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07/17/2002ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER July 17,2002 Present: Rev. Sandra Jamieson Chairperson Alan Smith Vice Chair Clorinda Gilreath Board Member David Rhame Board Member Also Present Al Carrier Interim Asst. Dir of Engineering/ESM Andy Neff Public Utilities Director Anthony J. Andrade Staff Water Conservation Analyst, SWFWMD Norma Skinner Board Reporter Absent: Allan Stowell Board Member Leslie Dougall-Sides Assistant City Attorney APPROVED 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 Rev. Jamieson called and stated she was going to be delayed. She requested Vice Chair to call the meeting to order. Vice Chair Smith called meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. ITEM #1 Approval of Minutes – June 19, 2002 RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve minutes of June 19, 2002. ACTION: Approved and carried unanimously. Chairperson Jamieson arrived at 4:15 p.m., apologized for being late and continued the meeting. ITEM #2 Citizens to be Heard_______________ None. 0 Action Items ITEM #3________________________________ None Reports ITEM #4__Commission Liaison Report________ Chairperson Jamieson said that the revised agenda would be addressed further on and she apologized to the Board members for erroneously removing the Noise Pollution discussion item from the agenda. Member Stowell strongly expressed his concern and the Noise Pollution item was reinstated under Discussion Items. He was not present at the meeting…) Chairperson Jamieson will meet with the City Clerk in order to obtain more information on proper Board procedures and agenda procedures. Because two of the EAB members are relatively new, Commissioner Gray offered to provide some EAB background history and information on procedures to make sure all members continue to function according to the Mission Statement of the Board. ITEM #5__Stevenson Creek Report _________ None ITEM #6 Community Development Comprehensive Plan None Chairperson Jamieson recommended revisiting the Plan to understand what the previous Board has done. ITEM #7 _Potable/Reclaimed Water The Chair asked Mr. Neff if he had anything to add regarding potable/reclaimed water. Mr. Neff gave a quick update on the projects. He stated that the storage tank at the northeast treatment plant is completed. The second phase of the project, called 2000 Reclaimed Water System Improvements, adds some additional pumping capacity to the Marshall Street Plant for reclaimed water growth. That second phase is nearing design completion. They plan to pre-purchase some of the equipment and execute that phase by the end of the year. The work along Martin Luther King is essentially completed, except for a portion where it crosses Cleveland Street. This portion encountered conflicts and DOT permit was required in order to proceed. The design for the project at Drew and Union, which services the eastern portion of the City, is near completion and will be presented to the City Commission within the next few months. The Harbor Oaks Reclaimed water project is currently under design. Mr. Neff reported that the Commission approved the construction contract for the new water treatment plant. They are anticipating a pre-construction conference towards the end of the month, followed by ground breaking at the site. The project is anticipated to be completed by next summer. This project will provide treatment capacity for three million gallons of water. Total capacity, including other facilities throughout the City, will be about five million gallons a day. Discussion Items ITEM #8 ASR Presentation Mr. Neff introduced Mr. Anthony Andrade, Water Conservation Analyst with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Mr. Andrade gave a presentation on the Aquifer Storage and Recovery project (ASR). He described the background and benefits of the ASR project. Mr. Neff asked the Board’s support to commit $50,000 for the ASR feasibility study in order to determine if the seasonal storage of water is practical and feasible. This study will be presented before the City Commission on August 8th. Mr. Anthony Andrade requested a motion for support be addressed to the City Commission. Chairman Jamieson read the memo, prepared by Mr. Al Carrier, requesting the Commission to support this project and approve the amount requested for the feasibility study. Member Rhame moved to adopt the motion and member Gilreath seconded the motion. Member Rhame moved to amend the motion by adding the word “strongly” (so the motion would read “the EAB strongly endorses…”). The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEMS #9 Address Mission Statement ITEM # 10 Environmental Board Policy Manual Items Number 9 and 10 were addressed together. Chairperson Jamieson stated she was concerned about last month’s meeting and felt that possibly she was not doing her job as a Chair. She said that, as a new member, she needs to revisit the purpose and procedures associated with the EAB and for that reason requested copies of the EAB Mission Statement and Policy Manual. According to the by-laws there should be an annual report. Chairperson Jamieson and Al Carrier will address this. The number of required EAB members was changed by an ordinance in 1995-96, but as noted by member Rhame, we have no records indicating that. Member Rhame questioned if Ordinance 5822-95, automatically canceled the previous ordinance. Al Carrier stated it amends it, but does not replace it. Member Rhame feels that the records are incomplete and no indication that the ordinance was adopted. Commissioner Gray has offered to provide the document, which shows when the number of required board members was changed. ITEM # 11 Noise Pollution________________ Chairperson Jamieson said it is her responsibility to meet with Al and work out the agenda. At the time they met, they did have a copy of the Environmental Study pertaining to the Clearwater St. Petersburg airport expansion, but because they did not have anyone available to speak directly about their concerns, they felt there was no further information to be discussed under this particular item. Member Stowell took great displeasure at the fact that the Noise Pollution item was removed from the agenda. Therefore, an amended agenda, reinstating the Noise Pollution item, was issued and distributed at the meeting. However, it was a mute point since Mr. Stowell was not present at the meeting. Besides noise pollution, they are also concerned with the damage to the ecosystem and discharge of jet fuel. Chairperson Jamieson met with Commissioner Gray and following are some of her recommendations. She pointed out that we have to balance the impact on the environment versus the revenue that the airport will generate to the county which in turn will reduce the property taxes. Commissioner Gray also stated that if the board is concerned about the impact of this expansion to send a letter under signature to the City Commission to make them aware of our concerns so that they remain in touch with the county. Member Rhame stated that the people towards the south would be impacted the most by the noise. ESTABLISH AGENDA: ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.