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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-12-2021 IPM MinutesINTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FL APRIL 12, 2021 Call to Order -- The meeting was called to order by Mr. Benton at 2:00 p.m. It. Pledae of Alleaiance was recited by all. III. Roll call Present Dr. Cox Mr. Stadelman Mr. Griffin Ms. Callaghan — Zoom (Late arrival) Absent Ms. Munroe — Excused Mr. Carrano -- Excused Also Present: Brian Benton, Leisure Services Director Kim Haigler, Environmental Planner Barbara Brooke -Reese, MIS Manager Janet Graham, Technical Writer (Zoom) IV. ADoroval of Minutes — March 8, 2021 Chairman Benton asked if everyone had a chance to review the Minutes as presented. All indicated they had. Dr. Cox called attention to Page 8 where there is a description of an incident involving the Concha dam, and that statement listed Mr. Griffin has having made this statement. Dr. Cox felt it was he who made the statement. After discussion involving Dr. Cox and Mr. Griffin, Dr. Cox decided to let the wording stand as is and not be changed. Hearing no further changes or corrections, Mr. Benton called for a motion. A motion approving the March 8, 2021 Minutes as presented was made by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Dr. Cox, and approved unanimously via voice vote. V. Announcements -- None VI. Public Input — None INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF APRIL 12, 2021 VII. New Business -- None VIII. Old Business A. Non -Chemical Methods Table Submitted for Sub -Committee Member Approval Ms. Haigler reviewed that this is the table that was first introduced at the beginning of these meetings when Sub -Committee members made suggestions, and discussion was had as to which ones were feasible for the City's system. As further research was done, some wording was changed. Some of the items that were added were the skimmer device that was suggested by Mr. Stadelman, other wording was changed per discussions at other meetings. This is the culmination of all the edits over the past 10 meetings. She asked for questions or comments from the Sub -Committee. Mr. Stadelman asked if the City would be able to use a third party such as Manpower or Labor Force to bring in people who may otherwise be unemployed as groups to go into areas to pull these weeds. Mr. Griffin replied regarding this suggestion. He stated that when it comes to the City's swales and ditches, which is most of the system, that part of the system is dry most of the year except during a recent event when infiltration is occurring. The City does mechanical removal of the vegetation, debris, silt, muck, etc. a number of times during the year for the entire system. He stated this happens for every part of the entire system at least once a year. That is done with City crews as well as monthly with the City's contractors as well. There is a mowing contractor for the City's rights -of -way and ditches. That is the largest contract that the City has. When it comes to the small part of the system that is actually wet most of the year, the canal itself, City crew have done mechanical removal at different times in the past. That is a very equipment -intensive, fairly skilled job that is required. Unfortunately, as a result of the intensity of use of the equipment, the specialized equipment, the amount of handling that is necessary, it is an expensive operation. He reviewed that the City undertook to remove approximately 1,800 feet of vegetation in the Hardee Park section of the canal last year, and the cost for that was about $27,000.00 for that limited section. The Stormwater Department will make sure to keep that tool available to use in the future, but it is a very expensive tool to use as well as skill- and equipment -intensive as well. So, it would probably not be an option to use a third party or volunteers. (At this point, Ms. Callaghan joined the meeting via Zoom.) Dr. Cox called attention to the section which lists Mechanical Removal. He asked if the INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF APRIL 12, 2021 City owns a certain number of feet back from the canal for the whole length of the canal as an easement so that the City can get mechanical equipment in there without having to seek permission from the landowner(s). Mr. Griffin stated the City does have an easement in some areas. The ownership of the canal banks and the seawalls is a complex issue. It varies by location as to whether the City has ownership or whether the property owner has ownership. There are a number of easements, but they are widely scattered, and that does present some logistical problems. That is one of the problems the City had with the contractor who worked at Hardee Park. The contractor did not have access everywhere they would like to have had access. The City staff showed the contractor everywhere they could have access, but the contractor had some challenges. Added to that is the fact that there are environmental restrictions. The City planted a number of years ago some high -quality native vegetation in the Hardee Park area, and even though it was explained to the contractor that they may not access that area, that was still going on, and staff had to stop that immediately. That made their job much more difficult. Dr. Cox explained that he asked that question specifically regarding the Brazilian peppers that have overgrown banks in many places. Mr. Griffin reiterated that in many areas the City does have easements. In the City's major ditches, there are easements for those, and a lot of work that has been done in the last several months has been exactly that type of work. The Stormwater crew have been working within these easements to remove those massive growths of invasives, and