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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWaterways Draft minutes 8.13.2026YARMOUTH WATERWAYS AND SHELLFISH ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES August 13, 2026 Members Present: Julian Mallett (Chairman), Bob Churchill, Jack Moynihan Staff Present: Dave Condon, Kathryn Brooks, Jessica Ciarcia Others Present: Sean Terrill from DMF, Dan Goulart from Nature Conservancy, Rick Bishop, Scott Martin, Clodagh Troy, Jed Hannon, 6 members of the public At 5:32 p.m. Dave Condon, Director of Natural Resources, read the open meeting law and explained the meeting audio was going to be recorded. Agenda Public Comment There was no public comment. Reorganization of the Committee Mr. Churchill, Mr. Mallett, and Mr. Moynihan would all like to remain on the committee. Mr. Mallett said he would continue as Chairman. Mr. Churchill made a motion to keep Mr. Mallett as Chairman, which was seconded by Mr. Moynihan. The vote passed 3-0. Mr. Moynihan said he would be interested in Vice Chair. Mr. Churchill made a motion to appoint Mr. Moynihan as Vice Chair, seconded by Mr. Mallett. The vote passed 3-0. It was briefly discussed there was a clerk’s position, but in terms of this committee it may not be necessary, so no vote was taken. Continued Notice of Intent Atlantic Coast Engineering LLC, 104-110 River Street, proposed fixed pier, gangway, and float The revisions were presented by Mr. Hannon. Mr. Moynihan asked if this dock would impact navigation and if it stuck out further than existing docks. Mr. Hannon said no to both. Ms. Lawrence was unable to attend the meeting in person but provided written comments the Chairman read on her behalf. The main takeaways from her letter concern the dock being within the 75’ of another dock. Her letter also noted the permitted float to the south was not shown and the measurements would have been shorter had it been there. Ms. Lawrence also wrote about her concerns about the heavy traffic and narrowness of the river in this area. Mr. Hannon said they did not have access to the property to the south and the floats were not out. Concerns about the distance to the channel were also raised, and Director Condon addressed that. He said coordinates were given to the engineer, and we are taking them at their word that these coordinates were properly portrayed in their plan. Mr. Hannon said these were valid comments and they were trying to mirror the other pier. They are aware they are within the 75’ and will need variances. Mark Burgess wrote a letter as well with comments and concerns on the project, this was read by the Chairman. Mr. Burgess wrote that the dock could be further reduced in length and still achieve the necessary water depth. He also questioned the distance to the channel, which was already addressed by the Director, and noted the floats were missing on the abutting dock at 110 River Street. A member of the public, by the name of Mary Bronski, questioned the location of the dock and asked if it needed to be centered on the property and not on the easement. Mr. Martin said it’s centered on the easement. Mr. Hannon added that the deeded rights state they have recreation access. Ms. Bronski said she did not think there needed to be 2 docks on the same property and that it is a hazard for boaters, kayakers, and swimmers at Windmill Beach. It’s a very narrow spot and everything converges all at once. The Chairman said that as someone who sails himself, this is an area of considerable concern. He clarified that waivers are needed by Conservation, and this committee only advises. Mr. Moynihan motioned to not recommend this project due to an impediment to navigation. This motion was seconded by Mr. Churchill. Mr. Martin asked why Bill Hearns dock was approved but the committee is denying his dock request. Mr. Churchill said it is a congested area. Mr. Hannon asked if the reason for the denial was due to the impact on navigation. The Chairman said there is a wall of docks in that area, and Mr. Churchill again added that another dock would further increase congestion. Mr. Moynihan said that from a timing perspective, there are just too many docks already there and it’s just too congested to allow another dock. The Chairman said they can take this before Conservation. A late vote was taken for the motion, and the motion passed 3-0. DMF Oyster Reef Project Sean began the presentation and said this is a statewide project and Bass River looked like a good location. They want to work with the Town to find a good place to put these reefs. Dan said there has been a 95% decline of oyster reefs and they are fundamentally extinct. Oysters are a foundational/keystone species. Sean continued and explained that once oysters are overfished, there is a lack of shell and nowhere for larvae to set. There is no recovery and active restoration is needed for them to return. There are ecological, recreational, and water quality benefits from these reefs. Director Condon said that last spring he went out with staff from Dennis, in addition to Sean and Dan, and they looked at locations for the oyster reefs based on specific criteria. Friends of Bass River also got involved and everyone is