Loading...
CAC Minutes 11/10/2022November 10.2022 MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY COASTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Naples,, Florida, November 10, 2022 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee, in and forthe County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at l:00 P.M. in REGULAR SESSION at Administrative Building "F," 3'd Floor, Collier County Government Complex, Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: David Trecker VICE CHAIRMAN: Joseph Burke Steve Koziar Thomas McCann (excused) Jim Burke Robert Raymond Robert Roth Raymond Christman Erik Brechnitz ALSO PRESENT: Andy Miller, Coastal Zone Manager Colleen Green, Assistant County Attomey Farron Bevard, Management Analyst I November 10,2022 Any persons in need of lhe verbatim record ofthe meeling malt requesl a copy oflhe video recording from the Communicalions, Government & Public Aflairs Division, or view it online. I. Call to Order Chairman Trecker called the meeting to order at l:03 p.m. IL Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. III. Roll Call Roll call was taken and a quorum ofeight was established. IV. Changes and Approval ofAgenda Chairman Trecker said he wanted to add an item, the Army Corps of Engineers Project, under IX, Old Business. Vice Chairman Burke moved to approve lhe agenda, as amended. Second by Mr, Raymond. The molion was carried unanimously, 8-0. V. Public Comments None VI. Approval of CAC Minutes September 8, 2022 Mr. Christman moved to approve the minutes of the September 8, 2022, meaing. Second by Mr. Raymond, The motion was carried unanimously, 8-0. VII. Staff Reports 1. Extended Revenue Report *FY22 TDT Collections Revenue Report" dated September 30,2022. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: o Revenues have been good for the past year. o Actuals to budget exceed expectations by nearly 6l%. o Fund 195 has a $6.7 million positive variance, which may help after the hurricane. III. New Business 1. Presentation - Hurricane Ian Chairman Trecker said the main reason for today's meeting is to provide an update on the emergency program dealing with Hurricane Ian's destruction countywide, what's been done and the steps that are being considered. No vote is needed. The goal is to get people back on the beach safely and to build in some minimal protection as soon as possible, so timing is important. This is just a status report. We don't have all the survey data or any engineering recommendations yet but will know more about that in December. [Mr. Miller detailed o PowerPoint presenlation status report showing before and after photos.] November 10,2022 Mr. Miller made the following points during the prcsenlation: . This is an online PowerPoint site visit to various beaches to show before and after the damage. . Barefoot Beach took the worst hit countywide. On September 29,the day after the hurricane, we arrived on the scene and it was a mess. Luckily, many structures in the community were built with their first floors above flood elevation, but they still ended up with a lot ofdebris and cars in their lower floors and garages. o All the vegetation in and around the dunes was destroyed, literally scraped away, and a mixture of the two wound up on the beach. . We realized we needed November and December to get beaches cleaned up for season. . Prior to the hurricane, this board approved several contracts for emergency cleanup, in case something like this happened, so we had cleanup contractors prepared and ready to go. . Lower floors were essentially sacrificial structurally and everything blew through there. . A lot ofexpensive cars were damaged in that neighborhood. o We used Earth Tech, which been involved in beach projects, as a cleanup contractor. . Earth Tech made small piles along the beach and brought in a large, yellow off-road dump truck that they used for beach renourishment to consolidate smaller piles into a stockpile in the parking lot. o In a marina at Pelican lsles, a sailboat that was precariously balanced on the bridge shows how high water was in that area. o At Vanderbilt Beach, a brick paver area was destroyed where the flagpole stood. o Sand was scoured away from the beach and destroyed everything, including the walkway. causing a six- to seven-foot drop at the end ofthe cul-de-sac. o At Lowdermilk Park, a lot of sand from the beach was washed into the parking lot, and that occurred countywide. That's representative ofwhat happened in the City ofNaples at nearly every beach-end, whether it had a walkway or not. There was a lot ofsand loss. Almost all crossovers were damaged or destroyed. A lot ofsand came into streets and was hauled away. o We're slowly getting beach-ends back online and hope to have most open relatively soon. . At Naples Pier the next moming, the last 70 to 100 feet of the pier was gone - all the walls and structures at the end ofthe pier. o The pier video camera showed it all happening. As the day progressed, the water got more violent and higher with a lot ofenergy in the waves. That's how sand traveled to the north. o In Aqualane Shores, Port Royal and Old Naples, lower floors of structures were hit hard, especially by flooding. o We moved our tractor and other equipment at Tigetuil Beach on Marco Island to higher ground prior to the hurricane, so it was safe, but a utility shed was damaged. . The Tigertail Beach parking lot area is about elevation 3.0, so you can see the elevation of water is closer to 6-7. o Marco Island beaches didn't get hit as much debris-wise as northem beaches, so cleanup crews were able to clean up quickly using our equipment and road and bridge equipment, which was loaned. