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07/17/2019 Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 17, 2019 City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 m ap Meeting Minutes Wednesday, July 17, 2019 4:00 PM Main Library - Council Chambers Environmental Advisory Board Page 1 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 17, 2019 Roll Call Present 5 - Chair Jared Leone, Board Member Mark Wright, Board Member Ashley Wilson Pimley, Vice Chair John Thomas, and Board Member Candace Gardner Also Present - Sarah Kessler— Environmental Specialist III, Patricia O. Sullivan — Board Reporter 1. Call To Order The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. at the Main Library. 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 April 17, 2019 Environmental Advisory Board Meeting and approve the minutes of the May 2, 2019 Environmental Advisory Board Meeting. Member Gardner moved to approve minutes of the April 17 and May 2, 2019 Environmental Advisory Board meetings as submitted in written summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda Glenna Wentworth recommended that new City event vendor contracts prohibit Styrofoam and single use plastics at all Coachman Park and beach events. She said vendors should have no compliance problems as Largo and St. Petersburg contracts have these requirements. Michael Henkel said Imagine Clearwater should have a sustainability certification and exceed best practices on the waterfront with sustainable building materials, onsite waste collection and recycling, permeable surfaces for stormwater, onsite solar, wind, and tidal renewable energy sources, waterless urinals, native and edible plants, xeriscaping, a community garden, and no pesticides, herbicides or single use plastic water refill stations. He suggested all new development in Clearwater require benefit agreements with surrounding communities that consider social needs and the environment. Kathleen Beckman said the GSA (General Services Administration) reported LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) buildings used 25% less energy and had 19% less operation costs. She said upfront costs for green efficiencies were offset by measurable, immediate, and long term savings for taxpayers. She said Seminole, Tampa, and St. Petersburg had installed solar panels on city buildings and/or adopted ordinances requiring new construction and/or city rehab projects to meet LEED standards. She said Clearwater's RFPs (Requests for Proposals) should require LEED certification standards. She said reducing the City's carbon footprint should be a priority. Page 2 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 17, 2019 Brian Beckman said he reviewed Imagine Clearwater plans with Assistant City Manager Michael Delk and expressed concern that no Clearwater buildings incorporated LEED standards. He said the City should require new construction to be LEED compliant and enforce green building practices. He said the City needed to plan ahead and follow up on green requirements. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Presentation about clean ups and environmental programs by Valerie Christou, Volunteer Program Administrator, and Felicia Sabartinelli, Recreation Program Coordinator Recreation Program Coordinator Felicia Sabartinelli provided a PowerPoint presentation on volunteer programs including beach beautification and cleanups, planting, weeding, invasive plant removal, waterway cleanups, and adopt a trail/park/street/waterway programs. The City's first clean up dive was off Pier 60 in 2013, the next one will be in September, she supported quarterly dives. Support was expressed for the dive program as waves dropped significant debris on beaches. It was questioned what the City did to prevent trash. Concerns were expressed that wind and water flow caused trash to slip out of older trashcans and the City had a severe deficit of recycling containers. It was recommended the City focus on trash prevention. Ms. Sabartinelli said she met with stormwater re water goats that trap trash on slow flow waterways and can be cleaned by volunteers 4 to 6 times a year. Moccasin Lake had 4 water goats and Lake Belleview had 2' the City could procure more when groups volunteered to maintain them. Staff was discussing public education re recycling and littering. It was requested that staff report: 1) cost of City littering fine and number and value of issued citations, 2) list of City waterways where water goats would work, and 3) volume and content of trash picked up by volunteers. 