Waterways Commission Meeting - January 27, 2026

All right, it's noon and I think we've got a quorum. So, I'm going to go ahead and call the meeting to order and say that uh before we begin that there the new Zoom DH community media has implemented new Zoom safety measures.

So, only board members and and scheduled presenters can turn on their video camera. If you're um not a board member, Patrick, and you um would like to join us, then if you can um raise your hand in the in the Zoom window and um Dartmouth uh community media will be able to turn on your video.

And if that doesn't work, if you can just use the chat chat feature to um chat with the DCM, Jim is there. Good.

There we go. Thank you.

It doesn't seem like my video is restricted and I can't figure out a way to raise my hand actually, but I I will I will stay out of it.

We can see it.

We can see. Good.

That's not a good sign.

How often you're on.

We did a little pre-coordination there.

So, that's what we're saying.

Yeah, Patrick, I've already made you go host uh DCTV. Just to say for anyone who needs to know, there's the raise hand button in the bottom center.

It's in line with participants, chat, react, and there's a raise hand button.

So, someone weren't able to turn on their video, they could just click that button. We would see that pop up.

Thank you, Abby. I had one before, I think.

And uh I'm gonna go ahead and start us off with a roll call.

Andy, like to go away. I'm like, what?

Andrea here.

And Eli's not on yet. Um Roger here.

TJ here, Jamie here, and Dana here.

All right. So, we want to get to Patrick um to start off to talk about the the Marina completion, but before we do that, maybe we could real quickly um have a vote on last last month's or the December minutes.

Right. Move to approve December minutes.

And thank you very much, Andrea.

Thank you, Roger.

All right. And a roll call vote.

Andy, yep.

Uh, Andrea, yep.

Roger.

Yes.

TJ, yes.

Jamie, yes.

And Dana, yes. All right.

So, then the third item on the agenda is the marina completion update. And um, who who wants to start there? You want Steve? You want to kind of give us a Well, we've got we have got uh taken delivery of two piles and four sets of floats that are to be arranged with a fingerp extension to the northwest of the existing floats. And the floats have to be put in the water to properly

position the pile driving. The hardware is here, but we don't have anyone to drive them. I was led to believe through the town administrator that we had a December 30th or 31st deadline for certain funding. And I wanted to get the facts down before I figure out if we blew that deadline, what can we do to make up? Uh, according to what Patrick has sent and I read today, we should have sufficient funding, most of which

is still in the ARPA. The town was to get control of that ARPA funding. I don't know if that means it had to be spent or that it could be spent at leisure, but um, we have three grants at work here. It's the ARPA funds transferred from Rogers Street. It's the SEC for the main project and it's the match from the town uh community preservation act group CPC and uh no excuse but Chris Vitality

Chris Vitality was writing herd over this funding and I I don't he left he's in Westport. Uh, I was hoping to get some kind of um an update or synopsis before we left. Uh, but I don't have that and kind of swinging in the breeze.

So, the obviously the work didn't get done by the end of December. Now, we've got ice to contend with. We have time of year restrictions and we have grant funding use deadlines. And that's where I'm at.

So, how do we confirm that that's the ARPA funding is the is still out there?

I think ARPA would have to be through the town because that was done actually that was done when Kevin went to the select board and asked for a transfer and they gave it to him and I never saw anything in writing.

So I don't know what was going on with the ARPA, what it was designed for, when it needed to be spent by.

So that would be through the town manager or if a new person is hired to do the assistant job, then they'd have to be brought up to speed and I would at the same time.

Is there a new economic development coordinator yet?

No, not that I'm aware of.

I understand that there is a new um spokesperson community outreach whatever the term is that's supposed to start in the near future but I have not heard any progress on the administrator assistant economic development whatever the title might be so I I will ask if uh Cody knows but again Cody's fairly recent not sure how much of an update he was given by Chris before he left, but he did bring it to my attention and

asked that I bring it up.

So, we have the materials and we have the spot. We just need to get it done.

And that apparently won't be able to be done now until spring, if I hear correctly.

Yep. Patrick, can you talk us a little bit through that? What the schedule is there and the and the potential delays?

I mean, you know, the contractor was kind of pencled in um doing it in December. I think he was trying to do it in conjunction with work that he was coming over for to do at the yach club.

Um I don't think he ever was able to make that happen. So, he kind of played the weather issue in December and said, "I couldn't get there cuz the weather, even though the weather was fine." and then come January now he really can't get there because it's iced in. Um so you know he understands that the town wants these two floats added before the boating season. So he his plan is to

come back in in the spring I think in conjunction with the work that he has in the yach club. But he I mean he gave us a pretty good price because he was going to be in the area. Most of the cost for this work is to get over here with the barge. So you know I think that's why he's not trying to do it until he's coming over here for another reason. Um,

but he understands that the town's trying to do this before the the spring boating season. Um, but really the the big crux now is do we still have the funds to pay him to do this? We've already bought the float and the pile. So if they they stay on the ground for the season, they stay on the ground for the season. Nobody's at a loss there, but I can't have them come

drive the piles if there's no money there to pay them.

