Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-03-2017 NRB MinutesCITY OF SEBASTIAN NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 3, 2017 Chairwoman Ring called the Natural Resources Board Meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all. 3. Roll Call Present: Chairwoman Andrea Ring Bob Progulske Rose Glaser Gilbert Gordian, Jr. Ann Lucier Vicki Tunker — arrived late Dick Krull (Alternate) Members Not Present: James Clifton Keerthi Weragoda (Alternate) Also Present: Frank Watanabe, City Engineer Susan Mann, Recording Consultant 4. Agenda Modifications Ms. Ring called for agenda modifications, hearing none she complimented staff on the excellent job they had done on revising the agenda presentation. 5. Approval of Minutes — December 6, 2016 Meeting Minutes Ms. Ring asked if there were any corrections or modifications to the minutes. Mr. Gordian requested the minutes be corrected to show him as excused because he did notify staff that he would not be present. Mr. Watanabe responded that Mr. Gordian did notify staff that he would not be in attendance, but he had not received the information until after the meeting. Ms. Ring stated that the minutes would be corrected and placed on next month's agenda for approval. 6. Unfinished Business Item A. Earth Day — Saturday April 22, 2017 Ms. Glaser reported that she has sent out the invitations to vendors and has received a good response. She noted that A Tree for Me will not be present; Waste Management Natural Resources Board Page 2 of 5 Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2017 will have the dumpsters for recycling electronics as well as the equipment for document shredding; only one food vendor has registered, Bruno's Nachos. She expressed disappointment that the vendor who conducted the chalk art activity would not be present and suggested that possibly some other arrangement could be made. The consensus was to contact the art teachers at the elementary schools or any one that may be interested in the activity. She continued that the fat tire bicyclist would not be participating this year. She stated that the Board needs to find some activities to fill the open spaces. Following discussion with various ideas presented it was agreed that finding more activities will need to be addressed. Ms. Glaser reported that in addition to arranging the vendors she is working on the fire and food permits that are required and needs to secure a first aid kit. Mr. Watanabe responded he will provide one. Mr. Gordian asked for details about the arrangement of the food vendors within the park. Mr. Watanabe responded that it is up to the City Manager whether or not to allow food trucks into the park, but that it is a similar situation to Clambake where it is not convenient to not allow them to park on the grass. Mr. Watanabe stated that if the Board approves a motion to allow food vendors in the park he will take it to the City Manager for consideration. A motion to ask the City to allow the Board to have food trucks in the park, on the east side, for the Earth Day Event was made by Ms. Glaser, seconded by Mr. Gordian and passed unanimously by voice vote. Mr. Watanabe stated that he will take the request to the City Manager tomorrow. Ms. Glaser reported that all four of the bands contacted have shown interest, but she does not have anything definite arranged yet. Item B. Spoil Island Update by Mr. Clifton Ms. Ring asked if anyone had any information in Mr. Clifton's absence. Mr. Watanabe responded that it was his understanding that Mr. Clifton was waiting for the permits which were supposed to be sent to the City, but nothing has been received. Following discussion about the actions that had transpired, it was agreed that the understanding was that Mr. Clifton had applied for the permit and it was to be sent to the City. Mr. Watanabe stated that he will send Mr. Clifton an email inquiring about the status of the permit application. He will also get the contact information and will communicate with them directly. He will then advise the Board via email. Natural Resources Board Page 3 of 5 Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2017 Item C. Gopher Tortoises Day, April 10th Ms. Lucier reported that the City Clerk will download and prepare the Proclamation for City Council adoption at their meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 6:00 pm. She suggested the as many of the Board members as possible be present. 7. Public Input None 8. New Business Item A. NRB Banner — Purchased Mr. Watanabe stated that he has the banner with him and it is exactly as the previous one. He requested that a member of the Board be the custodian so that it would not be misplaced and available for events. Ms. TuakeLucier volunteered to take the banner. Item B. Teachers request to add local Composting Program to the NRB website a) Message from Denise Morales Mr. Krull reported that he had done some research on line of appropriate sites, and sent the information to her. He apologized for not bringing a copy of his email. Mr. Watanabe requested that all emails be sent to him or Michelle so they can keep the Board informed. Mr. Watanabe suggested letting him have the opportunity to package the information regarding the websites and bring back next month for approval. Item C. NRB Calendar of Events Ms. Ring explained that the benefit of having a Calendar of Events the Board could track upcoming activities and even if they don't have a meeting they will still have the event planned and details worked out. a) January, 2017 — Shoreline Cleaning Ms. Glaser stated that cleaning up along the shoreline is