HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-10-2022 Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board Meeting MinutesFEAB June 10 , M inutes
FE AB MEETING MINUTES
Ju ne 10, 2022
2:30 p.m. @ Library Board Room
Member Attendees : Gary Gover, Jim Horner, Nigel Temple, Jennifer Foutch, Ben Frater,
Amy Paulson , Rick Speight
Members not in attendance :
Michelle Melton
City of Fairhope: Hunter Simmons, Kim Burmeister -Planning and Zoning Department;
Jessica W a l ker, Eco nomic and Co m mun ity Development
City Council : None
Honored Guests : Nicole Love (Th o mpson Engineering); Casey Gay Williams, Eastern Shore
Chamber of Commerce; Jody Thompson , Auburn University; Darrel Wi l liams (pending
Council approval for membe,rship on June 27th)
Minutes taken by : Ki m Burmeister
Amy called the meeting to order at 2:30 p .m.
Summary of meeting:
1. N o moti ons passed
2 . Three action items:
a. Amy will attempt to get FEAB rep and MS/AL SeaGrant rep on upcoming
Work Session wit h Council , pending contact with Corey Martin, for CRI
disc uss ions .
b . Amy asked FEAB members to bring budget wish items to the July FEAB
meeting
c. Gary will check w ith other city boards (Harbor, Rec, Bike & Ped) to
sc h edule 15 min ute presenta ti on by FEAB on p ro j ec t s a nd goals
3 . Jody Thompson and Casey Gay Wil l iams gave a presentation on the importance of
the MS/AL SeaGrant CRI scoring for the city of Fairhope (recommended every
year or after every significant storm event). They can assist Fairhope with this
process.
4 . Darrell will tentatively be accepted as a FEAB member at Council Meeting on June
27th_
5 . Nicole's FEAB membership is pending resignation from Michelle Melton , who has
been hired as a City Plan ne r, starting e nd of June .
6 . Triangle property is in the RFQ stage, engineer comm itment coming soon.
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FEAB June 10, 2022 Minutes
7 . FEAB would like to organize a field trip for FEAB, Bike Ped and possibly city council
to walk through the Triangle property and the Fly Creek portion of the Triangle
property.
8. Darrell noticed a lot of invasive spec ie s on the Triangle property.
9. FEAB di sc ussion s on by-law amendments for membership increa se and time
change (to 1.5 hours) have been dismissed for now.
10. Hunter encouraged FEAB to draft a summary of goals prior to contacting Erik
regarding the planned wetland charette . Goals will determine the audience.
11. FEAB members are taking turns attending the Planning Commission meetings and
may attend City Council meetings or work sessions in the future.
12 . Jessica was recognized as being vital in city obtaining $750K in stormwater project
funding, coming late 2022 or early 2023 .
13 . FEAB would like to be part of comp plan review before finalization.
FEAB Minutes/Updates to Board and By-laws:
1. Amy made a motion to approve FEAB May minutes; Nigel asked that his comment
on pg. 19 be amended to say " ... presenters should be encouraged to present
concise points throughout the presentation ".
2 . Darrell 's membership to FEAB still pending council approval
3 . Nicole's membership to FEAB st ill pending vacancy of a position
4. Hunter announced that FEAB member Michelle Melton has been hired as a City
Planner, tentative start date June 27 th . Thi s will free up a position on FEAB.
5. Amy sa id the discussions for by-law amendment to rai se the number of FEAB
members from 9 to eleven wi l l be p laced on hold for now; everyone indica ted
agreement to do this for now.
6. Amy mentioned the discussion on by -law change to amend time from 3 p.m. to
2 :30 p.m. to allow for 1.5 hour meetings instead of 1 hour meetings. Jennifer
suggested to leave it as is for right now. Consensus wa s to discontinue discussions
on this for now, leave it as is for now.
