PAL MAR WATER CONTROL DISTRICT REGULAR BOARD MEETING APRIL 1, 2010

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1 A. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Karen Marcus called the April 1, 2010, Regular Board Meeting of the Pal Mar Water Control District to order at 10:02 a.m. at the Old Jupiter Town Hall located at Town Hall Avenue, Jupiter, Florida B. PROOF OF PUBLICATION Proof of publication was presented to show that notice of the Regular Board Meeting was published in the Palm Beach Post and in the Stuart News on September 18, 2009, as legally required. C. ESTABLISH QUORUM It was determined that the attendance of Chairperson Karen Marcus, Vice Chairman Frank Sardinha, and Supervisors Sarah Heard and William Thornton constituted a quorum and it was in order to proceed with the meeting. Also in attendance were staff members: District Manager Todd Wodraska of Special District Services, Inc.; General Counsel Mary Viator of Caldwell & Pacetti, P.A.; District Engineer Bob Higgins of Higgins Engineering, Inc.; and Field Superintendent T.J. Mansell. Also present were Bob Berman, Lew Lolmaugh and Greg Archer. D. ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA There were no additions or deletions to the agenda. E. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. December 17, 2009, Regular Board Meeting Chairperson Karen Marcus asked if there were any changes to the minutes of the December 17, 2009, Regular Board Meeting. Mr. Sardinha requested that the following comment be added to Item F-2, second paragraph, wherein the mowing contract is discussed: Mr. Sardinha noted that the proposal did not include the cutting back of overhanging branches therefore the District did not save as much money as was originally thought. On a motion from Mr. Thornton, seconded by Ms. Heard the minutes from the December 17, 2009, Regular Board Meeting were approved, as amended. The motion carried unanimously. 1

2 F. STATUS REPORTS 1. Legal Status Report Ms. Viator briefly reviewed the status report provided in the meeting material with no major issues. 2. Field Maintenance Report Discussion Regarding Removal of Brazilian Peppers Mr. Mansell noted that he was hoping that a representative from the company that submitted a proposal to provide chemical spraying for the Brazilian peppers was in attendance so it was agreed to re-order the agenda for when the representative arrived at the meeting. (Note: the representative never showed) 3. Financial Report Mr. Wodraska noted that taxes and assessments were due on March 31, 2010, but the District had not yet received all of the money from the Tax Collectors and the records were not available yet as to who had paid and who had not paid. He noted that Martin County did not list the Pal Mar Water Control District as an agency for its assessment on the Martin County bills and stated that he would be in contact with Martin County to correct that in the future. Mr. Wodraska further noted that from a financial standpoint, the District is in healthy condition due to reserves and limited spending, although the revenue collections are still a question mark. Mr. Sardinha requested to receive an analysis of which governmental entities pay when that information becomes available. There was a brief discussion whether the TIITF pays or if the South Florida Water Management District pays their bill instead. Mr. Wodraska stated that he would research that item and report back to the Board. G. OLD BUSINESS 1. Discussion Regarding Preservation of the Legal Positive Outfall District Engineer Bob Higgins referenced a map which showed the Old Jupiter Grade Road and gave an historical perspective and described the water management and water flow of the area. He explained the challenges in trying to maintain and manage the balance between flood protection for communities to the east while at the same time trying to restore wetlands to their historic conditions. 2

3 Mr. Thornton asked for the legal definition of legal positive outfall to which Mr. Higgins explained that a legal positive outfall is something that is necessary for development to occur and is part of the approval process for developments. Mr. Sardinha referred to the same map and noted that there are no culverts on Pratt Whitney Road and disputed that the Pal Mar land west of Pratt Whitney Road drains towards the east, towards the twin 84 inch culverts, as Mr. Higgins had suggested. Property owners in attendance stated that there were culverts under Pratt Whitney Road, but the location was in question. Mr. Higgins stated that he would drive by and check whether or not there were culverts along Pratt Whitney Road, that he was not sure at the time. Mr. Higgins then described the steps that would be needed to protect this asset of the legal positive outfall for the District. He noted that a plan has been prepared and an extension was granted by the South Florida Water Management District ( SFWMD ) until June 2011 to protect legal positive outfall and Mr. Higgins said his recommendation would be to keep the options for the District open and not let the legal positive outfall deadline expire. Mr. Berman, President of the Palm Beach Heights Landowners Coalition, stated that it is an absolute must that the District preserve the legal positive outfall. Commissioner Marcus stated that she had hoped that the SFWMD would be willing to work with Pal Mar in order to fulfill their restoration efforts and come up with a solution that works for all parties. Mr. Wodraska stated that he had invited the SFWMD to this meeting, but they were unavailable from a scheduling standpoint. The consensus of the Board agreed to request the SFWMD have somebody in attendance at the next meeting in order to describe restoration efforts and any types of projects that would impact the Pal Mar area. No official action was taken on this item. H. NEW BUSINESS 1. Consider Resolution No Approving the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District Supporting the Governor Designating May 10-16, 2010, as Water Reuse Week in Florida Mr. Wodraska presented Resolution No , entitled: South Florida Water Management District 3

