The harbormanagement committee held a working meeting on December 1st which lasted approximately 2 1/2 hours.
Still only a partial group, the “guys” got together with David Vine and spent the first hour of the meeting discussing the location of the building, parking lot and landscaping. At the November 10th meeting the concensus was to leave the building right where the trailer is, so this meeting they discussed what, if any, ramifications there were if they moved the building 30 feet closer to the pier. Donnie Colpak asked about the parking lot’s original designed to have two entrances with about 187 spaces. According to David Vine, this was from years of planning with a ferry terminal in mind, but now one entrance will work provided the existing entrance is made bigger. Chuck Famolare said the entrance would need to be painted with a white line down the middle to clearly mark the entrance and exit. Another reason the second entrance won’t work is because cars and trucks would be exiting on a corner, which would impede traffic and cause potential accidents. Paul Rupp suggested checking with both police and fire regarding the second entrance before making their final decision.
The first row of parking, near the current Harbormaster’s trailer, has been slated for trailers. When asked about a crowded parking lot, Famolare stated these spots can and will be used as double parking spots. However, there are only three times the lot gets jammed packed and they are: events like Sandcastle Day and 4th of July (can’t remember the third day).
Joe Duplin, jr had questions regarding the law pertaining to having a certain amount of green space. Also said that Deer Island’s landscape is indiginous to Boston Harbor and would like to see the walkway at the landing have similar plants, etc. Mike Carney wanted additional picnic benches near the building and barrels with swinging lids to keep the seagulls from picking Winthrop’s trash. Others mentioned to keep the trees limited and add regular benches along the walkways as well.
The lighting in the parking lot will be updated, including lights on the pier being changed, two more light poles added, lights on the barge, security gate, bumpers, de-icers and bottom slips.
Finally the meeting moved forward to discuss the building itself. There’s a permit already in place for a 2500 square foot building. A few of the guys asked David Vine what it would cost if they threw away the current drawings and started over again. The answer – lots!
Next they talked about the toilets (heads), showers and security. Security they soon realized was and is a big concern and not one to be taken lightly. This brought up questions like hours of operation, where’s the entrance, can the transient boaters and commercial fishermen use it during off hours, should they be accessible from inside the building only, on the outside or both? Though this topic clearly needs more time to ponder, a suggestion was made to consider putting that empty space in the middle of the building rather than at the back. Then the heads and showers can be accessed from both inside and out during working hours and events. Closed off after-hours.
Next meeting was scheduled for Dec 8th with new appointees, however, nobody has been either appointed or re-appointed as of yet. New plans will be distributed to John Crosby by the 12th of December ready for their next working meeting December 15th.
Tags: Chuck Famolare, David Vine, Deer Island, Donnie Colpak, harbor Management Committee, Joe Duplin jr, John Crosby, Mike Carney, Paul Rupp, Winthrop Harbor, Winthrop Harbormaster, Winthrop MA