What is the price the contract price or how much are we going to pay for the pile driving the whole mobilization off top of my head?

Steve, where exactly are the funds now?

Do we know?

No, I don't.

Again, that was Chris was writing her on that. And um I know there's money there. I just don't know in what grant in what is closed and what is still available. I don't know.

Okay.

So, the price I had from Cutting Hung Marine was $5,000 to to drive the two piles and do the hard hardware connections for the floats.

Okay.

So, it is in writing. It was an email.

um it's under the you know procurement amounts for having to you know solicit three bids or or go publicly with it. So it should be fine to be able to do that work. It's just about getting them here and you know making sure that there's money there to get paid.

So in my fallback, if we have to take this out of another account that we control, whether it's CVA or our own retained earnings, we we pay our own way if if need be. I mean, I think that's more important than missing the revenue or failing to complete the entire project. Obviously, first choice is to pay out of grant money, but yeah. Yeah. I mean, so my experience with other municipalities is that the

town should have these in three separate pots and they should be able to tell you how much has been drawn from each of those accounts. Um, so you know, we we had given Chris a little bit of direction on the priority to draw down from each account just to leave the town with the most flexibility as far as, you know, this this SEC money if it wasn't spent, it would have to be

given back where the ARPA money the town remains controlling. So, we had given them the priorities. Whether he followed those or not, I don't know. And whether any other funds were spent outside of the spec specific contract. um funds. I don't know that either, but we're still, you know, if I deduct what I haven't spent out of my total contract, which I don't expect to spend all of it, we

still should have about $30,000 in that account. Um but I just don't know which pot that $30,000 lies in, whether it's the SEC, the um the town match, or the ARPA funding.

Well, I guess why don't we and Steve, why don't we just reach out to the town accounting and just get an accounting of what they spent the money with from sources and uses and then we'll go from there.

I'll do that.

Okay.

I have a feeling it sounds like it's sitting somewhere.

As long as it's still reachable and not time closed out, that's fine. But I would agree with Steve if if somehow the town lost our money, which wouldn't surprise me. Uh this is important. We should just pay it out of our piggy bank because quite honestly, $5,000 putting in those floats, we'll make that back and it'll be an ongoing very lucrative uh addition to the new uh small boat marina there. So, we should I

think we have that, don't we, Steve? In our own big piggy bank that we control.

First of all, hi Riley.

Good to see you on camera. And yes, we do. We can take that out of a retained earnings out of I mean, even that town match, if we haven't spent all of the money we put into a warrant article for this, the money is sitting in that warrant article, right?

So, I I just again, I left all of this up to Chris because it's what he wanted.

Uh, and now I'm trying to regain okay where we are in the market.

I mean, to Roger's point before before we go down that route, which is obviously a fallback because we'll but we'll never get the money transferred back to waterways. I guarantee if we use ours. So, let's just figure out what we got and where it is. We this the ice is going nowhere. So, we're not going to we're not going to need it anytime soon.

No. And that's and there is there is a little bit of closeout that's going to be required for the permitting side of this. So, you know, I I have funds left that I need some of it, but I don't necessarily need all of it for the oversight of the remaining part of the project. Um, and Patrick, I don't know if you can transfer your funds back. If we if if waterways uses its money, um, we may

have a hard time reallocating that money back. Um, so let's let's I I I suggest that we look and see if we can find from from the town what what baskets they've been drawing out of and go from there.

Right. Agreed.

One way or the other, it's going to get done. It's just a matter of, you know, on whose dime.

Um, and this is one more issue. The the order of conditions for this project expires in March. So, I need to extend it just to be safe to make sure that the the pile driving can happen um without that expiring. So, that just takes a letter and a and a hearing. It's not a major lift on my end, but I don't know who the conservation agent is or where

to send it at the moment. So, I don't know if anybody here has any line of sight into It's still Mark. It's still Mark Garrett on a consulting basis. He's retired.

Yeah, he's retired and he has an assistant who is not going to be taking over and they're advertising for the position, but they've given him a six-month contract to consult and continue what he's been doing. Yeah.

So, I'm going to go ahead and request that extension. The the maximum extension is three years. So, I was going to ask for three years, even though I might need three days. Um, but yeah, just to leave you flexibility on that permit being open.

