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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-02-2024 NRB MinutesIV. V. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JAN UARY 2, 2024 Chairman Stadelman called the Natural Resources Board meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Pledqe of Alleqiance was recited by all. Roll Call Present Dr. Carrier Ms. Billman Mr. Carrano Not Present Ms. Haggerty (a) Mr. Stadelman Ms. Ware Dr. Mosblech (Zoom) Also Present Alix Bernard, Community Development Director Felicia Gordian, Environmental Technician Joseph Perez, AV Technical Assistant Janet Graham, Technical Writer Brian Benton (Zoom) Approval of Minutes All Board members having indicated they had reviewed the Minutes of December 12, 2023, Mr. Stadelman called for a motion. A motion approving the Minutes of December 12, 2023 was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Ware, and approved unanimously via voice vote. Announcements Ms. Gordian announced that earlier today she received a message from Ruth Callaghan. She is effectively resigning from the Board due to personal reasons. She added that Dr. Carrier will also be leaving the Board after this meeting, and she thanked both Dr. Carrier and Ruth Callaghan for their years of service on the Board, and they will be greatly missed. Mr. Stadelman thanked them for their dedication and hard work while serving on this Board. VI. Aqenda Modifications -- None NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JAN UARY 2, 2024 VII. Public Input -- None VIII. Unfinished Business A. Tulip Pond Project -- FL Arbor Day Planting Event -- Friday, January19th 2024 Ms. Gordian stated the start time for this event will be 12:00 p.m. She asked that members of the Board, if they are able, to kindly come out between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. to help with setup. She will be developing a signup sheet for all of the volunteers. She added that, if members of the Board are planning to attend, please fill out the signup sheet to confirm that they will be there. If anyone has questions, please let her know. She will be updating the website and the flyers, and the information will go out on social media. She will send that out to all Board members as well. She added that, if the Board members know of anyone who is interested in the event, please feel free to invite them. Ms. Ware asked how long the event will last. Ms. Gordian stated no more than two hours, and it may not even take that long. Mr. Stadelman reviewed that the Tulip Pond Project is a demonstration project for water drainage for the area. It is also a commercial tax credit project. Someone who can implement these techniques in a certain area can possibly qualify for a tax credit. B. Sustainable Sebastian i. Implementation Plan Update Ms. Bernard said attached in this evening's agenda packets is the final roll -out plans for the five-year homestretch plan, and it is due September 30th, 2024. She reviewed that a lot of the projected due dates/completion dates are in there as well as some of the notes section is filled out. This is so we can see what can be wrapped up as to the goals and objectives from the five-year plan by September 30th, with Ms. Gordian helping us get through this. If there is a task in here that has been assigned to you or is under your area of specialty, she will recap for you about six weeks in advance to check in and see where everyone is at and will help you navigate that. If you see something that your name is assigned to and you feel that is obtainable or not, clear communication with Ms. Gordian is going to be of great benefit. If you have any questions about anything on this document, please email Ms. Gordian directly, and feel free to copy Ms. Bernard as well. She clarified NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JAN UARY 2, 2024 PAGE 3 that this does not mean that Sustainable Sebastian is finished. It just means that we are looking at a new approach, and we need to be accountable for the five-year implementation plan. She added that Ms. Gordian, Mr. Stadelman, and herself will meet to discuss the presentation Mr. Stadelman is going to be making at the February meeting for single -use plastics. ii. Reduction of Single -Use Plastics -- Champion: Charles Stadelman Mr. Stadelman reviewed what he has discovered so far, restaurants, etc. must have licensing. He will have to investigate further into this and mentioned some of the things that he has yet to clarify. This will pertain to the City as well as businesses within the City. He reviewed what will need to be addressed in order to move forward. Ms. Bernard stated that she would like to expand on that conversation when she and Mr. Stadelman and Ms. Gordian meet next Friday and talk about what that looks like. She added that the Board can still stay focused on the single -use plastics that have been addressed in the plan, but then investigate what the expansion might look like in different areas and what might be realistic goals. She recommended that that be part of the conversation next Friday. Mr. Stadelman reviewed that most of the restaurants purchase their food and food supplies from wholesalers. He feels that a lot of what this Board does needs to be directed towards the distributors. He pointed out that most of what we do has to be geared toward what the businesses are doing already. He also pointed out that a lot of what is recycled has no value. Ms. Billman reviewed that at the last meeting the Board had discussed