MARYLAND BOARD OF PILOTS
MINUTES
DATE:June 8, 2001
PLACE:500 N. Calvert Street
3rd Floor Conference Room
Baltimore, Maryland
PRESENT:Jerald Lurie, Chairman
Captain Avis Bailey
Walter Lewis
Captain Thomas Macdonald
Philippe Masiee
Captain Eric Nielsen
Captain George Walter
Nancy Erwin, Staff Assistant,
Office of the Secretary
ABSENT:Hans Hjelde
OTHERS PRESENT:Mark Feinroth, Assistant Secretary
Harry Loleas, Associate Commissioner
Elizabeth Trimble, Asst. Attorney General
Sally A. Wingo, Executive Director
Pamela J. Edwards, Asst. Executive Director
Michael Hopcraft
Mark Griffin
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Lurie called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion (I) was made by Captain Nielsen, seconded by Captain Bailey, and unanimously carried by the Board to approve the minutes of the April 13, 2001 meeting with corrections.
REPORT OF THE INCIDENT COMMITTEE
Captain Macdonald reported on behalf of the Incident Committee that no incidents have been reported during this quarter.
BOARD OF PILOTS MINUTES
June 8, 2001
Page Two
CORRESPONDENCE
It was noted that Ms. Wingo wrote to James White, Executive
Director of the Maryland Port Administration, on April 19, 2001 asking for a report or data on current industry activity as well as projected levels of future business. A response dated April 25, 2001 was received from Mr. White stating that Kathy Broadwater, Director of Planning, would be contacting Ms. Wingo to discuss how the MPA might be able to help. Consequently on June 8, 2001, Ms. Wingo received a letter from Kathy Broadwater stating the the MPA could not forecast the number of ship calls, but felt that for the purposes of evaluating future pilot needs, historical ship calls are a good indicator.
REPORT OF THE SUNSET REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE
Chairman Lurie reported that the Sunset Review Subcommittee met on May 2, 2001 and that he and Captain Nielsen met on June 5, 2001 and talked about the preliminary issues in the Sunset Report and the work rules summary.
Captain Nielsen distributed copies of the Work Rules Executive Summary to the Board and staff members. Chairman Lurie noted that the Board will not go into Executive Session to discuss the report as indicated in the minutes of the last meeting. Captain Nielsen has prepared a handout which will be discussed in open session.
Captain Nielsen said the summary gives an overview of the extent of the existing rules. One area covered by the work rules deals with assuring that pilots have the opportunity to have adequate rest to perform the job safely. The Association has provided a framework within which the pilots have the option to take the rest they need to work safely. The Mid-Bay Transfer Station was implemented 15 years ago to address the fatigue issue. There is always a relief pilot available if a pilot is tired or ill. A relief pilot is utilized 20-25% of the time. The transfer station is located in Solomon’s Island.
Captain Nielsen stated that should an incident occur which would call into question the application of a work rule or rules, the Board will go into Executive Session to review the applicable work rules.
It was noted that the Work Rules Executive Summary does not contain a date. Motion (II) by Captain Nielsen to add today’s date and re-submit it. Seconded by Captain Bailey, and unanimously carried by the Board.
BOARD OF PILOTS
June 8, 2001
Page Three
Motion (III) by Captain Nielsen to accept the Work Rules Executive Summary into Board’s official record. Seconded by Captain Bailey, and unanimously carried by the Board.
Captain Nielsen distributed copies of the Bay Pilot Complement Report. The subcommittee considered how to best develop figures on the demand side since the MPA cannot supply this information. Consequently, the subcommittee looked at past trends and have formulated the data into the report (attached).
Captain Nielsen stated that the left hand scale of the graph represents the number of ship movements and the right hand scale represents the number of pilots. The bottom of the graph depicts the years from 1990 through 2001 (2001, predicted). Captain Nielsen noted that the numbers of ship movements and pilots for the years 1997-2000 were rather steady. From the data on the chart, one can gather that the current number of pilots is adequate.
Motion (IV) by Captain Nielsen and seconded by Captain Macdonald by the Board to include the Bay Pilot Complement Report in the Board’s official record. Discussion ensued. Motion carried.
Chairman Lurie inquired of the staff as to the status of the Sunset Analyst’s recommendation regarding recordkeeping. Board staff stated that they plan to develop databases to ensure more accurate data.
SUNSET EVALUATION
Letter dated May 16, 2001 was received from Warren Deschenaux, Director, Department of Legislative Services, regarding the Sunset Evaluation. He stated that the full evaluation of the Board must be completed by October 31, 2001. The Board will receive an “exposure draft” in early October allowing two weeks for factual review and comment before publication.
The Board authorized the Sunset Review Subcommittee to continue to meet during the summer and work with the professional staff so that when the draft of the report is available in October, the Board will be in a good position to respond to it.
BOARD OF PILOTS MINUTES
June 8, 2001
Page Four
OTHER BUSINESS
Harry Loleas distributed a chart containing a breakdown of budget allocations for all Boards within the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. He stated that the Division does not take in the amount of money that it needs to operate all the Boards. Services are delivered to the various Boards by many units within the Department. These are the indirect costs. He stated that it costs much more to run this Division than is being collected. The Legislative Committee knows that this situation exists and that it must be addressed. A Legislative Auditor is working with the Division now on a full-time basis regarding this issue.
Mr. Loleas informed the Board that the special fund bill passed the Senate but not the House. He stated that the bill may be re-introduced in the 2002 General Assembly.
Assistant Secretary Mark Feinroth presented the Secretary’s Citation present to Past Chairman Mark Griffin and thanked him for his service to the Board and the Department.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, motion (V) was made by Philippe Masiee, seconded by Captain Nielsen, and unanimously carried by the Board members to adjourn the meeting at 11:30 a.m.
With Corrections
X Without Corrections
SIGNED BY JERALD LURIE, CHAIRMAN, ON OCTOBER 12, 2001
CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 13, 2001 MEETING
On Page 3, 4th paragraph, 4th sentence, should read: “Captain Nielsen stated that whenever changes to matters which come within the jurisdiction of the Board occur, he will make it a standard procedure of the Association to notify the Board of the changes.”