Waterways Advisory Committee

City of Marco Island Florida 51 Bald Eagle Drive Marco Island, Florida cityofmarcoisland.com Meeting Minutes - Final Monday, April 24, 2017 9:00 AM WORKSHOP MEETING Community Room Waterways Advisory Committee Chair: Phares Heindl Vice-Chair: Rodger Parcelles Ben Farnsworth, Monica Pierce, Robert Roth, Steve Sokol, Sam Young City Staff: Chadd Chustz, Waterways Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes - Final April 24, 2017 (1) ROLL CALL Present: 6- Ben Farnsworth, Chair Heindl, Steve Sokol, Monica Pierce, Robert Roth and Sam Young Excused: 1- Vice-Chair Rodger Parcelles PRESENTATION BY WEILER ENGINEERING CONSULTANT The committee received a presentation from Todd Helt and Robin Palmer from Weiler Engineering regarding the MS4 Permit and National Pollutant Discharge Eliminate System (NPDES) Permit. Questions and concerns raised during the presentation included: Mr. Heindl commented that within the report it stated that Marco Island with more than 200 miles of canals and direct interface with the gulf and the bays has less staff and budget for stormwater as compared with some small inland Cities. Public Comment Bob Olsen, 900 Montego Court, questioned the $140,000 for public complaints and comments and that 2 1/2 years into the program this is the first meeting. He also questioned the street sweeping which he has not seen. He stated that the best management practice for the City is to retain the water in the swales and the water to never make it to the canals in the first place. Unfortunately we put 1,864 outlets dropping water in our canals. Mr. Heindl referenced Page 20 of the report regarding Public Works teaming up with organizations who clean the beaches because of staffing limitations to inspect stormwater outfalls. He asked how this could be included in the plan when there are zero stormwater outfalls on the beach. Mr. Heindl advised that he feels that there is a problem in the way the management plan and the potential ordinance addresses swales. The plan addresses the swales as a conveyance system. He stated that the swales on Marco were designed so be like mini retention ponds to hold the storm water and let in percolate into the ground and not for the water to run off into the canal. He referenced Page 32 of the report that stated that the most common drainage issue on Marco Island is due to the need to grade swales to allow stormwater to be conveyed to the outfall. He stated that this concept permeates the stormwater management plan and asked if the committee should retool what the concept of what a swale is. Mr. Roth advised that stormwater is treated through a series of practices like links in a chain and the swale is a link. Our problem on Marco Island is our chain is very short because the roads are very close to the canals. He stated that we should look at what the opportunities are and to what extent we can enhance the ones we have such as the swales or perhaps add practices. The goal is that each efficiency works with another so that at the end of the day when it goes through five or six practices its polished pretty good. He also mentioned that the roofs on our homes are a huge source of pollution. A lengthy discussion followed. Public Comment Unknown, Thrush Ct. , he advised that there is no enforcement of any code with new landscaping and that they are not promoting a swale that would enhance the percolation of the stormwater. If the permit process is promoting enhancing the swale it is not happening. Mr. Farnsworth talked about the importance of educating the public on the environmental values of the City of Marco Island Florida Page 1 Waterways Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes - Final April 24, 2017 swales and controlling the runoff from the roofs. He feels that a public education program could improve our situation greatly. Bob Olsen, 900 Montego Court, advised that we did not inherit this problem, that in 2003 the City engineered and built the 1,864 drains into our canals, prior to that we had a swale system. Our past City Manager thought the solution to the problem was the swales so he bought a piece of equipment specifically to dig out the swales. Mr. Pinter advised that that is misinformation. The 2000 Master Plan provided by RWA to the City of Marco Island shows all the inlets and outfalls on Marco Island. It also shows outfalls into the gulf that existed at that point in time that we have since removed. Mr. Heindl advised that we have got to determine somehow whether our policy on swales is going to be to use them as a catch basin, a percolation cleansing device or a conveyance. We should not be scared of how much it will cost to fix the problems. Public Comment Guy, Marco Island, everyone is well intentioned, we saw something in the report that is very simple to do which is educating the public, put information in the water bills. Let's fix the problem and get something done today. John Kramer, Isle of Capri, advised that there is a template for this that was extremely successful in Tampa Bay. They have completed turned their situation around. The two things that worked the best in getting this started was education and buy-in from the public. Mr. Tanner, Marco Island, there is a small number of companies that fertilize a lot of the yards and provide pesticides. You should get with those people on the proper chemicals to use and educate those people. Mr. Heindl polled the audience to whether they would like to see the swale used as in the Naples Ordinance to retain and slow the water so that it can percolate or would they rather see the swales used to shunt the water off as soon as it can. By a raise of hands the audience preferred the use as percolation. Public Comment Shephard Johnson, Marco Island, Environmental Lawyer, he has studied these kinds of