John Trotter urges Dennis Waterways Commission to adopt internal upgrade list for boat slips

John Trotter, a resident of Forest Pines in East/South Dennis, told the Dennis Waterways Commission on June 10 that the current relocation-lottery process for the Sesuit Harbor Basin makes it “difficult to predict” when existing slipholders can upgrade to larger vessels and urged procedural reforms.

Trotter said the lottery and a long wait list can leave longtime slipholders with “no preference or priority” over newer, out-of-town applicants, and outlined three recommendations he asked the commission to consider: continue a documented relocation-lottery process with email notice to eligible participants; create an addendum listing medium and large slipholders who have expressed interest in upgrading (prioritized by prior time on the wait list combined with actual time in the Sesuit Basin); and allow the harbor master to approve slip and storage modifications when practical. “I thought, given my situation ... needing a larger slip that I would make some recommendations to Connor and the waterways committee,” Trotter said.

Connor, who was addressed by others during the meeting and who is preparing draft regulatory changes, told the commission he has reviewed other harbors’ approaches and favors establishing an internal wait list by slip size so current slipholders who want to change or move up have a predictable order. “You could do an internal wait list for each size,” Connor said, describing a system where, after an initial seeding (either by lottery or a seniority-based method), the list would proceed in ordinary application order and give members a clearer idea when they might expect an available slip.

Members discussed operational details the commission would need to resolve, including whether there should be a nominal fee to keep applicants on the list, how many times an applicant could defer an offer before being moved down the list, and how to seed an initial permanent list. One member suggested allowing a single deferral with a second deferral pushing the applicant to the bottom. The commission noted that formal changes to the waterways regulations would require a committee recommendation, select-board review and other town approvals; Connor said enforcement-related changes might require additional departmental sign-offs.

Trotter also recommended that allocated slips be issued on or after June 15 of the season to respect visiting-boater capacity rules and that the upgrade list be fee-based with terms similar to new-slip wait-list rules. He acknowledged his own interest in upgrading and said he was offering the recommendations “in the interest of continuous improvement” rather than seeking special treatment.

The commission did not vote on regulatory changes at the June 10 meeting; members asked Connor to draft proposed amendments (highlighted changes to the current waterways regulations) for committee review at a future meeting and said they could forward a recommendation to the select board if the committee supported it. Connor also noted a state motor-boat safety requirement referenced in the discussion (referred to in the meeting as the “Hanson Malone Motor Safety Act”) that is scheduled in the transcript to enter enforcement Sept. 1 and should be reflected in local regulations.

Next steps: the commission asked Connor to prepare a draft of proposed regulatory changes and documentation of the relocation lottery process for review at a future meeting; no final decision or regulatory adoption occurred at the June 10 session.