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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-05-2017 NRB MinutesCITY OF SEBASTIAN NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 5, 2017 1. Mr. Gordian called the Natural Resources Board Meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Pledoe of Allegiance was recited by all. Mr. Gordian commented this is the largest participation at a meeting there has been in over a year. Ms. Frazier announced that some of the audience are members of the Indian River Charter School, students who are attending the mandatory government meeting that they are required to attend each semester. Mr. Gordian welcomed the students. 3. Roll Call: Present: Gilbert Gordian, Jr. Rose Glaser Brian O'Neill Nicole Mosblech Charles Stadelman Members Not Present: James Clifton -- Excused Also Present: Lisa Leger Frazier, Community Development Director, CRA Manager Margarita Hernandez, Parks Administrator Dorri Bosworth, Planner 4. Aooroval of Minutes — November 7, 2017 Meeting Minutes A motion to approve the November 7, 2017 Minutes as presented was made by Ms. Glaser and seconded by Mr. Stadelman and passed unanimously by voice vote. Natural Resources Board Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2017 5. Public Input Page 2 Robert Brunelle, 541 Autumn Terrace, Sebastian, FL. addressed a drainage problem. at the intersection of Quarry and Autumn Terrace. He said the water has been standing for quite some time, and they are also concerned about standing water for over a year as a health hazard, as it does smell in the summertime. He is asking that someone come out and take some new elevations Mr. Michael Flynn, 502 Quarry Street, Sebastian, FL. stated the invert of the pipe at the junction is lower than where it should be flowing. Mr. Brunelle stated that if someone would come out and look at it, they will get a true picture of the situation. It's very difficult for them to keep them clean. Mr. Gordian asked Ms. Frazier whom they could address about this situation. Ms. Frazier stated that we have a newly formed Storm Water Department. She requested a copy of the drawing, and they would go out there the next day and they could address that with the homeowners. She stressed that storm water management is an important issue in the City of Sebastian, and this is not an isolated incident. She stated the City Manager takes this issue very seriously, and the Manager has set aside a separate group that is going to address storm water only. Mr. Brunelle asked if there was some way for the pipes to be blown clear of debris. Mr. Gordian stated he was not certain. Mr. Brunelle stated he had talked to someone yesterday who was from the City who advised him to blow out the pipe with a high pressure nozzle Mr. Gordian stated they will definitely bring this to the City's attention. 6. Old Business Item A Earth Day/Arbor Day Celebration 2018 Ms. Glaser stated that the Earth Day event is set for April 21, 2018, and the plans are coming together nicely. All of the bands from last year have agreed to play again. There are 21 vendors as of today already signed up, and the last 2 years we have been running 55-60 vendors. She has followed up with a publication about our event, and Natural Resources Board Page 3 Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2017 they will mention us in their magazine. She will get that to them in February, and it will be in their March or April issue. She also said that all of the vendors on their list have been personally emailed, and there are 1 or 2 coming in daily. She welcomes ideas for activities, and they will need volunteers, Item B Role of Natural Resources Board i. Oyster Bag Project at Working Waterfront Update Mr. Gordian stated the Natural Resources Board has several roles, and one of the roles is that we partake in some of what is going on with the oyster projects in the River. Ms. Frazier stated that the Chairman provided her with contact information for Paul Giordano, and Mr. Giordano spoke to her about the existing oyster project for which his son received his Eagle Scout medal. His son has continued to monitor the growth of the oysters, and Mr. Giordano would get back to her on that. What she requested was that perhaps at the January meeting Mr. Giordano and/or his son give us a presentation on the monitoring that has occurred and the results. In addition, she brought to his attention our future project at the Working Waterfronts and that we have recently received our final permit for that project. He stated that the Boy Scouts would be very interested in assisting with that project. She also stated that it was her understanding the best time to place the oyster bags is around March or April. Her question is whether the Board wants to do that as part of the Earth Day Celebration or have it as a separate event. Mr. Gordian stated that one idea was that the Working Waterfronts participate in the event and have a table and show the diagrams of the project with a site map. Ms. Frazier stated that we could do that at that event and have a volunteer sign-up sheet and then hold it at a later date. Ms. Glaser commented that Earth Day is April 215t, and we are going to lose our launch period if we wait too long. Ms. Frazier said that she would have to find out if May is too late. She suggested that they could find out more about it in January. ii. Guest Speaker Suggestions Mr. Gordian asked if any of the Board members had any suggestions for any other guest speakers. Mr. O'Neill stated that he had recently been in touch with some people Natural Resources Board Page 4 Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2017 from Indian River County who are involved with recycling, and the idea of commercial recycling in Sebastian was brought to his attention, there being so many waterfront restaurants who generate a lot of bottles. Mr. Gordian stated that we could put that idea on the website. Ms. Mosblech asked Ms. Frazier if there is an official way to get a program started where restaurants would sign on to a kind of green initiative where they would be doing things like using less Styrofoam or plastic bags or straws or recycling those sorts of things. Ms. Bosworth stated that part of the Waste Management recycling contract had asked them to look into creating a commercial recycling program. It would be something that the businesses would have to pay for. They did come up with a program with a tier fee, and they did go out and promote it with the businesses. It is available to them, and they would get weekly pickups. It was discovered that, according to the City Code, dumpsters must be enclosed with a screen enclosure. The businesses were stating that it would cost them another $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 to get the bin into an enclosure. So staff went back to City Council and, at least for the businesses along US 1 in the riverfront area —they are part of a CRA district—, we have a facade, sign, and landscape grant, and it was added to that grant that the City would pay half the cost to get the dumpster enclosure if it was for commercial recycling. So that is an incentive, and there is a Waste Management program that will, for cost, set the business up for a commercial recycling program. But how to incentivize them to sign up for that may be something that the Board can come up with. Mr. O'Neill asked if there is a packet of information that we could take a look at and get more information on that. Ms. Frazier stated that Mr. O'Neill had provided us with the name of a woman, Stephanie Fonzio, who is the Education and Marketing Coordinator for Indian River County. She asked if the Board would like Mr. O'Neill to reach out to Ms. Fonzio and set her up as a speaker. Mr. O'Neill stated that yes, she could be one of our speakers for 2018. Mr. Gordian stated he is going to contact the Marine Resource Council to get more information on their water quality checklist in the Indian River in our section of Sebastian Natural Resources Board Page 5 Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2017 and Micco as well as Vero Beach. He will also try to contact the Indian River Lagoon people in Fort Pierce. They come up every year and give us a talk on water quality and how their list of projects is doing. 7. Member Matters Mr. O'Neill wanted to talk about the City of Miami having switched to organic landscaping. He inquired as to what type of landscaping materials are being used in the City of Sebastian. Ms. Frazier stated that they encourage native landscaping. On the Natural Resource Board website it does encourage Florida -friendly landscaping, and that is in the City ordinances. Mr. O'Neill commented that as far as fertilizing is concerned, phosphorous and nitrogen seem to be the universal problem, and he asked what fertilizers are being used on the golf course and other public lands. Ms. Frazier stated that the same types of fertilizers and/or herbicides that are used by the State for their natural lands are being used. Also, the fertilizer ban of the State is being followed. Ms. Glaser stated that they did go over this thoroughly last year, and the information is on the City website, where all of the Minutes are available. Mr. Stadelman asked if, other than what the City is already doing for the storm water runoff and the swale issues, the Board could request a city-wide survey of the current situation, or is that something already ongoing. Ms. Frazier stated that this is a high priority. Staff has conducted storm water master plans, and they do show where all of the drainage is and all of the swales are and what is being maintained and what is flowing where. She is not certain if this study is complete. She opined that the Board can ask for any type of study they would like to see, and if there is cost to it, it will have to be brought up to City Council. Mr. Stadelman asked if this is something the Board can bring up for a vote to present to the City. Ms. Frazier stated yes, since this is a recommending Board, it can present whatever it would like the City to look at. Mr. Stadelman stated that a full survey of what is involved would give the Board a picture of what needs to be done, and he would like this brought up at the next meeting. Mr. O'Neill asked if the Board could get a copy of the master plan. Ms. Frazier said that it could be gotten from the City website, and if it is not there, she will supply a copy. Ms. Frazier emphasized that this is not an easy fix, that the City is very much aware that this is an issue and one of the top priorities of the City. She stated there are 3 issues with storm water: moving it, treating it, and storing it. We store it for flood purposes, we move it for flood purposes, but we also have to make sure that it is being treated. Unfortunately, the way the City has developed, instead of putting in curb and gutter with Natural Resources Board Page 6 Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2017 underground piping, the City was developed with swales in everyone's front yard within their property line. So it is imperative that the private property owner cleans out the swales and maintains the elevation of the swales, and that is not something