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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-01-2024 NRB Minutes w/AttachmentNATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 1, 2024 Chair Pro-Tem Ware called the Natural Resources Board meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all. III. Roll Call Present Ms. Ware Mr. Krauss Ms. Billman Mr. Dovell (alternate) Mr. Clifford Mr. Stadelman (Zoom) Not Present Mr. Bruggen (alternate) -- Excused Mr. Carrano -- Excused Also Present Richard Blankenship, Parks and Recreation Director Alix Bernard, Community Development Director Felicia Gordian, Environmental Technician Joseph Perez, AV Technical Assistant Janet Graham, Technical Writer IV. Approval of Minutes A. September 3, 2024 -- Natural Resources Board Meeting Minutes All having indicated they had reviewed the Minutes of September 3, 2024, Ms. Ware called for a motion. A motion approving the Minutes of September 3, 2024 as presented was made by Mr. Krauss, seconded by Mr. Dovell (alternate), and approved unanimously via voice vote. V. Announcements A. Presentation: Missy Weiss of ORCA on the Living Shoreline Project at Riverview Park NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 1, 2024 PAGE 2 Ms. Weiss introduced herself and stated that she works for the Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA). She described an upcoming project, the Riverview Park Living Shoreline project. This project is in partnership between ORCA and the City of Sebastian. She stated that this is a multi -phase habitat restoration project occurring at Riverview Park at the kayak launch site. She described what will be included in the shoreline, also at Riverview Park, and with trained citizen scientists helping to monitor the benefits of that monitored shoreline. She presented a video describing the living shoreline components of the project now installed in the City of Vero Beach and described each component. She also presented slides showing the design of the planned project in Sebastian and how oyster reef balls will be used in the project as well as native plants that will be installed along the shoreline. There is a community ask to get people in the community involved in the actual installation of the living shoreline. That will take place between October 18"' and 20"h. Registration is required, and she talked about how to do that online. An important part of this project is that ORCA is also welcoming community members to become trained on how to become citizen scientists to help ORCA post - monitor this living shoreline. The pre -monitoring portion of this project has already been done by volunteers. She encouraged the Board members to share this information with others who might be interested in volunteering. She recognized the partners in this project which include the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Programs Community Restoration Grant that was awarded earlier this year, as well as Eleventh Hour Racing, the City of Sebastian, and ORCA. She then called for questions/comments from the Board members. Ms. Billman asked about where in the video the installation was done. Ms. Weiss said it was done at Riverside Park in Vero Beach. Ms. Billman also asked if these oyster reef balls are being put in shallow waters. Ms. Weiss stated that this particular permit is for a shallow installation of a living shoreline. There are other permits that would allow you to put oyster reef balls of different sizes deeper in the Lagoon or in the ocean. She said that for their purposes, they suspect that there will be better improvement with them being a little bit closer to shore, and they will reveal themselves during different times of the year. Ms. Billman asked what the oyster balls are made of and how long are they expected to last. Ms. Weiss said they are concrete based with oyster shell in the mix, so they are meant to last for a very long time. Mr. Krauss stated that, if the reef balls weigh 50 pounds, his concern is if we get an event like a strong hurricane, it seems to him that 50 pounds will not be able to stand up to something of that nature. Ms. Weiss pointed out that none of these living shoreline modules are going to sustain acts of God here. These oyster reef balls are going to succeed under ambient conditions. Nothing is foolproof. What living shorelines have been shown to do is to be more effective at controlling shoreline erosion compared to seawalls. Mr. Krauss also asked what the citizens would be able to say would be the changes that they would see in the Lagoon once these are installed and oysters are NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 1. 