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Rock Harbor Improvements Committee

    ON THE WATERFRONT

    Rock Harbor Fight Goes On in Eastham

    Divided planning board wants harbormaster closer to the boat ramp

    By

    EASTHAM — The arguments over where to locate the new harbormaster building at Rock Harbor remain unresolved. After asking the planning board for its advice, the Rock Harbor Improvements Committee now appears to be sorry that it asked.

    The Rock Harbor committee, which is part of the town’s capital projects committee, held its ground at an April 29 work session against some planning board members’ advice to move the planned harbormaster building to a location closer to the boat ramp. The new plan had been submitted to the planning board for a site plan review.

    “I guess what I honestly feel is, if you want to try to force us to move the location of the building and you do that by denying [site plan approval] — then I will be forced to appeal like any other applicant would,” said Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe. Beebe is one of three members of the Rock Harbor committee, with select board member Jared Collins and finance committee member Thomas Gardner.

    At a May 10 Rock Harbor committee meeting, Beebe said she was now leaning towards a different strategy.

    “My sense is we should withdraw the application” to the planning board, Beebe said. She noted that site plan approval was not required for a building permit.

    The April 29 work session had been scheduled after the planning board’s April 21 site plan review hearing, when members asked whether the partially obstructed view at the new location of the harbormaster building posed a safety issue.

    “I still have not seen any compelling reason why this building couldn’t go back to its original location,” said planning board chair Dan Coppelman after a presentation from the project architects. The original proposal, he noted, had been favorably reviewed at an informal planning board meeting months before.

    But planning board member William Craig said he wasn’t in favor of the original location.

    “At the risk of not being reappointed,” said Craig, “I wasn’t too hot on the first plan because I thought putting the building out there was a sharp stick in the eye to Dyer Prince Road residents.”

    The building design and waterside location in the original proposal were changed after the Rock Harbor committee heard objections from neighbors and other property owners about the effect the building would have on the environment and natural look of the area.

    Beebe said she erred in not asking for an informal review of the second plan as was done with the first one. “At this point, I honestly don’t want to go over the same ground again,” she said.

    Planning board members were split at the joint work session, with some citing the building’s distance from the boat ramp as a safety issue and other members satisfied with Beebe’s assurances that staff, including the wharfinger, would be present on the docks during the busy season. In recent years, the wharfinger has not been working exclusively at the harbor.

    “I don’t think the location is that critical now, and I would accept it where it is,” said planning board member Joe Manas.

    Coppelman said he was a regular user of the ramp and had witnessed some “significantly incompetent people” backing up trailers there.

    “There’s a lot of activity going on down there, and I just want it to be safe,” he said.

    Town Planner Paul Lagg pointed out that, should the board not approve the site plan based on a public safety issue, they would need to justify the decision.

    “My guidance is to take into account the fact that there is no presence whatsoever of the harbormaster at Rock Harbor now,” said Lagg. The current proposal, he said, “provides some measure of presence.”

    The hearing on the project was continued to the planning board’s May 19 meeting.

    ON THE WATERFRONT

    New Harbormaster Office Plans Move Forward

    Ways to reduce cost of construction are sought

    By

    EASTHAM — The plan for a new harbormaster’s office and site improvements at Rock Harbor is scheduled to begin the permitting process next month, with hearings set for April 13 before the conservation commission and April 21 with the planning board.

    Though $1.3 million in funding was approved at the May 2018 town meeting, progress on the project has been choppy, as abutter objections to a plan presented last September caused the Rock Harbor improvements committee (a subcommittee of the capital projects committee) to pause before moving forward with the project until they could come up with a design more palatable to neighborhood residents.

    That effort resulted in the approval of new plans in January that relocated the site for the office from the waterside to an area north of the parking area, reduced the height and size of the building, and eliminated much of the walkways and decks in the earlier design.

    “Are the neighbors now OK?” asked select board member Art Autorino at the Rock Harbor improvements committee’s March 15 meeting.

    The proposed Rock Harbor harbormaster office is depicted here from different perspectives.

    “I don’t think that they’re OK in the sense that they’re happy, but I think they like the new location,” replied committee member Jacqui Beebe, Eastham’s town administrator.

    The plan now includes a shed-like building of approximately 560 square feet, which includes a 55-square-foot reception area just inside the entrance, an open office area, a restroom for employees, and a south-facing deck.

