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Home My WebLink About12-09-2022 Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board Meeting MinutesJenny Wilson .=rom: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: Lisa, Jenny : Ki m Burme iste r Tuesday, January 17 , 2023 7:09 AM Lisa A. Hanks, MMC Jenny Wilson ; amy .paulson@yahoo .com; govers@bellsouth.net FEAB m i nutes for December FEABdec2022 .docx Here are the minutes which were approved, as amended, at the January FEAB meeting on Friday, 1/13, Kim 1 FEAB December 9th , 2022 Minutes FEAB MEETING MINUTES Thursday, December 9, 2022 3:00 p.m . in the Public Utilities Conference Room , 555 South Section Street Member Attendees: Gary Gover, Jim Horner, Ben Frater, Amy Paulson, Nigel Temp le , Rick Speight, Jennifer Foutch Members not in attendance : Nicole Love City of Fairhope : Kim Burmeister -Plannin g and Zoning Department City Council : Non e Honored Guests : Anna Keene Miller, Keen Living ; Dr . Steven Scyphers, Un iversity of South A labama ; Carole Tebay, resident of Fairhope Minutes taken by: Kim Burmeister Amy called the meeting to order at 3:00 p .m . Summary of meeting : 1 . FEAB will be utilizing active participants (non-members who actively participate in FEAB meetings) to assist with projects and goals 2 . FEAB has a membership vacancy since Darrell Williams has resigned 3 . Nigel is now the FEAB representative for the Triangle planning project. Rick Speight was the FEAB representative but he has resigned. 4 . Motion approved: Accep ted Carole Tebay and Stephen Scyphers as "active participants" to the FEAB 5 . Action Plan : Carole will draft outreach document I PSA regarding invasives, particularly new invasive giant salvinia, which is a threat to our local water bodies. 6. Park management suggestions are still not be used for Colony Park (Twin Beech Road). FEAB would like to work with Rec Board to i ncrease awareness on the importance of park maintenance plans . 7. Action Plan: Ben to follow up with Rec Board regarding park management plans FEAB Minutes : Octobe r minutes w ere approved as written . Nigel ist: Jim 2 nd . Page 1 FEAB December 9th 2022 , Minutes Agenda provide by Amy : ~GEND A THE CITY OF F AIRH OPE ENVIRONME ITAL ADVIS ORY BoARD M ONTHLY 1\-IEETING D:ECillllE.R 8, 2022 / 3--4 PM, PuBI.IC WORKS CONFER.E:-C:E RooM 1. Housekeeping (-15 min) a. Last month notes -Kim b. Guest Bios -vote for non-Yoting FEAB membership / v oting member vacancy -Amy 1. Anna :Miller ii. Dr. Stev en Scyphers iii. Carole Tebay c . Janl.lal)' agenda will be dedicated to priority setting for 2023+ -Amy d. Biweekly attendance at Council Meetings and talking points document -Amy 2 . Discussion Items (-10) a. Giant Sah-inia -Ben, Gary, Kim, Carole 1. Josh Tolbert, Mobile Baykeeper Patrol Member -looking for partnerships (Bald-win County. IvffiNEP , Mobile, Dog River, MA WSS) 11. ADCNR. Aquatic Nuisance Species Management P lan (included, but no S) 111. Outreach opportunity for FEAB -draft Facebook PSA to share w/HOAs -Kim 3. POC Status Reports on FEAB 2022 Priority Focus Issues and Old Action Items (-10 min) LIMITED DISCUSSION -PASS IF NO NEWS T O SHARE a. City Liaisons 1. City Council -Corey, Jennifer 11. Mayor -Amy, Nicole 111. City Departments -Kim, Christina 1. New Jessica? ff. Baldwin Co unty Env Advisory Committees -Amy /Gary, Kim 1. Baldwin County wetlands protection standardization initiativ e -Amy 2. Upcoming (red clay, LID, etc.) \·. Fairhope Committees' Joint Projects 1. Bike and P ed, Harbor Board, Recreation Board, Recycling Committee, Historic Preservation b . Greenspace -Ben i. (Comprehensive LUP and COF Boards Joint Subcommittee for Greenspace) -? c . Eastern Shore Watershed Management P lan -Nicole d . Recycling and Trash -Jennifer 4 . New Business / Other Interests (< 5 min) LIMITED D ISCUSSION -PASS IF NO NEWS T O SHARE a. Stormwater -Jim / Nigel i. SWMPP 2 023 -Kim (in\·entory, WQ Testing (recertification, equipment) b . Resilient Building Codes (Babcock Ranch, FL) -Jim / Anna c. Internships -Steven 5. Inv olrnment Opportunities (< S min)-Gary a. i\1BNEP Create a :Masterpiece Sun-ey b . UA Online Survey Software I Qualtrics Surv ey Solutions c . Baldwin County Master Plan (is comment period closed?) 