that is 100% doable, especially with an older population. So if you have only 20% of the population maintaining their swales on their properties and 80% not, they are going to get the blockage and the backup that we see repeatedly. That does not mean that there are not City -maintained ditches or systems that we need to address also. But that is how Sebastian has been developed. You can't go onto someone's property and do work for them and not for the next person. It has to be all or nothing, and she thinks that is what the City is struggling with. Mr. Stadelman asked if he could put that matter on the agenda for the next meeting. Mr. Gordian said yes, he could. Mr. Gordian stated that either the City or the County did have someone cleaning the quarter -rounds a year or two ago, and he asked Ms. Frazier if she knew if that project was abandoned. She stated that the project was abandoned sometime ago. The swales still need to be maintained so they are not allowed to overgrow. It is a matter of intensive maintenance. Mr. Stadelman suggested that it might be something to be tied in with the St. John's Water Management District and the Indian River Estuary people. He stated that he knows it's a lot of money, but it could involve state, federal and local from which funds could be gotten. Ms. Frazier stated there is money available to do some of these green infrastructure studies, and she was hoping to get some of that money. One is the DEO that has a community technical grant, and it comes out somewhere in the March -April -May time period. You submit for it, and they will help you do this planning on an overall study. Ms. Mosblech asked, if the City thinks this is a trend that is going to continue, and could it be linked to excessive rain storms, climate change, etc. where we are looking at a long-term trend in this direction, or are we just not maintaining the current system. Ms. Frazier could not answer that, as it would probably be just an educated guess, but that everything Ms. Mosblech said is probably correct on both levels. She also stated we do have updated flood maps that FEMA just issued, and staff is comparing them with the old maps. They did not change much in the City. Mr. O'Neill stated that in South Miami they are requiring new homes to have solar installations when their homes are built. He was interested in knowing the Board's Natural Resources Board Page 7 Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2017 opinion about that. Mr. Stadelman stated that he works with the Florida Solar Energy Center as a Technical Specialist, and that program is very controversial. He stated that program is mostly going to benefit homeowners building new homes. It did add a substantial cost. We have to look at what the overall trends are with solar, including the solar farms, energy management systems that are being installed in houses, as well as other green energy such as hydrogen storage systems and other things coming in the future. A standard solar system on a house usually runs about $20,000.00 to $40,000.00, on which there is a federal tax credit. Then you net meter that back through FPL and, depending on what your position is on that trend, a large solar farm with the management of the solar being done by a third party may be a more feasible way than putting solar systems on everyone's house. You have to look at what the goals are, how the houses have been built over the years, what the affluence of the neighborhood is. FPL's position was during the last election, if one person is being subsidized for $20,000.00, then the other person should also get the subsidy. Even though they lost, that was their position. So they are really going to have to look at that in the future. He stated he did a lot of work with Miami -Dade on their solar projects. He stated he would prefer large solar farms and have it distributed to energy management systems in everyone's house. Miami took a vote, and they re going to put it on all new houses. Mr. O'Neill stated that everything comes down to money, but from what he read about it, it seemed very popular. Mr. Stadelman stated that solar hot water is the best thing that can be done. The technology is ever changing. He stated when he first started in the solar business he sold the systems for $7.00 to $8.00 per kilowatt. That price is down to about $3.00. The cost is going to drop again with the new technology that is coming out —new ways of making solar panels. Plus, the government is involving itself on how you use your electricity, etc. There was a lot of backlash about that as well. Plus, you're forcing the builders to put on a product that maybe not everybody wants because it is another system that needs to be maintained and serviced. Also, solar panels do have a lifetime of about 20 years, and that is not considering any type of storms or other damage. People love them on their houses, but it has to be done with certain guidelines. 7. Member Matters Ms. Frazier stated that our meetings are the first Tuesday of the month, which would be January 2nd, and she is recommending this Board change their meeting date just for January from January 2nd to January 9d'. Natural Resources Board Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2017 Mr. Gordian called for a motion. MOTION: by O'NeilI/Stadelman "I make a motion." ROLL CALL: Mr. Gordian — Yes Ms. Glaser -- Yes Mr. O'Neill — Yes Ms. Mosblech -- Yes Mr. Stadelman -- Yes Total vote was 5-0. Motion Carried. AM 8. Adjourn — There being no further business, Mr. Gordian adjourned the meeting at 6:41 p.m. By: 0 � k . J . L Chairwoman Nikk rig Date: z ' 12 -Z�l�'