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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-07-2025 NRB MinutesNATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 7, 2025 I. Chair Charles Stadelman called the Natural Resources Board meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Priorto the meeting getting started, Mr. Stadelman called for a moment of silence in honor of Dr. Jeffrey Carrier, a former member of this Board, who passed away recently. Mr. Stadelman asked if anyone wanted to say something about Dr. Carrier. Ms. Ware said it was a pleasure to work with Dr. Carrier, and the Board members learned a lot from him. He will be missed. II. Pledge of Alleaiance was recited by all. III. Roll Call Present Mr. Bruggen Ms. Ware Mr. Krauss Mr. Stadelman Also Present Mr. Carrano Ms. Billman Mr. Dovell (alternate) Alix Bernard, Community Development Director Felicia Gordian, Environmental Technician Joseph Perez, AV Technical Assistant Janet Graham, Technical Writer IV. Approval of Minutes A. December 3, 2024 -- Natural Resources Board Meeting Minutes All having indicated they had reviewed the Minutes of December 3, 2024, Mr. Stadelman called for a motion. A motion approving the Minutes of December 3, 2024 as presented was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Mr. Bruggen, and approved unanimously via voice vote. V. Announcements Mr. Stadelman stated that, as announced at the last meeting, Mr. Clifford has tendered his resignation from the Board effective January 15'. As such, alternate member Mr. Paul Dovell will be voting during tonight's meeting. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 7. 2025 VI. Aaenda Modifications — None VII. Public Inout Brent Wohlenberg, Sebastian, described the problems with the lagoon. He had brought an example of the blue crabs that inhabit the lagoon. He described the life span of blue crabs and the species that prey on them. He stated that calcium sand needs to be put in the bottoms of estuaries so baby crabs can feed on the barnacles that die after king tide. He emphasized that king tide is coming to an end, and we are going to have the lowest barnacles, which is what the baby blue crabs feed on. This is a nationwide issue. He showed an example of what a normal -sized blue crab should look like. He went on to describe the life cycle of the blue crabs. He also stated that he has released at least 200 blue crabs around every fish -cleaning table in the Sebastian area, and if the blue crabs start to multiply, the fishing around this area will improve. Mr. Stadelman informed Mr. Wohlenberg that, if he ever wants to put an item on an agenda, he should contact the City Clerk or Ms. Gordian. Ray Osborne, Sebastian (on Zoom) thanked the Board forthe greatworkthey are doing here. He reviewed some past issues, and one in particular was the Morning Star Fields which runs a chicken farm. He is wondering if Sebastian has discussed this and how it would impact the Indian River Lagoon area. He referred to an article that was published in Treasure Coast Newspapers, where it described how an environmental agency had passed it, but there were some concerns from other environmental agencies that it might impact our part of the Indian River because the chicken farm will be releasing a lot of chicken feces, chemicals, etc. into the Indian River Lagoon, and he wondered if this had been an issue that was discussed in the past and asked for the Board's comments on this matter. Mr. Stadelman suggested that Mr. Osborne put something on a future agenda, and it can be discussed further. Vill. Unfinished Business A. Sustainable Sebastian -- Champion Selection for the Next Action Plan Ms. Gordian explained that there will be many tasks that will need to be accomplished, so there may be a need for board members to champion certain tasks when staff gives them the fully expanded list of tasks that are under different initiative headings. She added that if a board member wants to be a lead champion for one of the six initiatives, that is an option. However, we will need a champion who can tackle each of the individual sub - tasks going forward. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 7, 2025 PAGE 3 Ms. Gordian also suggested sub -committees for certain tasks. Mr. Carrano stated that is a good idea. Mr. Stadelman stated that this entails board members choosing one or more of the items out of the six that would have the most impact and be able to actually work within the City guidelines and what the City wants to accomplish. Mr. Bruggen said he would like to take on Number. IV, developing a food waste program. That is his number one interest. Ms. Ware stated that her first choice would be Number I, reducing the use of single -use plastics and the education part of that especially. She would like to add recycling with small businesses in the City as part of that item. Mr. Krauss stated that he would like to pick Number III. He added that under Number VI, there are two educational programs, one for noise pollution and one for light pollution, and he would like to work on those two items also. Mr. Dovell stated his first interest is Number V. He is very passionate about anything water related. His second choice would be Number. IV, the operational footprint. Ms. Billman stated she would like to work on Number II. There is a lot of unfinished business in that area, and she would like to see that through. Mr. Carrano stated that his interest is in Numbers III and V. Mr. Stadelman stated he will work on Number III, mostly for the predictive analytic section of that. He will also participate in Number I regarding the single -use plastics. Mr. Stadelman called for any additional input. Ms. Ware suggested there be a backup person for tasks that involve going to different board meetings. Ms. Gordian stated that this item will be brought up again, and there will be a more expanded task list so that everyone can see each and every fleshed -out idea and how we plan to move forward with it. B. Christmas Parade -- Debrief Ms. Gordian displayed some photos that were taken during the parade and the Centennial Celebration and identified the people in the photos. NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 7. 