Yeah, I think the other ones. So, you have D, you have 5 years from 2022. So that one would expire sooner in 27, but you would, you know, so you you just have a little bit more time to do anything else that you wanted to do out there without having to get new permits, right?

They may give me a hard time about that.

The three years and they may give me one year, but I'm going to start with three years and if I have to walk it back, I will. Good.

All right. Any anything else you need from us, Patrick, to to move forward on that?

Um, I don't think so. No, I'll just copy Steve when I submit the letter to conservation. Um, usually they ask me to come to a hearing and just explain why.

I'll I'll let them know about the finger floats and then I don't think anything on on the town side.

Yeah. Then and I mean we've got a weather issue too. It's we missed our window due to due to weather too. So yeah.

Yeah. Technically, we would be within a time of year restriction, but I'm as I when I do that um extension, I'm going to have a conserv uh conversation with the agent because these piles would the the the time restriction was based on an environmental species line which is way out on the very end of the floats and these piles being inland would not be impacting that area. So, I think I could

get that that waved. So, at this point, I think we're going to move forward and do it and and ask them that would be great, Patrick. I mean there's also having a restriction it doesn't apply right they shouldn't apply so as long as they're reasonable which you know sometimes they are sometimes they aren't I'll I'll make that request what is the restriction but um January 15th to uh I'm not sure if it's May 31st or

September 30 I think it was September 30th because that's why we planned to do it in the fall the first place.

Oh there's little baby flounder there.

No, it was actually some kind of turtle.

I think was it was it was it wasn't in the water. It was Yeah, I think it was. Yeah.

Never saw one.

But, you know, it was like the corner of the float was over the line by four feet. So, if you know we're 100 feet in inland to the shore from that, I think I could talk us out of it.

We'll buy a bag of turtle food, make up for it.

All right. Anything else on that agenda item?

Sounds like we've got a plan there.

You'll have to get that DMF conversation before you go to the order before you go to the conservation commission. Right.

Yeah. I want to talk with Mark about it just to make sure he's on the same page as me and and would be behind it so that if they go to him, he can agree. But I would I would do that first. Yep.

Right.

Thank you, Patrick. I don't know if you're gonna Thanks, Patrick.

All right. Item four, the dinghy and the kayak replacements. Rack replacements.

From what I understand, we still have CPC funds, $9,000, which we are going to match with our own money since we didn't get the SEC funding. Uh I I've gone nowhere with this because everything else is just taking over. But um the last advice I got from the tower administrator was to break the project down so somebody could build the flat rack. Somebody else could install the metal. And I think I'm going

to go with something called keypass kes.

It's similar to what the yach club used.

And it is um like an erector set with pipe, galvanized pipe, 90° bends that have an Allen set key and uh bolts down into the uh base. Yach Club use those and they're still holding together.

They're a lot less expensive than having them custom made and we can do that all day long with simple tools.

So, that's still in the works, but I don't have any idea who's going to build the base. I think it would be easier for me to just do it than find somebody to do it, but that's not going to happen the way things are going now either.

But the goal is to set a number of kayak trees up instead of the dinghy racks because we get more bang for the buck.

We get eight spots instead of five. And uh the demand is there for kayaks instead of dingies, especially when we can put the floats in and have dingies in the water instead of dragging them up to the beach and putting them in the racks.

So that's all I got on that.

All right.

And the landing retaining wall update.

I sent out an email that Dana and I got from the state. Um, we're on their list.

We're on their radar, but it's funding and we'll at least we've made the request known that we need that wall to be repaired or replaced and we've gotten in line, whatever that means. I'm still waiting in line for the parking lot to be repaired, but that's only been about 15 years. So, rather to start early than after we need it.

And how about your clerical position?

Last month, uh, last meeting, I announced that we had somebody that she was going to start. Um, that was on the Tuesday, Friday of that week. I was told by HR, the person had withdrawn their acceptance. There was no backup or number two position. And I was told then, which was week, I think before Christmas, that they were going to repost it and we'd start all over again.

It's been reposted. We got 60 applicants. The HR department has culled that down to maybe 18 or so and passed the baton to myself and the deputy to interview those we find acceptable. I got those printed out on Friday and uh we'll be working on that if we don't get snowed in picking some candidates to interview and hopefully finding someone suitable. I did make mention to the town

administrator that I was more than happy with the part-time assistance I've got now. Um, but for reasons in their minds or their rationale, we need to go forward with hiring somebody full-time anyway. So, we'll do as told.

But uh again, out of the last round, we had one two two worth interviewing and one worth offering. And uh we're getting a lot of people that are seasonally unemployed that have obligations to apply for jobs and they're doing that.

And hopefully we've we're able to callull through that situation and we'll see. But we're back at square one.

unfortunate, but we'll keep our fingers crossed for you.