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: o Work crews will use bulldozers to push sand back and restore the width ofthe beaches from the dunes outward, repairing damage from scouring. o From the dunes outward is fairly flat now because they're gone. As you go seaward, there's a distinct depression along the beaches, a ridgeline at the waterline, but not so much on Marco lsland, although there are similar issues there. o The county has reached out to FDEP to determine if it will allow the county to take that ridgeline and push it over into the depression so we get good, positive drainage from the dune line to the November 10,2022 Gulf, which will make the beach more attractive to tourists and prevent water from standing in that depression and collecting algae and debris that would be undesirable to tourists. Emergency berm project. The county is working with FEMA and took a countywide tour from Barefoot Beach to Wiggins Pass, Vanderbilt, the Pelican Bay area and the City of Naples beaches. FEMA was very helpful in giving the county fairly broad directions on how to proceed. Both FEMA and FDEP were impressed by the amount of sand taken from the dune line. What used to be dunes and vegetation is now exposed seawalls. The county will be getting an emergency evaluation/monitoring for the emergency berm project, followed by engineering recommendations on how to proceed. FEMA will reimburse the county after we get ali the reports on the amount of sand losses. FEMA has an emergency berm program that consists ofabout 6 cubic yards ofsand per lineal foot. If you multiply that from Rl to R89, it's not going to be all included, but most will. We're hoping to get a substantial amount ofsand put back as an emergency berm that will protect us from a five-year storm, plus a wave runup. That's the intent ofthe emergency berm. We're finishing our field work on the survey effort, which is a beach-wide survey from the dune line out to the depth ofclosure, which is about 1,000 feet or more offshore. Once our engineer gets that data and does his quantity calculations, we'll know how much sand is still in the system and if sand was lost from the system. That sand quantity will be eligible for FEMA reimbursement, but dune lines themselves are eligible for the emergency berm. The sand supply for what's no longer in the system can no longer come from the off-shore source the county leased. lt's a BOEM (Bureau ofOcean Energy Management) lease for an offshore source in federal waters called Tom's Hill, about 30 miles west of Sanibel Island. We're still going to try to take advantage ofhaving that sand if we decide to do a hopper dredge. We're going to a workshop next week to meet with FDEP and FEMA. Hopefully, BOEM will be there so we can discuss how we might get a new lease fairly quickly and potentially do a hopper- dredge, ifthat's the direction we decide to go, and it's still a possibility. The other option is a huge truck haul. We don't have the quantities yet, but it's going to be a significant amount of sand, probably more than what we did last year quantity-wise. We'll have a better idea on the timing next week. It's been an ongoing process since September 29th or 30th, with phone calls and emails to various agencies to get questions answered about reimbursement. We don't want to make any missteps that could cost us future reimbursement, so we're being careful, while still trying to address what must be addressed in a timely fashion. From start to finish, it could take a year. Mr. Brechnitz detailed the ongoing Tigenail Beach park dredging proiect: . we started the project and have a couple ofdredges onsite. . The project's scope has changed since Hurricane lan. Some areas we thought we'd be taking a lot ofsand from did not have as much sand, and other areas, such as Tigertail Lagoon, have much more sand than we anticipated. o The project's intent is to restore the entire lagoon system to 2017 levels, pre-Hurricane Irma conditions. [t will extend from the lagoon offshore and the public beach at Hideaway and onto Tigertail. That's what the permit requires. . The project entails taking a large part ofthe spit offat the front, where there's a lot ofboat traffic, many recreational boats parking there daily and weekends, and then to dredge on through to the Tiger Tail Lagoon and reopen the tidal flow to regain water quality. o It will increase water quality, plant life and wildlife inside the lagoon. o The project requires us to build a berm on Sand Dollar Island so the over-wash ofsand into the lagoon area doesn't occur. We have some low areas there and what occurs, particularly