Wind-farm opponent Pam Danforth of Centerville got a gubernatorial greeting as she rowed ashore during Mitt Romney's appearance yesterday at Craigville Beach.
(Staff photo by KEVIN MINGORA)
CHATHAM - (04/12/05) With boating season in the wings, the Cape's harbor masters are putting docks in place, checking buoys and moorings and replacing pilings damaged by ice. But this year they have another springtime task: deciding whether to comply with a new law that prohibits them from charging a higher rate for nonresidents than they do for residents for boat moorings and boat slips.
David Fronzuto, president of the Cape & Islands Harbormasters Association, said a majority of towns have chosen to follow the law. But a few, like Chatham and Wellfleet, have rebelled, saying the difference in fees is akin to those charged for beach stickers. "We don't think it is discriminatory," Chatham Harbor Master Stuart Smith said. "This is a case of creating legislation without knowing the facts." A nonresident rate for one of Chatham's 2,326 moorings is three times more expensive than for Chatham owners, Smith said.
The law, a rider that state Sen. Michael Morrissey, D-Quincy, tacked on to a transportation bond bill last summer, also required that towns establish an account dedicated to waterway and marina projects, and fund it with half of boat excise taxes collected and all mooring fees. Morrissey claimed the split fee, sometimes three to five times higher for nonresidents, discriminated against nonresident boaters when both essentially received the same services. "Charging two different rates for two different people borders on being arbitrary and a tax," Morrissey said in an interview with the Times in January.
Boston snubs the law
Morrissey owns several boats and is a member of yacht clubs in Quincy, where he lives, and in Boston. Recently, the Boston Globe reported that Boston has decided not to comply with the new law and will continue charging nonresidents like Morrissey five times what they charge residents. The Globe reported that Morrissey has asked the state attorney general's office to order Boston and other communities to comply.
Soon after Morrissey's bill passed, state Sen. Robert O'Leary, D-Barnstable, filed a bill to repeal it.
"This happened at the 11th hour, in the dark of night," O'Leary said of Morrissey's use of a last-minute rider onto the huge transportation bond bill. "Most people's reaction is that it wasn't thought through and it was unjustified. We're looking to reverse it."
That will not happen in time for this boating season, however, as the quickest way would be to add it to the budget, which the Legislature probably won't pass until the end of June.
Justifying the split
Chatham Town Counsel Bruce Gilmore said a challenge to the split fees would come as a complaint to the state attorney general or as a lawsuit the town would have to defend itself against. Language in Morrissey's amendment does allow towns to justify their split fees by showing where the money translates into services provided to nonresidents - showing, for instance, how much of the fee goes toward police patrols or fire protection for the marina.
Smith, Chatham's harbor master, said he believes his town has prepared a case for how fee money is spent on services benefiting all boaters, even those who don't pay local taxes, that will stand up in court. But he doubts that will be necessary.
"I have never gotten a complaint from a nonresident about a fee," Smith said. "In fact, I've heard the opposite. Some nonresidents have said they should pay more."
Wellfleet Harbor Master Michael Flanagan said the town marina will also continue with the split fees it has in place now.
"I don't think it's an exorbitant difference between the taxpayer versus the nonresident - about $30 (for moorings). That's why we've kept them the same," Flanagan said.
Boat slips cost $300 more for nonresidents, and there was some uncertainty about whether the law also applies to them.
Harwich Harbor Master Thomas Leach said the town is leery of litigation over fees and thus changed to one fee for residents and nonresidents. He avoided lost revenue by increasing the resident fee while reducing the nonresident.
"We went with the flow," he said.
But it's not the first time Sicard has been at the center of a Steamship Authority mishap.
He was at the helm of the Katama in January 2004 when a propane truck tipped during a run between Hyannis and Nantucket in rough seas. The boat returned to Hyannis, where 30 residents were evacuated and nearby roads were closed for more than 12 hours as a precaution.
Lamson said Sicard, who has worked for the authority for 30 years, received no punishment for that incident and he is not aware of the captain ever having problems with his license.
"It was found that there wasn't anything done improperly," Sicard said last night.
"I risked my life going out on that deck trying to secure things."