Yeah, with or without, we'll get through. We did fine last year. We're doing great now um without a full-time position, without the expense of a full-time position. So, I'll keep you informed.

Thanks.

All right. You want to talk us through the uh budget that you summary that you had sent out?

Yeah budget budgets were due the day after Christmas and I don't know if you remember, but I had the flu and a fever and I put together a budget and submitted it on time. No radical changes from last year. Um, we did allocate 54,000 for a clerical position and benefits which threw off a little bit the assistant salary. Um, but other than that, not a lot has changed. We still estimating $15,000 on marina revenue. I

haven't gotten the final figure, but I think that's in line with what we received for the last season. And whether we get the extra finger floats in on time will determine whether we go up or stay the same. So, not any surprises that I'm aware of. I did have one meeting with the treasurer and a member of the finance committee. I guess it's sort of defending the budget and there were no pointed questions. There

were no issues raised.

Uh part of this process is also the capital improvement plan and I've been instructed to list a new department truck based on the age only of my truck. uh it's 10 years old, 11 years old, and the town wants to rotate on a 10-year basis. So, that truck would be replaced with similar um and my truck would end up going to the deputy and his truck would be auctioned off his Tahoe.

Um I haven't heard anything on the capital plan. The only other item we have pending under capital improvement would be the replacement of both outboards on our winter rescue boat. And I think that will be in the pipeline. Let the capital committee will give priority over one to the other and we'll move forward under their guidance.

But both of those deadlines were met and submitted and we're just waiting for the process before the spring town meeting.

Any discussion or questions on that?

All right. Sorry, Eli joined us a while back. We didn't recognize him, but good to see you, Eli.

Hey guys, sorry. Apologize for being late.

No problem.

Fighting the element today a little bit.

Good to be inside.

How about item eight? There is a I'm sure you may have read that the town now has a substance abuse coordinator and Rachel is doing a project townwide with grant funding to place something called a NOX box which is an all locks on uh in public places where the public can take it for use or use it. Um it's a serious problem. I'm listening all day to the police and rescue um overdoses in

residents, overdoses in parked cars, and overdoses in a lot of the hotels. Uh we brought this subject up maybe 10 years ago when my staff and I were um certified or updated in our medical response and this was part of it. and she's asking that one of the public places it be a box be mounted would be to the landing shed and uh whether it's under the cameras or on the side away

from the cameras I'm not sure yet. We'll work on that. Um and that we be allocated carry the spray in case we encounter an overdose uh in our patrolling. Uh it it's just another tool in the box and I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. It's coming uh at us from all walks of life. So the fact that I have not encountered an overdose on a vessel

surprises me. But um I told her I would bring it up for discussion. I don't know. I guess the commission has the ability to make recommendations, but the town directs and I'm not sure how this will go because it's relatively new, but they are putting these in all town locations. That makes sense.

So, any discussion on that or thoughts?

Steve, are you getting this uh for free from the town? Is this all for all paid for? No expense. Um Okay. It'll be managed and overseen by the town coordinator. And what's what's inside this box?

It's a nasal spray of nlloxxone or um I forget the all the terms I use, but it's it's the um reverses the overdose um effect blocks the in uptake of and it it's just it's open. The box is open. Anybody can just reach in and my children.

Well, Yeah, I'm a little concerned about that.

We lost our minds.

Yeah, that's that's my point. I mean, I if if we're going to put the box up there, great. But I think it should be in an area where we can see it with our camera. Clearly, clearly. And there should be, I guess, wouldn't you agree, TJ? Signage of some kind. You know, only use as necessary. I I don't know.

It's I think it is called creating an attractive nuisance for for young adults. But you know well yeah it goes I think along with the free dispensing of the condoms that town hall had been doing for years. But this is seen as more of a life-saving um reality in today's world. I I don't know. I can't unless it's abused. That's my point. And if somebody who doesn't need it starts

just or or just takes it to rehab if from my training if someone takes this and they don't need it or it's applied to someone who is not actually overdosing it has zero impact.

Okay.

It will not affect a normally healthy person. You will not get high from it and it will not allow you to get higher or less high. Uh it it's going to block what's already in your system.

So that should be made clear. I think in the signage so that nobody steals it thinking they're as I said it's be interesting to see how the town is rolling it out in all the other locations and kind of what the protocols are around that. It's not like they just want to do it in this one spot. It's kind of why they roll out. Be curious how they're addressing those questions.

Yep.

Yeah. I think the bigger risk is people just taking it to have it. So if the town is willing to replace it, they are maybe I asked that question. If somebody wanted to go to these boxes at wherever they are and take it and put it in their pocket just in case, you know, at home or somewhere else, they're fine with that.

Okay?

