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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-05-2023 NRB MinutesNATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 I. Chairman Stadelman called the Natural Resources Board meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. II. Pledqe of Allegiance was recited by all. III. Roll Call Present: Dr. Carrier Mr. Stadelman Ms. Billman Ms. Ware Dr. Mosblech Ms. Callaghan Mr. Carrano Ms. Haggerty (Zoom) Also Present: Ms. Felicia Gordian -- Environmental Technician Mr. Nicholas Ladyman -- Help Desk Technician Ms. Janet Graham -- Technical Writer IV. Approval of Minutes -- Auqust 1, 2023 All Board members having had a chance to review the Minutes, Mr. Stadelman called for a motion. A motion to approve the Minutes of August 1, 2023 as presented was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Ware, and approved unanimously via voice vote. V. Announcements Ms. Gordian recapped the Treasure Coast Waterway Cleanup. The results from the last cleanup revealed: for Indian River County, 0.42 tons were collected, and there were 182 people just for Indian River County. In total for the entire event there were 3.47 tons collected, and there were 1,146 people who attended the event. For the NRB's event, we had .015 tons and 88 attendees. She mentioned some unique items that were collected during the event. Mr. Stadelman recognized the passing of Jimmy Buffett. VI. Agenda Modifications -- None VII. Public Input -- NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 PAGE 2 Connor Ruf -- He stated that it had been mentioned to him that the NRB could possibly use a website. He is here offering to provide his skillset in this realm to the NRB. In working with a lot of the restaurants in the area, he understands that the NRB is also working with restaurants in attempting to set up a recycling project with the restaurants. As a way of providing online orders, he has a way to possibly also fund something that the NRB could use or would want to do to better this community. Ms. Callaghan described the history of the Sustainable Sebastian project. The NRB had a program called Litter Quitter. That was started by Keep Brevard Beautiful and the Brevard Zoo. Both of those entities lacked the funding to continue, but they had the website for people so that they could go to a restaurant and ask the restaurant to participate in the program, the program being to stop using plastic straws and Styrofoam products and encourage customers to bring their own utensils and encourage the restaurants to use alternative products. They were partnering with vendors of alternatives to plastic cutlery, etc. at a reduced cost for this purpose. The website would keep track of the restaurants that agreed to participate, and there was a check -and -see process. Once they agreed, someone would go back and verify that indeed they were doing whatever level of participation that they had signed up for. She reviewed what would be required to be on the website. Mr. Ruf said he would be able to provide that information on the website. Mr. Stadelman recommended that Mr. Ruf apply to the City to be a preferred vendor. That would be one of the first steps. There may be other avenues open for Mr. Ruf as well. He suggested that Mr. Ruf talk to the City Clerk. Ms. Callaghan reviewed the approved list of things that the NRB is attempting to accomplish for the rest of the 5-year plan cycle that we are in. She suggested having this as an agenda item late next year, the thought of bringing this whole Litter Quitter concept and call it what we want, because Litter Quitter was someone else's name. Ms. Ware thanked Mr. Ruf also, because he attended the Centennial Committee meeting, and she suggested that he provide information on what he could do in this regard. Vill. Unfinished Business A. Sustainable Sebastian i. Current task list NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 ii. Goal updates from Champions Ms. Gordian reviewed the sets of goals, a printout of which was provided to each of the Board members. Mr. Stadelman read what comprised Goals 1 and 2, and called for comments/questions regarding Goals 1 and 2. Ms. Billman addressed the use of single -use products by the City and suggested ways in which employees could use reusable products. She also had several other suggestions regarding using reusable items. Dr. Mosblech also suggested talking with Captain Hiram's, as when she was there, she noted that they were using some alternatives to single -use plastics. Ms. Gordian described what the City is now doing pertaining to this subject. Ms. Callaghan reviewed what has been done regarding Goals 1 and 2 and suggested things that can be done in the future. Ms. Ware interjected that now you can buy compostables in Walmart, and there was discussion with Ms. Haggerty regarding this. Mr. Stadelman thanked Ms. Callaghan for her presentation. Mr. Stadelman then read what comprised Goals 5 and 6 and called for comments/questions regarding Goals 5 and 6. Ms. Billman stated she visited all the City parks, and she was surprised at how different they are. She feels as if the City wants to go with all native plantings. She narrowed it down to just go ahead and do Garden Club Park and do some native plantings. She described