they have made tremendous progress in doing that, but it is a little complex to do along the canal itself. There being no further questions or comments from the Sub -Committee members, Mr. Benton opened the item Old Business, Item A for public input. Seeing no one in chambers and hearing no one on Zoom who wished to speak, Mr. Benton called for a motion on this item. A motion to approve the non -chemical methods table as reviewed was made by Mr. Stadelman, seconded by Mr. Griffin, and approved unanimously via voice vote. B. Draft Sections of Plan II -VI Submitted for Sub -Committee Member Approval Ms. Haigler stated these sections were created after several discussions were had since the first meeting. She said that some notes were added along the way, and this version contains all of those notes. Some notable changes relate to Structures. There was a discussion that called for adding that the baffle boxes and catch basins are never sprayed. That discussion is better suited to chemical methodology. Also added was Replacement of Structures as one of the items. Dr. Cox suggested that. Also, excavation by City staff for the outfalls was added per Mr. Griffn's suggestion. She explained that any words in bold are words that will be addressed in the Glossary. She called for Sub -Committee INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF APRIL 12, 2021 members who feel that additional words should be addressed in the Glossary to let her know, and she would see that those were added. Ms. Haigler next addressed the Canals. There were no notable changes in this section. Regarding the Ponds, all of the dredging references were changed to excavation per Mr. Carrano's suggestion. Also added was the planting of emergent vegetation because some of the canal shorelines are not seawalls, and they are within City easement areas. As the ditches, rights -of -way and dry retention areas were added to this section. She has reworded the seawall description to define the purpose of the seawall. That was per discussion with Mr. Carrano. Regarding the buffer zone, Mr. Carrano suggested that the buffer zone be defined better. She is putting it in bold and will clarify it in the Glossary with supporting documentation. Regarding the further non -chemical recommendations, the skimmer device was added. She noted that the word "dredging" had not been changed to "excavation, and she said she would make sure to change that. There being no additional questions or comments from the Sub -Committee, Mr. Benton opened the meeting for public input regarding Old Business, Item B, Draft Sections of the Plan, Sections II -VI. Seeing no one in chambers and hearing no one on Zoom who wished to speak, Mr. Benton called for a motion. A motion to approve the draft sections II -VI of the Plan, including changing the word "dredging" where it appears to the word "excavation" on Page 16 was made by Mr. Stadelman, seconded by Mr. Griffin, and approved unanimously via voice vote. IX. Sub -Committee Member Matters Ms. Callaghan stated her appreciation for all the hard work that has been done by staff and Sub -Committee members regarding this plan. Mr. Stadelman brought up the trash can by the boat dock. He has observed that the crows take the garbage out and scatter it around. Mr. Benton stated his staff will look into that and see if there can be a cover of some sort put on the garbage can. Dr. Cox reported on an item that was discussed at a previous meeting. He has since gone to Port St. Lucie and spent time with the Public Works Deputy Director and his staff. Dr. Cox obtained photos of a probiotic unit and put together a PowerPoint presentation INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF APRIL 12, 2021 and sent it to Ms. Haigler. He hopes she shared it with members of the Sub -Committee. He stated there is also some heavy equipment there that is an all-purpose excavation tool. He described how the equipment works and stated it is an expensive piece of equipment, but he suggested having one of those on hand to cover the length of Sebastian's canal by "walking" and using an attachment like a huge circular saw on the end of one arm to cut back the Brazilian peppers would be very useful. He said that Peacock Lake was very clear thanks to the probiotics they are putting in it. Dr. Cox will continue to investigate the methods used by Port St. Lucie in controlling the invasive vegetation in their waterways. Mr. Benton asked if Dr. Cox had discussed with the official from Port St. Lucie whether they still use chemicals. Dr. Cox said yes, they do. Mr. Benton asked if that included Peacock Lake. Dr. Cox said he does not know what is used in Peacock Lake. He just looked at all of February's workorders for what was done. They are using glyphosate and one other chemical pretty extensively. Mr. Benton wanted to make it clear that probiotics is just one tool in their toolbox; they still have to apply herbicides and chemicals to their lake in addition to just using probiotics. He wanted to make that clear to the Sub -Committee members. He also spoke with someone at Port St. Lucie as well to find out their entire plan, and it was told to him that they still use chemicals. Algae and submerged and emerged floating vegetation will always grow in our bodies of water. Another thing with the probiotics at Port St. Lucie is that they use it in a self-contained lake. We do not have any self-contained lakes within the City. They are also looking into purchasing an incubator for bacteria, which would allow them to do a lot more probiotic usage. Mr. Benton asked if their intent is to only do self-contained water bodies with this new bacteria incubator. He said the answer to him was yes, only self-contained water bodies. He added that Port St. Lucie currently uses the same