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FPM Minutes 11/18/2021 Nov. 18, 2021 MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING Naples, Florida, Nov. 18, 2021 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Floodplain Management Planning Committee in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:05 A.M. in REGULAR SESSION at the Collier County Growth Management Division Building, Conference Room #609/610, 2800 N. Horseshoe Drive, Naples, Florida, with the following members present: Chairman: Eric Johnson, CC Staff Vice Chairman: (Vacancy) Kenneth Bills William Lang, CC Staff Christa Carrera, City of Naples (excused) Kelli DeFedericis, City of Marco Island Duke Vasey Lisa Koehler (Excused) Terry Smallwood, Everglades City (Excused) Stan Chrzanowski William Miller Deborah Curry, CC Staff(Excused) Linda Orlich Ed Moulton Heidi Ashton-Cicko, CC Staff ALSO PRESENT: Chris Mason, Floodplain Coordinator Pawel Brzeski, Operations Analyst, Stormwater Management 1 Nov. 18, 2021 Chairman Johnson called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. after a quorum was established. 1. Approval of previous meeting minutes from Aug. 19,2021 Mr. Bills moved to approve the minutes of the Aug. 19, 2021, meeting as presented. Second by Mr. Miller. Carried unanimously 9-0. 2. 2020-2021 Executive Summary Mr. Mason sent the summary to members over the weekend for review. Mr. Vasey made a motion to approve the summary. Second by Mr. Lang. Carried unanimously, 9-0. Mr. Mason reported that during the second quarter of 2020, the committee requested a format that was easier to read than the current matrix report, so he changed the format to a one-page format with notes that will be easier for committee members to access and read. The matrix will still be used to outline the 2022 Proposed Mitigation Actions as a whole. The single-page report will be utilized for updates during the quarterly committee meetings. A discussion ensued: • Mr. Vasey questioned whether it could be easily searched and suggested using Microsoft Access since it has a search and report query. • Mr. Lang said Excel's Power Query would be preferable because it could provide continuity of operations and more information to go forward with. • Mr. Vasey asked the chairman to look at available databases and suggested Azure SQL • Chairman Johnson said Mr. Lang mentioned Microsoft's Power BI, an internal program. Mr. Lang explained that Power BI would allow staff to put a report in any form if someone requested information. • Mr. Vasey said it was important to put everything in a historical perspective for the search function. • Mr. Mason cited his four-year history on the committee, as of today, and said the process is always evolving. • Mr. Vasey noted the committee has never settled on a particular system and wanted to determine the easiest way to keep the data and historic information while providing a search query. • Mr. Lang said the matrix is vague because it needs a date column. • Chairman Johnson said the new page format would allow a narrative form but said the committee could come up with a better matrix. • Ms. Orlich wanted to ensure the format includes which department was responsible, which is in the current matrix, but Mr. Mason said that's not included in the new page format. He said they'd try to mesh two different formats to make a workable product. • Chairman Johnson liked both,noting the matrix provides the necessary information, while the narrative provides more detail. • Mr. Lang said the report should include the last action. • Mr. Pawel Brzeski, a Stormwater Management employee, suggested using hyperlinks to the supporting files because there is so much information and it would provide a timestamp. Chairman Johnson agreed that would be a good solution. 3. VOTE REQUIRED: Acceptance of the 2020 & 2021 Floodplain Management Plan Executive Summary, Mitigation Action Plan Progress Report, and Proposed Mitigation Action Plan for 2022. Mr. Chrzanowski made a motion to approve. Second by Mr. Lang. Carried unanimously, 9-0. 