Approved Meeting Minutes – Wellfleet CWMPC
Town Hall
June 11, 2013
Present: Alex Hay, Curt Felix, Patrick Winslow, Ned Hitchcock
Excused: Janet Drohan, Lezli Rowell
Guests: Paul Gabriel (EPG), Pat Woodbury
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
There was general discussion of the Table of Contents presented by EPG, then PG discussed the needs expressed in the Table. He emphasized that the town needed to focus on the inner harbor and develop “full documentation” of all efforts to improve water quality.
CF discussed recent meeting of the Water Protection Collaborative (WPC) and how funds will be shared among the towns. Funds to come from state grant to Cape Cod Commission (CCC). He also discussed the process for getting plan approval, the number of hearings needed, the need to get community on board, the need for a maintenance plan, etc ultimately arriving at a sustainable process for water quality maintenance.
PW suggested that the town needs a well structured management plan with locked-in funding on a multi-year basis. Committee needs to develop an adaptive management plan including operation and maintenance (O&M) budget. AH points out that it’s easier to sell bricks and mortar than to get commitment to a management plan. The plan must be linked to environmental benefits. CF suggest that we develop contrast between O&M for a standard sewage treatment plan sized to Wellfleet’s central village and the cost of expanding cultching and the salary of a Natural Resources Officer. AH asks how we should look at town and state regulations as they may apply to the project.
The attendees discussed the overall goal of developing an ideal benthic community – a naturally diverse habitat including shellfish, finfish, eelgrass, as well as various plankton and other plants and animals.
PG says they’ll start writing and get something to us soon for revision. He urges outreach to interested parties and reminds group that the community must be on-board. CF asks for limits to spending on the plan.
There then followed a lengthy and rambling discussion of oyster reefs (AKA propagation zones). This included reference to the DMF interest in them, the need to plan for more and larger areas, the politics of the use of the flats, the distinction between sanctuary and open catch areas to be cultched, etc.
CF showed a slide of GPS tracking of recent cultch deposits. This will allow tracking of areas, the volume distributed, and coverage. This year there will be three times the volume of cultch distributed as last year.
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