planned for this weekend. Ms. Ring asked what will be done if the forecasted thunderstorms develop. There was discussion regarding planning to do the clean-up monthly or quarterly and possibly joining KIRB or other groups that clean up the waterways. Concern was expressed regarding the members of the Board working together outside of a meeting. Mr. Watanabe explained that he had asked for clarification from the City Attorney regarding the Sunshine Law and learned that the Board can work together on a project, talk with each other, but cannot discuss any upcoming action items. Ms. Tunker suggested securing a copy of the KIRB schedule and presenting it at the next meeting for approval and inclusion in the Calendar of Events. Following discussion regarding the shoreline clean-up it was agreed that Mr. Watanabe would provide the necessary supplies, the group would meet at 8AM at Mulligans and Natural Resources Board Page 4 of 5 Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2017 work northward. Ms. Ring stated that will pick up the supplies and handle texting those participating letting them know if it will take place or has been cancelled due to weather. b) February, 2017—Presentation on spraying waterways—Ann Ms. Lucier stated that she contacted the Indian River Lagoon Council representative suggested by Mr. Watanabe and they do not do presentations. She then contacted Mr. Charles Jacoby, Lead Scientist, Bureau of Water Resources, SJRWMD and he will do a presentation on the Lagoon in February. Ms. Ring asked if the presentation will be televised. Mr. Watanabe responded that it will be necessary for the Board to pass a motion to approve the presentation and he will forward that to the City Manager. A motion to have the speaker identified above make a presentation in February was made by Ms. Lucier, seconded by Mr. Gordian. Ms. Ring called for discussion. She asked for details on the presentation. Mr. Watanabe responded that he believes the presentation is a standard one, but he will provide the speaker's bio to the Board. He stated that although the presentation may be general in nature the Board could ask their specific questions. Ms. Ring called for any further questions. Hearing none she called for a vote. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Following discussion it was agreed that the meeting should be kept short allowing approximately 25 minutes for the presentation at the beginning. Mr. Watanabe stated that he will place the speaker after approval of minutes and will set the agenda as suggested. c) March, 2017 — Pelican Island Ms. Glaser stated that Pelican Island Festival is March 18th, and the City receives free space. She explained that it will be in Riverview Park, from 10:00 AM Until 4:00 PM, and this is an anniversary year. Following discussion it was agreed that having the Natural Resources' brochures on display would be helpful. Mr. Watanabe offered to have Michelle contact the agencies she had contacted in the past and request a variety of brochures be sent to the City. In response to the suggestion regarding coloring books or other child related items, he stated he would have her ask about them. A tentative schedule was set with Mr. Gordian covering 10 AM until Noon, Ms. Tunker covering Noon until 2 PM and Ms. Ring and Ms. Lucier covering 2 PM until 4 PM. It was agreed that if no one else is available Ms. Ring and Ms. Lucier would help all day. Mr. Watanabe stated that he will have staff set up and take down the booth. Natural Resources Board Page 5 of 5 Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2017 Ms. Ring continued on to April events and it was agreed that Earth Day will be the event for that month. The consensus was to discuss the events for May forward at the March meeting to allow time to receive the information from KIRB regarding clean ups. 9. Staff Matters Item A. Stormwater Park —Access along the pathways Mr. Watanabe stated that it was brought to his attention that the Stormwater Park trails are becoming over grown. He explained that because it is a natural park there is no regular schedule for mowing or trimming so as to protect the natural state and the species which inhabit the area. He stated that the City Manager had suggested possibly the Board Members could routinely monitor the park and report back when something is found to need attention. He stated that the main entrance is off Englar Drive, it is open to the public and is heavily used. The entrance that requires attention is the one at the rear which is off Easy Street and Schumann Drive. He provided details of the park size, configuration and how it goes from retention ponds and trails into wetlands. Mr. Gordian suggested looking into establishing a community garden to get the public more involved with the park. It was agreed that would be a good idea to plan for the future. The consensus was for the Board members to visit the park and discuss their participation in monitoring it at the February Meeting. 10. Member Matters Ms. Lucier stated that she will not be present at the February meeting because she will be on vacation. Ms. Lucier suggested that if someone volunteers to do a certain task that they send an email out confirming that they have done it. Mr. Watanabe responded that was a good idea. He stated that the email needs to be outgoing only and requested that he and Michelle are copied. 11. Items for Next Agenda — Identified during meeting. 12. Adjourn — There being no further business Chairwoman Ring adjourned the meeting at 7:12 p.m. By: �v`JU ek �i Date: // Chairwoman Andrea Ring Approved as corrected: Page 3, New Business, Item A.