They're they're taking an attitude we get this out there as much as possible rather than restrict it. And and I know that it's not free and it's not cheap, but at the rate I'm hearing this stuff being given out over the calls, it it it's probably one of the bigger expenses.

Yeah.

Have you been trained in using it, Steve?

Yes. Yes, we all in in the office have.

It's part of the first aid, first responder uh training.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Questions that go with What was that? Is this is this something that you keep on any of the boats or in your truck at this point? No. Based on a prior vote of the waterways commission, it was not put in our first aid kit. If this uh townwide policy goes into effect, it will be in all of our first aid kits, boats trucks office.

Again, another tool in the toolbox.

Okay.

So, there's a policy that needs to be approved before all this happens.

No, I'm I'm I believe it's going to be a townwide policy that's issued to us, but I I'm bringing it to your attention. I I don't know again that the waterways commission has advisory responsibility to the select board if there's advice against it for any reason. I I can't get in the middle of that, but um I don't know. I would say it's a town decision, Steve, and that wherever the town tells

you to put it and however they tell you to um however they tell you to secure it or not secure it or whatever belongs to the town, not waterways, right? I just I don't want the commission member to drive through the landing and see something new and say, "What what is this all about?" So, I'm bringing it up the issue of age level and and children. Maybe we put it up higher, but then it's not handicap

accessible. I mean there so many things come to mind. You know the discussion about whether we put it under the camera so it can be monitored brought up the reluctance of some people to avail themselves of it if they think they're going to be captured on camera and that have a chilling effect possibly saving a life. I I things I you know when you think it through you can overthink it

but those issues have been brought up.

I think we should just rely on whatever the town tells us to do. I really I really think this should be an advisory issue not a vote.

Yeah.

Right.

Agreed.

Appreciate they bringing it forward so we know. But Right.

I also appreciate the town putting their effort into getting this funding. Sounds like a real useful program.

Yeah.

All right. And what's happening with town moorings?

Well, we had an interesting brush up, if you will. They had um issued us an invoice for the first year's work, and we held off paying that until they got us a usable product.

Last fall, we had functioning and functionality and we're at the end of the year. Uh so we paid that first invoice.

Town Morings decided to apply that payment to the second year of the contract and immediately sent us a delinquency for the first year. I explained that we paid the first year and we were holding off for the second year until certain milestones were reached.

Well, right about the time we started preparing the billing for next season, I got a nasty Graham saying that they were going to shut us off because uh we were delinquent and couldn't believe we would uh not pay $3,000 and that they were making great efforts and blah blah. So, I was over a barrel, so to speak, and we do need to send out bills in the next two, three weeks. So, I paid the second

year invoice with a letter, an email explaining that we had high expectations, that they hadn't been met, that we had changed our practices to suit their product in as many ways as possible, but that we did have concerns going forward. So, having no option in my eyes, we paid for the second year, we are covered through the season, and the billing will go out.

That being said, we sent out a test email and once again it went to people that no longer have moorings, no longer have boats that should be inactive, but their system doesn't allow us to keep them inactive if they've ever been there. So, we've made a workaround that if you lose your mooring, your boat, you're no longer active, we can't make you inactive to get our emails, but we can delete the email. And that's how

we've dealt with another problem in the database. Um, it's funny because we were quoted by another database company promising us the world. Um, reviews on that were so so and rather than just keep jumping from sinking ship to sinking ship, we decided to stay with the one that we've got floating right now. But, um, that's the status.

There'll be invoices mostly by email.

Lori in my office decided that um this year we should have people come and pick up their decals so they get to meet us and we get to meet them and prevent us from having mail things that get lost in the mail or anyway. She set up two weekends where the maritime center and the part-time clerical staff will be there greeting the voters, handing out the decals, and those that can't make it

for obvious reasons that we all know uh we'll get them mailed. But um it's sort of a public outreach, I guess, and uh we'll see how that goes. I know other towns require that you pick up your permits in person. I know that there's grumbling about that and it's inconvenient. Um, but moorings are that important on the Cape and they can put whatever hurdles they want. People will jump them. I'm hoping this isn't seen as

a hurdle, but more as an opportunity and, uh, we'll try to keep it positive.

So, that's where we are.

Uh, might I make a recommendation, Steve, when that time comes, I guess February is coming up fast.

a quick little public relations outreach to the local paper saying this is how we're going to do it and we're doing with with that spin. We really do want to meet you and meet the voters and come to the maritime center and spin it that way. If you need help with that, I'm happy to, you know, put words together, but I do think we need to have better communication and uh let everybody know.

D, are you going to tell tell people that can't make it to mail it or what what's going to be the procedure on that?

I've got to find a way to word it so that everyone doesn't just say, "Oh, never mind. I'll just get it by mail."