Warnings received
The Steamship Authority runs ferry service between the Cape, the islands and New Bedford. Last year the boat line carried 2,673,159 passengers, 461,895 cars and 126,823 trucks and generated about $57.1 million in revenues.
According to Karen Parker, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state agency that enforces wake violations, Sicard must either pay a $50 fine or appear in court to contest the citation.
"An incident did occur that could have happened anywhere," Sicard said. He would not comment on the possibility of an appeal.
The Coast Guard, with a station near Abel's marina, and Florida wildlife officials received calls about the Katama's speed as it entered the mouth of the St. John's River, a winding inlet leading mariners to Jacksonville. The skies were clear that day and the tide was incoming, according to several sources.
Wildlife Officer William Secure issued the citation. Sicard told the officer he was traveling between 10 and 14 knots as he turned into the river. Secure reported that in addition to Abel's docks, a 23-foot outboard commercial fishing boat was damaged in the incident.
Sicard was running the Katama south to North Florida Shipyards in Jacksonville, where the freight ferry is now being widened by 12 feet. The Gay Head, the primary freight boat serving Nantucket, recently returned home after receiving the same work.
Plans called for both boats to be enlarged so they can carry 12 additional cars per trip or up to three more large trucks. Before, each boat carried approximately 42 cars or eight trucks. Steamship Authority managers hope the estimated $1.6 million project will allow the financially strapped boat line to trim some of its daily freight trips.
Abel, who has owned the marina for four years, said in a telephone interview Monday that while the wake clearly was not intentional and the Steamship Authority quickly sent an insurance agent to survey the damage, the stretch of the St. John's River is known as a no-wake zone.
Sicard said last night he did not see any signs designating a no-wake zone.
Repairs needed
His marina, which dry-docks more than 200 fishing and recreational boats ranging from 15 to 35 feet, will start suffering significant financial losses if the work is not completed by June, he said. That's when the summer's kingfishing tournaments begin and he rents out dock space to boats visiting for the competitions.
"I will take a huge monetary hit if I don't get it fixed," Abel said, adding that the rest of the year he uses that space as a staging area for customers.
"They haven't settled anything, but they haven't denied it," he said.
Lamson could not say how long it will take to determine whether Sicard was at fault.
When contacted yesterday, four of five of the Steamship Authority's board members had not heard about the incident. The fifth, Martha's Vineyard's Marc Hanover, could not be reached for comment and did not return two messages left for him.
"I'll be hearing about it soon I'm sure," said Robert Marshall, Falmouth's representative on the board. Others were also caught by surprise when they heard the news.
Lamson, who is vacationing in Florida, said in a telephone interview that because the boat line's insurance company, One Beacon, is still investigating, he decided board members didn't need to know about the incident.
"I'm treating it as an alleged incident," Lamson said. "It didn't arise to the level that I felt we needed to inform the board."
Lamson also suggested that the wind during the incident might have been blowing up to 25 knots.
Capt. Sicard had never made this type of trip, Lamson said, and likely was not used to making the maneuver without the drag caused by the weight of the vehicles and cargo the boat typically carries between the Cape and islands.
Sicard was not a member of the crew that ran the Gay Head to and from Florida for its project. But he was assigned to the Katama trip based on his seniority, Lamson said.
"I felt that it was an obligation as senior captain on the vessel," Sicard said.
Jon Hellberg, supervisor of the Coast Guard's Marine Safety office in Woods Hole, confirmed that Steamship Authority officials checked in with them before each boat left for Florida to ensure that the boats and crews were in compliance with all Coast Guard regulations.
Lamson said he's not trying to downplay the incident. But he said that he'll stand behind Sicard, who he described as having had a difficult string of luck between last year's propane truck incident and the damage caused to the Florida marina.
The Katama is expected to be back in service in June.
By KEVIN DENNEHY
and DAVID SCHOETZ
(Published: April 12, 2005 by DOUG FRASER CCT)
SSA ferry wake jars boatyard in Florida
Heading for repairs, Katama causes damage estimated at $25,000.
JACKSONVILLE - (3/30/05) The big hite boat out of Martha's Vineyard was moving too fast as it banked into the mouth of the St. John's River in northeastern Florida.
That's what Neal Abel, owner of the Jacksonville Marina, said to himself as the unfamiliar boat motored by before noon on March 15.