what is displayed on the map that she had attached to this evening's agenda. She made some suggestions as to what could be done at the Garden Club Park as far as making it more attention -getting to people who pass by. She knows that she would have to get with Leisure Services to discuss whatever might be installed. She suggested making the park more accessible, as presently it is somewhat cumbersome to get into the park, such as putting in a crosswalk and having parking on the other side of Barber Street. She mentioned that the pond seems to be overgrown with all sorts of vegetation, and she would like to find out what the City has planned for this park. She suggested what types of trees could be used in the park. She added that this would probably be a demonstration garden to educate the public. Ms. Callaghan stated that she recalls that the NRB had a budget that was discussed a couple meetings back that was to be set aside for use maybe for green infrastructure as well as some of the plantings and such. Ms. Gordian said that is correct —there is money set aside. She has to check and see what is going to happen to that money because we NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 PAGE 4 are coming into the new fiscal year. She will check on that. Ms. Callaghan asked if we know what funds we have remaining in September for the end of this fiscal year dedicated to the NRB. She added that the NRB has some funds left over from the Earth Day/Arbor Day event. Ms. Gordian said the NRB does have just over $800.00 left from Earth Day. So that money can be put towards whatever we need to. She added that she is just getting used to how the money situation works. She is familiarizing herself regarding this. She stated that there is also the $15,000.00 that Ms. Frazier had set aside for the native plantings/LID purposes. This park could fall under that plan. Ms. Callaghan reiterated that every year Sebastian keeps getting the Tree City USA designation. In coordination with that, she asked if the City of Sebastian has a budget for the purchase of those trees. Ms. Gordian stated that, if there is a budget, it is not something within her department. It would likely be within the Leisure Services Department. She is corresponding with Antoine Vanmeir regarding Leisure Services and how it affects the NRB. Mr. Vanmeir is very interested in promoting more of the native landscaping on City properties. He has some money —she is not sure how much —that is budgeted for park improvements, and that money could be used for this purpose. Ms. Callaghan stated that for the items needed for Items 1 and 2, printing is not a huge expense, and deciding what is going to be bought for City Hall is going to be an ongoing thing. There is already money set aside, and she does not think the NRB budget needs to be touched for that. But, when we start looking at what Ms. Billman is presenting here, when we look at $250.00, is it something that we could get a plan from the City. She asked if that is something to be decided this evening, and use the $800.00 for today, and then coordinate in the future with Leisure Services on trees, etc. She asked Ms. Gordian if she would find out what we still have of the $15,000.00 that was budgeted for the fiscal year, which is about to end, and how much of that is allowed to carry forward, and report back to the Board. She suggested then the NRB could use some of that to implement whatever Ms. Billman's plan involves with this group. Ms. Haggerty said she has never seen anybody at that park, so she thinks doing something with that park is an awesome idea. She asked if the City has a garden club. Ms. Ware said there is a function of the Women's Club that is the Garden Club. Ms. Billman stated that at Hardee Park they did have a butterfly garden there, which is pretty unkept. Ms. Haggerty said that somebody does maintain it to some degree. There was extended discussion regarding the Garden Club and the Garden Club Park. Ms. Billman also suggested using a Royal Poinciana tree in every City park. They are beautiful and also a shade tree, although they are not native. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 PAGE 5 Ms. Ware stated there is no shade around the parking lot for the Art Club, and it already has irrigation. She suggested it would be easy to spend $800.00 and put trees all around that parking lot, and the irrigation is there already. Ms. Gordian stated the part of the reason why she and Ms. Billman began discussing Garden Club Park in particular is because, as she mentioned in a prior meeting, there is a young man who is looking to do an Eagle Scout project at Garden Club Park, specifically at the pergola. She added that one of the other projects is the Tulip Pond project. That is still in the works. It has been kind of slow going, but we want to finish it and make sure we keep the grant to finish out that project. Ms. Billman discussed the subject of connectivity as it relates to the parks. She suggested that, because there are all the parks scattered throughout the City —and you would not even know they are there --they are kind of blended in with residential areas. She suggested having a city park trail, where one could just do a circuit, and one could visit all the parks as a thing to do as a