditions approved previously by the commission to allow for dredge spoil to be placed on the MBA property.The applicant was seeking 1,500 cubic yards and Monroe said the grain size of the dredge material is consistent with what is located on the beach. But commission member Lara Slifka cited a letter from the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program citing the inclusion of horseshoe crabs as protected species. The commission did vote to approve the order contingent on meeting the requirements of the NH&ES Program.

It appears there will be another opportunity at getting surplus beach sand for these private property owners in the fall. Town Meeting last week approved $150,000 for dredge projects and the harbormaster said he is scheduling a return of the county dredge for this fall to work between the jetties at Allen Harbor and in Wychmere Harbor, near the yacht club jetty.Those locations could not be dredged at this time because of species protection provisions in the comprehensive dredge permit preventing work from beginning before May 30, Leach said. He also said they would likely be doing Saquatucket Harbor Channel at that time.

HARWICH – (3/10/09) It has been a couple of years in the permitting process, but the state Department of Environmental Protection this week issued a comprehensive dredge and beach nourishment Chapter 91 license to the town for projects along Nantucket Sound. The comprehensive permit is the first of its kind for the town and will be valid for a 10-year period, allowing dredging of Saquatucket, Wychmere and Allen harbor channels and the Herring River entrance channel, as well as beach nourishment on public and private beaches from Herring River to Red River Beach. “This is wonderful, it’s been like juggling eggs,” Harbormaster Thomas Leach said on Tuesday of the six separate licenses previously issued to the town, all bearing different expiration dates. This permit is good for all the channels along Nantucket Sound and will run through March 6, 2019. “We’ve gotten totally streamlined and have carte blanche to dispose of materials on any beaches necessary,” the harbormaster said.

The permit is pretty much as expected, but Leach said there is one minor discrepancy they hope to be able to rectify. There is a closed window to dredging from Jan. 15 through May 30 each year designed to protect spawning, larval and juvenile development of winter flounder. The previous permits closed that window on May 15, Leach said. Most communities are not allowed to dredge until June 15, and the earlier time frame gave Harwich an upper hand in gaining access to the county dredge each season, he said.

The town retained Coastal Engineering, Inc. of Orleans to assist with obtaining the comprehensive Chapter 91 license. They are hoping to work with the state to return the dredging window to May 15, he said. Leach said the state Division of Marine Fisheries, which oversees the fisheries interests in this permitting process, has notified Coastal Engineering that work outside the jetty entrances to the harbors would have no date restrictions.“That would be huge,” Leach said pointing out that most of the channel dredging is done outside the jetties.

The permit allows the town to dredge to six feet with an allowable one-foot overdredge in Herring River, Allen and Wychmere harbor entrance channels. It allows dredging eight feet below mean low water in Saquatucket Harbor channel with a one-foot overdredge.There are also provisions in place in the permit to protect nesting piping plovers, Leach said. It calls for no placement and removal of pipes or other equipment, and dewatering and grading of dredged material to occur between April 1 and Aug. 31 unless explicitly approved by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. That is administered by Conservation Administrator John Chatham, Leach said.Leach said the permit is good news because his department has plans to dredge the entrance channel and between the jetties in Allen Harbor this spring along with the entrance channel to Saquatucket Harbor. He also said a shoal in the bottleneck of Wychmere Harbor channel between the yacht club and Snow Inn may also be removed.

HARWICH – The river herring harvest, possession and sale moratorium put in place three years ago by the state Division of Marine Fisheries will continue for another three years, selectmen agreed Monday night. Last October, the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee approved the continuation of the moratorium based on the dearth of anadromous fish migrating up rivers in the state to spawning headwaters. Division of Marine Fisheries Director Paul J. Diodati has implemented the additional three-year ban as of Jan. 1, 2009, which includes those runs within municipalities which have been granted local control by the state. “We saw some initial positive signs of river herring population increases in spring 2008 as a result of these sacrifices,” Diodati said.

“We’ve seen fish every year but the last time we saw a significant number was in 1999,” Natural Resources Officer Thomas Leach said this week of the once prolific Herring River run. Leach said there has been improvement since the moratorium was put in place three years ago and last year there were a few days with significant numbers moving up the ladder at Johnson’s Flume in West Harwich. “Once again this is the state telling us they’re giving us permission for us to close the run,” Selectman Ed McManus. His reference was to efforts by the town to close the run four years ago, before the state instituted the first moratorium, because of depleted fish stocks. A year later the state mandated the closure.

There remains a lack of recovery in the river herring runs in the commonwealth, DMF officials said in a prepared statement announcing the extension of the moratorium. “All available information indicates that the number of spawning river herring entering the runs in the spring of 2008 remained well below average and mortality remained high,” officials stated in the DMF New letter. “But there is some good news. The moratorium appears to have helped stabilize the runs, although at lower levels, and many of our runs showed a slight 2008 increase in the number of spawning fish.”

DMF officials predict three more years of a moratorium will allow the maximum number of spawners to complete an entire life cycle, thus increasing the probability of stock recovery. The state fisheries agency admitted there are currently unidentified factors contributing to morality. It conducted a study on the impacts of river herring by-catchin the sea herring pelagic fisheries which found 70 percent of vessel trips yielded no river herring by-catch, and only a very small number of trips had significant quantities, with annual estimates between 285,000 to 1.7 million pounds. “While significant, this amount of mortality is not sufficient to cause the coastwide decline in river herring stocks and so there must be other, currently unidentified factors contributing to mortality,” the study concluded.

Leach said the Harwich Conservation Trust and the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association will conduct a comprehensive river herring counting program in the run this spring. They are looking for volunteers to do a herring count once the run begins. Leach estimated it would start in mid-April and continue through mid-June. He said 40 people have volunteers to assist with the count. “One of the goals is to estimate the number of fish in the run,” Leach said. “We don’t know what that number is.”

Leach said Ryan Mann, outreach and stewardship coordinator for HCT and Lara Slifka, cooperative research program coordinator with the CCCHFA, also a member of the conservation commission, will be overseeing the survey. Residents interested in volunteering to assist with the count can contact Mann at the trust’s office in South Harwich. Mann said the commitment can be as little as 10 minutes a week, but volunteers can do more.

Selectman Larry Cole asked if the moratorium would be rescinded should the herring return in large numbers during the period of the ban. “I think it’s the state telling us it is closed until 2012,” Leach said, explaining the moratorium will cover the three-year life cycle of fish in the river.