6. W rap up (< 5 min) a. New action items -review/list Page\ 2 FEAB December 9th 2022, Minutes Anna Keene Miller, BA Environmental Studies lo+ years in the environmental field , Anna is a building consultant specializing in energy efficiency and indoor air quality . Her experience ranges from residential retrofit consulting to above-<:ode certifications for new construction.. Anna 's company , Keen Living , provides technical support , HV AC design, and field verification for high performance building projects. She is a RESNET HERS Rater, Fortified Evaluator, and a National Green Building Standard GBS ) \ erifier. Keen Living was a key partner on the first two homes in the country to achieve both the Zero Energy Ready Home and Fortified Hurricane Gold certifications. This includes the 20 21 Mobile Bay Magazine Inspiration Home, a Department of Energy Housing Innovation Award winner that combines affordable design strategies ·with solar + battery storage to use over 70% less energy than a code-built home. Anna serves on the Gulf of:Mexico Alliance Gulf Housing Committee , Green Coast Council Sustainability Summit Planning Committee , and the South Alabama Land Trust Native Habitat Steering Committee . She advocates for sustainable dernlopment at the local level and strives to improve the quality of housing throughout the Gulf Coast. FEAB from 2008-2010; CoF Recycling Comm ittee, 2013 -2015 Carole Tebay After gardening with nati ve plants for almost 50 years , I relish sharing the possibilities of benefiting the local ecosystem by including native plants in our home landscapes . As a member of the speakers bureau ,vith the Santa Rosa County, FL Master Gardeners I was able to share my message with others . Before moving to Fairhope , I was active with the Longleaf Chapter of the N ati\·e Plant Society and a longtime board member of the Francis M Weston Chapter of the Audubon Society. In Santa Rosa County I served on the RESTORE Council which reviewed potential projects and expenditures under the RESTORE Act and solicited public input . As a volunteer with the Friends of Pensacola State Parks, I led weekly bird walks through Big Lagoon Stat.e Park. A certification through the County Ext.ension Program as a Florida Master Naturalist has allowed me to participate in many citizen science projects on plastics , invasive s, oysters, terrapins , and seagrasses . Since mo Ying to Fairhope, I\·e become active with the South Alabama Land Trust Natural Habitat Steering Committee. Our current projects include developing a nativ e habitat certification checklist, offering tours of homes using native plants , a book dub discuss ion group on DoUo'Jas Tal lamy's Bringing ature Home , and Zoom sessions with Dr Tallamy . I participate with the Baldwin County Extension Master Environmental Educator Program teaching their Backyard Wild life Habitat lessons to elementary school classes . Dr. Steven B . Scyphers Associate Professor in the School of Marine & Environmental Sciences and Director of the Center for Socio-Environmental Resiliency at the Univ ersity of South Alabama, and he is a Senior ).1arine Scientist II at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab . Steven's research integrates ecology and sociology to understand and overcome major challenges facing c.oastal communities. His work focuses on sustainable coastal fisher ies , shoreline de\·elopment , ecosyst.em restoration, and climate adaptation. He lives in Fairhope v.-ith his wife Mallory and daughters Hadley and Maren. Membership : Darrell has resigned and there is a vacancy on FEAB. Gary would like to review any membership applications at t he next meeting (January) Anna has seniority over attendance as a non -member right now, and Amy encouraged her to apply for membership. Anyone interested is encourged to apply . Page \ 3 FEAB December 9t h 2022, Minutes Amy made a motion for actively participating non -members (Anna, Stephen and Carol) to be accepted as active participants of FEAB . Jim l5\ Ben 2nd . Motio n approve d un animously to acce pt Ann a, Carol and Step hen as active participa nts of FEAB. Ben asked for this role to be defined . Active participant duties defined by Amy : Actively attend FEAB meetings . Misssing 2 consecutive meetings "unexcused " will indicate withdrawa l from this duty. A lso, act ive participant may be asked to attend meetings, such as Council meetings, to represent FEAB 's opinions . Active participants do not count towards quorum and cannon vote. Ben mentioned a benefit of being a active participant versus a member: sunshine r ules don 't apply. Stephen asked about the h is tory of FEAB and what has been accomplished. Kim will send him the matrix from the past year and a link to pa st minutes of FEAB. Amy said goals for 2023 are forthcoming . Master Plan Gary said Baldwin County P&Z will be releasing another draft of the