2012.12.11_BSAB_Minutes_Regular 18 L4
'• TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH
s� N41NUTES OF THE
'��a * •.•* ; BEACHES & SHORES ADVISORY BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
Tuesday December 11, 2012 9:30 AM
Members Present: Chair Rosalind Svenstrup; Vice Chair Ira Oaklander; Member Linda
Albertson; Member Elizabeth Andrews; Member Susan Hiles; Member Jim Jiovanazzo
and Member Elyse Riesa. Also Attending: Commissioner Dennis Sheridan, Ron Clark,
Planning Board Member; Administrative Assistant Rosalie DeMartino and members of
the public.
1. CALL TO ORDER:
Chair Svenstrun called the Regular Meeting to order at 9:30 AM. Roll Call was taken
by Rosalie DeMartino, Administrative Assistant, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA:
Chair Svenstruy called for any additions, deletions or acceptance of the agenda
Member Riesa would like to discuss under New Business beach cleaning and the beach
erosion due to hurricane Sandy.
By consensus the Board accepted the agenda as amended.
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS:
Irwin Zigoria, 4211 S. Ocean Blvd — Before I purchased my home in Highland Beach I
came before this Board to ask if there was ever a problem with beach erosion and was
told that there has never been an issue in this community and that we get sand naturally
from the movement of the tides from Delray Beach south. In the southern end of town,
the beaches are significantly eroded. I spoke with an engineer, formerly with the Army
Corp of Engineers, and she told me that this community could have a significant
problem because of the beach erosion that could not only impact the homes on the east
side but also the west side of Highland Beach. Since we live on a barrier island the
only thing protecting us is the amount of sand from the ocean to the east side and west
side. I would like to know what this committee is doing to help the city managers put
more sand or help to determine what we need to do as a community to protect our
homes and all the residents.
I am also questioning how the beaches are cleaned up. I understand it is the
responsibility of the homeowner on the east side of Highland Beach to clean the
beaches in front of their dwellings since they are private. I feel the town should have
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their own beach cleaning service that is part of the City of Highland Beach and not
subcontracted out and not allow individual judgment by people to clean these beaches.
The amount of trash that washes up along the beach and is left there day after day is
abominable. The beach is one of our biggest assets. Before Sandy I would walk up and
down the beach and collect garbage but have not done so lately because there are no
garbage receptacles on the beach. Do we know when they will be replaced?
I would also ask that if there is ever an opening on this committee I would like to be
involved in any way possible and serve this community.
4. PRESENTATIONS
There were no presentations.
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
• June 12, 2012 —Regular Meeting
MOTION: Member Hiles moved to approve the June 12, 2012 Regular Meeting
Minutes; seconded by Member Andrews. Motion passed with all in favor.
6. OLD BUSINESS
No old business.
7. NEW BUSINESS
A) Member Hiles' Report on Turtle Season 2012
Member Hiles, Highland Beach Sea Turtle Volunteer, reported on the 2012 turtle
season. There was a slow start to the season but it ended up a record breaker. The first
nest was on April 7 Between April 7' and October 27 when hurricane Sandy hit
our shores there were a total of over 2,300 sea turtle exits from the ocean in their
attempt to nests. Of these, approximately 1,300 nested successfully. Our numbers
flew way above the last six or seven years and there were approximately 500 more
nests then last year. Member Hiles reported on the Leatherback turtle that came ashore
in the spring at the Boca Highland Beach Club disoriented with severe paralysis of her
rear flippers and unable to dig a nest. She was assisted by members of Gumbo Limbo
Nature Center, sea turtle volunteers and the Juno Beach Marine Loggerhead Center
who knew about this turtle and called her "Kate ". She normally nests on the beaches
north of us. They dug her nest for her, covered the nest after she laid her eggs and
eventually help return her back to the ocean. This event was posted on the Boca
Highland website.
This year the lighting ordinance was acknowledged and observed by the residents
along the beach by a much higher percentage. There were a few too many people
walking the beaches in the dark with flashlights and lanterns which can cause serious
consequences to the nesting turtles and the newly hatched turtles and often result in
loss of life to these animals. All in all Highland Beach is becoming an excellent
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example of how people can live with the nesting turtles and help with the survival by
just following some very simple steps. The sea turtle season is March I" through
October 31 With regard to the hurricane and the rough seas, there was a loss of
approximately 40 nests out of about 240 in my zone.
Member Riesa applauded the work and dedication Member Hiles does for the sea
turtles.