during storms from the southwest, even ifthey're not hurricanes, is it gets a lot of sand wash and the 4 November 10,2022 lagoon begins to fill up. So. we're building a large berm along the entire length ofthat low area to prevent over-wash, and the lagoon from filling up during storm events. o Our problem is finding enough sand to build the berm high enough to protect areas we need to protect, so we have a sand-borrow areajust offthe end, which is very close to navigational traffic. o We're hopeful that in the county's permit to dredge Collier Creek that the city's permit will allow the county to put sand on that portion of Sand Dollar Island because the city can certainly use it. o This is a $4 million project that started out as a $3 million project. . The project is being paid for by the City of Marco Island's Tax District for Hideaway Beach. o The city plans to make a formal request to the Coastal Advisory Committee and, if approved, it will move to the TDC. The city will ask for $600,000 to help with the portion adjacent to the public beach at Tigertail. o About $l million will be spent inside the Hideaway Lagoon. Chairman Trecker asked ifanyone had questions or comments about the emergency-berm plan and presentation. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: . The hurricane flattened and destroyed much ofthe vegetation on beaches and dunes were knocked down. . Much ofthe vegetation and dunes in the City of Naples were on private property, not public beaches. . The county will be meeting with agencies next week to discuss that renourishment. o From the Old Naples Hotel to south of Naples Pier, the city owns a 60-foot rightof-way for what used to be or what was intended to be Gulf Street, so those private properties have a seaward property line adjacent to the right-of-way. That's where a lot ofthe dunes and vegetation were. . Restoration of the dune system within private properties would involve, at minimum, temporary restoration easements that the county has, but probably not as much as needed to fully restore dunes to their pre-Hurricane Ian condition. o Anything within private properties will probably require an agreement from each property owner all the way down to the beach for anything more perrnanent than just a temporary-maintenance easement. o Something ofthis breadth and extent would involve engagement with private property owners and the public sector. That's a project the county would manage on behalfofthe City of Naples, with help from upper management and agencies. . Next week's meeting with FEMA and FDEP will be an important step in that process. o County staff has had discussions with City Streets & Stormwater Director Bob Middleton, City Manager Jay Boodheshwar, City Parks, Recreation, Facilities Director Chad Merritt and County Manager Amy Patterson about the strategy. o Ifthe plan to reinstate the lederal lease as a borrow-pit 30 miles offshore is approved, can the county consider using it to restore some local channels, such as the Marco River and Keewaydin, which has been filling in over the years? Are there other potential sources ofsand that may become available? . Restoring local channels would be difficult and would require local permits, including the Army Corps of Engineers. o After Hurricane Sandy, New York told residents what they planned to do. The local govemment engineered a plan and the Department of Environmental Conservation agreed to it and issued an after-the-fact permit onsite. Is that something the county can do as emergency relief in a disaster area? (The county can ask FEMA and FDEP next week.) o Although the county had asked the federal government for a lease renewal for Tom's Hill, it was turned down and expired a year ago because the federal government said the county didn't have November 10,2022 an imminent project planned. Now that the county has an imminent project planned, the federal government may soften its stance, so the county will head in that direction, to do what it planned and ask to use that offshore sand. . Ifthere are insufficient quantities, Plan B is a truck haul or we could potentially do a combination ofthe two. The county has options. o Lee County is worse offthan Collier County and also needs sand. There are two mounds at Tom's Hill, Tl and T2, which are both large mounds with millions of yards of sand, so there's probably enough for both counties. . Collier County also has inland sources and can use that or a combination. o Local dredging in channels around Keewaydin Island also should be considered. o Beaches have not officially reopened, although the public is using them. Residents and visitors are responsible lor their own safety and welfare. . The county posted warnings and advised the public that there's debris in the water and sand and possibly more as it washes ashore. The county is asking the public to stay offbeaches. o The Hurricane lan presentation on the agenda is available online as a PDF at: hnns://bit.lviV I I I lurricanelanPresentation o Media sources have created the impression that Gulls water quality is not safe and other mixed messages. The public should rely on the state Department of Health