City of Deerfield Beach

Transcription

1 City of Deerfield Beach MARINE ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES MEETING of December 18, 2014 CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS 150 NE 2 nd Avenue The meeting was called to order on the above date by Chair Katherine Hendrickson at 6:05 p.m. The following Board Members were in attendance: Voting Gerbino Pennell Wechterman - Tardy Nolan Hendrickson Unexcused Absence Sousa Non-Voting McGeary Cisneros Nass Also in attendance: Jeff Siniawsky, Assistant City Attorney, Chad Grecsek, Director of Recycling & Solid Waste, Patrick Bardes, Business Manager and members of the public. It was the consensus of the Board to approve the November 20, 2014 meeting minutes. There was no vote. Chair Hendrickson approved the agenda as distributed; with the request to add discussion of the visitor s center at the pier, as well as moving the discussion of the pier before public input. There was no objection. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chair Hendrickson opened the meeting for public input. Jim Mathie, 1307 SE 14 th Avenue, Deerfield Beach, provided information to the Board regarding the nautical destination and reminded the Board that the information was available to the public on the Deerfield Chamber website. Mr. Mathie also advised the Board that the 5 th Annual Two George s at the Cove Bill Fish Tournament will be January 29 th - 31 st, which will benefit the Jan Moran Boys & Girls Club. Discussion pursued between the Board and Mr. Mathie regarding the tournament. Mr. Mathie continued advising the Board on upcoming events, including the Junior Bass Fishing Tournament, which will be held at Quiet Waters Park for children ages starting on 1

2 PUBLIC COMMENTS - CONTINUED January 18 th. Additionally, he said that the Ocean Task Force recommends an environmental protection marine sanctuary, which coincides with floridareefs.org. He stated that the Southeast Florida Coastal Ocean Task Force will be developing various recommendations regarding the reefs. Discussion pursued between the Board and Mr. Mathie regarding the Southeast Florida Ocean Task Force, as well as the fishing tournaments. Chad Grecsek, Director of Recycling & Solid Waste, advised the Board that any events that affect Deerfield can be placed on the City s website. NEW BUSINESS - PARKS & RECREATION DEERFIELD PIER DISCUSSION Chad Grecsek, Director of Recycling & Solid Waste, suggested that the Board discuss all Pier items together. It was the consensus of the Board to have all the Pier items presented at this time. Cassi Waren, Community Events Liaison, commented on wristbands as an entry way onto the Pier. She explained that the Parks & Recreation Department looked into what other local piers are using; wristbands, stamps, receipts, etc. She explained that the main concern with the stamp is that it is not water resistant; if people go swimming, they could lose access which would have already been paid. Ms. Waren stated that some piers in the past have kept a name log; however, she said that could be time consuming. Continuing, Ms. Waren stated that the City is going to look into a finger printing option or some other digital option. Discussion pursued between the Board and Ms. Waren regarding the stamp option. Melvin Nass, alternate member, asked if the visitor s center at the pier was open because it always seems to be closed. Ms. Waren replied that she believes the City is working on getting a part-time employee in the visitor s center; however, she does not have a definite answer. She stated that she would advise her supervisor of the concerns of not having anyone working at the visitor s center. Mr. Nass also stated that the palm trees near the pier are in poor shape. Ms. Waren advised Mr. Nass and the Board that the maintenance department is aware and staff will be adding vitamins to the trees. NEW BUSINESS - FISHING TOURNAMENT DISCUSSION Mr. Wechterman advised the Board that there are three (3) different venues that they are looking at. He suggested that they be run at separate entities; whether they are done on different days or the same day, can be decided later, as having them the same day could be difficult. He stated that each event should be at their respective areas; i.e. the lake and the pier. In regards to the pier fishing, he asked if a nominal fee could be waived. 2

3 NEW BUSINESS - FISHING TOURNAMENT DISCUSSION - CONTINUED Cassi Warren, Community Events Liaison replied that it would have to go before the Commission. In regards to the information Mr. Mathie provided, Mr. Wechterman stated that the $600 fee is pretty steep. He said he believes the event could be larger with less money; i.e. getting smaller boats involved and charging a lesser fee ($50). He suggested Sullivan Park for a future event, as the entire area can be used as dockage. Discussion pursued between the Board and Mr. Grecsek regarding the fishing tournament. Ms. Waren explained to the Board some of the difficulties in preparing for an event. Discussion pursued between the Board and Ms. Waren regarding the fishing tournament. Mr. Mathie commented on some of the fishing tournaments that take place in other cities; however, he was unsure if there were any tournaments that take place on piers. Discussion continued between the Board and Ms. Waren regarding the process of holding their first fishing tournament on the pier. Jeff Siniawsky, Assistant City Attorney, stated that Dania Beach held their 2 nd Annual Fishing Tournament last June, which is run by their Chamber of Commerce, not the City. He further stated that the event is held out in the ocean, not on the pier. It was the consensus of the Board to develop ideas and start the process to hold the first fishing tournament on the pier. OLD BUSINESS - PIONEER PARK DOCK-RAILING/PARKING CONCERNS Patrick Bardes, Business Manager, advised the Board that he went to neighboring cities to research their boat ramps and facilities. He explained to the Board what the different cities use as far as their signs, dock pilings and ladders. Discussion pursued between the Board and Mr. Bardes regarding the concerns at Pioneer Park. OLD BUSINESS - HILLSBORO CANAL DREDGING PROJECT UPDATE Patrick Bardes, Business Manager, explained to the Board that there is not a construction timeframe for the Hillsboro Canal Dredging Project, as the permitting process is still in the works. He stated that the project is a Florida Inland Navigation District supplemental funded project, which is from the City of Deerfield Beach and Boca Raton. Vice Chair Nolan asked if the project was in the plan. Mr. Bardes replied that the project is still going forward, but as of now the project is still in the permitting process. Discussion pursued between the Board and Mr. Bardes regarding the Hillsboro Canal Dredging Project. 3