2 Nov. 18, 2021 Ms. DeFedericis joined at 9:20 a.m. 4. Collier County CRS Verification Cycle Visit 2022 Mr. Mason reported that in January, Collier County will receive notification from FEMA that requires the county to go through its three-year verification cycle, which was just approved for the prior period. The county will be required to submit its higher regulatory and mapping documentation. He began work on it this summer. The discussion was for informational purposes and no vote was required. A discussion ensued: • Ms. DeFedericis said Marco Island was retrograded to a Class 6 (a 20% discount). She's been working on it for a year and the city's verification visit will occur on Feb. 8. She said she'd reached out to Roy McClure, a FEMA Region 4 Natural Hazards Program Specialist, for assistance. Marco Island is in the top 10 and will continue to be on a three-year Verification Cycle Visit schedule. She asked FEMA how they were going to calculate the savings offered by the CRS program in the wake of the rollout of FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0 program. • Mr. Mason said there are 70,000 policies in Collier County, with 60,000 receiving discounts, for a total of$8.2 million yearly in savings. Nationwide, 1,800 out of 2,500 communities participate. Ohio has only 15 participants and they don't include large cities such as Columbus and Cincinnati. • Chairman Johnson questioned which class had the highest participation rate and Mr. Mason said it was Class 7. He said smaller communities don't have the resources to invest in the program, but noted that Collier County, Marco Island, Naples and Everglades City all participate, and Everglades City is Class 9. (Class 9 communities, the lowest, receive a 5% discount for all policies in its Special Flood Hazard Areas.) • Mr. Mason said his Community Ratings System(CRS) work takes up 50% of his job. • Mr. Lang said most communities don't invest in people such as Mr. Mason and Ms. DeFedericis and noted that Mr. Mason performs a multitude of other duties in addition to his CRS role, as does Ms. DeFedericis. • Mr. Vasey noted that then-county manager Jim Mudd created the FMPC in 2006 to streamline the process. He called it an enormous government function that's resulted in significant savings that are now being realized. He said the insurance issues are significant because if Mr. Mason misses a deadline, the county could revert back to Class 9; Mr. Mason said it also could result in suspension from the program. • Mr. Vasey said Mr. Mason doesn't have the time now to conduct the research he did in the past. However, he said there has been a change in staff acceptance since the program began and staff were unwilling to provide information. Ms. DeFedericis and Mr. Mason reported they still have to push for information and CRS employees work together to obtain what's required. • Chairman Johnson said he was pleased at how well the county is doing with the program. 5. Floodplain Management Section Development Review Totals 3rd Quarter Mr. Mason reported that since Sept. 2,the county has reviewed and approved 716 elevation certificates and of those, 244 were Under Construction elevation certificates; 259 were non-CRS, including sheds, generators, and structures reserved for storage or parking: and 213 were CRS, which require submission to the Insurance Services Office (ISO) for annual compliance review. He also received eight letters of map revision for developments, some of which were rejected because they contained incorrect data. Mr. Lang noted that those numbers will be increasing. 6. FPMC County Staff Vacancy Update Mr. Mason reported that the committee still has a Public Utilities member vacancy since Craig Pajer resigned last quarter, but he's been in talks with the Growth Management Director to fill the position. 3 Nov. 18, 2021 He noted that the committee also has been operating without a vice chair. Qualifications for the position include someone with a facilities,planning and development background. Mr. Lang said he'd be willing to take the position. Chairman Johnson said they might look for someone in Public Utilities, but suggested Mr. Lang serve an interim role. Mr. Vasey made a motion to appoint Mr. Lang as interim vice chair. Second by Mr. Miller. Carried unanimously, 9-0;Mr. Lang abstained. 7. Climate Central Coastal Risk Screening Tool Mr. Mason reported that Mr. Vasey sent him a modeling tool that shows the effects of climate change, Climate Central, https://coastal.climatecentral.org/, a site that generates customizable maps of projected sea level rise and coastal flood risks by year, water level and elevation. He noted that NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) offers a similar tool (www.coast.noaa.gov/slr/). He provided a demonstration of how the site could show county flood levels over time under several variables and conditions. A discussion ensued: • Mr. Lang said he'd spoken with FDEP, whose statutes require that contractors working on state- funded projects submit a slip analysis and sea-rise analysis for initial construction. He noted that Executive Order 13690, signed by President Obama in 2015 (Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input), was