problems all over the country. He has a federal lawsuit in Boston right now for exactly what we are talking about. The City has a tremendous role to play in permitting. Every time a seawall is replaced there should be no discharge through that seawall. Look at re-permitting and new construction permits as a mechanism to implement a city wide plan regardless of what happens with the rest of this stuff. (2) DISCUSSION OF MS4 PERMIT SIX DISCUSSION CATEGORIES The committee discussed Appendix A - Phase II MS4 Stormwater Management Program (SWMP) Elements Form 1. Public Education and Outreach Minimum Control Measure - There was discussion regarding ways to educate the public regarding swales, fertilizer, yard clippings, and water retainage on property. Dissemination of information through hand outs in utility bills and notices on the web site was also discussed. Other topics included labeling storm sewer drains that empty directly to the canals, seeking the public support for stronger ordinances and publishing articles in the local newspapers. Public Comment City of Marco Island Florida Page 2 Waterways Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes - Final April 24, 2017 Unknown speaker, in Maryland they letter grade their bays and other water areas and publish that information in the newspaper so that people living in those areas can be informed. He has never see any inserts in his utility bills, it would be better if they were direct mailed. 2. Public Participation/Involvement Minimum Control Measure Ways to involve the community and reach the masses by encouraging more participation at WAC meetings, speaking at local organizations, publishing pamphlets with Council approval and encouraging people to become storm water certified was discussed. Public Comment Jim Timmerman, Perrine Ct., advised to get the kids involved which has been a big part of the Ocean Habitats success. 3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Minimum Control Measure. Mapping where discharges are coming from, amending the ordinance to define and enforce regulations, inspections procedures for detecting violations, and public education in best management practices. 4. Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control Minimum Control Measure. Tim Pinter advised that the new ordinance will basically talk about controlling on site sediment erosion control, construction waste control, and site plan review which is not currently done now. Mr. Roth was pleased to see that fines were included in the ordinance, however, he did not feel they were high enough. 5. Post-construction Stormwater Management in New Development and Redevelopment Minimum Control Measure Tim Pinter advised they are working on year three to include in the ordinance a site plan review requiring that the site and drainage plans be submitted for the site plan review and that the project will be signed and sealed by a Florida Professional Engineer and certified after construction that it is complete. Mr. Roth suggested that the ordinance include annual maintenance and certification and a required maintenance bond. Mr. Chustz agreed that enforcement is crucial and that the committee should advise City Council that enforcement should be budgeted for and also to advise on the language that should be used in the ordinance. 6. Municipal Operation Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping Minimum Control Measure. Pet waste collection systems, street sweeping of the major intersections at least twice a month, and storm sewer vacuuming done before rainy season were all topics that were discussed. Mr. Pinter advised that there is discussion as to whether they will continue with the storm skimmer grates program. There are 500 remaining inlets to be completed. Public Comment Unknown, Thrush Court. 45 years ago in the City of Cleveland these boxes were put in and they were a failure. Mr. Roth commented that they are certainly worthwhile, they do a job and they pull tons of stuff out that City of Marco Island Florida Page 3 Waterways Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes - Final April 24, 2017 otherwise would have been in the canals. They are a link in the process. There was discussion regarding the cost of the filters as opposed to the costs of rerformatting swales. Mr. Heindl asked Mr. Pinter if we were reformatting the swales so they intend as catch basins or are we reformatting them to shunt the water off to the canals or both. Mr. Pinter advised that the program they doing is reconstructing the swales to their original design elevations. (3) DISCUSSION OF STORM WATER UTILITY There was discussion of implementation of a stormwater utility versus public works. Chadd Chustz explained that everyting starts with the master plan and the utility is a seperate fund via taxation of homeowners to fund storm water management programs. It was the consensus of the committee that a stormwater utility should be implemented. Issues regarding funding and public buy-in were discussed. MOTION by Member Farnsworth that the committee recommend to City Council that we move toward a seperate storm water utility. Seconded by Member Roth. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 6- Member Farnsworth, Chair Heindl, Member Sokol, Member Pierce, Member Roth and Member Young Not Present: 1- Vice-Chair Parcelles MOTION by Member Young to have a special workshop specific to storm water management and water quality testing, Seconded by Member Farnsworth. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 6- Member Farnsworth, Chair Heindl, Member Sokol, Member Pierce, Member Roth and Member Young Not Present: 1- Vice-Chair Parcelles (4) ADJOURNMENT NOTE: TWO OR MORE CITY COUNCILORS OR OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS MAY BE PRESENT City of Marco Island Florida Page 4