Then, Abel said he watched as the 5-foot wake thrown by the 235-foot freight vessel destroyed four out of five sections of a 140-foot concrete and wooden dock servicing his boatyard. The waves also tossed a smaller boat onto the dock's mangled frame.
That freight boat, the Katama, belongs to the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. Its operator, Capt. Robert Sicard, was cited for careless operation of a vessel after the incident.
Abel estimated it will cost about $25,000 to fix the docks and said that if repairs aren't made by June's busy tournament fishing season, he stands to take an even bigger financial hit.
Wayne Lamson, general manager of the Steamship Authority said the incident is still under investigation by the boat line's insurance company.
(Published: March 30, 2005 CCT)
STAFF WRITERS
CENTERVILLE - Looking to prevent "a land grab" on the state's waters, Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday called for an ocean management plan to limit offshore commercial development.
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Wind-farm opponent Pam Danforth of Centerville got a gubernatorial greeting as she rowed ashore during Mitt Romney's appearance yesterday at Craigville Beach.
(Staff photo by KEVIN MINGORA) |
And while state officials had said the legislation wouldn't affect the proposed wind farm on Nantucket Sound, foes and advocates of the alternative energy proposal made Romney's appearance a wind-farm event.
His carefully staged announcement attracted scores of people in both corners of the debate and fueled the type of political theater that often follows it.
Even as the governor ran to greet a supporter in a rowboat, hecklers lambasted him for opposing the Cape Wind Associates plan.
Romney conceded the ocean management bill would not affect the Cape Wind proposal, an ambitious plan that would build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound.
But it would prevent unchecked development in the future, he said.
"I wish (state legislation) could affect Cape Wind," Romney said. "We're just not comfortable with the idea that people could develop whatever they'd like in the waters off our shore without us having a say on it."
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Gov. Mitt Romney's proposed ocean-management plan:
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Because the bulk of the project is in federal waters, however, the state has limited oversight.
Romney's legislation would enable the Secretary of Environmental Affairs to craft an ocean management plan that regulates commercial development and streamlines the regulatory process.
He did say he hoped the federal government would also lay ground rules on offshore development.
If they had done so by now, he said, "we wouldn't be in the middle of the controversy we are right now over the wind farm."
Sen. Robert O'Leary, D-Barnstable, has filed a rival bill on Beacon Hill called the Comprehensive Ocean Resource Management Act. During the event yesterday, O'Leary characterized his effort as an attempt to push Romney "further" in its efforts, adding that the governor's bill allows for too many exemptions from state oversight.
Many of the public officials standing behind the governor yesterday served on the Ocean Management task force that helped drive this legislation.
There was also Susan Nickerson, executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the leading opposition group to the wind farm.
In her remarks, Nickerson assured those listening that the alliance would work with the Romney administration to help craft an ocean policy. And she reiterated her concerns about Cape Wind's project.
"Imagine Nantucket Sound with a string of 130 steel towers across the horizon," she said.
To which someone shouted: "Imagine clean air!"
Like many events related to the Cape Wind debate, Romney's appearance was more than your typical political announcement.
Dozens of advocates on either side of the debate were there, at times shouting each other down.
One renewable energy advocate strapped a six-foot tall model turbine on his back, while another warbled a pro-wind-farm song to the tune of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind."
In the distance, a wind farm opponent drifted onto the beach in a rowboat, with a sign reading "Nantucket Sound is Not for Sale."
Following the press conference, Romney, dressed in a suit and overcoat, jogged across the beach to the water's edge, and helped drag Pam Danforth's row boat ashore.
He asked the wind farm opponent to describe where the proposed wind turbines would be built, and Danforth, a nearby resident, pointed to the horizon.
"There are other good places for wind farms," Romney said, looking out at the sound. "This doesn't happen to be one of them."
As he walked back to the parking lot, Romney stopped to scoop up pieces of litter.
Matt Palmer, executive director of Clean Power Now and a wind farm supporter, slammed "the marriage" between Romney and Nickerson as inappropriate, citing allegations of fraud against the alliance in years past.
"The governor," Palmer said, "should be ashamed of himself."
Later, Nickerson called Palmer's comments inappropriate.