rolled back by President Trump and then reinstated by President Biden. That standard offers a science-based approach, including sea-level rise and BFE, base-flood elevations. He said NCH is currently involved in a project that required him to consider those factors. • Ms. DeFedericis asked if the county's setback line had been established and noted that Marco Island's line runs down the center of the island. Mr. Lang said he'd look into it. • Mr. Chrzanowski reminded committee members that when Gov. Scott was in office, sea-level rise and other similar words were"forbidden."But Mr. Mason said those topics are becoming acceptable now and Mr. Lang noted that funds are being dedicated in those areas now, although it's weak, depending on the administration. Mr. Mason resumed the demonstration of the Climate Central Coastal Risk Screening Tool,pointing out that it will show flood inundation levels associated with sea level rise over time. • Mr. Vasey noted that both Climate Central and NOAA should be used together. He said the point is to make adjustments to mitigate the projections over time. • Mr. Lang said the numbers already are affecting home sales and the county must continue to take initiatives. Mr. Bills left the meeting at 9:50 a.m. • Mr. Chrzanowski said there are two models used to show flooding: Storm Surge and the Bathtub Model. The question is: How fast is flooding going to happen? What will occur first over several decades, he said, will be flooding on roadways, followed by septic tanks overflowing. Eventually, residents will move out. • Mr. Lang said that will occur long before that, noting that sea-level rise activity already is occurring on Florida's East Coast, which has enabled Gov. DeSantis to take steps after seeing what occurred there. • Ms. DeFedericis said she's been told numbers will be inputted for each government to utilize. • Mr. Vasey said the important thing to realize is that changes are taking place and the county needs to prepare. 4 Nov. 18, 2021 Mr. Mason continued with the Climate Central demonstration, showing water levels (Mean High-High Water) by yearly progression. By 2100,the tide level will be higher by 3 feet and by 2150, flood levels will rise until most coastal lands are under water. • Chairman Johnson thanked Mr. Vasey for bringing the online tool to Mr. Mason's attention, calling it a worthwhile endeavor. • Mr. Vasey said the questions then-Director of Capital Planning Amy Patterson asked Climate Central at the time were: How high will it be and when will it occur?He noted that rising water levels and temperatures already have prompted changes in animal behavior and that Google Earth shows changes that have occurred, so far, including animals and bugs that weren't here before, and the lack of grass for manatees. • Mr. Chrzanowski said Deputy County Manager Amy Patterson has been communicating with Climate Central and has contact information. 8. FMPC 2022 Meeting Calendar Update Mr. Mason reported that Chairman Johnson is not available on certain dates due to BCC and Planning Board meetings, so they came up with a new calendar, changing the committee's quarterly meetings from the second Tuesday of each meeting month to the first Tuesday: Feb. 1, May 3, Aug. 2,Nov. 1. Mr. Vasey made a motion to approve the new 2022 calendar. Second by Mr. Miller. Carried unanimously, 9-0. 9. Other Items/Committee Correspondence • Chairman Johnson thanked everyone for their comments and reminded members to direct all communications involving committee business to Mr. Mason only. • Ms. DeFedericis asked if the county was doing anything with State Watershed Management Plan initiative, but Mr. Mason cautioned her to be careful because the ISO can give points and take them away. • Mr. Lang said he sent it out to Lee County's regional CRS group because the county needs to have a conversation with the Southwest Florida CRS Users Group. He said the FMPC should provide its comments as a team. • Ms. Orlich asked if the Okeechobee release involving 30%more water would affect Collier County, but Mr. Vasey said it would not since involves a different basin. Mr. Mason said water would be flowing toward the Gulf, but Mr. Vasey said no one is sure where the water will flow. Mr. Chrzanowski said that historically, the water didn't flow toward Collier County. There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by the order of the Chair at 10:13 A.M. COLLIER COUNTY FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE g-2i! Chairman, Eric Johnson These Minutes were approved bythe Board/Chairman on 3 7 Z aspresented ✓ or as pp � � ZD , amended 5