But I don't know, maybe there's a carrot instead of a stick that we can lure people to come meet us with cookies or something. I don't know. But yes, we will spell it out that it is not the only option, but it is the preferred option or the preferred method. It will go in that direction.

I mean, there are people that frankly don't live in the area until June, July, and August. And that's what I was thinking about. Or people people who aren't here for the winter.

Sure. I I mean, we got we've got to take good care of the lucky people, too, and those that are not shoveling this snow.

But I'm looking more to make it a positive rather than a negative. And uh we'll see.

I think it was a great idea.

I'm sorry, Andy. I didn't I was just think it's a great idea to get people in and meet them. It's always nice to have faces.

So, Steve, the because I got the the email initially, was that just a te that was just a test email? You're saying it was it was designed as a um I guess a feeler to make sure that it would still go out and it would go out to the right people.

And again, we got dozens of replies back. I've already told you I don't have a boat. I don't have a moing and and it falls on the the database and the inability to make someone inactive.

So, that's why we did send it out. And uh again, those people that replied, that corrected it, they won't be getting an invoice. uh especially not an invoice that shows zero due.

So yeah, it's it's all part of the further testing of the database to make sure that it's working properly. I guess that's what that email that everyone got was about.

And the other problem is people change their emails like I change my socks. So we want to make sure we've got the most current.

I think the I think the other bigger problem is um there's just so much crap that's coming through the emails now that people just aren't looking at them like they used to.

Nope. Oh, it's overload.

Sure.

Yeah.

So, if the database doesn't allow us to make accounts inactive that what what was the workaround?

Let's say you you've got a you've got an account. Your account is centered around your email. That's how your unique identification is your email address.

You had a moing. You had a boat. You sold the mooring. Oh, I'm sorry. You sold the boat and you gave back the moing. and we reassign the moing. That mooring is now attached to somebody else's unique email. The boat is gone.

It's sold. It It doesn't have a location. So, the boat doesn't come up as active, but you as a person still have that unique email address in our database. So, our database wants to reach out to you. In the old system, we would push a button that said you are inactive. Your information is still there for historic historical purposes.

If we ever needed to get back to you, your boat's found somewhere 10 years later. We know who you were. But with a new one, we cannot make you inactive. We can't toggle you on and off. So, we have to just erase your email address and now we can no longer send you email. That's our fix, our workaround.

It can't be it can't be the opposite which is make the unique the the unique identifier the mooring number you're asking the wrong guy. I am not a computer person database person. I trusted that we would hire a company that would give us what we needed. I asked the simple question and their answer was no. I I I can't question them on that because I'm learning as I go and

I'm not learning too quickly at my age.

But yes, that's our workaround does work, but it's not the best solution in my mind.

As long as you have a copy of, you know, heart a copy of of past years, you you haven't lost their num their names.

No, going back.

It's too bad.

Yeah, I'm sure Dana has a better solution.

Well, we're I'm more focused on on the billing, the invoicing, that kind of stuff. Keeping the the morning inspections up to date. That to me is paramount. Historical data is important, but it has to take a backseat to going forward. So, yeah, we have the old database still here in the office. I still need that to assign morings because of other shortcomings with town moings database. So yeah, we're running

belt and suspenders for another year.

I wonder if there's a way to um just folks that don't have a boat or a moring anymore just make their balance zero in perpetuity. So if they sign in, they just don't owe anything, right? The problem is they're still getting notifications because they're still an active person in our database and we're sending out an invoice due with a balance of zero and that triggers people somehow. I I would say okay but yeah

so we do keep their email in the notes section and we have that for historical purposes but if we put it where the email is supposed to go in the database that person is still alive and active seems like a reasonable work I mean seems like a reasonable workaround you still have the data somewhere I do it's it's an extra step.

Yeah.

But yeah, it it's working. It's a workaround that works. So in inelegant, but works. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, that fits my purposes, I guess.

Suits me to a tea. Um, while we're talking tech, we we are going to be merging our Dartmouth Harbor.com into the town website. We were reluctant to do this years ago because the town site quite frankly sucked and it has been improved and I have lost my tech support to keep the town uh sorry to keep dartmouth.com up to date accurate. So, at some point over this coming year, calendar year,

I'll be working with the town.

Um, Chad, I forgot his title, but we're going to be merged into the So, we will have a presence, our own page on the town website, and we will no longer need to pay for GoDaddy or whatever else we're paying to maintain a separate website. And I will have tech support at town hall to be able to update that daily, hourly as needed.

Well, that's good.

Yeah. Yeah. It's it's, you know, I'm cutting the cord kind of or or hooking up the cord to the town, but um it it's a reality going forward. Have to simplify where we can.

Yep.