reaching out to other municipalities about their programs. She talked to someone at the City of Stuart, and she was surprised by what they have accomplished. She spoke to the Program Manager for Utilities and Engineering in Stuart and described what she found out that Stuart does, such as where to purchase items. The City employees bring their own containers and utensils, and they do have compostable palm utensils, but they discourage people from using them; they want people to bring their own utensils to work. She described what the exceptions are. Also discussed were the City functions in the parks, etc. and the requirements for vendors, etc. Also discussed was how they handle trash at these events. She also was told that the City is not permitted to enforce with private restaurants and businesses what they use. She described other things the City of Stuart does to discourage use of single -use plastics. Ms. Billman also covered what the NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JAN UARY 2, 2024 PAGE 4 requirements are for a restaurant to become a member of Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Restaurant Program. iii. Native Landscaping -- Champion: Sherida Billman Ms. Billman said she does not have anything to report. She is still in the process of getting some lists and so forth, which has not happened yet. Mr. Stadelman said as long as we keep moving forward, that is what is important. iv. Tree Protection & Landscaping Ordinances -- Champion: Thomas Carrano Mr. Carrano said he has nothing to report presently. He thanked Dr. Cox for sending him the numerous pages from what was done previously. He has not had a chance to go through them all, but he has a lot of reading to do, which he will do and try to incorporate it with what the NRB is doing. V. Resource Conservation -- Champion: Donna Ware Ms. Ware said she sent a sheet to Ms. Gordian earlier today. That sheet is basically meant for the office workers mainly in the City. Ms. Ware said that the list follows up on what the employees should be able to do based on the examples. She added that this needs to be reinforced. Ms. Bernard suggested incentivizing it a bit, and staff will look at that. Ms. Gordian said that the questionnaire for City staff was already distributed to City employees, and the due date is January 18th. It was distributed on December 18t". She added that maybe there could be some reward if they treat it as a competition to be won by a person or department. Ms. Ware added that she thought she might do the same kind of thing for businesses or home offices -- a list of simple steps that can be made in the home or at the businesses. Ms. Bernard added that the results of that survey will be presented at the February meeting of the NRB. vi. Green Infrastructure and LID -- Champion: Nicole Mosblech Dr. Mosblech thanked Ms. Billman for all her work with the City of Stuart. She reported that for the past month she visited three additional parks. She had sent the report to Ms. Gordian. Her goal is to visit parks that are in the City of Sebastian on a priority basis to NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JAN UARY 2, 2024 PAGE 5 see what is there in the way of protection as well as potential for future use. She reviewed her findings at George Street Park, Filbert Street Park, and Bryant Court. She recalled that at the last NRB meeting there was discussion about the lack of understory species. She thinks that is one of the items that there is potential for. She did not see much wildlife diversity. She referred to Filbert Street Park as having a huge area that actually has trails that go through a wooded section. The trails looked to be quite well maintained, and she suggested that some signage be added. She noted that the plant species in the overgrown area are 90% Brazilian Pepper. She suggested taking out some of the non- native species there and some native species planted. She saw very little air potato, and she noted that some of it appeared to have been eaten. She added that there have been air potato beetles released in the County. Dr. Mosblech and Ms. Billman discussed the parks that yet have to be visited. vii. Sidewalks & Bikeways -- Champion: Ruth Callaghan Mr. Stadelman stated there would be no discussion regarding this item at this time. Ms. Gordian said staff will talk to the Board concerning the champion for the next meeting. C. Earth Day & Arbor Day Celebration -- Saturday, April 20t", 2024 Ms. Gordian asked the Board members if they are interested in having beer at the 2024 Earth Day Celebration. It seemed to go well last year, and she identified the partners in this project who provided the beer for the event. It was the consensus of the Board members that beer will be provided for sale this year. Mr. Stadelman stated that we will have to bring it to the nonprofit that is going to do it, whether it is Rotary or not. He will present it to the Rotary Club. The breweries are Mash Monkeys and Pareidolia. Ms. Gordian said that last year the beer itself was gotten from J.J. Taylor. Mr. Stadelman suggested that the local brewers showcase how the beer is brewed using sustainable plants and other items. Ms. Billman agreed that bringing the history of beer to the attention of the attendees of the event was a good idea. Ms. Gordian stated that she will contact Waste Management to discuss the shredding and recycling events for Earth Day. She asked if the Art Club will participate this year, and Ms. Ware said they definitely will participate. Since 