Loading...
Minutes 08/31/2016 PELICAN BAY SERVICES DIVISION CLAM BAY COMMITTEE MEETING AUGUST 31, 2016 The Clam Bay Committee of the Pelican Bay Services Division met on Wednesday, August 31 at 12:30 p.m. at the SunTrust Bank Building, 801 Laurel Oak Drive, Suite 302,Naples, Florida 34108. In attendance were: Clam Bay Committee Bohdan Hirniak Susan O'Brien, Chairman Gary Ventress (absent) Pelican Bay Services Division Staff Mary McCaughtry, Operations Analyst Neil Dorrill, Administrator Lisa Jacob, Associate Project Manager (absent) Marion Bolick, Operations Manager Barbara Shea, Recording Secretary Also Present Dave Cook, Pelican Bay Foundation Brandon Reed, County Legislative Affairs Mohamed Dabees, Humiston& Moore Mike Shepherd, PBSD Board Tim Hall, Turrell, Hall & Associates Jeremy Sterk, Earth Tech Robert Naegele, PBPOA Dave Trecker, PBSD Board APPROVED AGENDA (AS PRESENTED) 1. Roll call 2. Agenda approval 3. Approval of 06/30/16 meeting minutes 4. Audience comments 5. Mangrove die-off a. THA July and August reports b. H&M tidal ratio data for July and August c. Water level data for 2015 and 2016 d. Shoal and meandering channels restricting flow e. Extent of tidal exchange f. Hand-dug channels g. Intervention strategies 6. Clam Bay monitoring a. Gopher tortoise survey b. Budget and expenses c. H&M approved and draft proposals d. Aerial photos e. Maintenance of tidal gauges f. Monitoring of mangroves in 2017 7. Water quality a. Copper data for May and June 1 Pelican Bay Services Division Clam Bay Committee Meeting August 31,2016 b. Tomasko quarterly report on total phosphorus and total nitrogen c. Monthly copper table update 8. Canoe trail guide 9. Osprey nesting platform 10. Infrared aerial photo 11. Clam Bay—related reports, proposals and updates 12. Next meeting: September 26, 27, or 28 13. Adjournment ROLL CALL Gary Ventress was absent and a quorum was established AGENDA APPROVAL Mr. Hirniak motioned, Ms. O'Brien seconded to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF 06/30/16 MEETING MINUTES Ms. O'Brien motioned,Mr. Hirniak seconded to approve the 06/30/16 meeting minutes as amended. The motion carried unanimously. AUDIENCE COMMENTS None MANGROVE DIE-OFF THA JULY AND AUGUST REPORTS Mr. Hall estimated the mangrove die-off area to be approximately 11 acres, and it does not appear to be increasing. He reported observing re-growth, noting that the black and red mangroves are coming back better than the white mangroves. He will continue to monitor one specific area showing no re-growth, and may consider the need for new hand dug channels in this area, requiring an FDEP permit. He reported that the mangroves along the Strand wall are showing improvement and that"standing water"throughout the area is no longer a concern. Ms. O'Brien requested that Mr. Hall include an estimate of re-growth observed within the 11 acres of mangrove die-off in his September report. H&M TIDAL RATIO DATA FOR JULY AND AUGUST Dr. Dabees reported that the mean tide ratios have improved post-dredging at the markers closest to Clam Pass (markers 4 & 14); the markers in Inner&Upper Clam Bay(markers 26 & 32) have shown little improvement. WATER LEVEL DATA FOR 2015 AND 2016 Mr. Hall reported that water level loggers in Clam Bay show that water is draining through the system, as a result of the maintenance dredging of Clam Pass. 2 Pelican Bay Services Division Clam Bay Committee Meeting August 31,2016 SHOAL AND MEANDERING CHANNELS RESTRICTING FLOW Mr. Hall reported that he no longer observes shoal and meandering channels restricting water flow in Clam Bay, as noted in the past. EXTENT OF TIDAL EXHANGE Mr. Sterk reviewed pre-dredge photos illustrating the extent of how far north the tides flow. Dr. Dabees commented that he does not recommend obtaining similar comparison photos in the future, since tides can be affected by many different factors and therefore, no conclusions can be drawn from these photos. HAND-DUG CHANNELS AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES Mr. Hall commented that the mangrove die-off area will continue to be monitored. In the future, he may consider new hand-dug channels in areas not recovering. CLAM BAY MONITORING GOPHER TORTOISE SURVEY The committee reviewed the