Agenda:
Amy drafted this agenda to share with FEAB :
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FEAB June 10, 2022 Minutes
Page \ 3
~-\GENDA
THE CITY OFFAIRHOPl'.EXVIRO~ff'.'i'l'AL AD\'ISO:Rl!" Bo.-\RD :\fONTHI.VhlEETINC
Jt:q 111,21122 /2:J0 P!.i LIBIWn·, GmD:c ~s R.oo.">I
l. Special Meeting: Org;anization of Community Resil iency Index -Nicole (~30 min)
a . Guests: Jody Thomp5on, 1fS /AL Se;.Gnnt .ind ~y Gay Wilfums, President of th e
Eastern Sh.ore Chamber o.fCommen:e
b . Di5c:usaio : \Vb.it are the next steps?
Holl3ekeeping (~5 min)
a . Acc.eptance of prior meeting minutes -Kim
b . Membership -!!.E!Dd a Resolution for member5hip mcrea.;e 1.·ia Corey to Council
c.. M eeting Duration -send a Resol ution for official time ~e via Corey o Council:
Meeting to have 30-mmul:e initial pu blic: se5si.on for gu151 pr1!3entations and th.en l hom
for FEAB horuekeeping and deliberation, foy a total L5 hollI!! (2:30-4 :00).
3. Old Action ltem; (~10 mins)-"-iey Progr~s'!
a. Ben to arrange onsite field trip with FEAB , fayor , City Council at Dyas to dis c:l'.155 use of
property . (Invite Bike and Ped rep? Au.bum exteruion to attend.)
b . Amy / Gary to req e5t ag end a pr1!3enc:e at Harbor Board, Recreation Board, Bike & Ped
Committ ee regular monthly meeting to present FEAB slid.eshowl cfuc:us3 mutual
priorities and opportunitie to partner.
c.. Ben / Amy to fo ll ow up with Pat \Vhite / Recreation D ep.l for park planning (Colony,
Dyas) {any more tho girts on h ow to proceed since hist month)?
d. Am y to reach out to ~-for representativ e on FEAB -rab led until f all.
4 . POC Status Report on FEAB Focw h:.--ues (~ 1 · min)
LThillTIID DI SCUSSION -PASS IF NO NE\VS TO SHARE
a. Plannwg Commis5ion I\'1e£,ting Rotation -Jenni.fer 6J 6
b . Fairhope Cit}· Council -Jenni.fer / Corey
c.. Fairhope Ma yor's Office -Amy l Gar).·
d. Fairhope Cit}• De~ents.-Kim / Christina
e. B aldwin County Environmental Advisory Committee and F.AC m!Kommittees
{ \\ etlands and neighborhoods) -Kim
i. Rotational respo=liility'.' (First Tuesday of every month, PM, Robertsd:ale
B al dwin County Annex.)
£ Community Resiliency Index -. ·ic:ol e
1;. Dyas Triangle -Ben .I Mic: elle
h. Fairhope W etlmds Protection -1 gel
i. C ity goal to write wetland ordinance requirements imo subdi,-.i sion regu.l.ati=.
i . Eastern Shore W ater3hed Management P im and Hob-pot idl!lltific:ation-Kim l icole
J . Fairhope Comprehensive U SP -Ben
k. Recy c ling -Jemiifer
i. Litter G itter updat e .
ii. Establish FEAB Sllboo mmittee '.'
l. Clean Marinai Proj ed -Gary, Rici: Jim?
5. New Bu.sine;s / Other Interests (-10 min)
L Th.ffilID DISCUSSION -PASS IF NO IBWS TO SHARE
a. Stormwater -Jim / Ritl./ Kim
b . Bik:e and Pede~tri an Committee -Gar}· / Nigel
c.. Energy Consen;atio 11 Initiat ives ( d im.ate change ac:tio ) -Ga.JJ·
FEAB June 10, 2022 Minutes
6 . Inv olv ement Oppommilies. -Gary (<5)
a . Wetland Re.,aol.ati.ons llll.d Co mpliance Workaltop. Guid.mce for Professional!