for water-quality information. o County Pollution Control employees are working with the Department of Health. o Issuing information and monitoring is the Department of Health's responsibility but calls for a coordinated approach among various departments. o Marco Island does its own water-quality testing. . As water rises in Lake Okeechobee due to Hurricane Ian, there likely will be a release down the Caloosahatchee and it will get worse, not better. . There's a real possibility ofanother bad red-tide event in the months ahead. o The county's emergency plan is for a berm to protect upland structures from a five-year storm, plus the wave runup. o Engineers are putting together a report based on survey data that's still being gathered and will come up with a calculation on how high, wide and how much ofa berm 6 cubic yards per lineal foot will build. o Mr. Miller will get back to the board on whether the county had five-year berms. o A five-year berm reconstructed along the beach is based upon the survey damage and will show what needs to be improved. Potentially, FEMA will pay for an emergency berm. . The county will eventually get beaches built back to the design standard, which is 100 feet out to mean high-water. and we have berm elevation in our design template. In the long term, the county will get them returned to that condition, but will make some sho(-term efforts as quickly as possible. o This likely will take more than a year. o We'll fill in the ridgeline depression with bulldozers as quickly as possible, if FDEP approves. o County staffwill be able to provide more information at the December CAC meeting. o The board thanked the coastal team, noting they've been under tremendous stress, yet have done a stellar job. IX. Old Business l. Army Corps of Engineers Project Chairman Trecker said he provided a handout to board members and noted that the long-term resiliency project obviously won't occur in the near future, even more so now that immediate attention must be paid to emergency repairs. The Army Corps project was meant to deal with notjust adding sand and building November 10,2022 up the beach to provide protection resiliency but protecting structures and the key infrastructures behind the beach, and, to some extent, inland. The handout provides a quick review ofthe project and where it stands. In general, the scope ofthe project was reduced and the Army Corps ofEngineers' planning team asked for a three-year extension. The request for a waiver was submitted about a year ago and we haven't heard anything yet, but we were assured we'd get an answer, whether it's approved or not, by year's end, so that's a good checkpoint for us. The proposal isjust to u,ait. There are many things that can be done there, supplemental work to the Army Corps project, even if it goes forward, that may have to be done. If it's tumed down - and that's a real possibility - we'll have to start from scratch, and that would be a big deal. Unless the board wants to spend time on this today. Chairman Trecker suggests the board deal with it when the time comes. A discussion ensued and lhe following points were made: o The county needs to focus on resiliency. If we don't focus now, it will never happen. . The City of Miami and Miami-Dade appointed a resiliency staffer, while other communities appointed someone to lead a resiliency team that recommends improvements. o PBS had a broadcast a couple of weeks ago on resiliency and what Miami is doing, which is migrating away from the water because it's now perceived as dangerous. o Hurricane Ian wasn't our last and more will come. . What is the county doing to provide long-term protection, how are we going to deal with the next hurricane and how are we going to provide some protection to valuable structures? o The CiE ofNaples has a resiliency staff person and our current year's budget funds a resilience study. The city secured a state grant through the state's resiliency program and has contracted with Aecom, a consulting firm, to develop a resiliency plan. o Resiliency should be looked at countywide, in an integrated way. o Board members agreed to wait for a response from the Army Corps. o A CAC Water Quality Subcommittee meeting will be scheduled before the next CAC meeting. X. Announcements Chairman Trecker congratulated Eric on his reelection to the Marco City Council and to Jim Burke for another re-election as a North Collier Fire District Commissioner. Attorney Greene reminded board members that the subcommittee meeting must comply with all Sunshine Law requirements and asked board members not to get together after the meeting to choose a date, but to let Andy and/or Farren help with scheduling a meeting by sending out a one- way communication with possible dates and times. XI. Committee Member Discussion None XII. Next Meeting December 8,2022, I p.m. XI[. Adjournment There being no further business for the good ofthe County, the meeting was adjourned by order ofthe Chairman at 1:50 p.m. 7 November 10,2022 Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee It z L7LL heck one) as presented, _ orThese minutes were approved by the Committee on as amended X 8