    “That vestibule will have access to somebody behind a desk that [the public] can correspond with, get any paperwork, do any signing of permits — anything that’s needed like that,” said Liz Ranieri, a design principal at Kuth Ranieri Architects.

    Stairs and a ramp on the east side of the building provide access to the office. A hydration and rinse station for public use are situated in the open area below the structure.

    The extensive decks and walkways proposed on the initial plan have been replaced with crushed shell pathways.

    While the project seeks regulatory approvals, the designers and the capital projects committee will be looking to reduce estimated costs after receiving a $1,678,938 construction estimate from Kuth Ranieri.

    Rendering of the new harbormaster office at Rock Harbor by Kuth Ranieri Architects.

    “We had some concerns about elements they put in and elements that were not in, that we know are expensive,” said Beebe.

    One item left out of the estimate was knotweed removal, which can cost around $100,000, she added.

    Beebe said on Tuesday that they were trying to trim about $300,000 from the budget to cover knotweed removal and other contingencies and “we just think there are extras that can and should be cut,” she wrote.

    “We don’t want to contribute more than $750,000 of our dollars that we have to this project,” Beebe said at the March 15 meeting. “We have a match with the grant. If we contribute $750,000 and the state contributes $750,000, that sets the budget a $1.5 [million] maximum.”

    She suggested removing landscaping, which includes drainage and paving, from the construction contract. “Anytime we go out to bid, the contractor will add a premium cost to manage that,” she said. “They will most likely be subcontracting both of those things.”

    The town is already working with pavers through the water contracts, Beebe added. Paving could be added to one of those contracts, “and I’m sure they would give us a better price than going out as a separate item.”

    Shana Brogan, Eastham’s projects and procurement director, and other town staff were “more than capable of managing” a contractor hired for landscape and site improvements, Beebe said.

    ROCK HARBOR

    Harbormaster’s Office Design Approved

    Last-minute request for revisions by local alliance is denied

    By

    EASTHAM — The Rock Harbor Capital Projects Committee voted on Jan. 11 to accept “design number two” for a harbormaster’s office, a shed-like, 563-square-foot building on eight-foot pilings.

    “I like it,” said committee member Jacqui Beebe, Eastham’s town administrator. “I think it’s going to work for us, and I think we’ll be able to still keep its functionality and make it attractive.”

    The first design for the structure, a 594-square-foot office with 1,297 square feet of ramps, decks, and landing, sited just north of the boat ramp overlooking the docks, was opposed by a group called the Rock Harbor Alliance (RHA) after it was presented last September. The group objected to the building’s design, scale, and location, and were concerned about increased activity at the harbor.

    Since that time, the committee worked to alter the building’s design and location to make the project more palatable to the RHA. In addition to reducing the overall size of the building, the committee moved the site to a spot north of the parking lot where the current harbormaster shed is located.

    In a letter dated Jan. 11 addressing the new design, the RHA asked Beebe to consider decreasing the height of the building and adding an enclosure that would limit access to the space underneath it to prevent debris from accumulating and “eliminate the concern of an eyesore beneath the building.”

    The committee declined to reduce the height of the building. “I honestly don’t want to go any lower than we’ve gone,” said Beebe. As for the space beneath it, she said, “To make that understory not accessible at all would be a real waste of the underside of the building.”

    Though the RHA letter stated that the group viewed the new design and northward relocation of the building as significant improvements, it asked that the town “reconsider the wisdom of spending $1,300,000 to build a Harbormaster office building to house three staff members in this tenuous environment. We will continue our partnership with the town with the intent of being a positive influence on both current and future plans for Rock Harbor.”

    Shana Brogan, the town’s projects and procurement director, noted that the 2018 Annual Town Meeting had approved $1.3 million for the whole project, which includes the replacement of docks and floats and building the walkway to the parking areas.

    “They will continue as individual members and, perhaps, as a collective to ask us to minimize the development of the harbor for both environmental and aesthetic concerns,” said Beebe. “They just want less. Less is more for this group.”

    While Harbormaster Scott Richards said the new design was functional as an office, he found the view from the approximate height of the office to be restricted compared to the earlier site adjacent to the water.

    “The building itself would serve every purpose,” Richards said. “My concern now is, [due to] the cedar trees there and the height of the building being shorter, you’re not allowed to see over the bank where the slips are closest to the building.”