gopher tortoise survey provided by Earth Tech. Mr. Sterk reported on the existence of approximately 70 healthy tortoises and that GPS coordinates have been recorded for each nest. BUDGET AND EXPENSES Ms. O'Brien reviewed documents related to Clam Bay monitoring and discussed, (1) current existing contracts, (2)proposed monitoring, (3) PBSD budgeted expenses, and (4) requirements included in the Clam Bay Management Plan. H&M APPROVED AND DRAFT PROPOSALS Ms. O'Brien reviewed the H&M approved and draft proposals for(1) collection and analysis of tidal monitoring data for $11,000 and (2)post-construction monitoring of the 2016 Clam Pass maintenance dredging project for $45,500. Ms. O'Brien discussed possible alternatives: (1) combining reports, (2) reducing the number of reports issued, and (3) requesting H&M prepare only the "basic reports" as issued by them in past years. Mr. Dorrill commented that staff will re-evaluate the contracted tasks of H&M,pose alternatives to type and frequency of Clam Bay reports, and provide a recommendation to the full Board. AERIAL PHOTOS The committee and consultants discussed the advantages, disadvantages, and possible cost savings of using one plane, instead of the two planes currently contracted,to take monthly aerial photos of both the mangroves and Clam Pass. Mr. Dorrill will explore this further. Mr. Dorrill also reported on a new directive by the Risk Dept. of Collier County requiring their approval of any use of drones for contracted work. MAINTENANCE OF TIDAL GAUGES Mr. Sterk reported no performance issues of the tidal gauges in the past three weeks. Ms. O'Brien suggested that in-house staff be trained to reset the modems when needed. 3 Pelican Bay Services Division Clam Bay Committee Meeting August 31,2016 MONITORING OF MANGROVES IN 2016 In order to better monitor the mangroves, Mr. Dorrill and Mr. Sterk will explore adding new"plots" in the mangrove die-off area(and abandoning some Lewis plots) for future continuous comparison analyses. WATER QUALITY COPPER DATA FOR MAY AND JUNE Ms. O'Brien commented on the copper data provided by the County Lab for May and June. Although the May copper results were significantly higher, the June results were lower and similar to those of prior months. TOMASKO QUARTERLY REPORT ON TOTAL PHOSPHORUS AND TOTAL NITROGEN Mr. Hall reported that Dr. Tomasko's second quarterly report was not yet available for the committee to review, and is expected shortly. MONTHLY COPPER TABLE UPDATE Ms. O'Brien suggested that staff be responsible for the task of updating a monthly copper table of nine sampling sites. Mr. Dorrill responded that this issue should be a board decision and that the issue would be added to the September PBSD Board agenda for board discussion. MR. HIRNIAK DEPARTED THE MEETING AT 1:45 PM CANOE TRAIL GUIDE Mr. Sterk provided an updated draft of the "Canoe Trail Guide." Dr. Trecker suggested that this guide be cross-checked with the existing Clam Bay Field Guide. The Pelican Bay Foundation will pay for the printing costs of the new final draft of the guide. OSPREY NESTING PLATFORM Mr. Dorrill recapped the progress of the osprey nesting platform project: (1)the platform has been built at a cost of$2,700, (2)permit and application fees of$800 have been paid to the County, and(3) Mr. Tim Durham, County Manager's Office, has been contacted for assistance in obtaining final County permit approvals. INFRARED AERIAL PHOTO The most recent infrared aerial photo of Clam Bay was reviewed by the committee. Mr. Hall commented that the different shades of red in an infrared photo may show the different levels of mangrove stress. CLAM BAY—RELATED REPORTS,PROPOSALS AND UPDATES Ms. O'Brien commented that the committee would appreciate staff providing Clam Bay related reports, proposals, and updates to the committee members as soon as they are received. NEXT CLAM BAY COMMITTEE MEETING By consensus, the committee agreed that the next meeting of the committee would be held on September 28 at 1:00 p.m. 4 Pelican Bay Services Division Clam Bay Committee Meeting August 31, 2016 ADJOURNMENT IThe meeting was adjourned at 1:57 p.m. >5.1414-- Susan O'Brien, Chairman Minutes approved [ ] as presented OR [ )(] as amended ON [ Voni1, ] date 5