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08/15/2001ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER August 15, 2001 Present: Sandra Jamieson Chairperson David Rhame Board Member Alan Smith Vice Chair Allan Stowell Board Member Vacant Chair Board Member Absent: Also Present: Tom Miller Assistant Director of Engineering/E&SM Leslie Dougall-Sides Assistant City Attorney Terry Finch Environmental Manager Sid Klein Police Chief Michele Smith Staff Assistant II To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. Unless otherwise noted, no action was taken regarding items. Administration The Chair called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. ITEM #1 Approval of Minutes – July 18, 2001 Mr. Rhame moved to approve the minutes with the following changes: Page 2, Item #5 needs to read that the Estuary Project feasibility study will be completed by April 2002. Mr. Smith seconded the motion. ACTION: Approved. Carried unanimously. ITEM #2 Citizens to be Heard None Action Items ITEM #3 – None Reports ITEM #4 – Commission Liaison (Jamieson/Miller) There was no new information to report. ITEM #5 – Stevenson’s Creek Liaison (Rhame/Shoberg) There was no new information to report. ITEM #6 – City Comprehensive Plan (Smith/Wood) There was no new information to report. ITEM #7 – Potable/Reclaimed Water Liaison (Stowell/Neff) There was no new information to report. ITEM #8 – Arsenic (Stowell/Finch) There was no new information to report. Discussion Items ITEM #9 - Courtney Campbell Causeway Police Chief Sid Klein presented the Police Department’s conceptual plan for changes to this area. He noted that the land is leased from the FDOT under a renewable lease in order to allow Clearwater police to patrol the area. There is no requirement in this agreement for the City to construct restroom and/or parking facilities here however, the Police Department feels that both would be highly beneficial to users of the beach. The conceptual design calls for a one-way access through the area with angled parking spaces. The entrance would be on the west end near the current entrance-exit and the exit would be on the east end. To facilitate the new exit, an acceleration lane would have to be added. Traffic exiting the area would be forced to continue east to a turnaround point. As discussed at prior meetings by the board, the Police Department also agrees that the lack of restrooms and the haphazard parking is a health and safety issue. The uncontrolled parking has also led to erosion concerns along the roadway. Another health issue is the fact that dog owners are not required to clean up after their pets and the result could ultimately be fecal coliform contamination of the surrounding waters. Chief Klein noted that several weeks ago city management and staff met to discuss viable options for the beach. Mr. Stowell noted that at their last meeting the Coalition of Homeowners voted in favor of building restrooms on this beach. He also suggested that the City explore grant opportunities to alleviate the cost of such a project. There is no money funded for such a project in either the Police or Engineering budget for next fiscal year. Mr. Rhame motioned that the board make a recommendation to the Commission. Mr. Smith seconded. ACTION: Recommend the City Commission consider development of a project on Courtney Campbell Causeway to provide public restrooms, showers, pet refuse stations and erosion control to protect public health. ITEM #10 – EAB Public Support and Education Ms. Jamieson briefly discussed her vision of this board becoming a public education tool for Clearwater citizens. The first issues the board would focus on would be pet walking and clean up and polluting storm drains. She requested that all board members consider ways to improve public education about issues before the board for further discussion at a future meeting. ITEM #11 – Kapok/Bayview Florida Forever Grant Staff provided a brief update on the status of these applications. Parks and Recreation has submitted an application in conjunction with the Trust for Public Lands to pursue purchase of the Connolley property (Bayview) for use as a park. Environmental and Stormwater Management has submitted an application to pursue purchase of the Friendly Village of Kapok mobile home park to restore the property to its original floodplain status. Restoration of this property would greatly alleviate flooding problems in neighboring areas such as College Hill and Alligator Creek. The meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.