CAC Minutes 08_ 23_16
Scituate Coastal Advisory Commission (CAC) Meeting
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
6:00 pm
Maritime Center
119 Edward Foster Rd., Scituate MA
MEETING MINUTES
Present In Attendance: Maura Curran (BOS advisor), Tim Kelly, Keith Jansen, Patrick Reilly,
Kevin Cafferty (DPW), Nancy Durfee (Coastal Resource officer), Tom Hall (new member), Richard Harding (Conservation Commission member), Frank Snow
Rebecca Haney, Technical advisor
Meeting called to order 6:10. Agenda accepted 6-0 vote.
Minutes from 8/09/16 approved 6-0 vote.
Keith opened the meeting to the public (approximately 14-18) and welcomed them and explained what our commission is working towards.
We each introduced ourselves. Tom Hall explained the “ground rules” and then the meeting was turned over to Tim Kelley.
Tim talked about coastal erosion and the challenges in front of everyone. Oceans are rising and we are learning to adapt. Tim recommended The Corps and the Shore, a book with somewhat worthwhile information in this regard. The Commission seeks to bridge the communication with the public. He mentioned that Nancy applied and was granted funding for a coastal assessment of the entire Scituate coastline and it’s coastal needs. Tim discussed visiting the website Stormsmartcoasts.com and use the MORIS tool that has info on the coastline and it’s changes. He summarized the worldwide changes and gave a realistic explanation of what changes we have seen in the past 50-100 years.
He went through some invasive plant species of plants that are not helpful in stopping erosion and pointed out some better natural erosion control plantings such as Switchgrass and Rosa Regusa. He suggested visiting the town website and the Coastal Advisory Commission to find links to more information. He opened the floor to questions. Nancy Durfee and Kevin Cafferty offered some solutions to maintaining the salt marshes. Humarock was discussed because it has some of the worst erosion issues.
The Scituate Coastal Coalition has some concerns expressed by David Ball. He touched on the Ramsey study and said he would wait until he receives the hard copy. Mr. Ball was disappointed by the large number of strong beach renourishment recommendations. A question was asked about future potential Coastal Advisory Commission meetings. They are tenatively scheduled for Sept. 27, Oct. 25, Nov. 22 & Dec 13. These dates are proposed and not confirmed. A question was asked about the funds from FEMA that are still outstanding from 2007 and the reliance that can be put on those funds coming in? The scope and objectives are broad. Maura Curran suggested the need for a Finance sub-committee to seek other means of support. Sub-committee appointments (for the future) were also briefly discussed. Several other questions were answered in regards to the Fourth Cliff area. Drainage from the marshes to the harbor areas was discussed. Kevin Cafferty of the DPW offered an update and will investigate drains that need addressing. He spoke about some areas of the Goulston area that will begin activity in the spring.
Nancy spoke about finalizing the Hazard Mitigation project. The beach easement draft is out to be reviewed and get approved. Easements help to make "shovel-ready" projects. Fred Dorr pointed out that Sandy Beach did a temporary transfer of ownership while dredging was being done in Cohasset. Kevin discussed the importance of easements.
Keith called for New Business. Training is Sept 14th for town employees and committee members.
There was no new business.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Peggy Dinger