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BOARD OF SELECTMEN EMERGENCY MEETING
DECEMBER 27, 2012
Chairman Story called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. In attendance were Selectmen Story, Bear, Mountain, Walker, Town Administrator Tracy Blais, Mayor Holaday of Newburyport, and Senator Bruce Tarr.
Sam Joslin gave an update of the erosion problems on Annapolis Way and the four homes in jeopardy. He noted that two of the homes are not habitable and two others may be accessed to retrieve personal items, but cannot be occupied. Water/sewer and power have been cut to these properties. These houses will be posted after a further inspection and the homeowners will be advised of their options. Bob Connors requested that the unoccupied homes be secured from vandalism and sightseers. Chief Reilly advised that he would close off the street and try to secure the beach side so that only residents will be allowed in the area. Steve Batchelder asked if they would have help from the Town. Sam advised they would be there thru the night and into the weekend. It was asked if there was a long term fix in the works, like boulders, as hard structures seem to work. Connors thanked the Selectmen and the Mayor for calling this meeting. He noted that southern Plum
Island has been in an emergency since December 2010. We have attempted to work with the State and ACOE and now we are faced with a catastrophic situation. Annapolis Way may be breeched within the week and this could affect up to thirty eight homes and the water/sewer infrastructure. P.I. is not a virgin barrier beach and we need to defend our properties and our sewer system. We do not need more negotiations with the State. Selectman Walker asked if our “state of emergency declaration” needed to be extended as it expires at year’s end. At Senator Tarr’s direction, Selectman Bear moved to extend Newbury’s state of emergency order for an additional six months to cover all homes on Plum Island (not just Annapolis Way), seconded by Selectman Mountain and voted unanimously. Connors noted that the ACOE does not recognize
our local SOE so we may need to address our order to the Colonel of the NE district and the Secretary of the Army for the assistance necessary. It was suggested that Newburyport also extend their SOE, although homes in Newburyport are not in jeopardy at this time.
Mayor Holaday advised if there is a breech on Annapolis there is a redundancy built in for one time use for either water or sewer but it will take time and effort. We have a catastrophic event in place but if tonight’s tide breaks through we cannot take action. We must wait for ACOE and DEP. We will stand up to DEP if needed. Tarr noted that the situation is difficult now because our range of options is small. We need to identify the threats and possible options. A breech at the center needs to be evaluated. Local government needs to decide if we can deploy stone through the Conservation Commission and I am not sure the CC can authorize a hard structure
under these circumstances. We need a plan and check list for what to protect, points of vulnerability, the obstacles and what we have to work with. A letter to all levels of government should be faxed at once analyzing these matters. Doug Packer of the Conservation Commission advised that hard structures would not be permissible on the barrier beach due to the wetlands protection act in place. DEP has allowed coir bags, dozers on the beach and beach scraping but rocks would be a hard sell. Tarr agreed, saying that an executive order might be needed for a hard structure. Other options need to be explored. He suggested Newbury have Counsel look at the state laws to see what can be modified to allow us to take these actions. Walker asked if it was the barrier beach designation that made it different from Marshfield. Doug advised that Marshfield had a hard structure in place so they just shored it up. He noted that if houses have been built and
water/sewer connected, it should be the responsibility of the state and local permitting authorities to protect these structures. Tarr acknowledged that engineering would be needed to make structural changes. Representative Tierney may help but he would need engineering plans, availability of materials and ability to place these materials. The DEP and the Governor should be made aware of the actions we want to take ASAP.
It was determined that the meeting should be continued to allow for a site visit during daylight hours and it would be reconvened at PITA Hall on Plum Island at 4:00 p.m. for discussions and decisions on actions needed. Selectman Walker moved to continue the meeting to Plum Island for a site walk and then to reconvene the meeting at PITA Hall at the conclusion of the site visit, seconded by Selectman Bear and voted unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Sirois, Admin. Asst.
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