Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee

1 MINUTES City of Holmes Beach Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee June 12, 2024, 9:00 a.m. Patricia A. Geyer Commission Chambers 5801 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach FL 34217 Present: Jeff Drinkard, Marty Hicks, John Kolojeski, Jennifer Miller, William Romberger, Ron Huibers Absent: Mike Pritchett Also Present: PW Superintendent Kamiya, Commissioner Schaefer _____________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order Chair Huibers called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. 2. Roll Call 3. Review and Approval of May 8, 2024, Minutes Correction under Additional Business to change "six sites" to "many sites." Approve May 8, 2024 Minutes as amended. Moved by Marty Hicks Seconded by William Romberger Motion Approved 4. Discussion on Grant Funding Identification Opening Comments Chair Huibers will re-engage FDEP after Jeff submits MCUD testing summary of AMI sound. Chair Huibers commented that there is a Florida state MOU with S. Korea to "clean up and mitigate" local waters. Wording used in MOU is nearly identical to CWC priorities. Article to come out soon. Grant Funding  Jen had a positive call with Mote and agreement to work together on grant funding. o Mote received 3.2M funding from FDEP o FDEP seems to be best avenue for funding. Input this year ends June. o Additional opportunities at national level 2  PW Superintendent Kamiya mentioned Heartland and Dr. Pierce are interested in working w/city on a grant; most of previous work was on Red Tide & Blue Green Algae o pushing for Innovative Tech Grant o Another grant submitted for a smaller Eco Lab pilot  Chair Huibers commented that West Coast Inland Navigation Division (WCIND) might be a good avenue for grant funding. o PW Superintendent Kamiya commented he attempted to use WCIND a year ago and ran into a road block. CWC requested that he resubmit utilizing using categories of public navigation, boater recreation, or environmental education. o PW Superintendent Kamiya requested a narrative from CWC to use under boater navigation. Chair Huibers is going to work the narrative with help from local leaders in the area. 5. Update on Remediation  Tourist Development Council (TDC) Meeting o PW Superintendent Kamiya looking to use TDC funding for multi-purpose path funding o TDC requested space to use for the boat ferry; reluctant to use King Fish boat ramp.  Funding for Harvester - Commissioner Schaefer o Suggested using grant opportunities; however, a Harvester has been approved. o Budget discussion for next year's budget o Was funded for 120K, not utilized, we need to fill the funding gap to 307K 6. PFAS Resolution  5 year plan to meet standard against the six PFAS that are identified as most harmful  City's are going after corporations to find funding  research continues to improve understanding of impacts  Bottled water is not impacted by new regulation; city can not regulate  FDA is taking on bottled water  Chair Huibers suggested city use CWC budget to utilize an article in the Islander to inform readers on PFAS and push them to the I4CW website to learn more on PFAS 7. State of the Bay  Chart from TBEP ignored AMI sound.  Chair Huibers motioned, and it was approved, that CWC engages Sarasota Bay Estuary Program leadership to take ownership of AMI sound. 8. Additional Business Commissioner Schaefer commented regarding permits for mangrove cutting William noted that I4CW is the main topic at the Business Card exchange monthly meeting held by the Chamber of Commerce. 3 9. Questions and Comments 9.a Questions and Comments from Clean Water Committee Members None. 9.b Questions and Comments from Mayor and City Commission WRT the Harvester, Commissioner Schaefer clarified that uncommitted reserves may be used / allocated at next budget meeting if no grant funding is found. 9.c Questions and Comments from Staff None. 9.d Questions and Comments from The Public and Press Captain Scott Moore  came to thank the CWC & city for efforts towards clean water  FDEP cannot handle the oversight mangroves require  claims municipalities hold much of the responsibility for polluting waters of Tampa Bay. It was noted that someone should get media to cover the pollution  likes the idea of switching AMI sound to Sarasota instead of TBEP  Property Appraiser Charlie Huntsinger and Clerk of the Circuit Court Angela Colonneso are good point of contacts for grants  Lyngbya expert on the East Coast; believes it originated from Lake Okeechobee 10. Confirm Next Meeting Date, September 11, 2024 - 9:00 AM Next meeting has been rescheduled for September 26, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. 11. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m. Minutes Prepared by: Jeff Drinkard Minutes Approved: February 12,2025