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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-22-2021 IMP MinutesINTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FL MARCH 22, 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 Mr. Carrano Mr. Griffin Mr. Stadelman -- (Zoom) Late arrival Ms. Callaghan -- (Zoom) Dr. Cox Absent Ms. Munroe -- Excused Also Present: Brian Benton, Leisure Services Director Kim Haigler, Environmental Planner Barbara Brooke -Reese, MIS Manager Janet Graham, Technical Writer (Zoom) IV. Announcements -- None V. Public Input Jim Clifton, Sebastian. He thanked Mr. Griffin for the work that the stormwater crew has been doing in his neighborhood. He stated he has never seen the ditches as close to and/or probably at their as -built condition as they are presently. He asked Mr. Griffin to pass his sentiments on to his stormwater crew. Bob Stephen, Sebastian. He thanked the Sub -Committee and the work they are doing on this project. He stated he has been a very active environmentalist in the City for the past several years. He reviewed that it has been stated that it is way too expensive to use methods other than spraying, and he does not think that is correct. He stated that he was recently told by another environmentalist that the City was planning to plant more grass. His understanding is that the plan is to kill the grass. He questioned what it will INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF MARCH 22, 2021 MEETING cost to replace the wildlife, such as manatees, that are killed. Further, he stated veterinarians are saying that dogs are being treated for poisoning. He asked what it will cost to replace the Indian River Lagoon. He asked if the members had reviewed the report on the Lagoon by Leese Souto, and he suggested they should listen to what she has said. He suggested that the Sub -Committee should study the report from the United Nations on its environmental study. He again recommended the Sub -Committee watch Sr. David Attenborough's documentary. He also stated that there are environmental books available from the Friends of the St. Sebastian River, and they are being offered on loan to anyone who is interested in reading them. There being no one else in chambers or on Zoom, Mr. Benton moved to the next item on the agenda. VI. New Business A. Meeting Schedule Modification Moving the April 5th meeting to April 12' Mr. Benton reviewed that after the last meeting it was discovered that there was a conflict with another meeting that was already scheduled in chambers on April 5th. Staff is requesting to move that meeting to the following Monday, April 12h', at 2:00 p.m. There being no comments or questions regarding this date change, Mr. Benton called for a motion. A motion to move the April 51h meeting to April 12' was made by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mr. Carrano, and approved unanimously via voice vote. Dr. Cox asked if there will be any meetings in May. Mr. Benton stated that he does not have the calendar in front of him, but there is one scheduled for May 3' , and he does not know if there will be another one needed in May, but there probably will be. Dr. Cox stated he will be up north by that time, but he will attempt to join the meetings via Zoom. VII. Old Business Item A -- Section V. Ditches/Rights-of-Wav/Dry Retention Areas Review and Discussion Ms. Haigler stated that in the original discussion on this section, only ditches were discussed. It became clear that Rights -of -Way and Dry Retention Areas should be INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF MARCH 22, 2021 MEETING discussed as well. She described that the ditches connect all the City's waterways and canals. The rights -of -way are the access points along drainage easements or drainage easement buffer zones, so the ground cover needs to be maintained in those areas. All these areas, the ditches, rights -of -way, and dry retention areas, are areas that are just mowed. Spraying is almost never done in those areas. She discussed why these areas need to be maintained and how they are maintained by the contractor through mowing. ii. City Mowing Contract Ms. Haigler stated that these areas are maintained regularly through a mowing contract, a separate contractor who goes through from one end of the City to the other on a constant cycle of mowing in the ditches, the rights -of -way, and the dry retention areas. She then asked Mr. Griffin to speak more on this subject. Mr. Griffin explained that the largest expense in the stormwater program is to maintain by mowing the extensive network of ditches and swales that constitute the City's stormwater system, and it is done by 100% mowing and subsequent removal of material. The contractor maintains an annual contract that costs the City in excess of $300,000.00 a year. The City crews remove the accumulated material and muck at least once a year from all the swales, ditches, and other portions of the stormwater system. In addition to this, the City crews also mow the properties which are vacant and not being maintained by the property owners such that the stormwater system is functional for all the other property owners who have built on their lots and maintained their systems so as to keep the entire system functional. Mr. Benton called for comments/questions from Sub -Committee members under Sections