4.2 Presentation about sustainability initiatives and Green Print by Sheridan Boyle, Sustainability Coordinator Sustainability Coordinator Sheridan Boyle provided a PowerPoint presentation. Planning Manager Lauren Matzke, who oversaw development of Greenprint 9 years ago, reported a number of buildings in Clearwater met LEED standards but were not certified due to certification costs. She said a new greenhouse gas inventory would determine if the Greenprint strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was successful. Greenprint was a living document requiring frequent updates re topics such as sustainability, plant rich diets, education, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, establishing an environmental preferential purchasing policy and a green revolving fund to invest energy efficiency cost Page 3 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 17, 2019 savings in other green initiatives, and adopting realistic tangible goals, measurements, and timelines tied to strategies. With a second greenhouse gas baseline, strategies may need to exceed initial goals. Technology changes may shorten the timeline to accomplish some goals. Ms. Boyle encouraged modifying the City's Comprehensive Plan to include Greenprint sustainability strategies. Using all available space for solar panels and green roofs would help minimize heat islands. Also, residents could trade or give away items at swap meets instead of throwing them in the trash. Ms. Boyle said recreating the Green Clearwater website to emphasize sustainability was in the forefront of City concerns and would include links to the Sierra Club, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, etc. and be a resource, providing tools for residents to review City efforts and to learn what actions they could take. A database of ecofriendly businesses and City projects could be posted to advise visitors of"green"activities and help to make Clearwater an eco-destination. Ms. Boyle recommended scheduling workshops for staff, residents, and businesses to encourage sustainability practices, solar energy, neighborhood projects, community events, rain gardens, Florida friendly landscaping, native plants that did not use fertilizer, waterwise efforts and public/private and/or public partnerships with nonprofits. Oldsmar hosted a waterwise workshop that distributed rain barrels and encouraged their use. She hoped the City would follow St. Petersburg's lead and host workshops teaching residents how to compost in their backyards and provide participants with a composting tumbler. Ocean Friendly status required producing less waste. She contacted Ocean Allies for vendor contract language re purchasing habits and recycling to reduce waste at City events. Ms. Boyle hoped to enhance the municipal energy policy, encouraging behavioral changes, and developing a best practices guide for developers highlighting LEED and best green practices. The permitting process could encourage low impact development, green roofs, etc. Installation of solar energy at the North Greenwood Recreation and Aquatic Complex was delayed as the only quote had a 17 year payback, staff will seek other opportunities. Ms. Boyle reported the City's fleet policy was considering requiring hybrid and electric vehicles for smaller car purchases. Duke Energy will cover costs for one EV(electric vehicle) charging station in a City location chosen to highlight energy savings to residents. It was recommended that new construction and renovations require electric charging stations and promote the locations on the City's website. Ms. Boyle said opportunities existed for urban agriculture and food Page 4 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 17, 2019 production. The CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) expressed interest in downtown urban gardens that could partner with nonprofits and sell the produce at a downtown market. The City also could encourage residents to grow butterfly gardens and pollinator patches. The City could partner with organizations to identify urban garden locations and encourage resident participation. Community gardens could be grown on City property that would not be developed during the next decade. Restaurants also had an opportunity to grow food. It was recommended the City replace crepe myrtles and palm trees on City property with useful trees that produce edible fruit. Concerns were expressed that Greenprint did not address transportation, ferry access to Clearwater Beach was not sustainable or environmentally friendly, and emergency transport from the beach to a hospital often was delayed by traffic. It was stated that alternative transportation for the area's 3 major cities could positively affect a large number of people. Ms. Boyle said transportation was a huge issue, vehicles were the 2nd highest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. Forward Pinellas initiatives encouraged less driving. A Councilmember expressed interest in the skyTran proposal, limited information was available. It was important that alternative modes of transportation be feasible and safe. Largo's website featured interactive maps of sidewalks, trails, and bikeways. Bike racks were being installed to encourage bicycle use. It was reported that Dunedin had artist designed bike racks A previous board recommendation to replace gasoline vehicles with electric on the beach was noted. It was stated the plan for a driverless vehicle on a mile loop on the beach was another opportunity to put a public face on City efforts on the beach. It was recommended that the City fill in gaps between sidewalks to help bicyclists avoid riding on major streets. A safe bike route to Clearwater Beach was recommended. It was noted the City had made large investments on the beach but the Roundabout was dangerous for bicyclists and mixing bicycles with pedestrians on Beach