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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-03-2020 NRB MinutesNATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 3, 2020 Chairman Stadelman called the Natural Resources Board to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Pledae of Alleaiance was recited by all. III. Roll Call Present: Mr. Charles Stadelman Mr. Thomas Carrano Ms. Donna Ware Mr. Carder (a) Mr. Bradley (a) Zoom Mr. Powers (Zoom) Ms. Lovell (Zoom) Ms. Mosblech (Zoom) Ms. Callaghan (Zoom) Also Present: Ms. Kim Haigler, Environmental Planner Mr. Robert Loring, Senior Planner Ms. Barbara Brooke -Reese, MIS Manager Ms. Janet Graham, Technical Writer (Zoom) IV. Aooroval of Minutes After all Board members having had a chance to review the Minutes, Mr. Stadelman called for a Motion. Mr. Carrier had one correction. On the first page, the Minutes note that he attended by Zoom. He was actually present in Chambers. A motion to approve the Minutes as presented with the exception of the change as noted above was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Ware, and approved unanimously via voice vote. V. Announcements A. Comprehensive Plan Public Engagement on December 2nd, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Ms. Haigler stated that this will be a public engagement event here in Council Chambers. She explained that it will be in a workshop -type format. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 3, 2020 MEETING Mr. Loring explained it will be to review the main elements of the proposed Comprehensive Plan for one more review before it goes for proposed final adoption. It will then be implemented in early 2021. Mr. Stadelman called on the public to give any input they may have at that time. Ms. Lovell inquired regarding the recommendations this Board made to the proposed Plan at its last meeting. She asked if those recommendations were presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission and what the status of those comments is. Mr. Loring stated that the comments were duly noted, and there was a long discussion about them. Those comments were taken back to Kimley-Horn, and they implemented a lot of the verbiage that was discussed. Some of the information that was commented on actually already exists in other sections of the document. Ms. Haigier stated that all the suggestions that were made regarding the Conservation and Coastal Management Element were addressed. On the City's homepage online at the bottom are all of the newest variations of the Comprehensive Plan elements. Any time in the process, suggestions can be sent to her. B. Christmas Parade Cancelled Mr. Stadelman reviewed that the parade last year was a success, but for safety reasons there will be no parade this year. VI. Public Input — None VII. New Business A. Stormwater IPM Sub -Committee Update Ms. Haigler stated that the first meeting of the Stormwater IPM Sub -Committee was held yesterday in Council Chambers. She made a PowerPoint presentation of the assets the Stormwater Department covers such as the canals, ponds, ditches, weirs, dams, etc., and discussion was had regarding some of the projects that City staff has been doing that were IPM related over the past few months. The Sub -Committee members were assigned some of the City's key pests to research the biological controls for these pests. At the next meeting there will be a more in-depth review of the biological controls and the non -chemical control methods. It was decided that the meetings for the Sub -Committee NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 3, 2020 MEETING Would be every two weeks on Mondays at 2:00 p.m. Mr. Carrano stated he was at yesterday's meeting, and the unique thing for him was that several members of the public were present and gave a good deal of input. Their main concerns were the use of chemicals and things that were not done in the past to the residents' satisfaction. Mr. Stadelman asked if there was any comment on the WOW product. Ms. Haigler reviewed that at the last City Council meeting, staff received approval to purchase WOW to use in parks, since it has already been approved as part of the Parks and Properties IPM Plan, and to just spot spray some areas of concern around the dams and weirs where immediate control is necessary. It has not been used in the aquatics or in the parks yet. Small patches of hyacinths and cattails were tested in the past, and it worked well. There was some other vegetation it did not work well on. Mr. Stadelman asked if there is a chance of developing a large volunteer group to manually pull the weeds. Ms. Haigler stated that is not an easy job, and it is also dangerous. Mr. Stadelman inquired as to what happened with the mechanical harvesting. Ms. Haigler stated that was covered in yesterday's meeting, and it was also discussed at the last meeting of the NRB. A lot of vegetation was removed in the Hardee Park area. She estimated that probably about 50% of the problematic vegetation from Hardee Park to CR-512 was removed for $25,000.00. It was quite overgrown, so there was a lot to be removed. B. Sustainable Sebastian Initiative: 5-Year Implementation Plan Spreadsheet Review comprehensive document Ms. Haigler displayed the Spread Sheet on the monitors. She reviewed the goals and individual tasks that are set forth on the spreadsheet. There are some items that will not yet have been addressed, and she will update the spreadsheet regularly and update it on the website as well. She has also added the hyperlink on the website and other links on the City's website that will bring people to the NRB website. She wants to be sure that each item is covered in some way as a draft on the NRB website so that the tasks can be built upon from time to time. She described other links that will take people to other webpages such as the Audubon Society, etc. She invited input from anyone who has ideas to share. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE 4 MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 3, 2020 MEETING Vote to approve plan for presentation to City Council at November 18th meeting Ms. Callaghan inquired regarding the spreadsheet whether the NRB is to vote on that document as presented at this meeting. Ms. Haigler said yes. Mr. Stadelman complimented Ms. Haigler on the spreadsheet and asked If the Board members wanted to go over the document section by section tonight. It was the consensus of the Board that that would not be necessary. Mr. Carrier stated it is assumed that this is a dynamic document and that it will change as more input is received. He also said there were a number of items that were referenced in the spreadsheet. He suggested that businesses are going to be curious about things such as Surfrider Ocean Friendly Restaurants, etc. If the hyperlinks include links to the homepages, it will facilitate the businesses and residents tracking further, especially to the WAS site. Ms. Haigler stated there are many references to the WAS on the NRB website as well. Their materials are the best reference for this area. They do the testing and develop the best management practices for this area for landscaping. Mr. Carrier emphasized that, in order to develop interest from everyone, the website needs to be easily navigated. He commended Ms. Haigler on how the website is being developed. Ms. Callaghan likes the spreadsheet and the idea of encouraging residents to enroll in different programs. She is unclear where the subject of doorhangers was left at a prior meeting. Ms. Haigler said the doorhangers would be distributed on a small scale to help get the awareness out to the residents. Also, there could be small signs put in a few yards to help with public awareness. It would be calling attention to the landscapes that minimize sod and enhance native plantings. Ms. Ware suggested having an annual review of the project. Ms. Haigler suggested having reviews more often than annually. She also stated that she would like to see three Sustainable Sebastian projects going at a time. She thinks that would be a good goal for the NRB to set beginning in 2021. Hearing no further comments/questions from the Board members, Mr. Stadelman called for a motion. A motion approving the Plan for presentation to City Council at their November 18th meeting was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Mr. Carrier, and approved unanimously via voice vote. C. NRB Website Edits NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGES MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 3, 2020 MEETING Presentation of current site organization and content Ms. Haigler recognized the MIS Department for their work in developing the City's new website. She displayed the entire new City website on the screen and focused on the NRB's section with links to other websites that relate to that section. Discussion of additions and changes needed. Ms. Haigler plans to update the website every month. If anyone has comments or subjects that they would like to see on the website, she will be glad to put those on there. Ms. Haigler thanked the MIS Department for their guidance. It was the consensus of the Board that the new website is a great improvement, and they thanked Ms. Haigler and the MIS Department for their hard work on this project. Ms. Callaghan suggested that a calendar showing upcoming NRB meeting announcements be instituted. Otherwise, she likes what is there so far. Ms. Brooke - Reese, Manager of the MIS Department, said that it was decided that there be an events calendar that represents not only Riverside Park but other events that are going on in the City like the 5K run, etc., and the plan is to integrate NRB's events into that calendar. It is available on the front page of the website now next to the Community Events Tab, next to the Meetings Calendar. It will be more prominent that way. IfM Ms. Callaghan requested that, if the Indian River Lagoon Council has a summary of results from the Day in the Life water -quality event, they share that information, as it might help the Stormwater Sub -Committee if it shows some positive outcomes from an event because of what is being done in Sebastian with the City's sormwater. Ms. Haigler stated that information Is still being compiled. She will include that on the Oyster Garden page. Ms. Ware reviewed that, since there will be no Christmas Parade, the Art Club is going to be in the Park on November 21st and again in December (she was not sure of the date), and there could be a table there if staff wants to do that. Ms. Haigler said she has all of the supplies to do seed packets. Mr. Stadelman suggested supporting the Chum Bucket program, a local non-profit group. They work from the school and deliver a lot of food to families every week. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE 6 MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 3, 2020 MEETING X. Staff Matters Ms. Haigler reviewed that at the Day in the Life event there was discussion about how the oysters are crowded in their baskets, and the cages are so heavy they can barely be lifted at this point. Staff has the materials to build more baskets. The existing oysters need to be taken out for a day before breaking them up can even be discussed. Indian River Lagoon Council has just put out a forth for their grants that are due in January. One of them is a community -based grant which is for a small amount. Community based means that it is all volunteer based. She is going to forward the information on that grant to everyone on the Board. Discussion has just begun about putting out more baskets off the other municipal docks. There was also a donation offered from ORCA for shoreline vegetation, for which the major funding would be for shoreline installation so that the volunteers and staff can install the living shoreline part. She needs a few volunteers to be champions for this, and she will have to gather the volunteers and put the events together. She will send the information out, and she would like input on this matter. XI.. Items for next Aoenda A. Earth Day & Arbor Day Celebration Planning Ms. Haigler stated that Arbor Day is on April 30th, and Earth Day is on the 22nd. Earth Day is typically done the week before Arbor Day. She thinks that might be the date for the Pelican Island Festival, but she will have that information at the next meeting. Mr. Stadelman volunteered to be MC if the event happens, and Ms. Haigler said Brian O'Neill is still going to handle the entertainment. XII. Adjournment There being no further business, Mr. Stadelman called for a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Ware, and passed unanimously via voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 6:53 p.m. By: \ XC i. / Date: 4 1P C . (c�(i Jg