family. There are several areas that have adequate parking where you could do a nice bike ride through the City. Mr. Stadelman said he and others went to the meeting where it was discussed about the sidewalks and bike trails. Ms. Gordian said that meeting was with Indian River County. They are working towards their next bikeways -and -pedestrian plan. It was a very preliminary meeting on this subject. This is going to be a plan for the whole County, so she is not sure how much will happen in Sebastian. Mr. Stadelman reviewed some aspects of the meeting and emphasized that representatives of the City need to attend these meetings going forward. Ms. Gordian stated that there may be ways that through the Sustainable Sebastian project, the green infrastructure project, and doing a walking audit, we can improve not only awareness of our trails and pathways, but actually create more pathways. She said we will discuss more of that when we get through the rest of the goals. Ms. Billman also asked if this is something that the City will help the NRB with, or is it something that maybe City Council needs to be involved in to bring this whole thing together. She emphasized that all these amenities cost money to implement. She added that the Native Butterfly Flowers, LLC is able to do the installation and everything, but she emphasized that we can also use that demonstration garden as a template for other parks that can be done later on. So, it would be money well spent to have their expertise in doing it. Ms. Haggerty asked who has done the landscaping that already exists. Mr. Stadelman suggested that would be Parks and Recreation Department, but he is not sure. He suggested that we do some research and come back to that item. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 PAGE 6 Dr. Mosblech asked if there is already an irrigation system there. Ms. Billman said she is pretty sure there is no irrigation system there. Dr. Mosblech's other question is regarding the $250.00 that is available for the butterfly garden, is that just for the plan and design for the garden, and does it include any materials, etc. Ms. Billman said that would be for them to come out and do an assessment of the parking, do a drawing, and make a list of the plants that they would recommend. Regarding the $15,000.00 that was mentioned, Dr. Mosblech stated that she remembers that being set aside for the Tulip Pond project. Ms. Gordian said that money was set aside in addition to that which we got in a grant from Tulip. It was not connected directly to the Tulip Pond project. Dr. Mosblech asked, with October 1st being the deadline, are we going to lose our money. She suggested that, since there is so much traffic that passes by the Garden Club Park, it is worth exploring how we increase traffic in the park there. There was discussion as to if the trail goes all the way around the park. After lengthy discussion regarding the money that might be available, Mr. Stadelman suggested that there be more research and planning before we go to City Council. He suggested it be put on the agenda for the next meeting. Ms. Gordian said she has to get permission to use funds for large projects such as this. Ms. Haggerty asked, if we are concerned about not having that money because of time constraints, would it make more sense to set that money aside for Tulip Pond because we already know for sure that we can use it for that. Ms. Billman asked if we have to come to a decision now, or should there be more input on it before we move forward, and do we need to decide on that as a Board. Ms. Ware suggested that the Board go on the record encouraging it and saying that we all want to move forward on it, and if there is a way possible to spend the $800.00 that is left over from our Earth Day or any other funds that are in the NRB budget towards ascertaining this plan that we can use in multiple ways, then we should at least make that public right now while we are talking about it —to be used whenever we can at the next available time. Dr. Carrier reiterated that the Board has only worked its way through a couple of items on here. We do not know whether competing projects might be out there. He suggested it is too early to be allocating funds dedicated to any particular project without hearing what other demands might be made on our funding. He does not think that is a prudent move at this point without looking at everything else that is on the list. We are only on Items 2 and 5, and he suggested moving on and note that this is a priority, but there may be other things that have higher priorities as we work our way through these. He thinks prioritizing will be an upcoming step once we split other projects around them. Ms. Ware agreed. Mr. Stadelman emphasized the need to keep moving forward on that. If it's money that needs to be allocated, let's make it an agenda item. This way, we can all look at it and NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 PAGE 7 have public input on it as well. We can do that any time we set the agenda item. Let's not put that on the back burner. Let's try to get it on the next agenda. City Council has made a note that they want us to get done with this. It's got to be pushed forward. Let's vote on it, and let's have public input on the money being