Jacksonville Waterways Commission
Reggie Brown, Chair
JACKSONVILLE WATERWAYS COMMISSION
Thursday, September 10, 2009
City Council Chamber
9:00 a.m.
The monthly meeting of the Jacksonville Waterways Committee was called to order at 9:02 a.m., Thursday, September 10, 2009, in the City Council Chamber, by the Chair, Council Member Reggie Brown.
Attendance: Council Members Brown (Chair), Crescimbeni (Vice Chair), Jones; Commissioners Burnett, Busey, Grandin, Hartley, Nichols, Thompson; Commissioners Fleming and Grey, and State Representative Ray were excused; Kristina Nelson, Office of General Counsel; Dr. Quinton White and Dr. Gerard Pinto, Jacksonville University; Captain Jim Suber, Waterways Coordinator; Marilyn Allen, Legislative Services; John J. Jackson, Council Research Division.
The minutes for the August 13, 2009 meeting of the Waterways Commission were approved.
Commissioner Grandin provided the Commission with an update on her sub-committee, Working Group on Recreational & Commercial Working Waterfronts. Shakeeb Shariff and Kristen Reed of the Planning & Development Department joined Commissioner Grandin in this report. Commissioner Grandin indicated that the City had to meet the statutory direction and requirements of the State regarding components in the Comprehensive Plan providing regulatory incentives and criteria to protect and encourage recreational and commercial working waterfronts. The Sub-Committee met on August 27, 2009 to get input from the public as to what would actually be incentives to waterfronts that would help the community. Drafts of the proposed changes that incorporated some of the suggestions of the sub-committee for the Commission’s review were distributed by the Planning Department. These are the recommended changes in the text of the Comprehensive Plan and the future land use element (FLUE). When the Commission has reviewed, discussed and eventually recommend approval of the proposed changes to the City Council, specific recommendations would then be sent to the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee. The Planning & Development Department is required to submit recommendations for changes in the Comprehensive Plan for the Council’s deliberations at its October 13, 2009 meeting.
Shakeeb Shariff explained that these regulatory issues in the Comprehensive Plan were based on House Bill 955 and Senate Bill 1316 that were enacted in January 2006. (Encouraging the preservation of recreational and commercial working waterfronts).
Council Member Crescimbeni asked if we were under a deadline. Kristen Reed, Planning Department, indicated that the Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) would be presented to the City Council on October 13th and that the report would then have to go through the public hearing process, the Planning Commission, the Land Use and Zoning Committee and a final Council action by November 1, 2009. There would be options to amend the language if we feel that there is something more appropriate.
Mr. Greg Kupperman of NeptuneBeach, a planning and development consultant addressed the Commission. Mr. Kupperman indicated that he spent a considerable amount of time on the water at numerous marinas. He is currently developing a marina with 34 wet slips and 80 dry slips on Dames Point. He wanted to offer some suggestions and ideas that he hoped could be incorporated into the recommendations of the sub-committee. Mr. Kupperman felt that his suggestions would be beneficial to new developers. Those suggestions included the zoning density bonus provision; a real estate tax exemption or some form of tax relief for real estate; and some form of relief from the concurrency ordinance or future mobility fee requirements.
Commissioner Grandin suggested that because Mr. Kupperman is a boater, is building a marina, is a planner, who was formerly with the City’s Planning and Development Department, he is a valuable resource and would he a welcomed addition to the sub-committee on recreational and commercial working waterfronts.
Dr. White and Dr. Pinto proceeded to provide the Commission with the St. Johns River Status Report/Water Quality & Manatee. Dr. White reported on the issuance of the Jacksonville University-University of North Florida River Report on August 28th at the City of Jacksonville’s Sustainability Workshop that was held at the University of North Florida. The report summarized a host of data and information that has been compiled and analyzed by scientists at JU and UNF. With regard to the river itself, Dr. White indicated that all of the rainfall earlier in the month and in the latter part of the summer has resulted in very low salinity; that, and the very high temperatures have led to the algae bloom. The extent of the algae bloom is captured in some of the photos taken by Dr. Pinto on his aerial flights; Dr. White commentated on the various depictions of the bloom being viewed on the screens. Dr. White explained that the normal cycle of the algae would be to use up a huge amount of nutrients and then proceed to subside as the nutrients diminish. As water temperatures drop, the algae also subsides somewhat; daylight getting shorter is a factor, as well. For some reason or other, this year, the press did not pick up on or focus that much on the algae bloom as it has in the past. This year’s was a pretty severe algae bloom.
Dr. Pinto reported a decline in our manatee numbers; the last time we have seen numbers this low was in 1995. Many manatees have probably already started to move south with the reduced daylight. On his last flight, he saw about 21 manatees spread out throughout the County.
Jody McDaniel, Planning/Grants Manager, Planning Department, provided the Commission with the monthly FIND (Florida Inland Navigation District) report. Prior to her report, the Chair asked Ms. McDaniel about the status of the Harbor View Boat Dock. Ms. McDaniel said that we were at the90% mark with the design of the restrooms and the construction of the floating docks has started. We will be applying for the funds to being construction in the next cycle of FIND grants. Ms. McDaniel reported that the City has asked for an extension for the 2007 FIND grants; in the 2008 grants, two of the construction projects, Sisters Creek Canoe Launch and Castaway Island Dredge have been completed.