contractor that Sebastian uses. Mr. Benton staled he also asked if Port St. Lucie has an estimate of the annual savings since 2017 in the cost of using their spray contractor that resulted from the use of probiotics. They could not supply him with that information, but the gentleman did say that he knew that they had used less herbicides, which is a useful practice, and which Mr. Benton feels is pretty common in most areas. Most places are trying to use less herbicides. So, for the Sub -Committee's information Mr. Benton stated that he wanted to make sure that was known —that they do still require some spraying of Peacock Lake, which allows them to treat algae, submerged vegetation, emerged vegetation, and floating vegetation, because it does continue to grow. But the probiotics does seem to work for them. Mr. Benton had another discussion with someone regarding the probiotics, and this gentleman said that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. So Mr. Benton suggested that it is one of those things where different elements and different places are using these processes has to be looked at to see how they fit compared to Sebastian's systems. One of his concerns is that Sebastian lakes are not self-contained. INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF APRIL 12, 2021 Dr. Cox explained that he was curious as to how probiotics worked and what kind of equipment is needed, and now he thinks he understands better. He stated that all the things that Mr. Benton just mentioned are absolutely true. Mr. Benton stated he appreciates Dr. Cox searching and finding a resource that uses probiotics. Mr. Griffin thanked the Sub -Committee members who have mentioned ideas that should be explored, especially the idea that we should look into seeing if the probiotic approach that is used quite extensively by Port St. Lucie is one that would benefit Sebastian in terms of reducing nutrient levels and reducing herbicide applications. Fortunately, the contractor who Sebastian has hired to do the work here in the City is the contractor, probably of those In the area, most experienced and skilled and, in fact, the one used by Port St. Lucie for their probiotics program. That is Aquatic Vegetation Control. The work they have done to dale indicates that it can be a helpful approach in reducing nutrients and reducing the amount of herbicide applications that are required for a body of water — not eliminating it but reducing it. It is also applicable in areas where there is a large nutrient concentration in that body of water. That nutrient concentration can come about in a number of ways. It can come about because it is a very productive lake or pond, and where there are ponds where cattails have taken over, that is often an indication of large amounts of nutrients. So his staff looked for a situation like that, and Garden Club pond is one that would meet those criteria well. There were some negotiations with the City's contractor to see if we could try a year -long monthly probioticcontrol program, measure the results, look at the efficacy, and hopefully the overall dollars saved in the overall picture by this approach. There was a very good proposal to add this work to the contract the City already has, and he is pleased that the parties have come to terms, and it has been approved. The contractor will be starting shortly, and this work will be performed on Garden Club pond on a monthly basis. Mr. Benton added that he, Mr. Griffin, and Ms. Haigler had a discussion this morning, and the staff are going to be investigating some baseline data that will help in showing the effects of the probiotics within Garden Club pond. Thus, they will have something to factually show the difference that it makes and what occurs within that pond. Dr. Cox asked if the Garden Club pond is self-contained. Mr. Benton said that it has a ditch outfall on the south side. Mr. Griffin further stated that Sebastian does not have any fully self-contained canals or ponds in the system. X. Items for Next Agenda A. Proposal of New Amended Meeting Schedule INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 7 MINUTES OF APRIL 12, 2021 Mr. Benton stated the last schedule had the last meeting coming up at the beginning of May. However, the Sub -Committee will not be done by then. Dr. Cox is going to be going back up north, but hopefully he can Zoom in on the meetings. B. Four -Month Summary of AVC Treatments Mr. Benton stated the City will be past the four -month point at that time, so the data will be provided on the six months of treatment with AVC. There will be a meeting on May 3m. C. Begin Discussion of Chemical Methodology Mr. Benton stated that is going to be an important discussion among this Sub -Committee. He asked that every Sub -Committee member play an integral part as the chemical methodology going forward is discussed. That will be the last element that will be needed within this plan. He estimates the Sub -Committee is two to three months away from having it finalized. Ms. Haigler stated the discussion on chemicals has already begun. She has already introduced the types of chemicals, what is approved for aquatic use, and adjuvants. It really just depends on how the methodology flows and is applicable for aquatics. Mr. Benton emphasized that the Sub -Committee is going to continue to have these meetings, and he wants everyone to feel welcome to come in and give their opinions with public input. Anyone on the Sub -Committee can attend these meetings via Zoom, as can the public. XI. Adioumment There being no further business, Mr. Benton called for a motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn was made by Dr. Cox, seconded by Ms. Haigler, and approved unanimously via voice vote. Meeting was adjourned at 2:37 p.m. B/ Date: jg