4 Resolution No A Resolution of the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District Supporting the Governor Designating May 10-16, 2010 as Water Reuse Week in Florida, providing an effective date. There was a motion to approve Resolution No made by Mr. Thornton, seconded by Ms. Heard and carried unanimously. 2. Consider Resolution No Approving the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District Supporting the Florida Cabinet Resolution Declaring April as Water Conservation Month in Florida Mr. Wodraska presented Resolution No , entitled: SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT RESOLUTION NO A RESOLUTION OF THE GOVERNING BOARD OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT SUPPORTING THE FLORIDA CABINET RESOLUTION DECLARING APRIL AS WATER CONSERVATION MONTH IN FLORIDA; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A motion to approve Resolution No was made by Mr. Thornton, seconded by Ms. Heard and the motion carried unanimously. I. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS 1. Announce Landowners Meeting The June 3, 2010, Landowners Meeting will take place in the Martin County Commission Chambers, Administrative Center, located at 2401 SE Monterey Road, Stuart, Florida at 10:00 a.m. Mr. Sardinha requested that the flyer announcing the Landowners Meeting that will go out to all property owners be ed to the Board for review and comment prior to the Manager s sending it out. Mr. Wodraska agreed to do that. 4

5 2. Consider Invoices The invoices were approved, as presented, on a motion by Ms. Heard, seconded by Mr. Thornton and the motion carried unanimously. At this time, the item previously skipped was brought up for discussion: 3. Field Maintenance Report Discussion Regarding Removal of Brazilian Peppers Mr. Mansell first reported that he had installed some security gates near some canal banks that were subsequently removed by someone and that he has also reported poachers to the Fish & Wildlife Commission on several occasions. On the discussion of the removal of the Brazilian peppers, Mr. Wodraska noted that in getting preliminary bids that spraying the Brazilian peppers versus having equipment uproot these hedges or trees that the spraying costs were significantly less than the equipment costs. There was a lengthy discussion about the types of chemicals that would be projected to be used, but unfortunately, the representative from the company that was contemplating performing the work was not in attendance. After a lengthy discussion, the consensus of the Board agreed to research the item, research the chemical contemplated to be used for spraying before making a decision and bringing this item back at the next meeting, as there was no urgency in making a decision. J. Comments From The Public For Items Not On The Agenda Mr. Berman passed out an article to the Board from Tampabay.com in reference to 44,000 acres in Polk County, noting that this area is going through some similar issues that are occurring in Pal Mar with regards to hunting and use in a very remote area. Mr. Berman also handed out examples of special use permits that are distributed by the Fish & Wildlife Commission and stated that the major issue is hunting on property that is not owned by people because there is physically no way to access the property and that many hunters go in there saying that they own a piece of property, but really hunt over the entire area, which is trespassing. Mr. Berman stated that he is not anti-hunting and said that hunting on your own property is perfectly legal, but hunting on someone else s property is a felony. He recommended a landowner notification document, stating that the real problem here boils down to trespassing. Mr. Berman also handed out some recommended strategies which included prohibition of vehicles along canal banks, noting that he serves as a Supervisor on another special district and they have successfully implemented no vehicles on canal banks and it works for them. 5

6 Mr. Lew Lolmaugh stated that there is no hunting problem out in Pal Mar and that this discussion is much to do about nothing. There are no trespassing issues and he successfully hunts on his property in the area. Mr. Greg Archer echoed the same sentiments, saying there are no issues involved with hunting and the property owners take very good care of the area and there should be no need to implement any restrictions on hunting. Mr. Sardinha stated that with the number of hunters going out into Pal Mar nowadays, he is very concerned about liability issues and there was a discussion about responsibility of the Board and how the Pal Mar Water Control District must treat everybody the same. Ms. Marge Ketter made it a point to note that bullets trespass too. Mr. Berman wrapped up by saying that the responsible hunters are not the problem, but asked for the Board to help keep things under control in the area with the large amount of hunting, something needs to be done in terms of safety and protection in the area. After some deliberation, the consensus of the Board agreed to have Staff analyze and outline the issue surrounding hunting out in Pal Mar and what the District s options are in terms of safety, protection and permitting to be discussed at the next meeting. Ms. Marge Ketter noted that on May 15 th there is a celebration for the anniversary of the Loxahatchee River designation as a Wild and Scenic River. K. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS There were no comments from Members of the Board. L. ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:38 a.m., as announced by Chairperson Karen Marcus. Secretary/Assistant Secretary Chair/Vice-Chair 6