01/15/2020 Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 15, 2020
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
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Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
4:00 PM
Main Library - Council Chambers
Environmental Advisory Board
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City of Clearwater
Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 15, 2020
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 111, 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 October 16, 2019 Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes.
Member Wright moved to approve minutes of the October 16, 2019
Environmental Advisory Board meeting as submitted in written
summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda: None.
4. New Business Items
4.1 Discuss progress on limiting single use plastics at special events - Kris Koch, Special
Events Senior Manager and Sheridan Boyle, Sustainability Coordinator
Special Events Senior Manager Kris Koch said City special events were
planned years ahead. With input from Sustainability Coordinator Sheridan
Boyle, vendor agreements for the sale of food, beverages and merchandise
at City sponsored events had new guidelines requiring only biodegradable
plates, straws, utensils, etc. be distributed on City property and prohibiting
many single-use plastic items, including balloons. Vendors were provided
source information and advised re City recycling efforts. Recycling bins were
located at City events, education, awareness, and oversight efforts were
underway to eliminate contamination by non-recyclable trash.
Mr. Koch said to reduce waste, all City events will permit attendees to carry
unopened containers of water and will mandate all organizers to provide
water refill stations. Efforts will be made to patrol parking lots and enforce
prohibition of organizers papering vehicles with advertisements. Event
signage will educate attendees re sustainability efforts and direct them to
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Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 15, 2020
recycling bins and water stations. Work was underway to expand sustainability
efforts for tournaments. He discussed application requirements, noting
review committee approval was necessary before permits were issued.
Ms. Boyle said information re prohibited items and ocean friendly products
and resources was provided in handouts and available online. Ocean Allies
was a great resource for acceptable products. Staff also worked with Keep
Pinellas Beautiful which provided signage for recycling centers, information on
ocean friendly products and trash disposal, and educational obstacle courses
for children. This year's Neighborhood Day will be low waste; the City will
provide composting and ocean friendly resource information.
In response to a recommendation, Mr. Koch said staff would work with
Solid Waste to see if recycling bins could be provided at events with less
than 150 participants. Staff will provide board members a link for ocean
friendly products. Keep Pinellas Beautiful was working with vendors re
recycling for the Sea Blues Festival, which will be mostly ocean friendly.
The Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival, Clearwater Beach Chalk Art Festival
and Jazz Festival were taking steps toward hosting waste free events.
Ms. Boyle said the Chamber of Commerce had partnered with Ocean Allies
for this year's Clearwater Beach Taste Fest, which will be officially certified
waste free, every booth will have an educator. Guides will help people to
properly dispose of trash; Suncoast Compost will attend. City departments
were motivated to adopt sustainability practices. It did not make sense to
separate recycling items at events as single stream trucks picked up the
recycled trash.
It was recommended the City educate residents to separate recyclables from
trash. The difficultly of controlling disposal of single use plastics on the beach
was noted. The City was encouraged to adopt Keep Pinellas Beautiful's
practice of distributing paper bags for people to voluntarily collect and return
their waste to foster recognition of recycling opportunities.
5. Old Business Items
In response to a question re Cooper's Bayou, Environmental Specialist
Sarah Kessler said FDOT(Florida Department of Transportation) had funded
50% of the design plan and permitting costs. The design plan was 50%
completed. The channel along Courtney Campbell Causeway will be
approximately 400 feet wide. The project required permits from the Army
Corps of Engineers, NOAA (National Oceanic &Atmospheric Administration),
US Fish & Wildlife, FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection),
and SWFWMD (Southwest Florida Water Management District). After the
project is permitted, the City will pay the costs to modify the plan and obtain
permits for recreational elements such as an observation tower and kayak
launch. The City will release an RFP (Request for Proposals) once design
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Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 15, 2020
plans are ready for construction. Staff will apply for additional grants. The City
Manager will present the project to City Council in April.
Support was expressed for a bridge for direct public access to Cooper Point
without having to traverse the educational facility. It was noted a long bridge in
Bradenton provided access to public land.
Ms. Kessler said a bridge remained on the table but 24-hour security had
not been resolved. Boating rights for property owners to the south needed
verification. A bridge span would need to be high enough to permit boat traffic
underneath.
In response to a concern re City efforts to reduce nutrient runoff, Ms.
Kessler said dredging Coopers Bayou would improve water quality and
circulation and help reduce red tide in Upper Tampa Bay.
6. Director's Report
Ms. Kessler said many officials and industry leaders had participated in
training and round table discussions at TBRPC's (Tampa Bay Regional
Planning Council's) resiliency summit. The City's parking manager was
interested in St. Pete Beach's installation of a sealant on Corey Avenue
that cools pavement and reduces the heat island effect. She will provide the
board with the most popular round table recommendation for a regional
sustainability focus.
Recommendations for topics for April's agenda:
1) trash cleanup throughout Clearwater, including trash blown into school
perimeter fencing,-
It
encing,It was reported the Clearwater Marine Aquarium had expressed interest in
sponsoring a trash cleanup program by providing admission tickets to
participants. It was suggested the sustainability or volunteer coordinator could
organize trash cleanup events and approach organizations for sponsorships
such as Spectrum Field, Ruth Eckerd Hall, the Capitol Theater, etc.
2) solar energy,
Ms. Kessler said after installation of new pay stations, the parking manager
would look into a pilot project for a solar canopy over beach parking.
3) City efforts to reduce nutrients that cause red tide.
Ms. Kessler planned to attend a meeting re Old Tampa Bay water quality
with the cities of Oldsmar and Clearwater and Hillsborough and Pinellas
counties.
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City of Clearwater
Environmental Advisory Board
7. Board Members to be Heard
8. Adjourn
Meeting Minutes January 15, 2020
Member Thomas complimented the stormwater wetlands creation project
at the Long Center.
The meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
City of Clearwater
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