The meeting was held at the South Florida Water Management District headquarters, from approximately 10:05 am to 11:20 am.
The following topics were discussed:
1. Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.
Kim Delaney reported that the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) solicitation had been completed and a final selection and award had been determined. There was an advisory selection committee made up of the following individuals which assisted TCRPC in their evaluation and interviews of the respondents.
The advisory selection committee was:
Dan Clark, Manager, Lake Clark Shores
Sally Channon, PB County Environmental Resource Management
Chuck Collins, Director, PB County Marine Industries Association
Mark Hightower, Director, West Palm Beach Fishing Club
Brian Shields, Director, Lake Worth Utilities
TCRPC adopted and ratified the recommendation at their most recent Board Meeting, and although the official Agreement has not been finalized and signed by all Parties, the winning team, with Taylor Engineering as the lead, was introduced to the Coalition and invited to make a presentation.
The Taylor Engineering team also includes:
A.D.A. Engineering
Terracon
Morgan & Eklund
Following a power point presentation about the team members and the project approach, a number of questions were asked and responded to by the Taylor Engineering team.
The next four to six weeks will entail data collection which should be completed in anticipation of the next Blueway Trail meeting, at which point, a more detailed timeline for completing draft permitting documents by June 30, 2017, will be presented.
2. Boat Lift & Fishing Piers Working Groups
It was recommended to invite a representative from the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) to the next Blueway Trail Coalition meeting to discuss and answer questions regarding possible grant funding opportunities that may be used to rebuild the fishing piers located at the C-51 flood control structure.
3. Communications and Community Outreach
It was determined that due to the role of TCRPC as contract administrator for the engineering design and draft permitting Agreement, which will cause the project to have a greater exposure to the public, TCRPC should serve as the first referral contact for inquiries from the general public regarding the project.
However, coordination of public appearances will be discussed and determined amongst the Taylor Engineering team; TCRPC; and, the Communications and Community Outreach working group.
4. Blueway Trail Connectivity
A brief discussion was raised regarding the possibility of additional boat lift mechanisms, specifically at the S-41 flood control structure in the C-16 Basin.
ATTENDEES:
Jonathan Armbruster, Taylor Engineering
David Bernhardt, Rep. Dave Kerner
Dan Clark, City of Lake Clarke Shores
Chuck Collins, MIA PBC
Laura Corry, SFWMD (by phone)
Lucine Dadrian, SFWMD
John D'Agostino, Town of Lake Park
Kim Delaney, TCRPC
Felicia Goldstein, Cong. Lois Frankel
Glenda Hall, Boynton Beach
Elaine Higgins, Rep. Dave Kerner
Comm. Shanon Materio, West Palm Beach
Jean Matthew, PBC Parks Dpt.
Richard Pinsky, Akerman, LLC
Melissa Santoro, Sen. Jeff Clemens
Brian Shields, City of Lake Worth
David Stites, Taylor Engineering
John Studdard, Achieve Agency
Brian Whitfield, A.D.A. Engineering
GUESTS:
Jessica Fontaine, Spark Group
Bill Snow, Aecom
Trent Swift, Swift Law Group
The date of the next meeting was set for Tuesday, November 15, 2016, starting at 3:00 PM.