County Master Plan. He hopes the City is working with Baldwin County P&Z so master p lans are cohesive . Amy said the ESWMP reached out to the consultants for the master plan for the City but it's her understanding they have not heard back. She will che ck w ith Nicole on that status . Triangle Property Amy is removing the field trip to the triangle property suggestion from the agenda. Everyone has seen or walked the triangle. Gary said Bike & Ped has representation on the steering committee for the Triang le Property . FEAB has reprensetation on the Steering Committee (Nige l ). Rick Speight was assigned as the FEAB rep but he has resigned . Richard Johnson is the City of Fairhope contact for the Triangle property. lnvasi ves Jennifer asked if invasives would be addressed on city properties such as the triangle. Nigel stated that there are significant invasives on all city proeprties-not being actively addressed . Benefits have to be weighted : removing the i nvasive and causing a disturbance area or leaving as is . Jennifer would like to know about invasives and suggested outreach to the community to define invasives , why we would want to remove them, and suggest a guideline for native plans that work well in Fairhope landscapes . Carol will work on this. She has an extensive background as a master gardner and with native landscaping. Amy suggested the city horticulturist Jamie Rollins be invited to the FEAB meeting to discuss his role with the city and if invasives are addressed in the city landscape plan . Kim Page \ 4 FEAB December 9th 2022, Minutes will send Jamie an invitation for February and suggested FEAB member call him a day or two ahead of time with a personal invitation . Amy mentioned lo ca l and state outreach for giant salvinia removal and thanked Carol and Ben for the information and links they prov ided . Carole wi l l work on a PSA to be used for possib le City Facebook announcements and to be shared with subdivision groups. This will assist with community know ledge and awareness of giant salvinia, a new invasive be i ng seen in our waterways. Carol said it could potentially infect subdivision ponds as well. She said Big Creek lake is closed because of giant salvinia . Stephen said residents and groups finding giant salvinia should tag the location , and sugges ted the phone app "I Naturalists". Ben is seeking sta te funds to help with inva siv e educatio n and removal. Council Attendance by FEAB Amy will attend first one in January . Official schedule for FEAB and talking points have not been finalized . Preservation of property Gary said preservation of prope rty and historic homes is directly related to the enviro nment since it prevents or restricts land disturbance and demo l iton activity. It may also prevent larger ho mes from being placed on small lots . He mentioned the recent conflict with property/historic home at Ingleside and Nichols . Recreation Board, Park Management Plans Gary has given the Recreation Board the park management plan for Colony Park, but it is not being implemented or suggested yet. Amy said the Colony Park ditch (tributary to Cowpe n Creek) was recently mowed again, and this encourages invasive species growth. She suggests FEAB help Rec Board understa nd the objectives and benefits of a park manageme nt plan. She asked Ben to approach this group with his expertise on the subject. Ben mentioned the Volanta ball park project next to the swimming pool had failed BMPs (silt fences) in back of project. Kim will refer to Christina (North side enforcement officer) and also Pat White, Parks Manager. Action Plan: Ben to confer with Recreation Board on park management plans, specifically Colony Park . Page \ 5 • I • FEAB December 9th 2022, Minutes Meeting adjourned at 4 p .m . Next meeting is Friday, January 13th @ 3 p.m . @ Public Utilities Conference room. FEAB CONTACT INFORMATION: Chairman : Gary Gover Co-Chair: Amy Paulson Members : Ben Frater Ji m Horner Nigel Temple Jennifer Foutch Rick Spe ight Nicole Love CITY CONTACTS: govers@bellsouth .net amy .paulson@yahoo .com ben .frater@gma i I .com none 757nigel@gmail.com Foutch . jen n ifer@gma ii .com rspeight@game7publ ishing .com nlove@thompsonengineering .com (251) 990-8662 (251) 654-7401 (404) 314-8815 (251) 928-9722 (757) 803 -3589 (618) 318-0354 (828) 551-3966 (407)-312 -13 62 Corey Martin, City Council corey .martin@fairhopeal.gov Kim Burmeister, Planning and Zoning Department kim .burmeister@fairhopeal.gov Christina LeJeune, Plann ing and Zoning Department christina.lejeune@fairhopeal.gov Page \ 6