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10/19/2022 Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 Meeting Minutes Wednesday, October 19, 2022 4:00 PM Main Library - Council Chambers Environmental Advisory Board Page 1 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 Roll Call Present 4 - Chair Jared Leone, Vice Chair John Thomas, Board Member Glenna Wentworth, and Board Member Sheila Sullivan Absent 1 - Board Member Marita Lynch Also Present - Sarah Kessler— Lead Environmental Specialist and Patricia O. Sullivan — Board Reporter 1. Call to Order— Chair Leone The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approve Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes from Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Board Member Wentworth moved to approve the Environmental Advisory Board meeting minutes from Wednesday, July 20, 2022. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda Ingrid Anderson expressed concerns regarding the trees at Harbortown Condominiums that were removed without permits and not replaced as required by city code and stated that the City is not addressing the matter. It was stated that state law preempts city ordinance and allows the removal of trees without a permit. It was requested that staff look into the matter and provide Ms. Anderson information on the status of the tree removals. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Sustainability Update; Melody Yin, Sustainability Specialist Ms. Yin provided an update on the City's sustainability initiatives. Staff is working with Public Communications to post information on the city website regarding the department's sustainability activities and status updates on the City's Cenergistic energy savings and community outreach efforts. Page 2 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 In response to questions, Ms. Yin said staff has created a new online composting course for residents; information is available online. Individuals who complete the course are eligible to receive a free compost bin. She said the original program was well received by participants. Ms. Yin said the Clearwater Community Garden does its own compost but will ask if they are able to receive compost donations. There are no plans to build a city composting facility. The City's solar program is currently limited to solar. She said if solar panels on city facilities do not generate enough for facility usage, the consultant may recommend implementing a canopy over a parking lot. Two additional EV charging stations will be installed in the Municipal Services Building. Staff liaison Sara Kessler said the City's federal lobbyist will be providing City Council information on the Inflation Reduction Act at tomorrow's council meeting. Staff anticipates the lobbyist will identify what could benefit city residents. Ms. Yin said Cenergistic is on track to meeting identified energy cost savings goals. One individual supported the City pursuing Level 2 EV charging infrastructure and said Gulfstar is a local company that specializes in commercial EV charging stations. He supported the City's efforts in promoting the solar coop. 4.2 Presentation about Pinellas County's Regional Resource Recovery Facility; Mike Engelman, Senior Engineer, Pinellas County Utilities Department Pinellas County is proposing a Regional Resource Recovery Facility. The goals are: 1) eliminate the need to land apply or landfill biosolids in their current as-produced state from county-wide and regional wastewater treatment facilities; 2) increase the capacity of the Waste-to-Energy facility (WTE) by diverting high-energy content waste materials (like tires) from being incinerated at the expense of not incinerating high volume but low energy contact municipal waste materials; and 3) eliminate unprocessed municipal waste from going to the landfill, with the lofty goal of`zero waste to landfill,' there by extending the useable life of the landfill. Pinellas County Utilities Branch Manager Gunner Mitchell provided a PowererPoint presentation. In response to questions, Mr. Gunner said the County is considering a food waste resource recovery method. Staff is looking at the easiest options for consumers and users. Ideally, individuals would discard their food waste in a specific bin; other collection options can be considered, such as sorting the waste. The end product could be electricity. He said Page 3 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 the County's waste to energy plant creates biogas, which can be used to power the facility. Staff has conducted studies to convert the biogas into diesel fuel to potentially power the county fleet. Converting the biogas to fuel provides the County a flexible option when it is economically or environmentally beneficial to use. Mr. Gunner said staff will be considering industrial composting. Pinellas County Plant Operations Division Manager Nara Hancock said the project entails three phases, currently approved for phase 1, which includes stakeholder engagement and technology assessment. Phase 1 will be completed in two years. Phase 2 will include the design material package and will take 18 months to complete. She said staff anticipates the project will be released as a design-build-operate contract. The facility will be operational by 2028. Mr. Gunner said, at the end of the day, the facility's end product must be usable or desired. Mike Engelmann said the new facility will not impact the current waste to energy plant's operation. The waste to energy plant will reach its capacity by 2026 if the rate of garbage received today continues. Once capacity is met, garbage being collected will be directed to the landfill. He said the landfill will reach its capacity by 2103. The new facility will take the energy of the items that must be burned and convert the biosolids in the hopes of eliminating the need to use the landfill. Mr. Gunner said the feasibility study will determine the amount of waste being removed from the waste to energy facility. 4.3 Imagine Clearwater Update provided by Project Manager Catherine Corcoran; Sarah Kessler, Lead Environmental Specialist Chair Leone said the Imagine Clearwater update will be distributed to members via email. City staff will provide information on the comprehensive plan, Clearwater 2045. Clearwater Senior Planner Kyle Brotherton provided a PowerPoint presentation. 4.4 Discuss annual presentation to City Council scheduled for Thursday, November 3; Board Members Discussion ensued with consensus to review the Board's activities over the past year and to suggest the city consider exploring opportunities in composting, community garden, community activities, and other initiatives that support Greenprint 2.0. It was suggested that a recommendation to realign the Board's strategic mission, in order to cover presentations or topics the Board desires, be included in the report. Page 4 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 It was stated that Chair Leone would present the report at the November 3, 2022 council meeting. In response to a question, Chair Leone said the Ready for 100 will be presented to City Council on November 3, 2022. 5. Old Business Items 5.1 Review information from Florida Department of Environmental Protection about seagrass in Clearwater Harbor; John Thomas, Board Member Mr. Thomas said in response to Hurricane Ian, DEP is actively collecting water quality data to assess environmental impacts from Sarasota Bay to the Charlotte Harbor area. The Department anticipates the final results will be available by the end of November. He would share the results as soon as they are released. Mr. Thomas said he drafted a short letter expressing concerns with the impact mooring vessels will have on seagrass beds once the Imagine Clearwater entertainment venue is active and recommending Council require a survey of the sea grass along the waterfront and implement appropriate mooring restrictions. It was suggested that the letter be noted as a board accomplishment in the annual report. Vice Chair Thomas moved to send the letter as drafted with the Chair's signature. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 6. Director's Report Ms. Kessler requested board members to advise her if additional items are needed for the next meeting agenda. The My Safe Florida Home program will provide an opportunity for single-family homeowners to harden their homes and improve readiness. The grant program is available to homes that are insured for less than $500,000. She said the program and website should be published within the next month. 7. Board Members to be Heard Member Wentworth said the IRA presentation will be held at tomorrow's council meeting and the Building Better Neighborhoods Conference will Page 5 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board 8. Adjourn Attest: ( Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 be held February 4, 2023 at the Morningside Recreation Center. Member Thomas identified Coopers Point as a potential site visit location for the Board. Chair Leone said Moccasin Lake and Lake Belleview are two other locations the Board should schedule. He said the Ready for 100 presentation will be given to Council on November 3, 2022. He said as he conducted research on the matter, he believes Ready for 100 is a tangible goal. The meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m. Board R- sorter City of Clearwater Page 6 Ch nme sory Board