2024 is the year of the Centennial, Ms. Ware asked if the NRB wanted to review some of its history in Sebastian. She commented that a lot of the groups that will be at all the events all during the year will be doing something historical in nature and linking their activities to the City and how long they have been doing it. She added that the Art Club has been established for 87 years, and they are doing something special for the Centennial in the way of paintings of old NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JAN UARY 2, 2024 PAGE 6 buildings. She also suggested that the NRB have information about when it was first formed and other facts related to its beginning years, as well as some items that have helped Sebastian along the way to become what we hope to be sustainable. There was some general discussion of ideas for this year's event. Ms. Gordian also suggested that Board members begin to think about what sort of questions we would like to have on the scavenger hunt this year. Last year's scavenger hunt went really well, and she thanked Dr. Mosblech for the development of the questions that were used in the scavenger hunt last year. Ms. Billman asked Dr. Carrier if there is any way to modify the gopher tortoise exhibit to make it more attractive to the kids. Dr. Carrier said one of the things that was talked about was combining it with the consortium of the Gopher Tortoise Alliance so that we actually present the two of them side by side. He emphasized that we need to have someone to shepherd people through to really make it an educational experience; it is not that right now. Ms. Billman asked if the Boys Club or the Girls Club could be involved. Dr. Carrier said it could be anyone who is willing to get involved. He suggested that it be placed more in the center of activity so that it is noticed by more of the public. Ms. Billman suggested that someone bring a gopher tortoise and have a display talking about the gopher tortoises and how important they are as a cornerstone species. She also suggested signage supporting the gopher tortoises. She also asked if she could have her own butterfly station. She said there was a lot of interest in the butterflies last year. She explained her participation in programs that help the butterfly population. Ms. Gordian asked Ms. Billman to provide her with what her ideas are. Dr. Carrier said that, depending on how many Board members show up, having Ms. Billman completely detached from what the Board is doing puts a greater burden on the few people who already do show up. That also needs to be factored in. Ms. Gordian said we need to consider very carefully the location of the NRB booth and consider the positioning of the surrounding booths. Ms. Gordian reviewed the community volunteering activities. Dr. Carrier and Ms. Gordian have met with Donna Halloran of the Pelican Island Audubon Society about the potential of doing an air -potato -removal event. Since the ideal time of year for air potato removal is in the fall, it would not be a good idea to try and have that type of event in conjunction with the Earth Day event. Mr. Stadelman and Ms. Bernard suggested addressing this at the February meeting. She asked the Board members to contact Ms. Gordian with any suggestions they may have. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 2, 2024 PAGE 7 Dr. Mosblech addressed trying to get people involved in some of the NRB projects. There are a lot of organizations locally that are both interested in getting volunteers from the community as well as might have experts to offer their own expertise. She asked if it is worth having scheduled talks, with the schedules being posted, and these groups would have their booths at the Earth Day event all day long. Mr. Stadelman liked that idea. Ms. Billman stated that when she talked with people with the City of Stuart, they also said, with the eco-friendly events we should work with sponsors to present eco-friendly awareness prior to and during the event. She also read a list of other things that people could do that would fit in with the Sustainable Sebastian theme. She will email that list to Ms. Gordian and/or Ms. Bernard. Dr. Mosblech suggested that we raise awareness with information on the vendors' applications, such as giving them options, etc. Ms. Gordian said she will add some of that verbiage to the applications. Ms. Ware suggested that, as these vendor questionnaires come back, maybe that could be a part of the scavenger hunt such as what vendor does this, or what vendor does sustainable things. IX. New Business Mr. Stadelman thanked Ms. Callaghan and Dr. Carrier for all that they have done while serving on the Natural Resources Board. X. Items for Next Aoenda and Date: February 6th, 2024 XI. Adiournment There being no further business, Mr. Stadelman called for a motion to adjourn. A motion adjourning the meeting was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Ware, and approved unanimously via voice vote at 7:05 p.m. By CA& Date: a1 b101 � A 1/30/2024 I& STAFF SUSTAINABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS . Febniou R^', 2024 Departments BACFC➢PUt,ND o PurposeTo assess the current practices of City Staff in regards to environmental practices in the workplace. o Conducted between December 181h and January 18'h o Received submissions via online survey (Google Sheets), paper copies, and PDFs o Total participants: 27 o Now. Some charts had to be reformatted due to the nature of the submissions. Departments showing Divisions • 1