Beach Task Force

Tybee Island Beach Task Force Minutes: January 21, 2021 CALL TO ORDER: Cathy Lewis called the zoom meeting to order at 12:00PM and stated there was a quorum present. Ms. Lewis welcomed all the guests to the meeting. Jimmy Burke made a motion to approve the November 19, 2020 Beach Task Force Minutes. Kate Burns seconded. Vote was unanimous to approve as presented. Alan Robertson joined the meeting for a Beach Update. Mr. Robertson stated the City continues to replace and repair the crossovers as 15th Street is completed and 8th Street has been extended. The next crossover will be East Gate and the intention is to ensure the three (3) ADA access points are restored and up to date. He is currently working on the Back River assessment and will have group advisory calls to introduce the project to residents. This will be a yearlong projects with the end date of April 2022 to deliver. Mr. Robertson stated this week he received the Agreement from FEMA for the Storm Water Management Grant, $190,000. One last project, they have signed the Agreement and funded the USACOE Study of the North Beach Ship Wake and the sensor buoys will be placed in January or early February 2021. They will monitor everything about the north beach area for approximately four (4) months. This Report should suggest some solutions for the City. Ms. Lewis thanked Mr. Robertson for his report. Dune Vegetation Best Practices Update: Ms. Lewis introduced Dr. Lissa Leege, Professor of Biology at Georgia Southern University who has been on the faculty since 1998. Also Dr. Leege is the founding Director of Georgia Southern’s Center for Sustainability and author of textbooks. Ms. Lewis also introduced Shannon Matzke, Master Student at Georgia Southern who is working in the Plant Ecology Lab with Dr. Leege. Dr. Leege gave a brief presentation showing the work that has been done in the dunes. Dr. Leege stated since the dunes have been built, they now need a method by which they can evaluate the success of the dunes. They have worked with Alan Robertson to write a research proposal which was funded by the GaDNR and the goals of the grant are to evaluate the revegetation methods of the new sand dunes and to compare the success of those dunes with a natural dune on the Island. Shannon Matzke continued with the presentation. Ms. Matzke showed a map depicting two areas they are studying which includes the best planting density and planting assemblages to continue to build the new sand dunes. They are also looking at the survival rate of the plantings and comparing the high and low density sites. Ms. Matzke then compared the growth of plantings with the different seasons. To date, the planting are beginning to mimic the existing dunes present on Tybee. She continued with various slides showing the growth of the vegetation and stabilization of the dunes. Dr. Leege stated the goals are to find the key variables that need to be addressed to find if the dunes are doing what they need to do. With this, there will be an opportunity for community involvement by developing a monitoring protocol that will be implemented quarterly and will provide training for those who want to get out measurements. She also asked for volunteers to take pictures to depict growth at specific crossover(s). In closing she stated that if anyone would like a copy of their presentation they can let Ms. Lewis know. Ms. Lewis asked if there are any volunteers. Frank Wooldridge volunteered to take photographs of the specified areas. Ms. Lewis volunteered to be the back-up. Mr. Robertson reminded the Beach Task members this is a GaDNR Coastal Incentive Grant and we were awarded $63,000 against which the City needs to contribute in-kind hours, 5-6 hours per week, every week. Ms. Lewis thanked Dr. Leege and Ms. Matzke for their presentation and the work they are doing to protect the dunes. Ms. Lewis recommended the Beach Task Force form a sub-committee to discuss the 2024 beach re-nourishment. Mr. Robertson stated he feels this would be useful and recommended having a meeting with the City Management and representative(s) from the USACOE to discuss. He continues to speak with GaDNR, Georgia Ports Authority and USACOE regarding future re-nourishments. It is the perception the Agreement will not be extended past 2024 and he is working under the assumption that the City will need to find a solution to re-nourishing the beach in the future which includes beneficial use of the dredge material that comes out of the Channel. Ms. Lewis recommended a sub-committee to look at updating the Beach Management Plan. Ms. LeViner stated this is a living document and has not been updated since 2014. Mr. Wooldridge stated there was a massive update of the Plan which was done of the last four years. He will forward to Ms. LeViner so it can posted to the website. Dr. Gillen stated Mr. Robertson covered his updates. He has a meeting with GaDNR to discuss the relocation of the bathrooms on the south-end. Dr. Gillen will present a feasible plan to Mayor and Council at the first meeting in February. Once this is completed, he will move forward with the bidding of the project. Ms. Lewis thanked Dr. Gillen. Being no further business, Ms. Lewis adjourned the meeting. The next meeting will be February 18, 2021 via zoom. __________________________ Janet LeViner, MMC City Clerk