Noting that it was not a FIND grant project, Commissioner Grandin wanted to know the status of the Palms Fish Camp. Nathan Rezeau, Chief, Waterfront Management & Programming Division, addressed the question. He reported that he had just recently been in touch with the contractor and that the contractor reported that he would be 80% complete with the project by the end of the month (September) but will be requesting some additional time.
Commissioner Nichols inquired about the status of the IntraCoastal Boat Ramp acquisition. Mr. Rezeau reported that there had been extensive negotiations with the seller; there was no agreement reached on a price for the sale; moreover, the term limit for the Florida Community Trust grant, expired on September 3rd. There will be no further negotiations.
There was no New Business. Under Old Business, the Chair reminded the Commission that at the last Commission meeting, it was agreed that we had to make a decision about the USS Adams project. The Chair asked Commissioner Hartley, Chair of the sub-committee named to address the issue, to comment. Commissioner Hartley indicated that while he had drafted a resolution regarding the Adams, he had not yet had an opportunity to meet with Mr. Ron Barton, Executive Director, the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, and felt it premature to go forward with the resolution until he had met and spoken with Mr. Barton. He asked that the matter be deferred until the next Commission meeting.
Council Member Crescimbeni asked Mr. Rezeau if the Recreation Department had taken a position or been involved with the proposed road closure at Joe Carlucci Boat Ramp. Mr. Rezeau indicated that he had provided comments on the proposed Heritage Road closure application; that there could not be any interruption of service to the boat ramp; that one of the things on the table was a possible land swap of approximately 8 acres of what would be a new entrance and roadway to Carlucci and some additional parking for the boat ramp; this is what the applicant has proposed. Council Member Crescimbeni expressed concern that the applicant’s proposal would result in the City abandoning the existing road’s waterfront, that the exchange for additional parking and a new entrance would result in the City’s giving up frontage to the waterfront.
Inasmuch as the Waterways Commission is charged with providing the County’s citizens with access to the water, Council Member Crescimbeni implored the Commission to take a position on the matter. He indicated that he is personally opposed to the City abandoning any property that is contiguous with the river. Kristina Nelson, Office of General Counsel, was asked to ascertain the status of the application for the land swap, to see whether or not the proposal had actually been introduced as legislation or not. Council Member Crescimbeni felt that the Chair should asked for a deferral of any bill for the conveyance since the legislation had not been put before the Waterways Commission for consideration.
The Chair asked Mr. Rezeau what the status was with regard to public access to and dredging issues for the RibaultRiver in Council District 10, particularly, dredging in the Moncrief area and the Harbor View boat dock. Is there any funding available for dredging? Mr. Rezeau indicated that he would suggest working through FIND for any funding for a proposed dredging project. Captain Suber indicated that floating docks were being constructed at Harbor View to make it more boater friendly. He said that the tributaries in that area had not been dredged for over 10 years. The Chair said that boaters in the area have not been able to navigate their boats at the boat ramp because of the current conditions. Mr. Rezeau suggested that to resolve the matter, we could either make it a part of the proposed FIND projects next Spring or put dredging into a CIP project (Capital Improvement Project) as a maintenance dredging item since it appears that dredging of the tributaries will be needed every five years or so.
Commissioner Grandin reminded the Commission that Commissioner Nichols had previously called for the reinstatement of a FIND sub-committee. Commissioner Nichols reviewed the process that previous FIND subcommittees have used in prioritizing projects and working with the then Recreation Department to apply for upwards of a million dollars available for proposed projects. He further explained the significance of the time-table cycles for applying for the funds, noting that we first applied for funds for the planning and design of a project and later applied for the actual construction of the project. Many of the projects required permits and you did not commit to any construction until permits were acquired.
A sub-committee to work on FIND applications was designated consisting of Commissioners Nichols and Hartley and Council Member Jones.
In Comments from the Public, Mr. John Nooney reviewed newspaper articles from the Florida Times-Union over a number of years that addressed the matter of public piers and pocket piers and other opportunities for public access to our waterways.
Captain Mike Getchell of the Jacksonville Marine Transportation Exchange provided the Commission with an update on Phase II dredging of a 40 foot channel from Broward Point (where the cruise ship terminal is located) down to Talleyrand, a project that is now underway.
This is a five month project. Captain Getchell indicated that he shared with the dredging operators our concerns about manatees and our procedures for manatee protection.
Commissioner Nichols implored the Commission to continue the interfacing with JacksonvilleUniversity (Dr. White and Dr. Pinto) in adherence to the Manatee Protection Plan because it was manatee protection that was the genesis of the Waterways Commission itself. (Dr. White had suggested that proposed budget cuts in the City’s budget deliberations could significantly curtail JU’s manatee monitoring program).
Ms. Danielle Fontren, an owner of an environmental consulting firm and a member of the Florida Marine Contractors Association, addressed the Commission on the issue of the moratorium on dock construction permits for new slips in Duval County that was triggered by manatee fatalities and the concerns raised by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission regarding the County’s Manatee Protection Plan. She inquired as to the status of the boating study that was supposed to have been done and where we as a County stood with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission toward lifting the permitting moratorium.
Jody McDaniel indicated that we are in the process of completing the boater traffic study; the final report is due at the end of November. Dr. White commented that it is his understanding that where the permitting is concerned, Florida Fish & Wildlife are looking at permits on a case by case basis. There is no moratorium per se.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:04 a.m.
John J. Jackson, Council Research Division (904) 630-1729
Posted 10.8.09
3:00 p.m.
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