    The project’s next steps will include a landscaping plan and bringing the building design process far enough along to move forward with permitting.

    “I think this is a good compromise for all groups involved here,” said committee member Jared Collins. “As long as it works for staff functionally and we’ve moved it as much as we could for the abutters and all that, it seems to me we’re in good shape on this.”

    WATERFRONT

    Eastham Harbormaster’s Office Plan Downsized

    A new concept is scaled back, in an effort to satisfy abutters

    By

    EASTHAM — The Rock Harbor Improvements Capital Project Committee unveiled a new design concept for the harbormaster’s office at its Dec. 28 meeting. It involved a smaller footprint, lower roofline, and different location than its controversial predecessor.

    “I think we’ve taken the building totally out of any viewscapes that any of the abutters might see,” said committee member Jacqui Beebe, who is also Eastham’s town administrator. “I honestly think we’re going to be able to pretty much hide this building in the tree line and with plantings. You’ll see it but it’s not going to be as visible as it was.”

    The committee requested the revision from Kuth Ranieri Architects in response to abutters’ criticisms of the first design that was presented in September.

    The earlier proposal included a 594-square-foot office with 1,297 square feet of ramps, decks, and landings, sited on the east side of the parking area just north of the boat ramp overlooking the docks.

    A group called the Rock Harbor Alliance (RHA) met with committee members in October to discuss the proposal. In a follow-up letter to Beebe, the group asked that the structure be the smallest possible, placed as far north as possible, at or near ground level, and be considered for seasonal only use.

    The revised design has a 563-square-foot shed-like structure on eight-foot-tall pilings to protect the building from sea level rise and expected storm surges. The new design calls for a 432-square-foot ramp and one staircase. The decks and landings total 191 square feet — a 550-square-foot reduction from the previous design.

    The current harbormaster’s shed sits on the site of the new proposed location for the harbormaster office, north of the parking lot on the Eastham side of Rock Harbor. (Photo Linda Culhane)

    Tony Schoener, who owns three properties on the harbor — a house and lot on Keene Way and a lot on Dyer Prince Road — had, at an October meeting on the project, served as RHA’s spokesperson. The group’s main concern, he said, was about the possibility of increased use of the harbor. “We want to minimize the amount of activity that is in Rock Harbor,” he stated at the time.

    Since then, design revisions have focused on the building itself, its location and scale. Schoener was present at the Dec. 28 meeting, and, after hearing the proposed changes, still had questions. He wanted to know if the new design, which had been reduced in height from 29½ feet to 24½ feet, could be closer to ground level.

    “I thought we heard something about 5 feet or 5½ feet,” said Schoener, referring to the overall reduction in the structure’s height.

    “I think I tried to promise you a 4½-foot reduction in height, and we’ve gotten a 5½-foot reduction in height overall,” said Beebe. “But,” she added, “the pilings still remain eight feet.”

    “So again, just to be clear, by code or regulation it cannot be lower?” asked Schoener.

    Beebe said that, while the building inspector required 7½-foot pilings, further height reduction would require additional railings to be installed around the building.

    “I don’t think you’d be happy with the aesthetic of that,” she said.

    Harbormaster Scott Richards noted that, while the revised sketch suggested the smaller building would still be functional, he would need to go to the site to determine how much of the harbor could be seen from the building’s new location. “I’m sure we can see most of what we want to look at,” said Richards.

    The capital project committee will circulate the new design concept to the RHA and to the select board for their feedback. No other public presentation of the plans has been announced at this stage.

    “I think the feedback from both those groups would be valuable to us,” said committee member Thomas Gardner.

    Rob Marcalaw, the project manager from Kuth Ranieri, said that, in order to stay on schedule, they would need a decision on the concept within two weeks.

    WATERFRONT

    Rock Harbor Panel Mulls Change of Plan

    Committee rejects idea of repurposing antique house as office

    By

    EASTHAM — The Rock Harbor Improvements Committee will not recommend moving an antique half Cape from 60 Dyer Prince Road and turning it into the harbormaster’s new office. Instead, the group may propose a new design modeled on the Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office.

    WATERFRONT

    Worries Stall Rock Harbor Building Plan

    An alliance of neighbors puts pressure on town officials

    By

    EASTHAM — The Rock Harbor Improvements Committee, a subgroup of the Capital Projects Committee, has hit pause on a plan for a new harbormaster’s building while town staff try to get the neighborhood on board.