i and ii under Item A. Dr. Cox had some suggestions regarding the wording in these sections as follows: In the first paragraph under Ditches, Rights -of -Way, Dry Retention Areas, he suggested the word flow instead of connectivity would be more appropriate. Ms. Haigler agreed. Under Non -Chemical Methods where it says, "These assets are virtually nevertreated with herbicides." his question is: When would they be treated, when would they be sprayed with herbicides? Mr. Benton stated that it is probably 99+% of the time they would not be treated with herbicides, but that cannot be completely eliminated. Dr. Cox asked where it mentions the duration of the project, he asked what projects are being talked about. Ms. Haigler stated that it refers to being at sites of development when that project is inspected. That is part of the Stormwater Ordinance that she emailed to everyone, and it will be addressed in the appendix. Dr. Cox referred to where it says, "Mow at correct height. Mowing to low..." should be Mowing too low..." and "Tools INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF MARCH 22, 2021 MEETING should be sanitize..." should be "Tools should be sanitized..." He also asked where it says that the contractors have to pick up and carry away what they have cut. Mr. Griffin stated that is not practical for any mowing operation. What occurs is that the City crews go back in --it is one of the largest jobs done by the City each year —and remove excess vegetation, muck, and debris at least once a year from all City drainageways. That operation has been underway very dramatically for the last eight months. Mr. Canano referred to page 14 where the word "dredging" is used, dredging connotates that digging in a waterway is being done, and in this case we are not. He suggested the wording should be "excavation of sediments" and not "dredging." Mr. Benton referred to the sentence that says, "Always mow with sharp blades," it should read, "Cleaning of these tools" instead of "Cleaning the these tools," and there should be a period at the end. Mr. Benton then opened the meeting for public input. Bob Stephen, Sebastian. He referred to the huge amount the City spends for mowing. He asked if we need all the grass, and can't we go back to natural Florida. Mr. Griffin stated the City is not planting anything; only what already exists is being mowed. Ms. Haigler added that it is just the ground cover that was already there. Nothing has been added. Seeing no one else in Chambers who wished to speak and hearing no one on Zoom, Mr. Benton moved to the next item on the agenda. B. Section VI. Further Non -Chemical Recommendations i. Review and Discussion li. Stormwater Fee Credit Program Ms. Haigler stated this is regarding other things that have been brought up but are not planned to be implemented immediately, but we want to look at through our annual review. Among these subjects is the seawall construction. There was also a skimmer device that Mr. Stadelman had mentioned that is movable between the ponds and gets the small floating vegetation. At this point, those are not huge problems in the City's system, but they may become such. So this will be revisited and reevaluated in the future. Also discussed was the expanded dredging of some of the open water areas where it might be feasible. There is also the stormwater fee program. She handed each Sub- INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF MARCH 22, 2021 MEETING Committee member a sample of the postcard that was sent out last October or November to some of the large commercial property owners regarding getting their refund and/or their stormwater fee credits. She briefly explained this program to see how it fits with the IPM program. Dr. Cox referred to where the language, "Environmental enhancements" is used, there is a sentence that follows that does not have a word at the end of it. Ms. Haigler stated that "for the" gets taken out. He asked if there is any such thing as a self -maintaining littoral shelf with native aquatic vegetation. If there is, how much work is necessary to maintain it? Mr. Griffin stated that it can be done with proper planning and proper timing. He further stated it was done very successfully in Hardee Park. He stated that his department plans to repeat many times over the successes that were achieved at Hardee Park by planning high -quality native vegetation. Mr. Benton agreed that it should be tried in order to see what can be done in order to see if there are things that can be changed along the way to try and make it work rather than to not do it at all. Mr. Griffin said it is part of the key ingredients in the City's large $24 million grant application to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity that is under consideration presently. Mr. Carrano referred to the section which states the seawalls hold back nutrient -laden sediments. He suggests that the seawalls do not hold back nutrients at all; they hold back sediments. Whether those sediments are nutrient laden or not is not consequential because the water will pass the sediments right under the seawalls. Mr. Carrano asked Ms. Haigler if in the City Code there is a definition of a buffer area. Ms. Haigler opined that for most of the stormwater bodies of water the buffer area is 10 feet and in natural areas it is 25 feet. Mr. Carrano suggested language