Inv olv ed in Lmd {;se lmi:e3 Thursday, June 16, 2022 . Mobile Are.a A.!!soc ia:ti.on of
Realtors * 2 82 Airport Boule,,aid Mo bi l e, AL 3 6606 Registration Deadline: Thnrnby,
June 9 OR Tuesd ay, July 19, 2022 B aldwinREAL TOR.S 23280 County Raad 6.5
Roberad.ale , AL 36 56 7 Reg is,mfion Deadline: Tnaday, July 12
b . Ad,•llJlc:ed Wetlu.d R.egul1.tion,s an.d Complia.nc,e Worbbop: Additional Topics for
Profasionals Involved in Land Use h sues , Thursday, June 16, 2022, 8:30am -3: 10pm
Mobile Are.a Asso ciation ofRea.ltoB 282 Airport Boulevard , Mobile , AL 36606
W rap up ( < 5mm}
.a. Potential Topic fuT Ju ]y · spec ial discussion with Erik: Co rtina5 re: ,,,et1md charette
detail s and plannin~? - . "i gel?
b. New action itezm -review1list.
c. Adj ourn
Amy introduced speaker, Jody Thompson with Auburn Extension :
Jody gave out information on CR I as well as a Invitation Worksheet. Link s to i nformation
below :
coastal community resilience index 2021 .pdf (masgc .org)
https://www.fema.gov/floodplain-management /community-rating-system ,
https://coast.noaa.gov /snapshots /#&state =eyJmaXBzlioiMDEwMDMiLCJzbmFwc2hvd
ElEiioiZn V0dXJ1Rmxvb2OiLCJzZWN0a W9uSUQiOiJoZWFkZXJTZWN0a W9uliwiaX
NUaGVtZURhcmsiOrnZhbHNlLCJiYXNlbWFwljoibGlnaHOiLCJzbHJWYWxlZSI6Iil
ifO
NOAA's Flood Exposure Mapping Tool.
1. CRI Se lf-as sessment tool is not to compare Fai r hope to other communities .
2. CRI updates are recommended every year or after every significant storm event.
3 . Fairhope 's la st CRI was conducted in 2018
4 . CRI may open grant opportunities
5 . CRI can be a good p lanning tool
6 . 75 communitie s along the Gulf Coast have participated in recent CRI scoring .
7 . Jody takes CRI information from the community and gives it back to them in a
useable format.
8 . Nex t step w ou ld be for Jody/Casey to open di scu ssion s with Mayor and Co uncil.
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FEAB June 10 , 2022 M inutes
Amy said some industries, such as tech indu stries, require CRI be done for the industry to
be considered in a community .
Hunter said large indu stries are no t t argete d or desired for Fairhope, but clean indus t ry is
encouraged.
Nigel asked how far forward in the future Fai rh ope shou ld be projecting when conducting
CRI. Jody sa id that is for Fairhope to decide .
Hunter said CRI has been in the comp plan discussion s but reminded FEAB that the comp
plan will not be a regu latory mechanism. Ordinance and regulation updates are being
done sepa r at e ly from th e comp plan .
Casey offered a handout/questionnaire on "Community and Business Resiliency" which
can be used to engage downtown merchan t s. She encouraged FEAB and staff not to
overthink the CR I. It should be a sim ple straight forward process, which she and Jody can
assist with for Fairhope .
Nicole emphasized the importance of CRI to help develop and be supportive of new
policy.
Wetland Charette Planning
Amy asked Hunter about the sta tus . Hunter advised Amy to get with Erik Cortinas on this .
This wil l be up to Er ik . Hunter suggested FEAB draft a sum mary of objectives/goals and
then target a udi ence can be deve lop ed, but Er i k is the contact.
Comp Plan update
Jim asked for update; when will draft be available for review? FEAB / Amy had previously
subm itted some very specific comments for comp plan cons id eration, a nd Jim would like
to know to what extent these may be included .