2024 attaching themselves. Ms. Weiss stated that there will be educational signage at the site that will show the benefits that living shorelines provide. She stated that the benefits will be shown over an extended period of time, possibly years. She added that when the Vero Beach project was established, oysters were seen affixed to the oyster reef balls after only a month. Mr. Stadelman asked if there will be any additional cost to the City of Sebastian. Ms. Weiss said this project is fully funded. Ms. Ware stated that, as Mr. Stadelman and Mr. Bruggen arejoining via Zoom, staff would like to remind the Board that only the members present in person can vote on the agenda items. Alternate member Paul Dovell will be voting during tonight's meeting. VI. Aoenda Modifications Staff is requesting that item IX, New Business, be discussed immediately following Agenda Modifications. Ms. Ware said that, under Item X for the next NRB meeting, instead of November 5'", they are proposing November 12t". VII. New Business A. Discussion of 2024-2025 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant application in the amount of $200,000 for improvements to the Main Street Boat Ramp Mr. Richard Blankenship introduced himself and explained that the Parks and Recreation Board does not have a meeting in October. The grant requires that this item be discussed with an advisory board, and that is the reason for his attending this meeting tonight. He described what has been done regarding this item, including funding for the permitting and design for this project. The improvements are the dredging of the boat ramp itself. So, the funding from Water and Conservation will now go directly to construction. Staff does not think that the boat ramp has been dredged since it was built. Thus, it is very restrictive for folks who have larger vessels. It is really restrictive for people to stage to get in and out of the boat ramp due to the depths at certain times. It is imperative that we dredge the facility, and it is hoped by staff that it can be dredged all the way to the channel. That depends on the cost of design and permitting. He called for questions. Ms. Ware asked if it is expected that this $200,000.00 grant is going to cover a portion of this. Mr. Blankenship stated that it will cover at least a portion of it. How much it will cover is undetermined yet. He explained that he is required to discuss this project with NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 1, 2024 PAGE 4 an advisory board, and it is not necessary for the NRB to approve or disapprove of the project. Ms. Ware asked when this work would potentially be done. Mr. Blankenship said it would be at least a year out. Ms. Ware asked about the timing of the project as it relates to snow -bird season. Mr. Blankenship said he does not know that yet. Mr. Clifford asked where the dredged material will go. Mr. Blankenship stated there is a permitted site in Wabasso. He pointed out that in dredging we have to test the material. Depending on how those tests come out dictates where we can take it. If we can take it to the Wabasso site, that is where it would go. Mr. Clifford then asked what the targeted depth is of this dredging. Mr. Blankinship said that will be determined in design. Mr. Clifford asked how long the boat ramp will be closed. Mr. Blankenship said he has no idea at this point. Mr. Dovell asked if the City is collecting bids for the dredging itself. Mr. Blankenship said that will happen as soon as the funding is awarded. Ms. Billman asked if there has been any discussion about charging fees for boat launching. Mr. Blankenship said he has not heard any discussion about that. He added that his experience has been that, when you fund boat -launch facilities with grant money, you typically cannot charge for the launching itself. Ms. Billman also asked if residents of Sebastian vs. non-residents is another avenue for potential income for the City. Mr. Blankenship said, if they are Florida residents, and it is a state grant or a federal grant, he suggested that is not going to happen. Mr. Krauss said this project and Ms. Weiss' project are what the City should be focusing on, as probably the most important natural resource in Sebastian is the Lagoon. So this grant looks like a great improvement, and Missy Weiss' project looks like a great one. Vill. Public Inout Brent Wohlenberg introduced himself and reviewed some of the history of fishing in the Lagoon. He himself sees the misleading information going in different directions as an attack on our nation's ability to feed itself. Our estuaries are acidic from all the carbon dioxide mixing with water, and that makes carbonic acid and washes into the Lagoon. He stated that sand has a thousand times more surface area than shell. If sand is put in our estuaries, there will be a dynamic difference. There will be a ring of oysters and barnacles around the whole thing. Right now, we are at king tide. The barnacles will build up high, and the blue crabs time their spawn for this event, and all the little baby blue crabs will end up on the shore. As the water drops, that leaves all the exposed barnacles, etc. for the baby crabs to feed on. That will bring the blue crabs back, and you cannot have a healthy estuary without the blue crabs. NATURAL RESOURCE BOARD PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 1, 2024 IX. Unfinished Business A. Sustainable Sebastian 1. Current Action Plan Accomplishments Ms. Gordian thanked everyone for all the work they have done on the Sustainable Sebastian project. She provided in the agenda packet a brief list of highlights from throughout the Plan and over the past few years some of the major items that have been accomplished, maybe some things to hopefully inspire the next iteration of the Action Plan. She reviewed some of the activities which the NRB has proposed and carried out throughout the time that the Plan has been in place. 