"Both Gov. Romney and the alliance favor renewable energy," she said. "The governor recognizes that a controversial project like Cape Wind can set back, rather than advance, public support of offshore wind."
Secretary of the Office of Environmental Affairs Ellen Roy Herzfelder defended Nickerson's role in the event, as well as the symbolic choice of venue to demonstrate the governor's legislation.
"It's perfectly appropriate for the governor to dramatize how he got to that vision," she said.
Renewable energy advocates questioned the governor's stand against the project.
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"In the 1970s, they said, 'We'll find other sources of energy soon,'" said Carl Freeman of Dennis, a wind farm supporter. "And in the 1980s, they said, 'Soon,' and in the 1990s, they said, 'Soon.'
"Well now its 2005," Freeman said. "And they're still saying, 'Soon.' But just not here."
Staff writers ERIC GERSHON and ETHAN ZINDLER contributed to this report.
(Published: March 19, 2005)
One dog was rescued and the other swam to safety, but when police and rescue officials arrived, Harsch was unconscious and efforts to resuscitate him failed. "When they found Johnny, his arms were around the dog," said Harsch's mother Peggy, who lives in New Seabury. "He sacrificed his life to save those dogs." Mashpee Police received the 911 call at 9:44 a.m. The caller, who was walking in the Lowell Holly Reservation, reported that a man had fallen through the ice at the pond. "The caller could hear him screaming for help," Mashpee Deputy Police Chief Al Todino said at an early afternoon press conference yesterday.
Though police and rescue officials from both Mashpee and Sandwich responded to the call within minutes, Mashpee Fire Chief George Baker estimated that Harsch had been submerged for about a half an hour before being pulled from the water. According to Baker, pinpointing Harsch's exact location was no simple task. The patch where the man fell through was roughly 500 feet from shore in a secluded conservation area on the pond's northeast corner. It's an area near the Mashpee-Sandwich border accessed primarily by walking trails that can be up to a mile from nearby roads. Mashpee police officer Sean Sullivan was the first to the scene. "There's three access areas," he said, describing the route he faced. "Two of them were blocked with snow. So I grabbed the first-aid kit and started running down a third access point off South Sandwich Road." Sullivan said he ran about three-quarters of a mile across rugged terrain before he reached the shore. "When I got to the water, by-standers were yelling and pointing to where he had fallen in," Sullivan said. "I checked the ice. I fell through to my ankles after only a few steps."
Moments later, firefighters from both Mashpee and Sandwich reached the shore's edge, having hauled heavy gear and rescue equipment down the nearly mile-long trail. A four-man team slid onto the thin ice on rescue boards tethered to officers and firefighters on shore. Harsch was found floating in the water about 500 feet out, Baker said, and by the time rescuers reached him, he was unconscious. Back on shore, Baker began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and Harsch was rushed by ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, where he was pronounced dead. Firefighters successfully rescued Rocky while Tobin made his way back to shore on his own, Baker said. Baker used the tragic event to underscore the danger of walking on ice-covered ponds, especially as the weather warms. He also said that when an animal does break through, the right thing to do is call 911. "We do animal rescues," Baker said. "Dogs will go out on the ice. Family members will go after them ... I've seen it happen before, and we end up executing a rescue for human life instead of an animal." John Cappellina, president of the Cape Cod Kennel Club, first met Harsch about 10 years ago when he enrolled in a handling class with one of his Samoyeds. Cappellina said that Harsch was a devoted and responsible dog owner, and that while it's dangerous to have dogs near the ice, he was not surprised that Harsch went after Tobin. "It's amazing how many times a year you hear about it and people still do that," Cappellina said. "People tell you not to do it, but dogs were his life."
Cappellina also said that Samoyeds are prey-driven and prone to chase things. In the conservation area, he said, having a dog off a leash is permitted as long as the dog is under control. Harsch said his brother frequently brought the dogs to the wooded area to exercise them. In addition to breeding dogs, John Harsch ran a successful business out of their Mashpee home providing employee background checks to companies. Family members said that Harsch had about a dozen clients across the country.
(Published: March 27, 2005)
SEAN GONSALVES and DAVID SCHOETZ
CCT
Would allow Secretary of Environmental Affairs to craft an ocean management plan within two years, which ensures coordination among state agencies.