Loading...
01/21/2004 . ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER January 21, 2004 Present: Sandra Jamieson Clorinda Gilreath Michael Flanery Judy McSwine Norma Carlough Chair Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Also Present: AI Carrier Leslie Dougall-Sides Andrew Neff Elliot Shoberg Norma Skinner Asst. Dir. of Engineering/ESM Asst. City Attorney Public Utilities Director Stormwater Manager Staff Assistant II 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 . The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. ITEM #1 Review Minutes from November 19. 2003 Member Gilreath noted a typo on page two, Item #8, Ms. Fierce's name was misspelled. There were no other additions or corrections. ACTION: Minutes approved as corrected. Motion carried unanimously. ITEM #2 Citizens To Be Heard None Action Items ITEM #3 Upcominq Selection of Chair Chair discussed the selection of the next Chairperson, due to take place in April '04. She suggested having someone serve as Vice Chair for one year. This person could work with the current Chair and Mr. Carrier to acquire experience before stepping up to the Chair's position. Chair asked if it would be possible for Chair and Vice Chair to meet with Mr. Carrier to discuss and plan the agenda for EAB meetings. She also asked if a couple of members could go out in teams for the purpose of environmental research, or to attend outside public meetings together. Assistant City Attorney Dougall-Sides advised that the Sunshine law prohibits them from doing so. Once a board has been appointed by the Commission and given the authority to make recommendations, they fall under the Sunshine law. Members can create a sub-committee for the '. purpose of meeting with Mr. Carrier to set up the agenda, provided it is advertised to the public Environmental Advisory 2004-0121 1 . . . purpose of meeting with Mr. Carrier to set up the agenda, provided it is advertised to the public and held at a location where people can be accommodated if they wish to attend. EAB members may also attend public meetings together, but they may not discuss the pertinent issues with each other. ITEM #4 Environmental Service Award Commissioner Gray, before leaving the City, recommended that the EAB take a proactive look at City employees, businesses and citizens who have made some outstanding contribution towards the protection and enhancement of our environment. These individuals should be recognized with an Environmental Service Award to be presented at a Commission meeting. EAB members discussed presenting an Environmental Service Award to the Public Utilities Department for their outstanding work in the areas of water pollution control, wastewater collection and the many projects that provide the City with reclaimed water. Member McSwain moved to approve the award as written, excluding the wording "estimated number of hours spent on ecosystem protection per month". Member Flanery seconded the motion. The award is to be presented at a Commission meeting. Mr. Carrier will find out the dates available for presentation. ACTION: Approved, carried unanimously. Reports ITEM #5 Commission Liaison Report None ITEM #6 Public Works Proiects Member McSwine had nothing to report. She stated that she did enjoy attending the dedication of the water treatment plant. Mr. Neff mentioned that the Utilities Department would be happy to arrange another tour of the plant for those who were not able to attend the grand opening. Chair suggested a field trip. ITEM #7 City Comprehensive Plan Liaison Report Member Gilreath said that the Comprehensive Plan is not going to be reviewed until 2006 so she had nothing to report at this time. However, she did inquire about a Tampa Bay organization that is planning to build on the beaches and Indian Rocks Beach was the only municipality that objected. Member Gilreath was unable to find out the name of the developer, but she offered to call Indian Rocks Beach to see if they could provide further information. Member Flanery offered to bring in a book he saw about beaches; it mentions that Clearwater Beach has no ambiance because of all the development. ITEM #8 Potable and Reclaimed Water Mr. Neff gave a quick update regarding a couple of issues. He provided some charts to demonstrate the comparison between increasing population growth in the City versus potable water demands. The charts indicate that although the population has increased, the potable water demand has decreased due to the expansion of the reclaimed water system. Mr. Neff also mentioned the discussion with City Commission regarding watering schedules. The City has been Environmental Advisory 2004-0121 2 . . . watering on a Sunday, Tuesday, odds and evens schedule and the Commission elected to continue with that schedule. Mr. Neff stated that fluoridation was also discussed with the City Commission and they agreed that the water supplied by the City should be fluoridated to match the water supplied by the County. With reference to reclaimed water projects, the lines are going in at McMullen Booth, Drew and Union Streets. That project is about 30% completed and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The Seville Sunset Dr. project is progressing in design. The Utilities Department met with a consultant and they are in the process of trying to obtain EPA grant dollars as well as SWFWMD dollars for reclaimed water projects. Discussion Items ITEM #9 Stormwater 101 Mr. Carrier introduced Elliot Shoberg who gave a presentation on Stormwater. This will be the first of a three-part series of presentations to be provided by the Engineering Department in order to give the EAB members a better understanding of watersheds and how they function. Mr. Shoberg presented pictures of watershed basins and sub-basins, demonstrating how water is traced from where it falls all the way to the outlet. He also discussed flooding, channel erosion problems and explained the different methods used by Engineering to correct problems and general maintenance provided. The question of who is responsible for the maintenance of Allen's Creek was brought up at a Coalition of Homeowners meeting attended by member Carlough. Mr. Shoberg stated that if a property line goes out to the center of the creek the homeowner is responsible for maintaining the banks. The City only maintains portions where they have right-of-way. Mr. Carrier added that the EPA just approved a new chemical, in pellet form, which over- oxygenates the water, killing the plants. It will be tried out on Town Pond within the next two weeks. Mr. Carrier will report on the results. In response to Member Gilreath's question on the status of Stevenson Creek, Mr. Shoberg replied that the City is still working with the Army Corps of Engineers. Their schedule for construction to begin is October 2005. Mr. Carrier mentioned another update, which is the Myrtle Ave. roadway reconstruction from Lakeview to Ft. Harrison. The main purpose of the project is twofold; (1) because of the transfer of Alt. 19 from Ft. Harrison and (2) for the City, it is a new outfall for Town Pond. A box culvert will be put down on Myrtle Avenue from Town Pond out to Jones Street. That project will probably be starting in another three or four months from now. Item #10 Allen's Creek Member Carlough attended the Clearwater Coalition of Homeowners meeting. One couple, who live on Allen's Creek, wanted to know when the City is going to do something about Allen's Creek. Mr. Carrier stated that all the creeks in the City fall into two categories; the City maintains only those areas where the City has right-of-way and these areas are very limited. In other areas Environmental Advisory 2004-0121 3 I I I! . . . where the property line is at the center of the creek, the owner is responsible for maintaining the banks. The Stormwater Department just finished putting together the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for Fiscal Year 07. A new CIP project was just created called Allen's Creek Improvements that will start in FY '07. Item #11 Pool Maintenance Ordinances Pool Maintenance Ordinances form the Cities of Largo and Clearwater were provided for members to review. When a private swimming pool is not maintained, the City's Code Enforcement Department, after giving notice, can order a pool to be cleaned and bill the owner or place a lien on the property. Fines can be up to $250 per day for each violation. Member Flanery made a Motion to adjourn, Motion was unanimously approved. ESTABLISH AGENDA: Work Session for February Find Out Who is Doing Outstanding Environmental Work in the Community And report to the Board Identify Areas of Concern ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m. km~~1li,b~J/ ChairNice Chair Environmental Advisory Board r Attest: ')Z {tc/J/~ /0 ~'-~/L Board Reporter Environmental Advisory 2004-0121 4