HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - WREC - 09/05/2019 Meeting Minutes
Weir River Estuary
Y Park
Committee
Thursday September 5, 2019
Cohasset Town Hall (41 Highland Ave)
WEIR RIVER
ESTUARY PAR[C
This is a Tri-Town Committee, appointed by the Boards of Selectmen for Cohasset, Hingham and Hull, not the
501(c)3 non-profit Watershed Association. Formed in 2002, the purpose of the WREP Comm is to support each
Town's Master Plan/Open Space Plan in the Weir River Estuary Park through:1)Land protection, 2)Conservation
and restoration of wildlife habitat,3)Stewardship education, and 4)Recreation which supports habitat protection.
1. Call to Order: Members present — Sharon Allen (Hingham), Patti Coyle (Hingham), Scott Plympton (Hull),
Judeth Van Hamm (Hull); absent — both Cohasset members Dick Avery and Tom Bell. Quorum failed
unexpectedly due to miscommunication. Since 4 of the 6 members were present, a draft of the minutes had
been forwarded for review 3+weeks prior with positive comments/no updates,and there was interest in the
update from Hull, the meeting began at about 4:20pm. The minutes from the previous meeting in Hull Town
Hall were approved for posting. No other votes were taken. Patti Coyle agreed to take the minutes and also
chaired the meeting,which ended at—5:30pm.
2. Updates on activities (since last meeting on July 11th, 20191:
a) Cohasset: Before leaving on a family trip, Dick Avery let us know that midges are back in nuisance numbers
around Straits Pond. Judeth Van Hamm volunteered to contact Cohasset's Center for Student Coastal
Research (CSCR)to learn more and report back at the next meeting. Scott Plympton had read in the Hull
Times that the "Discovery Paddle Tour of Straits Pond" on Saturday July 13th did occur as planned with a
small group of kayakers. The Straits Pond Watershed Association (SPWA) will hold its 2019 Annual
Meeting at 7:00pm on Monday Sept 23rd in Cohasset's Paul Pratt Public Library.
b) Hull: Status of the conservation at the end of Richards Rd.: The gist of Ms.Van Hamm's & Mr. Plympton's
update is that the landowners decided to 1) list this property with a local Sotheby's Realtor, and 2)take a
break from discussions with the Hull Land Conservation Trust (HLCT). MA Dept. of Conservation &
Recreation (DCR) Land Protection Specialist Jim Comeau had also reached-out to the family about selling
the entire lot. Weir River Woods/CPA funds: Ms. Van Hamm also reported that the HLCT stepped in and
paid$13.9K as expected by the seller on June 30;the CPC funds will be available&transferred at a later date.
c) Hingham: Welcome new Hingham member, estuary neighbor Sharon Allen. Patti Coyle has also been re-
appointed to an extra term (beyond the normal two 3-year-term limit) by the Board of Selectmen. Both
women are up-to-date with the required MA Ethics Training. Ms. Coyle reported that she and her dog
Murphy were part of the North &South Rivers Watershed Association's (NSRWA) Float in Hingham's July
41h Parade.The 2019 theme was"Celebrate Hingham's Natural Beauty";this float— NSRWA's Subaru,with
WREPComm &Weir River Watershed Assoc (WRWA)—was the only environmental group to participate.
3. National Estuaries Week September 14th-215t,2019 https://estuaries.org/get-involved/new/ Patti Coyle will
continue to promote NEW and compile available digital photos into some kind of presentations for Facebook.
4. Priorities for FY2020
a) Administrative: Hull members will need to take the on-line MA Ethics Training at www.mass.gov.ethics.
Cohasset plans to hold Open Meeting Law Training for on Wed October 16th
b) Action Items that can be completed before December 315t: tabled at this time
c) Action Items longer-term: 2020 Spring Clean-up Day(last Sat in April [4/25]); 2020 Hingham 4th of July
parade; 2020 National Estuaries Week(3rd week in September).
d) Revisit the Committee's original purpose, functions& achievements as the 20th anniversary approaches.
S. Next meeting:Tentatively scheduled for 4:00pm Wednesday, November 6th at Hingham Town Hall