Urban Wilderness Advisory Board

Minutes of Regular Quarterly Meeting

September 29, 2010

Members Present / Members Absent / Staff Present
Lisa Baumbach / Pam Pavsner / Carol Morgenstern
Marcey Carabelli / Linda Briggs
Frank Dickinson / Cathy Hagen
Jeffrey Greenfield / Dan West
Joan Kohl / John Fiori
Al Will
Kim Zimmerman

The Urban Wilderness Advisory Board (UWAB, or the Board) was called to order at 5:35 p.m.; roll was taken; a quorum was present upon a late arrival.

Parks Director Dan West provided an update to the Board on the FY2011budget, including the cuts, employee positions, and placement of affected employees. Over the last 4 years, the Division has incurred 34% in budget cuts. At the County Commission meeting of the previous evening, the Commission decided an additional $18 million in reductions was necessary from the county’s FY2011 budget, but none of that will come from the Parks and Recreation Division. There likely will be further budget reductions next year, which staff hopes to absorb by making minor adjustments rather than the major changes – such as closing our parks two days a week - that have been necessary so far. Over the past four years, 287 positions have been eliminated in Broward County Parks. Mr. West noted several positive points: Broward County Parks has a very diverse and unique system of nature centers and natural area preserves; the Division has been fortunate to have three major bond programs; and the current economic downturn is expected to eventually improve.

Board members discussed the possibility of attracting cruise passengers to the various parks and natural areas either before or after their cruises, and of developing a plan - with the involvement of the local chapter of the Audubon Society and local environmental groups - to offer ecotourism.

The loss of so many positions will affect the level of service in the natural areas, and the effects of that will be seen over time. Staff may need to look at other ways to fund the management of some of these areas.

Old Business

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made to approve the minutes from the March 24, 2010 UWAB meeting; the motion was seconded; all approved. A motion was made to approve the minutes from the April 21, 2010 UWAB special meeting/public hearing; the motion was seconded; all approved.

Status of Inventory Sites

Staff has been working on adding sites to the inventory for designation as Urban Wilderness areas. A public hearing was held in April 2010 to approve adding nine sites to the inventory list; the documents are ready for presentation in the form of an Agenda Item to the Commission for Urban Wilderness designation. One site was overlooked – the Sands Parcel; it will require a public hearing in order to be put on the inventory list. A motion was made to move the process forward for the group of nine sites that has been approved by the Board for urban wilderness designation. The motion was seconded, and was approved unanimously. A resource management plan for the Sands Parcel will be provided to the Board for the December meeting. Staff provided background information about the Sands site, a wetland located in Dania Beach that was recently the subject of a wetland mitigation project. Staff described the cleanup and removal of fill and debris that took place; excavation/grading to improve the flushing capability of the channels and to return the elevation to levels that allow for mangrove recruitment; and the replanting of mangroves and other native species. Wading birds such as spoonbills, egrets, little blue herons, and wood storks have been documented at the site since the debris and fill were removed. Mangroves are germinating in the area, indicating that the elevations are acceptable. Staff expects the Sands Parcel to be a healthy mangrove system once it matures. The edge is being actively managed and staff plans are to do some restoration. The boundaries are fenced where needed. The site is next to West Lake Park and will eventually be managed under the same management plan. Staff and the Board discussed the connecting ecosystems in the West Lake area, including the conservation easement and water flow patterns.

A motion was made to add the Sands Parcel to the Urban Wilderness Inventory. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

New Business

Introduce new members: The new Board members Lisa Baumbach-Reardon and Kim Zimmerman were introduced and provided brief backgrounds about themselves.

Deerfield Island Docks: John Fiore, planner for the Division and liaison for the Marine Advisory Council, briefed the Board on the new docks planned for Deerfield Island. The new concrete docks with aluminum decking will accommodate larger boats and will be ADA compliant. A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously approved for the Board to approve the new docks at Deerfield Island.

Playground at Deerfield Highlands Nature Preserve: The site is considered Conservation Land. The eastern end is all fill and very disturbed. A parking lot and accessibility for a fire truck are required. A scrub site with a lot of exotics, every sand pine on the site was snapped when Hurricane Wilma came through the area in October 2005. Described best as early successional, the site is being allowed to restore before adding nature trails. The Board has already approved the master plan for this site, which is across from an affordable housing development. This is the first time a playground has been planned for a natural area; it is planned for a disturbed area of the site, will be ADA compliant, is designed for younger children, will be visibly open for security, will eventually be shaded by large slash pines and oak trees that will be planted. No action is needed by the Board; update is informational only.

Crescent Trail Resource Management Plan: The plan is available for review on the Board’s Web page. The Board visited this site in 2006 or 2007. Crescent Trail is located on Hillsboro Boulevard in Coconut Creek between Quiet Waters and Helene Klein Pineland Preserve. Consisting of 7.08 acres, it was purchased in 2005 as part of the Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond for $2,208,000. Residential development surrounds the site on three sides, and commercial properties are located on the south side along Hillsboro Boulevard. Disturbance on the site is visible on aerial photographs as far back as the 1940s. A borrow pit that was excavated on the southeast corner of the site and the Hillsboro River flow way are also visible on aerials. Two preserved cypress domes are visible on the 1955 aerial photograph. Today the site is a mix of cypress and mesic flatwoods. Much of the northern section is very disturbed with a lot of exotics. Plant and animal surveys have been conducted. Staff is managing the site and is focusing on restoring the vegetative community. Exotic removal started in 2006. The first phase was removing the Australian pines. Hand removal of exotic understory plants was done by the natural areas maintenance staff. Replanting native species has begun: slash pines were planted in the northern section in 2007, and more recently a project to re-establish the understory began with the planting of saw palmetto, wild coffee, and beautyberry. Rehydration of the site would be beneficial. The master plan was approved by the County Commissioners in 2008. However, there is no funding to develop the site and no grants were awarded for the site, so there are no compliance obligations requiring development. When funding does become available, the master plans calls for nature trails, seating areas, interpretive signage, bike racks, and drinking fountains.

The Resource Management Plan for the Sands Parcel will be ready by the next meeting. The management plan for state owned Pine Island Ridge needs to be updated, and as such will prepared and presented to Board at an upcoming meeting.

A motion was made to approve the Resource Management Plan for Crescent Trail. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

Schedule for 2011 meetings: Board meetings are held quarterly on the fourth Wednesday of the month, with the exception of December meetings, which will be the first Wednesday. A revised schedule will be presented for Board approval at the December 1 meeting.

The County Attorney will not attend board meetings unless requested.

Adjournment

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded; all approved. The meeting was adjourned at 6.55 p.m.

The next regular quarterly meeting is scheduled for December 1, 2010 at Central Broward Regional Park, 5:30 p.m.