spent, and let's get a garden done at Garden Park. He thanked Ms. Billman for her hard work on this. Regarding Goal 9, Tree Protection and Landscaping Ordinances. Mr. Carrano said he thinks the key thing here is to split off the commercial property tree -clearing ordinance and the residential tree -clearing ordinance. Residential is easier to handle. He asked Ms. Gordian if one day when she goes out in the field, he could shadow her. She said certainly they can get together. She said there was talk previously about hiring a consultant for the parts of the Code that are really difficult to work on ourselves. That may cost funding, but it is dependent on what our situation is, what we feel we cannot tackle. If there is anything else that she should incorporate into the tasks list, please let her know. Mr. Carrano said, if anybody has any suggestions of what they would like to see or what they feel should be in there, please contact Felicia and she will send them to him. Dr. Mosblech asked regarding the funds that would be required for a consultant, etc. She suggested that would not be expected to come from the NRB budget; it would come from the City budget. Ms. Gordian said she does not believe that would come from the NRB budget. There was general discussion regarding trees, during which Ms. Billman suggested there needs to be some sort of repercussion for homeowners who take out the trees after they move into the homes, as well as other ways to encourage additional trees in communities. Mr. Carrano stated that in New York they used to have a transfer of development rights, and he described how that works. Mr. Stadelman then went on to Goal 13, City Resource Conservation and read what that entails. Ms. Gordian said that there are a lot of these that require discussions between herself and facilities staff. A lot of that will require preliminary research to get these items started. There was also discussion on using paper communication and forms vs. electronic communication and forms as well as other items that dovetail with the Sustainable Sebastian project. Mr. Stadelman then went on to Goal 16, Green Infrastructure Plan. The steps in this goal were discussed by Dr. Mosblech. Ms. Frazier, Ms. Gordian, Dr. Mosblech, and Ross Kelley had a meeting where the maps of the existing City properties were discussed. The NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 PAGE 8 plan during the meeting was to create a prioritized list, and Ms. Gordian has done this already and shared it with Dr. Mosblech. This list essentially starts with City properties and City parks that are closest to our largest hubs of protective land. That would be the North Sebastian Conservation Area as well as the Stormwater Park. Dr. Mosblech and Ms. Gordian met at Friendship Park, which is adjacent to the North Sebastian Conservation Area, and walked it, documenting what the status is of current diversity and what they saw in terms of native vs. invasive. They did not see too much in the way of invasive plants on the property. They did see a lot on the exterior portions near the neighboring properties. She stated they are attempting to create a comprehensive view of what these properties offer for us and how we can continue to utilize them or make them better. Ms. Billman added on that property Dr. Mosblech talked about there is a scrub jay habitat. She explained what is needed to promote a scrub jay habitat. Ms. Gordian added some comments relative to connectivity in the City. Ms. Billman said there needs to be more outreach to the community so that people know that those habitats exist in these areas. Ms. Gordian reminded Mr. Stadelman that she and he need to meet regarding the pathways, sidewalks, bike paths, etc. going forward. IX. New Business A. International Coastal Cleanup 2023 Ms. Gordian pointed out the flyer in the agenda packet for this activity. She stated it is coming up on September 16th. She explained registration for those who wish to participate. For the NRB members who plan on participating, they need to be there between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. to help set up. The event officially starts at 9:00 a.m. and continues until 11:00 a.m. For the Riverview Park site, we will have materials, etc. there for the event participants. This year there will be a photo contest, and the prize is courtesy of the Walking Tree Brewery where there also will be an after party. She asked that any of the Board members who wish to participate please contact her. She shared some other information that is available on the website. B. Sebastian Police Department's Community Night Out Ms. Gordian said the date is Thursday, October 19th. It runs from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. She said she will not be there to help set up and may not be there at all because of a conflict in her schedule. She gave details regarding what time to be there for set-up. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 PAGE 9 There will also be a map available with the locations of booths in Riverview Park. There was no motion to participate. X. Adiournment There being no further business, Mr. Stadelman called for a motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Ware, and approved unanimously via voice vote. By: Date: oc 17