And they don't have any problem with you keeping your cam and other things up.

Well, that's something that needs to be looked at. That's why it's going to take a little bit of time and it's going to take Chad to work on that. We are the only department in town that has a webcam. Whether or not that webcam can translate to the town site or not, I don't know. Our weather page presence, don't know if we can link to that.

Again, these are great questions for someone much better educated in the subject than I am. I'm still looking for the any key on my keyboard.

So, I don't know.

Make lives easier just talking about how it doesn't work.

What's that?

All the tech.

Oh, yeah. No, I know. creates more problems than it solves.

As a kid, before there were computers, if I wanted to know the weather, I'd look out the window.

Now it's Windows and it's um an app and it's more complicated and everything that's supposed to make our life easier seems to do the exact opposite. But if it's one less thing I've got to maintain, which is a separate website, then I think it it's worth worth doing.

So that's it on the town tank.

Your annual report.

I'm required to write as a department head every year an annual town report.

They don't change much from year to year, but I try to put some current information, relevant information, interesting information in the report.

I've also maintained and not been crit uh contradicted that this annual town report satisfies the requirement of the waterways commission to report annually to the select board the condition and status of the waterways and facilities and that's under bylaw 104-3B.

So I prepare it, I present it to you if there are any changes or errors or omissions and I will change the heading so that the vice chair is properly identified. But if if that goes in to the town report, it's actually reported to the town clerk who is the keeper of town records. They used to publish a book. I don't believe that's done anymore. I think it's just done on the website for the town

and that's due this week. So, it's been done for a while. I just wanted to review and uh I'll submit it to the clerk and that's it.

It certainly look good, but you might want to identify me as the secretary because I think that's been required by um the town. Right. Okay. Right.

Thank you.

I will do that and I will change TJ to the vice chair. Thank you.

Yeah, great.

I thought it was very well written, Steve.

Thank you.

Yeah, it did. It was especially nice to see um you put some serious time into um Warren Haway's um persona. I think that's a Yeah, that's wonderful. Yeah, I agree with Andrea on that.

It's well warranted.

It's a warrant.

All right, we're down to item 12. We're in the home stretch. Any update from the Town Clean Water Group?

Um I don't know if um Steve has heard anything else. Chris me um Chris uh has offered to be available to the waterways uh commission to give us an update. Um but one thing he did mention was that there is going to be a spring sampling season. Um and it's going to um and they're talking about adding some new sites to complement what was done back by D in 2000.

uh he and I talked about the possibility of having a public forum. People want to know what's going on with water quality and he said that UMass would be available. Um that the Smass facility would be available. Um and he thought maybe it'd be a February March but I don't have any dates on that. March makes a lot of sense um because it's the season the sampling season usually begins in April so it gets people you

know get gives people timely notice.

So either we do it either we host it at a at a at a um one of our web one of our regular meetings or it's a separate or it's a separate standalone event is you know a question along with the date.

So any thoughts on that? any any feel for what kind of how long he he would the update would I something like this usually is a 20 minute presentation with questions and answers I I personally don't think a a Tuesday at noon is the most attractive time to get people for us there's a lot perhaps should organize it separately then to Andrew's point I I do I think there's a lot of conversation around this particular

issue as well that it might be more than our typical meeting might want to handle.

Well, we is this something that we'd be looking at a joint meeting of the waterways and the health department, health commission, the board of health.

That's what I'm looking at.

Um, well, maybe the health department sponsors it and then, you know, we just we make note of it at our next meeting that's going to be on such and such a day to kind of let people know who are tuning into this one that that's going to exist also.

Well, let me ask because I haven't heard of any meetings, but is the clean water group still meeting? Is it still viable?

It isn't. It isn't meeting. Um there there's some question as to whether or not people have been appointed to the board and even though they haven't asked to be appointed speaking personally um u the the problem the problem was um that the mission statement was really really large. It was like world peace. Yeah.

Um, and you know, I wasn't going to sign up, and I I know a couple other people who weren't going to sign up for um for something that was as wide ranging that didn't have a, you know, concrete ability to be successful. So I no, it's not it's not meeting. Um, and so there so the ho who hosts this meeting becomes pretty important. Um and so to TJ's point, you know, we could be we could be

um someone who, you know, provides notice to it. Um but there are a couple members of the waterways committee who, you know, take an interest in this. And so if we wanted to host it, that would be great, too, because it would give the clean water group a home.

But that's that's probably a bigger issue than I was gonna say I'm not sure that the purview of water waste at that point. I think it's I think um Department of Health should probably host it obviously with our support. Yeah, it was David Tattlebum who I think envisioned a lot of this saw this as bigger than the waterways commission, bigger than the tidal waterways because it influ it impacted ponds, rivers, um

all of that and all of the feeding that goes into the waterways. Um so it was larger than just the title waterways purview of the waterways commission and that's the problem with the topic.

