Stormwater Committee

Stormwater Committee Meeting January 23, 2023 Human Resources Training Room 1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM. 2. Roll Call: Roll was called by Barbara Brumbaugh. In Roger Baxter’s absence, Markiella Moore, the Committee Vice Chair, acted as Committee Chair. Committee Members in Attendance: Markiella Moore (Acting Committee Chair) Todd Reigle Kevin Walker Vic Nicholls Michael Battle Crystal Bloom (PW Asst City Engineer) Cory Wolfe (Assistance City Attorney) Barbara Brumbaugh (PW Environmental Program Manager) Absent Committee Members Roger Baxter (Committee Chair) Michael Poyner Mario Aponte Traycie West-Pinkoski Laura Mae (Alternate) Others in Attendance: Ross Brockwell – (PW Operations Administrator) Jannelle Logan – (PW Stormwater Engineer IV) Citizens in Attendance: None 3. Meeting Minutes Minutes from the September, October, and December meetings were approved. -1- 4. PW Operations Report – Ross Brockwell o Ross showed a video of the remote controlled mowers. Ops has 3 of these mowers. o Kevin asked who the manufacturer is. It is RC Mowers. o Ross discussed how useful the mowers are. They are easy to transport and in the past the City has had to use a tractor with a brush hog which has a very heavy footprint. o Ross presented the Operations Report. There were no flooding calls and these have been trending down. o Markiella asked about the status of the WOs: completed vs. new vs. open. There was a brief discussion. o Kevin asked if they are prioritized by type or when the WO comes in. It depends on whether specialized crews are needed. o Todd asked if 25 is a typical number of cave-ins. Yes it is. o Kevin asked how many staff per crew. It is 2-4 people per crew. There are 3 pipewashing crews, 3 ditch clearing crews, 2 offroad ditch crews, and 7 street sweepers. Vegetation control uses small crews. Use of inmates is down. o Markiella asked what is considered “on time”. When the service goal is met. o Ross showed photos of several jobs including before and after photos. The projects included Jarvis Rd., Lockheed Ave., and Fairhaven. Ross also had crews check the Fernwood Farms roadside ditch work in response to the citizens who attended the last meeting. Several WOs were completed in Fernwood Farms and photos were shown. 5. Engineering Update - Crystal Bloom o Crystal introduced Jannelle Logan, the new Stormwater Engineer IV. Jannelle used to do Development Plan Review for the City of Virginia Beach. She will now manage the Stormwater Engineering group. o Crystal reviewed the active CIP projects: o Todd asked how long the project will last. About 6 months. o Markiella asked if there is an easement. o Kevin asked about monitoring. Crystal said that within 30 ft of structures monitoring is written into the specifications to minimize risk. o Kevin asked if the City is insured or self-insured. It is self-insured. Any claims would need to be submitted, reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office, etc. o Royce Drive drainage outfall improvement includes a new outfall pipe. o John Street outfall improvements Phase III in Pughsville. To begin at the end of February. o Shillelegah Road drainage improvements project had to be re-bid. o 18th Street drainage improvements is a joint project between Public Works and Public Utilities. Awaiting material delivery. o Kevin asked if material prices are going up. -2-  o Markiella asked if proposed development factors into the City’s plan. If it is a master drainage project it could possibly use the pro-rata funding. Typically developers are responsible for drainage improvements for their own projects. o The Shillelagh Rd project also has a traffic component in a wider shoulder. o Todd asked how far. Where Herring Ditch meets Shillelagh. o The Resilience Plan response to comments was discussed. o Markiella asked about her question #3 and whether her comments had been shared with the other departments yet. She also asked who the other department contacts are. They are Lucy Stoll (Planning) and Mark Curry (Development and Permits). o Crystal said that Timmons will provide a revised Resilience Plan (RP) by early February. The original scope was through Timmons and they will also be doing any updates. o Markiella asked if the RP will still be preliminary. She asked if it will limit the projects that can be submitted (for grant funding). She also wanted to know if the RP will have any new projects. She offered an example of the 2020 Resiliency Study that was done for Greenbrier. o Crystal noted that DCR just announced Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) funding for the Greenbrier outfall project which will pay for 55%. o Kevin asked how the percentage is determined. A higher percentage is provided for nature based projects. o Crystal said there will be a new DCR grant manual for CFPF in March. It will be published for a 30 day comment period. The next applications will likely be due in August. The projects to be submitted have not been determined yet, but shovel ready is better. o Kevin asked how often the City does a RP. This is the first one. Crystal said it could be amended every 3 years. o Kevin asked how long it took to develop the RP. Crystal said that is was a very expedited schedule and took 3 months. The City needed to meet a deadline to be eligible for CFPF grant funding. o Kevin asked if there is a limit to the CFPF project size. There is not, but there are funding limits. o Kevin asked if grants are project by project. The are. 6. MS4 Update – Barbara Brumbaugh o The MS4 team conducted 21 public and 2 private BMP inspections. o The team also responded to 2 customer service requests, and conducted 12 internal yard inspections. o There was a retirement in the group recently and there is an opening for an Engineering Technician III. o The project to develop the BMP Inspection Manual and new BMP Inspection database is ongoing. -3- 7. Bylaws Update – Corey Wolf o The City Attorney recently resigned. Corey will work with the Acting City Attorney to get the updated bylaws on a City Council agenda. o Markiella mentioned correcting the language to note that the meetings are the 4th Monday of the month, and she wants to keep the current wording on joint meetings with City Council. o Markiella also noted that the Toll Advisory Committee has time before voting on rate increases. She would like to build in some time for the Stormwater Committee when a rate increase is proposed. 8. Old Business/New Business o Markiella mentioned that Roger is teaching Monday evening classes at TCC and will miss several meetings. o Barbara mentioned that the City Clerk’s Office informed her that hybrid meetings (part virtual, part in-person) are not currently allowed. o Markiella made a suggestion for the next meeting. She asked if the Engineering group could discuss how the Dominion Blvd project impacted the culvert drainage (under Dominion) in the surrounding neighborhoods. She noted that tidal flooding comes under the bridge now, but didn’t use to do that. She asked if the culvert was lowered. She mentioned that there used to be an outfall ditch at the end of Pinewood Run. o Crystal said that a summary of the budget will be presented at the April meeting. On May 10th the City should adopt the CIP. The meeting was adjourned at 7:12 pm. Minutes approved by the Committee _____________________________ Date _____________________________ -4-