B) Election of Officers:
• Chairman:
MOTION Vice Chairman Oaklander moved to elect Rosalind Svenstrup as
Chair; seconded by Member Hiles Motion passed with all in favor.
• Vice Chairman:
MOTION Member Albertson moved to elect Ira Oaklander as Vice
Chairman seconded by Member Hiles Motion passed with all in favor.
C) Approval of 2013 Meeting Dates:
Chair Svenstrup explained to the Board that they are going back to the original meeting
dates which were quarterly, with the option that we can call a special meeting if
needed.
Member Riesa stated that she had an objection to these dates and felt that this Board
should continue on a monthly basis since there is a sense of urgency with all that is
going on with the beach. The last name of this town is beach and we are not taking
advantage of this board and what we could collectively do to assist residents like we
just heard. I am not only concerned for the residents on the beach but all the residents.
Having a meeting quarterly is like having a girl scout meeting once every four months.
Chair Svenstrup stated that she would like to have a meeting regarding the beach
cleanup because she has walked the beach and knows it is a mess. She gave a history
of this Board and how and why it was set up. This is an advisory Board and we don't
have any power per se. She explained about the proposed Town Wide Beach Clean-
Up (Municipal Special taxing District Unit) where the Town gave the Board the money
to hire an economist to develop a plan for this. Highland Beach is a private beach not
public and is not entitled to any government funding. Public beaches in towns like
Boca Raton and Delray Beach are cleaned by their town because they have public
beaches. This Board was meeting on a regular basis for years to get this done. It was
to be voted on and because of the downturn in the economy, people were not in favor
of the increase in their taxes, although minim to have their beaches cleaned. We
elected not to put this on a ballot since we knew it would not fly. So, this was put on
the backburner for now with the hope that, if things got better, people would see the
need to have the beaches improved.
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Chair Svenstrun stated that she believes we will get some sand re- nourishment as soon
as we get some calm waters. She has seen it happen in the past.
Member Albertson asked if any of the residents who are present at this meeting have
talked to the Town Manager or the Commissioners.
Irwin Zigoria — The Commission is now funding an impact study. They are now
taking bids for an impact study to determine how the changes in the beaches could
impact the community and the turtles. The issues are the homes, the beaches and the
turtle population. We need this committee to advise and push the Commission into
helping the residents. Unless this committee gets involved on a monthly basis with the
Commission to protect our great resource, the beaches, nothing is going to get done.
The City has a two million dollar surplus and I would like to know why this committee
can't ask the Commission to use part of this money to clean the beaches on a recurring
basis. They can buy a machine and hire an employee who job would be to clean the
beaches.
There was a discussion regarding the beach clean-up that took place in April of this
year. Member Jiovanazzo stated to the Board that their Home Owner's Association
does contribute to the beach cleaning on the portion of the beach that they have access
to as well as the other Home Owner's Associations in the town. He asked about which
portion of the beach is private. Vice Chair Oaklander stated that the determination is
the high water mark. Everything west of the high water mark is private. East of this is
public beach.
Member Riesa stated that the beach clean up is one of the primary things that we need
to set our goal on making sure our beaches are clean, but we have to have a beach in
order to keep it clean. After one of the Planning meetings I spoke with Town Manager
Kathleen Weiser about the beach and asked her, what can we do as a community to
start replenishing the beach because they were talking about what was going on in
Manalapan and setting up an expedited way of doing permits? She told me that as far
as she knew there was nothing that could be done because the dunes were all owned by
the homeowners and you can't replenish the beach unless you replenish the dunes. It
was up to the individual homeowners. I asked her if we could do some kind of
educational program to the homeowners to let them know how to do it; what's the
most economical way to do it; how can we in the town help them; and can we get any
kind of government funding that may or may not be possible? The thing that bothered
me the most is we can't just allow that the beach here is considered private property
since the public enjoys it. We own it together in a lot of ways. I met with Town Clerk
Beverly Brown and she showed me the tax rolls and what that study accomplished.
