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02/16/2000ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER February 16, 2000 Present: Freda Drake Chair Alan Smith Vice-Chair David Rhame Board Member Allan Stowell Board Member Absent: Dennis Kellenberger Board Member Also Present: Tom Miller Asst. Director Engineering/PD&E Leslie Dougall-Sides Asst. City Attorney Elliot Shoberg Engineer II, City of Clearwater Kevin Becotte Public Services Director Garrison Brumback Project Manager - Strategies for Success Nina Clark Staff Assistant II To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. ITEM #A - The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. ITEM #B Approval of Minutes - January 19, 2000 : Member Rhame moved to approve the minutes of January 19, 2000 as submitted. The motion was duly seconded by Member Smith. ACTION: Approved. Carried unanimously. ITEM #C – Commission Liaison Report – F. Drake – Chair Drake advised that she had nothing to report from the Commission. However, she welcomed Commissioner Johnson who was in attendance. ITEM #D – City Correspondence – Mr. Miller passed out an information sheet regarding Cone Ranch, a 12,000 acre county-owned property that is being considered for wellfield development by Tampa Bay Water, and planting of trees by the DEP and the Hillsborough River Greenways Task Force. They are in need of volunteers to prepare the site, transport trees and plant them. Mr. Miller also passed out a memo from the City Manager’s office reminding everyone about the Appreciation Day Dinner to be held at the Harborview Center on February 29, 2000. II Status Reports ITEM #A - Monthly Site Plan Assessment Review Summary of February 3, 2000 : - Although there are several projects listed, none met the criteria that would interest the Board. ACTION: None ITEM #B – Stevenson Creek Liaison for Environmental Justice – D. Rhame – Member Rhame asked Elliot Shoberg to inform the members regarding Stevenson Creek. Mr. Miller advised the members that on March 2, 2000, the Stevenson Creek Watershed Management Plan and the Scope of Service will be presented to the Commission, as well as the North Greenwood Stormwater Retrofit Project, Scope of Service and the Agreement with the District. The Stevenson Creek Plan Agreement with the Southwest Florida Water Management District will be presented the following month. Mr. Shoberg’s presentation demonstrated the latest information regarding the Stevenson Creek. He advised that the agreement that will be brought to the Commission will hot have a contract with the District due to time constraints. He is confident that the District will come through with their end of the contract as the money is already budgeted and has already cleared the PA Basin Board. The plan is to give the Notice to Proceed contingent upon the Commission approving the Scope of Work. Mr. Shoiberg informed the members that core samples will be taken at 8 locations from the top to the bottom of the muck and then analyze it using radiovisotropic dating to determine a time line as to what depth and rate the sediment was deposited in the estuary. USGS is the only one in the State of Florida that is licensed to do this and they are willing to work in a cooperative effort with the City. ITEM #C – Land Development Code – Alan Stowell will be offering information regarding the Land Development Code at future meetings. III- New Business Clearwater Water Conservation Program - Kevin Becotte Mr. Becotte addressed a question by Member Stowell regarding the rules regarding the distance between a residence and a sewer line when a septic tank is in place and can the City require them to hook up to the sewer. Mr. Becotte replied that only if the property is in the City and within 200 feet of the sewer line can they be required to connect to the sewer, but not the residents located in the unincorporated part of the County. Mr. Becotte informed the members that the reclaimed water master plan has been completed. Ninety percent of homeowners on Island Estates have connected to the reclaimed water system. North and South Clearwater Beach are next to be completed. SWFMD grant funding will expand this system to the east side of the City. Mr. Becotte presented the members with information about water saving devices that can be obtained at the Utilities Department, free of charge, such as a low flow shower heads, toilet displacement kits, leak detection kits and attachments for faucets for low flow. Mr. Becotte advised the members that a rate study is underway, and a 6.50% increase per year for the next five years is being considered which is $1.00 per month on the average. However, comparisons will be made with other counties in the state before this decision ismade. 2. North Greenwood Stormwater Retrofit Project – E. Shoberg – The purpose of this project is to install two pollution control devices and monitor the cost effectiveness of the larger unit for general application throughout Clearwater where appropriate. The project will begin March 2000 and be complete December, 2001. City crews will use a Vactor Truck to remove the sediment and debris before its discharge into Stevensons Creek. This item will go to the Commission on March 2, 2000 for approval. Member Rhame moved to recommend that the Commission approve the agenda covering development of a management plan for Stevenson Creek Drainage Basin and approval of the agenda covering the cooperative funding agreement with SWFWMD and the work scope by Parsons Engineering Science, Inc. to design and construct the North Greenwood Stormwater Retrofit Project. The motion was duly seconded by Member Stowell. ACTION – Approved – Carried Unanimously Business Plans – G. Brumback – Mr. Brumback brought to the meeting his philosophy on the Strategies for Success which is a fundamental change in the way that Clearwater goes about the budgeting process. He explained each Department has been asked to go out and determine what the best services, programs and capital improvement projects for the City to do, and to include citizen input, union input, managerial input and Commission input. From this, the programs will be prioritized and money will be put into those projects that contribute the most to City-wide goals and priorities. Member Stowell moved to extend the meeting for ten minutes. The motion was duly seconded by Member Rhame. Action: Approved - Carried Unanimously Chair Drake questioned Strategic Objectives/Measures/Targets, page 5, of the Engineering Business Plans under Performance Indicators; “Assure that landscape, streetscape & architectural features of capital projects are uniform and serve to identify Clearwater”. She wants to know what is the cap and how much money will be spent on this. Member Stowell mentioned the fact that the EAB meetings should be televised due to the fact that it is important for the public to know what is going on. There is a frequently played program called “Earth Café” which is produced by the City of Denver Colorado, a Denver program that is on the City’s C-View. Mr. Miller suggested that Chair Drake, Commission liaison, take this information back to the City Manager when they meet in the near future. IV - OLD BUSINESS: – None V – Citizens to be Heard - None VI - Future Agenda 1. Landscape Information for Freda Drake. (Postponed) The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.