Hunter said next comp plan meet in g will likely be a virtual meeting and will include the
steering committee members, of which FEAB ha s representation on. Hunter said the
regulatory/ policy c han ge comme nts w ill not be included in th e comp plan but wil l be
used for ordinance and regulatio n review s, which are ongoing .
Nicole said comp plans are usually vi sionary and are used for planning guidance.
Triangle Update:
Jessica said RFQ is out now for engineer bids on the property. Engineer should be in place
soon . City is requesting more funding . City's vision for the property rig ht now is for
property to serve as an easily access ibl e outdoor classroom .
Amy sa id city needs to define eco logical value of property before engineer comes i n (and
conduct field trip tour).
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FEAB June 10, 2022 Minutes
Jessica said there will likely be no on site construction for at lea st 6 months. Engineering
will be purely discussions and planning/documenting of project spec ifics . Amy asked
Jessica to keep FEAB in the loop with progress.
Ben sai d the next step for FEAB would be to coordinate on site meeting with FEAB and
Bike Ped committee, possibly City Council as well, for a field tour walk through.
Conditions might be more favorable for Fly Creek walk through in Fall when it's cooler
and vegetation is not as dense . Tour should be .5 hours max for summertime visit; one
hour for Fall visit. Jim suggests trial run on field tour by FEAB before meeting with the
group.
Darrel mentioned the "bike trails" within the property appear to have held up well after
rain events. He has noticed a lot of invasive species on the property.
Litter Gitter: Kim has an update from Mayor Sullivan: 2023 budget will li kely inclu de
money for Litter Gitter.
2023 Budget:
City is currently working on 2023 budget.
Bike and Ped Board, Rec Board, Harbor Board :
Amy asked Gary to check with other boards he is attending to see if FEAB rep could give a
15 presentation at future meeting.
Park Management Plan : Gary said Pat White is st ill referring to 2010 Colony Park
Management plan . Mowing of drainage areas appear to have stopped for now.
Planning Commission FEAB rotation:
Jennifer attended recent Planning Commission meeting, which was 4 hours long . She
stayed 2 hours . Amy said there may be a need for FEAB to develop a rotation list for the
City Council (work session meet ing s) as well.
Jessica reminded FEAB that the meetings (Planning Commission and City Council/Work
Session) are live streamed and can be viewed virtually as we ll as in person. Public input is
not allowed at the work session .
Stormwater Infrastructure update:
Jim gave kudos to Jessica for her part in acquiring the $750k grant from Restore . Jessica
said it will likely be 6 months to a year before the funds are available . The grant money
may also cover additional projects such as the study of stormwater conveyance th rough
gullies and a critical los s study.
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FEAB June 10, 2022 Minut es
Meeting adjourned at 4 p .m .
Next meeting is Fr iday, July 8th @ 3 :00 p .m . @ Library Boar d Room
FEAB CONTACT INFORMATION :
Chairman:
Gary Gover
Co-Chair :
Amy Paulson ·
Members :
Ben Frat e r
Jim Horner
Nigel Temple
Michelle M elton
Jennife r Foutch
Rick Speight
CITY CONTACTS :
govers@bellsouth .net
amy .paulson@yahoo .com
ben.frater@gmai l.com
no ne
757nigel@gmail.com
michelleleeme ltonlee@gmai l.com
Foutch . jen n ifer@gma i l .com
rspeight@game7pub l ish i ng .com
(251) 990-8662
(251) 654-7401
(4 0 4 ) 314-8815
(251) 928-9722
(757) 803-3589
(423) 504-8253
(618) 318 -0354
(828) 551-3966
Corey M artin, Ci t y Council corey .martin@fairhopeal.gov
Kim Burmeiste r, Pla nni ng and Zoning Department kim .burmeister@fairhopeal.gov
Christin a LeJeune , Planning and Zo n ing Department c hristina .lejeune@fairhopeal.gov
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