She had a ledger with every homeowner in it and how much it would cost for them to
take a little piece of their money and put it toward beach clean up and that was ranging
from maybe $50 a month to maybe $5 a month depending on the assessment of your
property. It was such a small amount I was stunned that it was not voted in. She told
me that a large amount of people did not want to pay for it. I think with the right
marketing of the issue to our community, the right communication instead of sending
out a survey, letting them know how important it is keeping our beaches clean and
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proper and how important it is to the community would be the best way to go. I would
like to see this Board and I realize we are only an Advisory Board, maybe we can
make a set of action items that we could utilize to advise the people that make the
decisions. Maybe we could work together to say you talk to this person, you talk to
that person. Let's get a series of actionable items that we can work towards to see if
we can get something done rather than playing "Dr. No" with us because that is how I
see it right now. Everybody is saying no, no, no and we don't want our property
values to go down let alone flood away.
There was a discussion regarding the posted meeting dates. Chair Svenstrup suggested
we have a special meeting in January to discuss beach cleaning and set dates to have a
"town wide volunteer beach cleaning day ". Member Andrews stated that if not for
the hurricane, the quarterly meetings would be fine but things have changed. Member
Albertson asked if anyone has been to the beach and taken photographs to show to the
Commission. Members of the public indicated that they had done so. She also asked
that the Town Manager and Commissioners attend our meetings. The members agreed
that because of the hurricane and the condition of the beaches the meetings be changed
back to monthly meetings.
Administrative Assistant Rosalie DeMartino read the new dates for the year 2013 into
the record. They are as follows:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Tuesday, December 10, 2013
All meetings are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the Town Commission Chambers.
MOTION: Member Rovanazzo moved to approve the revised 2013 meeting dates;
seconded by Vice Chair Oaklander All voted in favor.
Before the Adjournment, Chair SveggW gave the public an opportunity to comment on
items discussed during this meeting.
Al Giachetti, 4211 S. Ocean Blvd — I am a Civil Engineer and a resident of Highland
Beach. I have built several homes in this town. I have been to every Commission
meeting since hurricane Sandy and am very surprised that I have not seen any one of you
at those meetings. I appreciate Elyse Riesa's comments because now is the time to get
involved. Although you say that you are only an advisory committee, nobody knows
that. You are the Beaches & Shores Board and you can get somebody's attention. It took
us two meetings with the Mayor to get his attention. If you want, we will put 50 people
here at the next meeting to show people how serious we are. We met with the Army
Corp of Engineers and they said that sand migrates at a mile a year so it is going to take
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four years for the sand from Delray Beach to get back to the south end of Highland
Beach. I would like the answer to this question. When they replenished Boca Raton
beaches the dredge sat outside and scoured the exact beaches that got scoured the most in
this hurricane and took that sand offshore from exactly the properties that got the most
damage this time. Is this some sort of correlation? As far as public and private,
everybody in Highland Beach can walk and park their beach blanket in front of my home
any day they want, so to me that's public. I know we can't get federal funding because
you have to have a certain amount of parking; a handicap space, but they only give you
seventy percent of the funds. Boca Raton just estimated that it is going to cost them four
million dollars for their four miles of beach. If we say we have three and one -half miles
and the Mayor has already said that there is a two million excess and if you came to the
meeting he also said that there is a piece of property that is owned by the water
department that they are willing to sell for this cause. We have to find a way to do it;
float a bond because this is a matter of public safety; especially when people won't be
able to get off this island. We pay for our own private beach cleanup in front of our 200
feet of beach, but the people on the side of us don't. We need a concerted effort to re-
nourish the beaches. We pay a lot of taxes to the county and we have to force them to
give some of it back to us. Now is the time for action and we would appreciate it if you
would meet once a month and force the Commission to help us.
Kathleen Resnick, 3407 S. Ocean Blvd. — I don't think we can wait for the sand to come
back on its own because I don't think it is going to happen. Something has to be done
and I think the force has to come from this Board. I think the town should be responsible
for cleaning the beaches and it should be done continually. Chair Svenstrup again
explained about the Town Wide Beach Cleaning proposal and the fact that it was turned
down. It had to be put on a ballot and the residents of this town did not want to pay
additional taxes. Kathleen Resnick — I feel the survey that was sent to all the residents
should have been sent only to those who have a legal right to vote in this town. They are
the ones that should have the right to vote on this issue.
Peter Resnick 3407 S. Ocean Blvd. — I want to endorse what these gentlemen have said.
With respect to the beach cleanup, I think this committee needs to roll up its sleeves and
find out what the legal requirements are for getting that money allocated. I think it is a
budgetary item and does not need a vote to get that done. I don't know if that is right or
wrong but I don't think this committee knows it either and you should. I was very
pleased to hear Elyse's comments, which is the only indication I have, sitting in this
meeting, that this committee realizes the urgency of this crisis and is showing some
initiative in trying to fmd some solutions. You should have had many meetings regarding
this crisis. I don't think you are using the full potential of the office you hold. I think
you should have someone designated on this committee to fmd out the facts, not we
think. I think you ought to have a clear agenda as Elyse has indicated, and I think you
ought to search out other people, like these gentlemen here, who are willing to take this
initiative and get things done.