Yeah. There is it is it is there is no one department that can handle it um without the without the support of other departments um and other commissions because it's it is ubiquitous.

Agreed, Andrea. So, what we really should do is get uh board of health to sponsor it, but we'll be there for this topic only that we can control surveying and sampling our waterways and talk about that because people would like to know about that. Make it as you said four or five o'clock somewhere time when people can get to it. That's what I'd do. I'd reach out to Chris and just say,

"Hey, we're happy to be with you." but uh only for this one narrow topic. They they they were doing as you said they were trying to create world peace and it was it's it's unachievable. They were it was just doomed for failure.

Not that not that as Eli pointed out there's a lot of interest in town so and there has been action taken. So, um, if you're okay with it, I'll continue to work with Chris to get a date, um, probably in March.

Yeah, be great.

Do that.

See what he says.

Thanks, Andrew.

Any other news or happenings?

Only thing I've got is ice and the kind it's all in the harbor. That's what I'm talking about.

No, I want to talk I want to talk shallops.

Shallops? I'm sorry. I thought that was on the list. I didn't put it on the list.

I want to talk shallops here.

Yeah, I personally like them seared with a little butter, but what the hell is going on?

Where is their shallop gonna stay? Do they know it's the middle of August? I mean, yeah, I re I want to sail over to Cuddy Hunk and see a shallop in the middle of a crowded arbor in Cuddy. Oh my god. And Andy, where where they are they gonna park right down here on your dock?

They're they're just stopping by CBC. So we're like a quick stop so the kids can see it and then they leave that they go to Kyhawk from from CBC.

Oh boy.

They are asking for one night tied to the pier whether it's the whether it's what place where whether it's Haway Pier or it's the maritime center. and um they want to do a little press and public outreach which sounds yeah well maybe um I've reached out to Brock Cado you may know that name he was active in town and he did a I don't know if it was a thesis or he

did a lot of research on Paul Cuffy and that's who this is centered around um so he's interested I don't know if to what degree but this is a hands-off off for us. We just provide them with a birth. May have to help them through the bridge. Um because although it does have some auxiliary power, they don't want the public to see that. Um we'll see how that goes. But it's a small 16 18 foot.

I don't remember what the size and uh it's going to be it's going to attract a little bit of attention.

I like it.

I think it's great. I mean, the the big the big push is going to be Westport. Westport and Nucket. Those are the big events. There'll be film showing at the Whan Museum.

Okay.

Uh Hidden Arum, CBC, Cuddy Hunt. Those are quick stops.

Steve, if they're going to go in just make sure that they understand how the bridge currents work.

Oh, I made that clear.

I need to take them off the bridge.

I I've worked so far I've been working with Jonathan Armstrong and his brother Richard. They're sponsoring this. I guess they're the frontmen. Jonathan is the lead for the harbor when they visit paid naram and trying to get something um with the yach club. So, while they're waiting for the bridge for an hour, maybe hour or two, there can be um a stop there and uh it just, you know, the

public will be able to go down, stand on the dock, and look at it and go, "So, this is a wooden boat." Okay. And uh eat their ice cream, whatever. It's But it does, there's a lot of history to it that fascinated me when I read about them and what they were able to do as blockade runners. Um, I don't think it's going to give anybody the idea that they can conquer a trip to

Nantucket on a boat like this on their own, but uh, it did happen.

They have a toeboat, so Hey.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yep.

Oh, it is very cool.

Yeah. It's, you know, it's a kind of oddity, I guess, that um, it could put us on the map. It could at least contribute to putting us on the map.

Um, or it could at least spark some public interest in the way things used to be around here before computers.

So, Steve, come full circle.

Oh, yeah.

Andy, did you did you ask for them to come visit you or did they seek you out?

Uh, they seek us out.

Yeah, they sought us out as well.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think originally they envisioned something a little bit longer um where we were, but with Westport, I think Westport is going to be a couple days um to make the whole journey happen. I mean, they're coming back and forth from Plymouth through the canal both ways. So, it's it's pretty pretty big journey. Um they they're they're putting a lot of really good marketing materials together um to kind

of really help drive awareness. I mean, it's it's it's pretty cool.

Yeah.

Thank you, Roger, for raising that one.

Shallops are us.

Yeah.

Any other items or public comment? I'm guessing not. Um, so our next meeting, we went back to our old schedule. We have our next meeting would normally be on February 10th. That seems a little soon.

So, I'm gonna suggest March 10th.

I would agree with that.

Works for me.

Okay. Noon on March 10th.

March.

Thank you.

You're here. March 10th.

All right.

Thank you.