excited about this project. Sean talked about some of the logistics of the oyster reefs which would include being open for harvest at least every 3 years, though the duration is up for interpretation. The locations selected in Yarmouth are Dinah’s Pond and Georgetown Flats. These areas are subtidal and ideally, they will cover the designated areas with 6 inches to a foot of shell. Dan explained they went through 9 different versions of plans in Westport before they found one that worked for everyone. He continued and said the select board is the main thing, and then permitting after that. Doing a MEPA review, water quality testing, Conservation etc. are all on the list of approvals needed, likely a year to get through. They would like to see this project started in spring 2028. The oysters would also come from local growers who would be paid to participate. Mr. Moynihan made a motion to recommend this project to Conservation. The motion was seconded by Mr. Churchill and it passed 3-0. Friends of Bass River Update Mr. Bishop said they have 6 projects at the moment, but will only talk about 2 tonight. The first is they are looking at the Stage Island salt marsh health in with help from the Center for Coastal Studies. The second is the Indian Lands in Dennis near Blue Rock Road where 22 trees were lost to the river, and they want to implement a living shoreline. Mr. Bishop continued with a third project explaining the Route 6 Bridge has stormwater pipes running off it and they want to help mitigate that impact. Packet Landing: Bulkhead uses The Director explained the office received comments from Dave and Joe prior to this meeting, but we did discuss this on May 14th where it was determined that rigging sailboats is not permitted by the current rules and regulations. He did get input from the clerks and town admin on how to update the regulations so there is a process to follow. Chairman Mallett asked if we are on track to have a draft by Labor Day and Director Condon said yes. Mr. Tierney said he feels strongly that rigging sailboats should be allowed and that it doesn’t fall under offloading but is more of a maintenance thing. Director Condon said the bulkhead uses are the only specified in the loading/offloading section of the regulations. Regulations say no repairs are allowed but we should detail allowable uses when the regulations are updated. During an emergency such as a hurricane, the priority would be to get boats out of the water and some rules and regulations may be waived on a case-by-case basis. Approval of Meeting Minutes: 6/11/2026 and 7/9/2026 Mr. Moynihan made a motion to approve the minutes as written. This was seconded by Mr. Churchill, and the motion passed 3-0. Committee Discussion & Division Updates Director Condon said he will ask how to move forward with changing up committee members, especially because we have people who have not shown up in a year or more. Chairman Mallett said he would like to see 5 members come regularly each meeting. The Director continued and said the division has lost Victoria who got a new job in Plymouth, which is good for her but a huge loss for us. We now have Jessica Ciarcia on board for shellfish as the new propagation specialist and shellfish constable. She comes from Barnstable with big ideas! We have also lost our part-timer Kyle, who went to Barnstable for a full-time seasonal position in shellfish where he will continue to learn more about shellfish propagation. We did an inventory of shellfish gear and found there is a lot we can use, so we are excited to implement that! We did not receive the Eco One Stop grant that we had been trying to get which would help pay for the Packet Landing construction. It’s a big bummer but we will try again next year. The Director heard the state does not like to award major projects in the same area in back-to-back years, and Sandy Neck just came off a big grant. The Town is finalizing winter dredge plans with the county and will hopefully be doing the entrance to Mill Creek, the docks and Englewood, and the entrance to Parkers River. Staff went out and did surveys of the mooring fields and will be issuing a lot of moorings coming up. We are using a new system that will document the GIS locations for each mooring, which will also help identify spaces for new moorings. Quahog and oyster seed are in the upwellers, and we will be buying oysters from Falmouth in September. The office will be presenting the Town Ways to Water results September 15th to the selectboard. The data found aligned with work that was already in progress at many of the direst ways to water locations. The Director said the committee should probably meet to compose their thoughts on what they would like to present to the Select Board in a presentation. September 29th is the tentative date the committee will go before the select board and share what they have been working on. The Long Pond study was also wrapping up with Horsley Witten and the results say the pond is in pretty good shape! The Bass Hole boardwalk will also be complete next week. Mr. Moynihan makes a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Churchill seconds the motion, and the motion passed 3-0. The meeting adjourned around 7:45 p.m.