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12/14/2016 MARINE ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES CITY OF CLEARWATER December 14, 2016 Present: Chair Paul E. Lightfoot, Vice Chair Edward T. O'Brien Jr., Board Member Nino Accetta, Board Member Tish Wold, Board Member Ken Marlow, Board Member Kevin R. T. Laughlin, Absent: Board Member Michael Grohman, Ex Officio Member Eric D. Spaulding Also Present: Camilo Soto—Assistant City Attorney, William Morris — Marine &Aviation Department Director, Patricia O. Sullivan — Board Reporter The Chair called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. at City Hall and introduced new Member Laughlin. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 2 —Approval of Minutes 2.1. Approve the minutes of the September 14, 2016 Marine Advisory Board meeting as submitted in written summation. Member O'Brien moved to approve the minutes of the September 14, 2016 Marine Advisory Board meeting as submitted in written summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3 —Citizens to be Heard re Items Not on the Agenda: None. 4—Old Business 4.1. Clearwater Point Discussion Marine & Aviation Department Director Bill Morris said up to 22, 000 cubic-feet of sand was dredged from Clearwater Point and piled on the former Holiday Inn property until it could be moved to hotel properties on Clearwater Pass. The subject hotels had to construct groins or Ts in the high current pass before the sand could be spread along the waterfronts. Mr. Morris will work with the Engineering Department, which will issue a RFP (Request for Proposals) to dredge Clearwater Point every two years or when needed; currently the Army Corps of Engineers dredged it at 5 to 10 year intervals. Both alternatives required the City to pay the cost. Once the Holiday Inn/"Marquesas" property is developed, only a small parcel under Clearwater Pass Bridge on the Clearwater Beach side would be available for future storage of dredge material, with capacity for only 5,000 to 6,000 cubic-feet of dredged sand. The objective was to more actively manage sand accumulation in the channel off Clearwater Point. It was stated the placement of red buoys near the dredging project caused a member's boat to beach on a shoal. Marine Advisory 2016-12-14 1 Member Wold moved to recommend the City accelerate its evaluation of historical shoaling at Clearwater Point and to increase the dredging schedule to every 1.5 to 2.5 years. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 2 Update - Crabby Bill's Restaurant Mr. Morris said Crabby Bill's Restaurant at the Clearwater Beach Marina would open by the first week in May. The roof deck has an unobstructed view of the Gulf. The first enclosed floor (constructed second floor) of the 3-story restaurant was required to be at 14-feet BFE (Base Flood Elevation). Ground level seating for 55 people in a small triangle on the roundabout by the parking lot will attract people to the marina. Restaurant patrons will access the second and third floors via stairs and elevator. In response to a question, Mr. Morris said marina tenants never were satisfied with marina parking. The City was hiring a new parking manager and parking staff would relocate to separate space in the marina. Staff was working with marina business owners, Pelican Walk, and the Water Taxi to create incentives that encouraged employees to use alternative transportation to get to work rather than park at the marina. 4.3 Update—Application for Mooring Field in Mandalay Channel Assistant City Attorney Camilo Soto said the Army Corps of Engineers and FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) had not scheduled public hearings as requested by the City re the mooring field application for Mandalay Channel. The City Council will be requested to approve outside counsel to contest ownership of a small sliver of bottom land listed in the application. The applicant owned bottom land in Mandalay Channel. In response to a question, Mr. Morris said residents along Mandalay Channel opposed the application. Concern was expressed a mooring field would create costs and problems for the City and it would be difficult to police moored boats for noise and sewage hazards. 5— New Business 5.1. Update— Consultant Report for Clearwater Beach Marina Mr. Morris said the City hired a consultant to estimate costs to rebuild the Clearwater Beach Marina with floating docks; Florida law prohibited floating restrooms or floating fuel docks. After receiving an $8 million estimate for the project in 2006, the City chose to construct a downtown marina for $8 million plus $4 million for seawall and upland improvements. The recent$30 million estimate for the beach marina included extras such as a $1.7 million east/west sidewalk behind the marina, replacement of part of the fire main which leaked, and a $7 million stormwater management project. The City's Engineering Department was reviewing the estimate for value engineering opportunities. A RFP will be issued next year. 2 Update—Water Taxi The Island Estates slips near the Clearwater Aquarium were being reconfigured to handle the Water Taxi's new 98-passenger vessel. Landings at the beach marina and recreation center were being improved to better manage Water Taxi foot traffic. Marine Advisory 2016-12-14 2 Items not on the Agenda Pier 60 Mr. Morris said retail sales on Pier 60 had increased to more than $1.4 million annually. Florida FWCC (Fish &Wildlife Conservation Commission) Anchoring & Mooring Pilot Program Proposed Report of Findings and Recommendations Mr. Morris encouraged members to review the FWCC report dated December 31, 2016 and prepare comments for the next MAB meeting. The lack of uniformity among Florida municipalities' management of local anchorages and waterways resulted in a statewide ban in 2009, revoking all but 5 municipalities' authority to regulate anchoring. The 5 municipalities participating in the study, selected as a cross section of the State, were required to have or construct mooring fields to compile meaningful data to be used for recommended "best practices and policies" for vessel anchorage, mooring field management, and regulations. The December 31, 2016 FWCC report was based on that data and a November— December 2014 survey. Reports and surveys were on the State FWC website "myfwc.com" under "anchoring and mooring." The report did not address setbacks from private property. It recommended that county governments manage mooring fields and municipalities that manage anchorage areas be within 10 miles of a mooring field. (No mooring fields were within 10 miles of Clearwater). All pilot programs were in areas with State-owned submerged lands. IMAGINE CLEARWATER Workshops Mr. Morris recommended members comment online that day re plans to redevelop the downtown waterfront and bluff. The plans relocated much parking away from the waterfront. Parking spaces convenient to the boat docks were important to boaters. Downtown marina parking was sufficient on weekdays but difficult on weekends. Attorney Soto said the proposed waterfront reconfiguration only reduced parking by 10 spaces overall and noted that 4,000 parking spaces were within a 5 to 10-minute walk from the waterfront. The City was encouraging citizen input re the plans. The City will determine how much it will invest. Many pieces of the plan required public votes. He recommended member involvement in developing the plan. Mr. Morris said plans for the Seminole Boat Ramp were responsive to the needs of the boating public and were being refined. Plans included mixed residential and restaurant uses uphill from the waterfront. Work was underway to determine which recommended changes could be permitted. Clearwater Sailing Center In response to a question, Mr. Morris reviewed upgrades to the Clearwater Sailing Center property. The center was managed by a non-profit organization, which was responsible for fundraising and applying for grants to cover center expenses. The non-profit organization was not raising sufficient funds nor applying for available grant money to operate the center. Attorney Soto said the City owned the building but had no direct involvement in managing the center. A RFP will be issued if the current non-profit, independent contractor did not attract sufficient funds to achieve financial soundness. Marine Advisory 2016-12-14 3 It was suggested staff invite the organization operating the Clearwater Sailing Center to a MAB meeting to review and discuss the center and its finances. 6 — Agenda for next meeting on March 8, 2017 7 — Adjourn The meeting ad. rued at 9:00 a.m. Attest: Board Reporte, Chair - Marine Advisory : •ard Marine Advisory 2016 -12 -14 4