2025 Mr. Krauss had a few suggestions for the next parade, and he had a list of those suggestions which he will give to Ms. Gordian. Ms. Billman also had some suggestions. There was additional general discussion regarding next year's parade. C. Centennial Celebration -- Debrief Ms. Gordian showed some photographs that she took during the Celebration and identified the people who were in the photos. Mr. Stadelman thanked all the board members who helped with this event. He said there were a lot of people at the Celebration. D. The Great Air Potato Round -up -- Saturday, February 8'", 20025 Ms. Gordian reviewed that staff is partnering with the Pelican Island Audubon Society to initiate this round -up. It will be held at Stormwater Park, more officially known as the Stormwater Treatment Facility. It is off of Englar Drive. The northern part of the park is heavily infested with air potato, and the Pelican Island Audubon Society hosts their annual Great Air Potato Round -Up in other areas of Indian River County, and staff thought it might be wonderful to bring such an event to the City of Sebastian. She reviewed the flyer which is attached to this evening's agenda. She asked anyone who is interested in this to please let her know, and she will provide copies of the flyer to those people. Ms. Gordian also has in the agenda packet the tentative schedule for the Natural Resources Board members if anybody is available that day to assist. It will be necessary to have one to two people for each shift. Staff will need board members to stay for a few hours at a time or more. There will be three shifts for the public to come and remove the air potato. Those shifts will be 9-11 am, 11-1 pm, and 1-3 pm. She described the process for volunteers from the Natural Resources Board. Ms. Billman volunteered for the closing shift. Mr. Carrano will be at the start-up shift. Mr. Stadelman said, if there are two needed for the early shift, he can be there as well. Mr. Bruggen said he will attend the afternoon shift. He may stay the whole time as well. Mr. Krauss said he would prefer an earlier time. Ms. Ware said she has the Sebastian Art Tour that day, so she will be unable to help. However, she stated that the Sebastian Charter School is interested in participating in this event. She sent them what information she has, but it does not have the times on it. So, if that information could be added and sent to her, she will pass it along to the school. Ms. Gordian said staff will produce a full event flyer with all the times on it, and she will send that to Ms. Ware. There will also be an online waiver that people will be asked to sign beforehand if they can preregister ahead of time. If they cannot preregister, staff will have paper copies on site. For any minors, there will need to be a parent or guardian signature. IX. New Business NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 7, 2025 PAGE 5 A. Proposed Framework for the Environmental Stewardship Awards Program Ms. Gordian reviewed that this program was suggested by board member Matthew Krauss. He suggested that it might be a good idea to recognize individuals and parties in the community that are doing good work towards preserving and protecting our natural resources. Staff has developed this framework which is laid out in tonight's agenda packetthat contains all the basic information that staff plans to include in this award. She further described what categories that will be part of the program and the tentative timeframe for nominations, which will be between February 15"' and March 15"'. The results will be tabulated and will be available by the April NRB meeting, and staff would officially recognize the recipients at the Earth Day and Arbor Day Celebration. She added that, if the board members would like the program to be named after a certain individual, there are some options that can be discussed. Ms. Ware suggested giving the schools the applications and having them fill them out before school lets out and having them work on it over a certain timeframe. She does not think that this can be done in a month. There was general discussion among board members regarding this matter and how the program would be instituted. Mr. Stadelman called for a motion to approve the framework for the Environmental Stewardship Award as it sits, with the name of "Dr. Graham Cox Environmental Stewardship Award." A motion was made for the approval of the above award by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Ware, with the change being the timeframe. Mr. Stadelman suggested that the specifics can be adjusted once we get it approved. Ms. Gordian suggested that it be included in the motion as a statement saying, "I make a motion tc approve the framework for the Environmental Stewardship Award, except for the time frame." Mr. Stadelman withdrew his first motion and called for a new motion to approve the framework for the Environmental Stewardship Award with an exception for the timeframe and keeping the name of Dr. Graham Cox Environmental Stewardship Award. A motion with that wording was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Ms. Ware, and approved unanimously via voice vote. B. Earth Day & Arbor Day Celebration -- Saturday, April 26th, 2025 -- Preliminary Plans Ms. Gordian stated that this