Stormwater Oversight Commission Regular Meeting

Stormwater Oversight Commission City Commission Chambers 300 Monroe Ave NW January 24, 2022 – 2:00 pm MINUTES Members Present: Carlos Calderon, Julie Wildschut, Kristine Bersche, Jack Barr, Josh Lunger, Ken Yonker and Randal Meyering. Others Present: Kolene Allen, Carrie Rivette, Mike Grenier, Chad Reul, Dan Taber, Shanyn Viars, Emily Bryant, Brian Bradley, Cara Decker and MaryElizabeth Rojas-Garces. Approval of Agenda Motion by Josh Lunger, supported by Jack Barr to approve the agenda for the January 24, 2022. MOTION CARRIED. Approval of Minutes Motion by Josh Lunger, supported by Jack Barr, to approve the minutes of the December 20, 2021, meeting with a minor change. 1. Correction to spelling of certain names. MOTION CARRIED. Correspondence Betsy Hernandez and Casey Kuperus will not be in attendance today. Reports i. Asset Management Chad Reul gave the report. Storm Main Cleaning – EGLE FY 2022 goal = 410,000 ft. We have completed 28% of this goal. Storm Televising – EGLE FY 2022 goal – 53,650 ft. We have completed 18% of this goal. City Engineering sent over their list of projects. Some of which televising will be performed which will help to hit our goal. Catch Basin Cleaning – EGLE FY 2022 goal = 4264. We have completed 45% of this goal.  Chad stated that all other tasks, separate from these three, will start up in the spring. EGLE’s reporting year started August 1st (has since changed to calendar year as of January 2022) and with the nice weather, cleaning was able to be done through December. With all the catch basins in the city being cleaned at least once, we are now able to watch how much residuals are being hauled out and how much time it takes to do it. Chad stated he feels good about where the system is at especially after receiving $200,000 to begin basin lining in the spring following behind vital street work, prioritizing those basins first (about 380). It’s a spray in lining at $515 each to prevent old brink basin crowns from collapsing in on themselves. A repair can cost anywhere from $4500 to $6000, which is a major hit to the storm budget and lining them will be a huge cost savings. ii. Public Education Carrie Rivette talked about the Home and Garden Show, March 3-6, 2022. We are still planning on having a booth and water will be joining us which will help with staffing the event. Water has been working on a Source Water Intake Protection Plan which is like a lot of what we do. Old Business i. Budget Update Carrie gave the report. Budget has been submitted. Catch Basin Lining - Trying for it with the approval of higher ups. Does not mean it will pass but we are going for it because it just makes sense. Permit Fees – Going for full cost recovery. Mainly adding vehicles and development center costs that were not in there before. It’s not really a net change in the budget because it was pulled from administration and put in the permitting program. Mike Grenier commented that the permits will have a 19% increase taking them to $120 which is a super low cost. New Business i. Details on 2024 Capital Projects Carrie Rivette gave the report.  Plaster Creek bank Restoration-SE of Eastern and 28th St. A lot of erosion as well as downstream. A few years back there was damage to a sanitary line due to the erosion. Green Infrastructure Upstream of Burton-Breton Drain. Lots of issues in the area, people close to where the drain starts see a lot of backups. There is a decent amount of possible storage in the area. There have been preliminary talks with the drain commissioner on extending the drain. We are working on putting money aside to do more storage. Riverside Park Water Quality and Daylighting. Parks department came to us when doing the master plan and they had found an opportunity to do some daylighting and with that some cleaning of the water coming into it. Doing the hydrodynamic separators for the first flush, getting daylighting with pre-treatment should clean up the ponds and stimulating the water in the ponds will ultimately clean up what’s overflowing into the river. ii. Garfield Park Installation (Rainy day project) Carlos Calderon gave the report. Over the past year the focus was on public engagement and education, deciding to do more community involvement projects starting with Garfield Park. Problems and Issues • Parking lot flooding • Public health & safety concerns • Impeding access, including ADA parking • Aesthetics & resource management The solution to resolve these issues was to move the water to the permeable area and create a rain garden. Rain Garden Design  Native plantings & good infiltration  Large, impervious contributing area  25,000 sq ft x 0.10 = 2,500 sq ft  Depth requirements 3”-6” Small but diverse group of neighbors came out for design sessions, and they went great. It was decided to go with a shape of the letter G to show neighborhood pride. Project Results • Collaborative Design Workshops w/ community members • Input from a diverse group of residents • Over 20 spp. of native plants, more than 800 individuals  • Incorporated MGI trees • Volunteer installation & maintenance • NO MORE FLOODING Kristine asked how the neighborhood buy in was and how they came to find the people to help with this project? Carlos answered, worked closely with the neighborhood association, putting out fliers and posters. Carlos also attended community events to promote the workshops. Shanyn asked if there were plans to take ariel photos in the spring? Also, if Carlos could provide her with cost estimates for the project? Carlos answered that there were no plans for ariel photos but would be open to taking some with a drone if that opportunity arises. Carlos agreed to provide Shanyn with the cost estimates. Dan asked what the vibe was from some of the neighbors that may not have the background and experience with gardening? Carlos answered, blank canvases were provided at the workshops and neighbors were asked to draw what they would like to see. There was a diverse array of list and drawings that contributed to the final design. Election of Officers Chair- Jack Barr made a motion to elect Kristine Bersche, Ken Yonker supported. Kristine accepted. MOTION CARRIED. Vice Chair- Josh Lunger made a motion to elect Jack Barr, Ken Yonker supported. Jack accepted. MOTION CARRIED. Vital Streets Liaison- Jack Barr made a motion to elect Carlos Calderon, Julie Wildschut supported. MOTION CARRIED. Agenda Items for Next Meeting • Annual Report • Final Design for Glen Echo (possible) • Alger plantings (possible)  • Highlands (possible) Date and Time of Next Meeting The next meeting will be held on April 25, 2022, at 2 pm. Public Comment Kristine asked when we can start to talk about some of the large construction projects that the city has planned that the commission says they have a stormwater management plan for or when will be privy to those plans and information? Dan responded, if plans have already gone to planning commission, we can discuss them. He and Carrie have gone to them on already approved projects to talk about the credit trading program options and new tools available and they seem to want to stick with the more traditional development model which satisfies the permits. Developers still not comfortable with the new programs. Dan thinks we will see more action and movement with these when the new permit goes into effect July 1st. If there are any projects that are coming up that need to be discussed, please let him know and we can do a run down of the stormwater plans for those projects. Carlos asked if the new permits going into effect will impact what was already planned last year and approved by both city and planning commissions? Carried responded that the cut off date is July 1st, if they don’t have their LUDS permit in on time then they can’t go forward. Ken also responded that he went through something similar 2 years ago with permitting. Shanyn asked if they saw any kind of economic backlash from that? Ken responded no, not because of the permits. Jack commented that Fishbeck forms and LGROW sheets are a black box. There use to be some science and math behind what they did, and the engineers hate a black box. Some of the new regulations are counter intuitive from an engineering viewpoint like storage for sandy sites compared to clay sites etc. Carrie asked Jack if he talked to them about the new spreadsheets and how they work and if he shared his concerns? Jack replied that until it was put into practice it was hard to see what would come of the spreadsheets and each county differs a little from each other. Carlos asked if it’s possible to contact the office of Sustainability regarding an explanation of the climate change over ability assessment for stormwater that was sent to some? Carrie replied, it may be. They have a meeting coming up then they will go to cabinet. After cabinet they may be in a place to share it more publicly. Ken let Carrie know that the Drain Commission Association is scheduling a class with EGLE due to all the new people to talk and train what each other does in order to work better together and if she has any topics she would like him to bring in for input to please email him and he will keep her updated. Mike commented that they have been asked to make requests for ‘ARCO’ funds and he will be asking for support in the future to promote stormwater projects included in the request. Also, that ESD and Water have contracted with Fishbeck to look for grants for the departments. Jack asked Ken if in Kent County they only have the authority to review plats and site plans if the townships ask, have all the townships adopted that ordinance? Ken thought so with Kentwood still in the process. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Kristine Bersche. MOTION CARRIED. The meeting concluded at 3:02 pm.