describing the littoral area and a 25-foot buffer area. Mr. Benton asked Ms. Haigler if aeration was included in the non -chemical recommendations. Ms. Haigler said it was. Mr. Benton then opened the meeting for public input on Item B. Section VI. Further Non - Chemical Recommendations. Bob Stephen, Sebastian. He asked if the non -chemical recommendations are listed in the whole plan, because he did not hear a lot of non -chemical recommendations. He also asked if anyone was sent to Brevard County to see what they are doing, as they have two mechanical harvesters, and there was also discussion from someone about using steam in other communities. Mr. Griffin stated that as part of the grant application last year there was a similar application for a Weedo and a barge. Unfortunately, Sebastian did not INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF MARCH 22, 2021 MEETING compete successfully. He does not know why. Mr. Stephen spoke regarding the high - quality plants in Hardee Park, and asked if they crowd out the invasives. Mr. Griffin said that they have been successfully established. Mr. Stephen opined that the first two months that the new company who was hired came in, they killed all those plants with poison. Mr. Griffin stated he does not believe that to be the case. Ms. Haigler stated she could comment on the mechanical harvester used in Brevard County. It requires a 10-foot depth throughout. Sebastian does not have the depth of its waterways to accommodate the equipment that Brevard is using. Anything smaller seems to be virtually inefficient. She also pointed out that 50% of Sebastian's canal system are not accessible because of the pipes, dams, and weirs contained in the system. Seeing no one else in Chambers and hearing from no one on Zoom, Mr. Benton moved to the next item on the agenda. VIII. Sub -Committee Member Matters Mr. Stadelman stated that the book Mr. Stephen mentioned, "Silent Spring," is a very interesting book. He further stated that, even in that book, the author was not 100% against spraying. Regarding the documentary by David Attenborough, it went from catastrophe to catastrophe, and basically it was a roadmap of total earth catastrophe. It included some opinion, some fact, and some conjecture. But the different things that these people mentioned are happening. He suggested that Sebastian City Council is being as proactive as a city council can be. He pointed out that a lot of these products that are being used are being used by individuals who buy it off the shelves and apply it on their lawns, sometimes not according to directions. Dr. Cox asked if the City has received the bills from Aquatic Vegetation Control as to what product or products have been used. Mr. Griffin stated that the herbicide use is variable depending on the circumstance, but his department does review those reports and their invoices. V�41711817 i-Tl.9 Ms. Haigler thanked Mr. Stadelman for mentioning the book and the documentary, and she agreed that "Silent Spring" is very inspirational. It is what started the modern environmental movement and started the regulation of herbicides. After studies on DDT, fat-soluble pesticides like that are no longer permitted. David Attenborough's documentary discusses how things have changed over his lifetime. Ultimately, his whole INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SUB -COMMITTEE PAGE 7 MINUTES OF MARCH 22, 2021 MEETING discussion leads back to preservation of biodiversity, which is what this Sub -Committee is trying to achieve. Mr. Benton addressed the concerns from the public as to whether this Sub -Committee and staff are listening to what is being said during public input. He assured the public that those concerns are being heard and addressed. He pointed out Brevard County does have a half -cent sales tax that was put in place by the voters. It is a "Save Our Indian River Lagoon" sales tax that was voted on by the residents. It was put in place for 10 years that would generate somewhere in the range of $489 million as he recalls. Each one of the municipalities in Brevard County can go to the County and request grant funds. He stated that Sebastian staff have looked into the mechanical harvesters that Brevard County has, and Ms. Haigler has had quite a few conversations with them. He also asked that residents look at the spray contracts that are out there as well in Brevard County. He opined that they have done a great job with that half -cent sales tax. He agrees that it is doing a lot for the environment, but they are also spraying. He will continue to point out that the amount of chemicals that the City of Sebastian uses on an annual basis is a "drop in the bucket' if you compare the figures from elsewhere. He commended the Sebastian Stormwater Department for the good job they are doing clearing the ditches and swales and rights -of -way, and he asked Mr. Griffin to make sure the crews know that they are doing a great job. Mr. Griffin stated he would. X. Items for Next Aaenda A. Vote for Approval on Sections II -VI regarding non -chemical controls B. Herbicide Methodology XI. Adjournment There being no further business, Mr. Benton called for a motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Haigler, and approved unanimously via voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 2:52 p.m. Bv: & dy- Date: _ /o) I /a oa I ig