is the largest event for this season. Staff has begun planning for the event. She stated there are a couple items listed in the agenda packet that the board members should know about. As we had previously worked with ORCA on the Living Shoreline event, we are continuing this partnership with them to install a buffered shoreline along the area where the oyster reef balls were installed. This will help to mitigate any stormwater that is headed towards the lagoon and will hopefully help to preserve the quality of our water going forward. This will be a volunteer event. Times will NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 7, 2025 PAGE 6 be determined, but there should be approximately four volunteer sessions throughout the day. If that is something that some of the board members are interested in, you may have a kind of opportunity away from the hullabaloo of the park festivities to take some time and join the planting itself. She mentioned that in the past some board members had brought up the fact that they would like some ambassador animals to be brought to the park. Fortunately, the Florida Wildlife Hospital has agreed to join us and bring some of their ambassadors for this event. She also stated that Alexis Peralta of the Indian River County Natural Resources Department has agreed to return to do the chalk -art contest. Since the buffered shoreline project is going to be located in that general area where they would typically set up, and based on feedback from Alexis Peralta, they will be moving the chalk art location to a different area, so both projects have their space during the event. Ms. Gordian said that, as part of the entertainment for this year, Heather Stapleton is going to be joining us, and she will do a reading of "The Lorax" from the stage. She stated that there are already a few people who have applied for vendor spaces, including but not limited to the Environmental Learning Center and the OF/IFAS Master Gardeners who are already on our list. She has had some other inquiries from Coastal Connections and some other organizations who are looking to join us. Mr. Stadelman asked if anyone here would like to be emcee this year. Ms. Gordian said that is something that needs to be discussed. Part of developing our timeline for the actual day of the event, staff is considering the possibility of having multiple board members do shifts as the Master of Ceremonies for the event. She described how the time blocks will be set up. Mr. Stadelman volunteered to be the Master of Ceremonies again this year. Mr. Krauss also volunteered to be a Master of Ceremonies. He questioned how the ambassador animals program will work, and Ms. Gordian explained how the Florida Wildlife Hospital will handle that program. He also suggested having butterflies at the event. Ms. Billman volunteered to bring butterflies. Ms. Ware reviewed some problems regarding the food vendors last year, and she suggested some things that will help in the scheduling of the food vendors. Ms. Bernard stated that staff is sending out the requests for applications for the event to the food vendors much earlier in advance. Mr. Bruggen asked if there are also trees available to the public. Ms. Gordian said the Pelican Island Audubon Society typically joins us and brings some trees. He also suggested having a beehive present for demonstration. Ms. Gordian will look into that. C. Annual Selection of New Chairman and Vice Chairman NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD PAGE 7 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING RIM Mr. Stadelman called for the nomination for Chairperson. A nomination of Mr. Charles Stadelman was made by Mr. Carrano and seconded by Mr. Dovell. There being no further nominations for Chairperson, a voice vote was taken and Mr. Charles Stadelman was unanimously voted in as Chairperson for the Natural Resources Board. Mr. Stadelman called for a nomination of Vice Chair. A nomination of Mr. Thomas Carrano was made by Ms. Ware and seconded by Mr. Stadelman. There being no further nominations for Vice Chair, a voice vote was taken, and Mr. Thomas Carrano was unanimously voted in as Vice Chair for the Natural Resources Board. Mr. Krauss suggested that the "Chairman" position be described as "Chair" or "Chairperson." X. Items for Next Aaenda and Date: Tuesday, February 4th, 2025 A. Sustainable Sebastian Development of the next Action Plan Ms. Ware asked if there will be more goals added to what we now have. Ms. Gordian said that from this list and from the previous discussions, she has been expanding on developing the kind of green -and -brown sheet that you are familiar with from the previous iteration. She will develop proper verbiage for all the goals and all the tasks that will go under those. So you will see a little bit of expansion from the current list. She asked that the board members review this list before the next meeting. Ms. Billman asked if there was any news on how things were going with the Garden Club Park. Ms. Gordian said the procurement process had been a bit longer than we had initially expected. Staff has finally received all the information necessary to be able to finally deliberate on how we can move forward with the actual procurement of the plants and our timeline. B. Final Preparations for the Great Air Potato Round -up Event C. Earth Day & Arbor Day Celebration Planning XI. Adiournment There being no further business, Mr. Stadelman called for a motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Carrano, seconded by Mr. Dovell, and approved NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 7, 2025 unanimously via voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:14 p.m. By: M � -Q�— Date: I ea • 1{ Do7C� Charles Stadelman, Chair A PAGE 8