Marion Harbormaster Isaac Perry told the Marine Resources Commission on April 19 that he is troubled by the Harbormaster Department’s rising indirect costs, which he estimated to top out at $188,000 for Fiscal Year 2020. He asked that the item be included for discussion on the MRC’s May 17 meeting agenda.
Alluding to the Town’s 2020 Annual Report and his own revenue export report for the last three years, Perry said, “You’ll see the indirects in there…. It’s been a hot-button issue [and] it’s becoming a serious problem.”
A $6,000 annual increase in indirect costs to the department was followed in FY20 by a $9,000 increase. By comparison, Perry estimates that Mattapoisett pays approximately $70,000 in indirect costs.
“If it keeps within that trend, come this time next year that could be a serious problem,” he said, suggesting the problem be brought to the attention of both the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee. “This is going to be a problem going forward.”
MRC Chairman Vin Malkoski told Perry he will work with him and Deputy Harbormaster Adam Murphy to craft a letter over the next week, using figures from Perry’s three-year spreadsheet.
“The harbor cannot serve as a profit center for the town; the town does not own the waters,” said Malkoski.
Perry speculated that some of the problem stems from shared employees and legal costs, but he will construct a detailed report with percentage breakdowns for the selectmen’s and FinCom’s consumption.
Chris and Nat Bryant, brothers who own an aquaculture license for a half-acre of space, attended the meeting and expressed concern that they may be left standing by new regulations and will not have had input before they become law.
“Nobody’s making a lot of money out there, and to add another $3,000 in expenses,” said Nat Bryant, is a concern.
“The other concern that we have … is this is going to put all the other shellfishing farms out of business in Marion,” said Chris Bryant. “For now, it will be just my brother and I working under these conditions … from what we’ve heard.”
Malkoski, explaining that the subcommittee’s conclusions will be brought under the whole MRC’s review, with whatever the MRC recommends then reviewed by the Board of Selectmen, did not promise the Bryants an opportunity to participate in the think tank.
“The Town was stuck with a bill for $11,000 to clean up a mess … that is what we’re trying to address,” said Malkoski, who acknowledged the Bryants’ strong performance and track record but stated that the MRC’s first obligation is to protect the Town.
Shellfish Officer and Deputy Harbormaster Adam Murphy stated that the Harbormaster’s Department never said that everybody is going to be out of business.
Chris Bryant referenced the oyster festival he and his brother brought to Marion and alluded to the challenge that the coronavirus pandemic has posed to their business, including three unsuccessful attempts to expand to another half-acre of farming space.
“We would just like to be talking on the same page and not be talking on rumors and possibilities,” he said.
The Town’s new pump-out shed, canceled for 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, is now up and running, according to Perry in his Harbormaster’s Report. Also installed are two new Island Wharf transient floats, and Perry says the floats, replacing those that were damaged beyond repair by a storm in 2019, are installed and will soon be up and running. A dinghy dock was installed in the past week as well, leaving only a couple of scheduled float replacements left for installation, including one at Silvershell Beach.
With only availability holding up the replacement of an outboard motor that went down last year on a patrol boat, the Harbormaster Department is spending $3,000 on motor repairs as a temporary fix until July when the new motor is expected. Voters approved the motor’s replacement at last fall’s Special Town Meeting.
“It’s not a hit that we can’t overcome,” said Perry, noting that the repair money will come out of the Waterways Account.
Perry told the MRC that he believes the only harbor-based article on the Warrant for the May 10 Annual Town Meeting is Article 17, $16,000 for the replacement of a motor and associated equipment for a pump-out boat. Perry said he expects to only need $5,000 of those funds, the rest being expected as a reimbursement from the state Division of Marine Fisheries but cannot be confirmed until January 2022.
Revised plans for a new Maritime Center will be presented before the Board of Selectmen on Monday, April 26, in a 6:00 pm Zoom meeting, and Perry asked for MRC members to attend in support.
The harbormaster is holding off on completing commercial mooring and aquaculture regulations until after the May 10 Annual Town Meeting so the process can take place via in-person subcommittee meetings.
In response to requests for an open house to meet with the MRC and visit the present harbormaster facility, Malkoski suggested a Saturday morning for a couple of hours. He told the meeting he will approach Town Administrator Jay McGrail with May 8 or 15 as potential dates.
Perry said he still needs to complete a grant application and send it to the Seaport Economic Council by May 1.
Salem State University will no longer be Marion’s supplier of soft-shell clams, but Perry said he is still trying to get the clams from Salem State this year.
Finding another supplier will take time, and Murphy told MRC member Scott Cowell he will put together a list of possibilities “once the regulations are behind us.” Murphy told the MRC that he is preoccupied trying to get all the equipment in the water and operable for the 2021 season.
Based on news that Marion intends to resume in-person public meetings after Town Meeting is held on May 10 at Sippican School, Malkoski is hopeful that the next meeting of the Marion Marine Resources Commission scheduled for Monday, May 17, at 7:00 pm will be held in person, location to be determined.
Marion Marine Resources Commission
By Mick Colageo