2 Preliminary ideas for the next Sustainable Sebastian Action Plan Ms. Gordian said that, based on the feedback she received from the Board members, she compiled a list of the prospective initiatives that staff would like to include in the next Sustainable Sebastian Action Plan. There are about 10 items, including some additional information as to what might fall under each of those items. The goal tonight is to choose seven of those to go into the next Sustainable Sebastian Action Plan. Attached to the agenda is a list of 10 prospective initiatives to be considered for the next Action Plan (SEE ATTACHED). The Predictive Analytics item and the Tree Protection & Landscaping Ordinances could possibly be combined with other items, so that there are seven items to be addressed. There was discussion among all the Board members with Ms. Gordian as to their favored goals. B. A Look Back in Time/Touch & Tour Debrief Ms. Gordian thanked everyone who helped with this event. It was a good opportunity for public input. There was discussion among the Board members on this event, and Ms. Ware suggested that the City do something like this annually. Ms. Gordian thanked Ms. Patty Teutsch who was very kind in helping out with labeling some of the plants in the Senior Center/Art Center gardens. She suggested labeling more of the plants in the City's gardens as we continue to improve some of the native plantings throughout the City. C. International Coastal Cleanup Debrief NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 1, 2024 PAGE 6 Ms. Gordian reviewed the day of the event. She stated that the NRB volunteers were asked to move to the Main Street Boat Ramp site due to the Chamber of Commerce not being able to man the Main Street site. She stated that the Main Street Boat Ramp site won an award from Coastal Connections for the most pounds per person at a site. Overall for the entire cleanup, there were 22 locations. Over 1,105 participants were registered for the cleanup. She read the numbers collected. Mr. Krauss suggested a follow-up step that needs to be considered when reporting on the numbers of items collected in each category. He also suggested taking some tangible steps that can betaken to help reduce these numbers. Ms. Gordian said that her thoughts on that idea are having some sort of public outreach element that is targeted at specific types of waste that we are seeing. Mr. Stadelman suggested that we have this information available to present at Earth Day and to present this information on a yearly basis. D. City of Sebastian Christmas Parade -- Saturday, December 7"', 2024 Ms. Gordian reviewed that at previous meetings some ideas have been brought forward as to particular items that could be purchased -- costumes, and things to be given out to event goers in lieu of candy, or in addition to candy if you so choose to do so. She stated that in the agenda packet there is a list of items that staff is looking to purchase based on the suggestions that have been made by the NRB members. There was discussion on these items. Mr. Krauss said the decals about"I brake for tortoises," etc. is misleading, as many people do not brake for tortoises. Ms. Ware said it is just a matter of education. Ms. Billman said there are many people who are newcomers to the area, and they do not realize that there are procedures with the native wildlife. Mr. Dovell suggested "Protect our Wildlife." Ms. Ware said she reached out to Waste Management, and they have a blue cart mascot "Carter," and they will try to get someone to wear it on the float in the parade. Ms. Billman suggested the prices listed for the magnets and the decals are high, and she thinks we can get them for quite a bit less. Ms. Bernard stated that staff can continue to get price quotes to make sure that we are getting the best prices for the City. Mr. Dovell suggested an alternative to magnets/etc. Since most of these items will be geared towards children, he suggested temporary tattoos. It was the consensus that that is a good idea. Ms. Ware called for a motion. A motion to budget $200.00 on the Christmas float and handouts was made by Mr. Clifford, seconded by Mr. Krauss, and approved unanimously via voice vote. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 1, 2024 X. Items for Next Aaenda and Date -- Tuesday, November 51h, 2024 A. Sustainable Sebastian 1. Development of the next Action Plan B. Christmas Parade Planning PAGE 7 C. The date for the November meeting was moved from November 51h, which is election day, to November 121h A motion changing the date of the November meeting from November 5th to November 1211 was made by Ms. Ware, seconded it by Mr. Krauss, and approved unanimously via voice vote. 1. Adiournment There being no further business, Ms. Ware called for a motion. A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Krauss, seconded by Mr. Clifford, and approved unanimously via voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:23 p.m. By: 04 Chair Pro-Tem Donna Ware A Date: 9 11 Q, Q - r>.Tt