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Jack Berlin
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Canal Maintenance Dredging Discussion Friday, March 7, 2014 County Center, 26th Floor Attendees/Invitees: Sandy Murman-Hillsborough County Commissioner; Harry Cohen-City of Tampa Councilman; John Lyons- County Public Works; Mike Herr & Irv Lee-City of Tampa Public Works; Greg Stong, Brian Armstrong & Mark Langford for Mary Yeargan-FDEP; Scott Emery & Rick Garrity-EPC; Estella Gray & Jeff Glas-SWFWMD; Bob Esposito-FDOT; Melanie Hoyt for State Representative Dana Young; Candace Wheelahan-ACOE; John Grandoff-Attorney/Resident, Kent King-Resident; Marlin Anderson & Jack Berlin-Residents were not present Meeting Summary • Canal maintenance needs to be a priority for many reason including mitigating silting from runoff, improving water quality, improving property values and quality of life issues • The City of Tampa has spent $2.4-$2.8 million on the Westshore canal project; in addition citizens paid for near-shore maintenance dredging • Regulatory agencies agreed that canal maintenance dredging served a worthwhile purpose and pledged to assist as much as possible with permitting procedures and technical support • A proposal was made to share the cost of maintenance dredging canals. This would involve an Interlocal Agreement and could include local government (City & County) as well as other governmental agencies • There was also discussion about residents sharing in the cost as had occurred in both the Westshore project and in Apollo Beach • In Westshore the City financed the cleaning of the center of the canals but the residents financed maintenance along the shoreline near their docks • The possibility of using stormwater fees to support the cost of dredge maintenance came up but the COT collects only $6 million/year , not enough to cover their needs • Hillsborough County has only a $12/residence/year stormwater fee and that original fee has never been adjusted • Return on Investment (ROI) needs to be calculated and shown in order to have a better shot at grants • FDEP 319 grants which focus on improved water quality from stormwater treatment need to be looked at as a possible funding source • We really need an overall cost estimate for the entire city/county need for cleaning canals • EPC suggested they could put together an estimate using GIS to look at numbers of canals, canal widths and canal lengths. EPC could then collaborate with City/County staff using their own estimates from past work • It was suggested to look at creating a statewide funding program similar to the current renourishment funds as a possible funding source • EPC volunteered to look into a before/after study to get a handle on an environmental ROI • It was requested that the regulatory agencies look at heads of canals where stormwater pipes discharge and silting is especially bad. The issue is increased growth of vegetation including mangroves possibly impeding flow • Bayshore Boulevard was brought up as needing cleaning from silt build up in some places • Other canal communities in Florida need to be canvassed to determine how they have dealt with dredge maintenance needs and financing • EPC agreed to provide a meeting summary and a future meeting was tentatively set for June
