Harbor staff: digital-only ramp payments start soon; July 1 late fee set as mooring inspections, a new pump-out vessel and data cleanup continue

Harbor staff reported department revenues of $165,291 and detailed a shift to QR-based, digital-only ramp payments, with a late fee enforcement set to begin July 1. Agency official said the town has collected $145,191 through the online platform, including payments for private moorings, nonresident fees and a per-foot vessel fee.

The move to eliminate cash at the state ramp is imminent, staff said, with signage, online notices, social media and an item in the town newsletter used to alert the boating public. "The late fee will be, July 1," Agency official said, noting SMS reminders had been sent to people in the database. Staff said they will station personnel on site early in the rollout to help boaters use QR codes and online payments.

Why it matters: the change affects routine access for boaters who use the state ramp and means the town will enforce a new penalty for unpaid ramp fees. Agency official said the town cannot yet calculate precisely how many boaters are in arrears because it is still converting paper records into a reliable digital database; staff described an outreach campaign to reconcile the town’s records with the state registration database and to add or contact missing accounts.

Revenue and fees: staff gave a line-item breakdown of the online revenues: payments for 251 private moorings totaling $12,550; 120 nonresident fees at $100 each ($12,000); and $120,641 collected from per-foot assessments on 857 vessels. Agency official calculated an average resident fee (excluding nonresident charges) of about $140.77 and said that figure undercuts complaints that keeping a boat in Westport is overly costly. "So anyone who says it's expensive to keep a boat in Westport, I beg to differ," Agency official said.

Enforcement and governance: members discussed raising the penalty for nonpayment — figures of $100 and $200 were mentioned in the meeting — but staff and the Chair said any change to the penalty structure would require a hearing and approval at town meeting. The group emphasized outreach ahead of that change and described ongoing efforts to notify boat owners before enforcement begins.

Moorings and inspections: the meeting included an extended discussion of mooring policy. Staff recounted a complaint alleging an illegal mooring and said an on-site check turned up a valid 2026 sticker and MS number identifying the owner; staff concluded the mooring appeared to have been permitted previously and would not be removed without further review. Members reviewed a draft mooring-inspection framework modeled on other towns’ language and suggested a three-year inspection cycle as a reasonable starting point, with rotating inspections to manage staff time.

Liability and inspector oversight were central concerns. Members agreed the town should avoid certifying dozens of independent inspectors; instead, they favored oversight by the harbor office or a small, approved list of inspectors and discussed requiring owners to sign attestations that shift liability to the owner in the event of problems.

Vessels and operations: staff reported the new pump-out boat and a separate new vessel have been sea-trialed and are ready for service; the pump-out activity to date totals roughly 50–55 visits and hauling is handled by Bay State Sewage (roughly $350 per 1,000 gallons), costs that will be reimbursed under a calendar-year CVA contract (up to $15,000). Agency official described procurement steps that used a builder on an existing GSA bid list and a contract from a Gloucester CVA coordinator, allowing expedited delivery.

Safety, callouts and summer plans: members recapped recent callouts (a pre-dawn sinking report near Secana Point and several boats stuck on sand or mud), praised cadets who helped register boats at the ramp, and listed summer outreach and safety events — including National Night Out on August 4, a joint drill on July 15, and an August point event — and said staff now have three AEDs and several first-aid kits.

Next steps: staff will continue database reconciliation to identify arrears, station personnel at the ramp during the digital rollout, and prepare materials for town meeting if the board seeks to raise penalty amounts; the committee scheduled the next meeting for August 11 and adjourned after noting commercial boring bills will be mailed after the first of the month.