4 OLD BUSINESS - HILLSBORO CANAL DREDGING PROJECT UPDATE - CONTINUED Chad Grecsek, Director of Recycling & Solid Waste, reminded the Board that because of the project being in the permitting phase, the selection of the contractor is a little ways out. In regards to the other canals, Mr. Grecsek advised the Board to come up with different ideas, in case any of the other canals have specific permitting requirements. Discussion pursued between the Board and. Mr. Grecsek regarding permitting issues and requirements. OLD BUSINESS - BEACH RENOURISHMENT PROJECT Chad Grecsek, Director of Recycling & Solid Waste, said that he and Patrick Bardes, Business Manager, met with the engineer on the Beach Renourishment Project last week. Mr. Grecsek updated the Board on the project; stating that the project is a restoration project due to the impacts of Hurricane Sandy. He further explained that with the help of the Town of Hillsboro, the City was able to obtain $700,000 in state funds; whereas, the project will be a three (3) way share with the City, the State and the Town of Hillsboro, totaling $2.1 million. Thereafter, Mr. Grecsek reminded the Board that the project will be a truck haul project, which will bring in 50,000 cubic yards of sand; approximately half of which will go into Deerfield beach. He said the original start date for the project was February, but due to permitting issues, the project has been pushed back to March, April or May. He stated that they are aware that during that it would be sea turtle nesting season; however, he advised that there will be special monitors in place to protect the nesting of the sea turtles. Furthermore, Mr. Grecsek said that he advised the Town s consultant that they would need to find their own access points, so when the Town is putting the sand on their portion of the beach, it would not impact Deerfield. Mr. Grecsek further explained that the Town is looking into putting in an over walk that would allow public access to their beach; whereas, the Town would benefit from having a more publicly accessible beach; access to more public funds. Thereafter, Mr. Grecsek entertained questions by the Board. NEW BUSINESS - DEERFIELD DREAMS Anthony Dispenziere, 1212 SE 10 th Terrace, Deerfield Beach, said that Deerfield Dreams is an experiment in local activism; an informal gathering in which people can participate in a brainstorming session. The gathering is not political and the goal is to come up with a few good ideas, to gather support and to create a plan for implementation. Additionally, Mr. Dispenziere said the idea is to create a new forum for neighbors to gather ideas and make Deerfield Beach a better place. Furthermore, he explained how Deerfield Dreams would be able to assist with the nautical destination. He stated that they are interested in building a macro marketing plan in hopes that it will bring tourism into the City. Thereafter, discussion pursued between the Board and Mr. Dispenziere regarding how Deerfield Dreams would be able to assist in the marine environment. 4

5 NEW BUSINESS - INDIVIDUAL MEET AND GREETS Chair Hendrickson explained that the meet and greets are just a way to get the community involved. She continued explaining that it allows us to communicate with the community and receive feedback from them, as what is going on within their neighborhoods. Discussion pursued between the Board members regarding the meet and greets. Mr. McGeary explained to the Board that he would discourage having the meet and greets at the Commissioners district meetings, due to the specific topics of discussion. Thereafter, the Board continued discussing where they should have their meet and greets. Motion was made by Mr. Wechterman and seconded by Mr. Gerbino to have the Board s regular meeting agenda, and on certain months have the Board focus on a specific district. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Chair Hendrickson welcomed Melvin Nass to the Board. She also urged the Board to send their agenda ideas to Chad Grecsek, Director of Solid Waste & Recycling, or Patrick Bardes, Business Manager. Vice Chair Nolan reiterated that he does like the idea of gathering more ideas from each district and advised that they should continue to try and pull more people in. Mr. Wechterman suggested going back to the Commissioners and finding out if they are having issues within their communities. ADJOURNMENT The next meeting of the Board was announced as Thursday, January 15, 2015 at 6 p.m. The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 p.m. These draft minutes will be presented to the Board at its January 15, 2015 meeting. 5