Walk and by the marina was dangerous. It was recommended that transportation on the beach be safe, varied, and attractive for visitors. It was stated that multiple cities had successfully built solar canopies over parking lots, the cost of a solar canopy at Clearwater Beach could be covered by drivers who paid extra to park under its shade. It was suggested the City encourage installing solar panels on cell towers. It was commented that these highly visibility projects would enhance public awareness and appreciation of green industries and Clearwater's ecofriendly efforts. Concern was expressed that no local program monitored local septic systems or required timely inspections as septic systems leaked nitrogen Page 5 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 17, 2019 into local waters, harming the ecosystem. Environmental Specialist Sarah Kessler said a few unincorporated and City neighborhoods remained on septic. Public Utilities priority was to upgrade water treatment plants to avoid overflows, which posed a greater environmental danger, and to verify that laterals between houses and sanitary lines were in good shape. The department's comprehensive plan included septic to sewer conversions. Ms. Boyle said her top priority was to have a greenhouse gas inventory and update Greenprint followed by focusing on local agriculture, energy consumption, and roof top uses, determining how much clean energy could be produced, developing best practices, considering tax credits or incentives for green building, solar use, and electric fleet vehicles. Ms. Boyle was commended for moving forward a large scope of information. Residents thanked Ms. Boyle for her wonderful presentation, recommended the City adopt rules to protect bees and provide them safe havens, encouraged the City to move forward with a CO2 census and the City's use of electric vehicles on the beach, suggested the City partner with St. Petersburg College's sustainability management program and other sources and replace fluorescents with LED bulbs in City and nonprofit buildings for significant energy savings. 5. Old Business Item Member Thomas said he was working to obtain from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program a detailed survey of the current condition of sea grass beds off Coachman Park to determine if impacts from mooring boats during park events caused a decline. 6. Director's Report Ms. Kessler reported the proposed smoking ban on the beach died due to State legislation that preempted local governments from instituting such bans. Concerns were expressed the City did not seem to enforce littering laws for cigarettes. It was recommended the City add a message re trash to changeable signs heading to the beach and that language request people to please be considerate when smoking. Suggested topics for the October 15, 2019 meeting: 1) Eliminate single use plastics and recycling opportunities at City events,- 2) vents,2) Report on plans to fill in sidewalk gaps,- 3) aps,3) City efforts to expand solar energy and "green"roofs,- 4) oofs,4) Discussion re expanding board's authority and meeting frequency, and Page 6 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 17, 2019 5) Review stormwater core mission, its budget, and how funds are used Ms. Kessler said the City Council reduced the advisory board meeting schedule to quarterly more than a decade ago; the number of board reporters was reduced from 3 to 1. The City Council approved the Ordinance that created the Environmental Advisory Board and established its powers and duties; amending the Ordinance required Council action. It was suggested that members email recommended Ordinance language to Ms. Kessler prior to the next meeting for distribution to all members. It was stated the new Sustainability Coordinator position provided the board an opportunity to review City sustainability efforts and it was recommended that Ms. Boyle regularly provide the board with updates. In response to a question, Ms. Kessler said once decisions were made re the concept for Imagine Clearwater, the board could review the project, recommend ways to minimize environmental impacts and consider stormwater and waterfront interactions. Residents requested a Police Department presentation and a report at the next meeting on Police efforts and fines levied for littering during the past 5 years. Concern was expressed that tourism was increasing and junior officers could enforce littering laws at the beach. A board member supported the request/recommendation. 7. Board Members to be Heard 8. Adjourn Attest: rd Report City of Clearwater Member Wright questioned who was responsible for picking up trash on the Intracoastal spoil islands. Ms. Kessler said the Audubon Society cleaned the spoil island owned by the City 2 to 3 times per year and mostly removed filament. The public was not allowed on the spoil island which supported bird nesting. The FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) owned the other islands in the Intracoastal. Chair Leone said his neighbor traveled by kayak to clean the spoil islands as a volunteer. Chair Leone reported Imagine Clearwater was on the Council's July 18, 2019 meeting agenda. The meeting adjourned at Page 7