    “We’re not comfortable spending more money on any other design until we have an agreement that a majority of neighbors would like one option over the other,” Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe said at the committee’s Oct. 26 meeting.

    Some residents have objected to a proposed 600-square-foot harbormaster’s building with additional decks and ramps, including Donelle Denery, who wrote that she opposed increased use of “environmentally sensitive areas” in an op-ed column in the Oct. 1 issue of the Independent.

    About 30 neighbors met virtually with Beebe and other town staff and officials on Oct. 21 via Zoom, in what should have been a posted public meeting under state law because two of the three voting members of the Rock Harbor Committee were present.

    The following week, in response to questions from the Independent, Beebe issued a statement acknowledging the violation. “Although it was not intentional,” Beebe wrote, “I did violate the Open Meeting Law by sending a Zoom meeting invitation to a member of the Capital Projects Committee, who joined the call. I take full responsibility and will be more careful about invitations in the future.”

    The Open Meeting Law requires that if a committee quorum is present the meeting must be advertised in advance and open to the public.

    The Oct. 21 meeting was recorded and is available for viewing on the town’s website, Beebe wrote, adding that, while “many ideas and concepts were discussed, none of these concepts or ideas have been deliberated on or decided by the Capital Projects Committee.”

    Tony Schoener, an abutter to the project, spoke on behalf of what he called the Rock Harbor Alliance, which he said began meeting in September and now has more than 50 members.

    “We certainly want the harbormaster to be able to take care of the town’s business in that area,” said Schoener. “We’re also clearly interested in having as small an impact on the general harbor area as possible.”

    The harbormaster’s office would also house the shellfish constable and a natural resource officer. They currently operate out of a 168-square-foot area in the Department of Public Works building on Old Orchard Road.

    Beebe said the natural resource employees were usually out of the office working on projects and doing regulatory work. Permits would continue to be sold at the beach sticker office on Old Orchard Road.

    Eastham neighbors object to a plan for a 600-square-foot harbormaster’s building at Rock Harbor. (Photo Linda Culhane)

    During the Oct. 21 meeting, Schoener questioned whether all three employees needed to be headquartered at Rock Harbor when the resource areas were spread throughout the town and much of the work was not specific to the harbor.

    “We want to minimize the amount of activity that is in Rock Harbor,” said Schoener. “One of the things we’re struggling with is we don’t really want an office building in Rock Harbor.”

    “It is an office building,” responded Beebe, “but it is the place where the harbormaster can see the harbor and watch the ramp and assist people. I don’t have another place I can put them. In 2018, the town said I could put them at Rock Harbor. I understand what you’re asking me to do.  I just don’t have another place where I can put them.”

    The meeting went on to discussion of the location and design of the building, with a number of attendees giving a thumbs up to the idea of it being a half Cape. Recent suggestions included the relocation from 60 Dyer Prince Road of an antique half Cape that is facing demolition, or building a replica of that house and incorporating elements of the original.

    Another idea suggested at the meeting was giving the building a buoyant foundation, to reduce the overall height of the building. It would otherwise need to be raised at least 7½ feet above grade to keep it above the flood level. A buoyant foundation would allow the structure to be closer to ground level because it would float if there were a flood.

    Planners had included a floating design in their initial set of options, but it was dismissed because of concerns that a floating foundation would not fare well in the Cape’s icy, windy winters.

    “They actually loved the idea of a floating amphibious building,” Beebe said at the Rock Harbor Committee’s Oct. 26 meeting. “I reached out to Building Commissioner Justin Post to do some research for us. Has this ever been permitted in Massachusetts? Is it allowed in the building code here?”

    In an unsigned follow-up letter to Beebe, the Rock Harbor Alliance asked that, due to “tenuous off-season conditions,” the town consider a mobile or removable office. “It was stated that this option was not viable due to zoning restrictions, but we believe it would be permissible by special permit,” the letter stated.

    Should the town proceed with plans for a permanent office building, the letter asked for the smallest possible structure, placed as far north as possible, and tucked into the landscape, at or near ground level. The letter also asked that the town consider using the facility only in season.

    The Rock Harbor Improvements Committee’s members are Town Administrator Beebe, Thomas Gardner of the finance committee, and select board member Jared Collins. Gardner was the member who was invited to and present for the Oct. 21 Zoom meeting, although he did not speak.

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