Chris Viag_as 3407 S. Ocean Blvd. — Elyse has made an excellent suggestion that perhaps
we should have action items that this meeting comes up with at this meeting to actually
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take it forward. I think you should take the time, right now. One of the suggestions I
heard was that the clean up may be a budgetary item not a tax item. Ask the Clerk to get
the verification on that and have that item clarified at the next meeting. You need an
email list to be utilized for such items as what to do about the beach; do we need
volunteers or do we just need to talk about it. This Board should get in touch with the
Army Corp of Engineers because they have developed a type of tubing that is filled with
sand that is anchored against the dune so that if we have another storm that wave hits the
tubing and it doesn't cause the suction to go beyond the tubing. If we have a reserve that
we can use, maybe there is a way for the city to partner with the private people who live
on the beach and the people whose buildings have access to the beach and combine the
resources, private and public. To let your New Business section be blank, after we have
had this storm and not come up with some action items, I think that is a disservice to the
community. Chair Svenstruu — I will speak to Kathleen to see what funds are available
and what we could do legally. As far as I know, in the history of this town, they never
did a beach re- nourishment. Chris Viagas — A new event has had a tremendous impact
on Highland Beach. I realize that this Board has not been active, and you had a lot of
cancelled meetings, but this is the time when you can take a clean up issue that is very
near and dear to some of the board member's hearts and a replenishment issue. Get
information from public sources. Action number one is you are going to speak to
Kathleen Weiser. Action number two could be that you actually find out that you want
the information on what is available for communities; what are the options for beach
replenishment? Action number three can they, on the beach clean up, do a budgetary
item. You are answering my questions but I am suggesting that perhaps we need to
verify this stuff and bring it back to the meeting. Chair Svenstrny — I would be happy to
set up a committee to work with you. Chris Viagas — I think this is an action item for this
Board. You have volunteers who are willing to help you but I think it needs to be
quantified in an action item that you are bringing back, it is written down and coming
back as an agenda item and in the meantime you are going to have the pressure on the
City Council that this is something that was raised and we have as a Board voted on it
and we think it is a good idea to get these things done. That is how you move the City
Council. I would like to know what this Board is going to recommend. Chair Svenstrun
— I will do everything in my power to let Kathleen Weiser and the Commission know
what you would like done. I realize you would like to see beach re- nourishment but we
have to see how that can happen if it can happen at all. Chris Viagas — The items I
mentioned are action items so you can vote on it today. I am asking that you take action
today. Chair Svenstrun — We cannot vote on anything that has not been placed on the
agenda. We will put it on the agenda for the next meeting. We will go forward with this
and try to do everything we can to help.
Susan Raia — 4515 S. Ocean Blvd. — I understand you were just re- elected and I
personally listed to a call of leadership from one of your very courageous newly
appointed member as well as my neighbors in the community. With respect it is not okay
to adjourn today and meet in another month. It is not okay to just talk to the Town
Manager and ask what can be done. I talked to the Town Manager and asked what can be
done and got a list of what can't be done and why it can't be done. I am a lawyer and
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December 11, 2012 Pa e 8 of 10
lawyers get paid to be very creative and look at issues between public and private use.
My neighbors here represent just a handful of people who just in the last four to six
weeks have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars doing dune restoration on our private
properties and yes, I am one of the people affected and am waiting my turn for the trucks
to get to me in the next few days. Without a public /private partnership of some kind,
these northeastern winds are going to come for the next six months and continue to wipe
out, just as they already have, what got put in. It is going to continue to erode our
beaches and exasperate all the problems that the community is already facing. This is a
crisis. Your own committee member brought that to your attention. With respect, those
of us who spent the time here today would love to hear that you have a structure in place
for the next few weeks; that you have people with specific tasks to be accomplished and
you are working through these holidays. I am at your disposal to do the leg work or
whatever it takes to change things. Please don't adjourn today without a written plan,
without a structure, without an ad hoc appointment of some of us to service your people
Winning around. Please appoint your new member who has energy and vision to
spearhead something. Chair Svenstrun — Suppose we do this. Elyse will head up a
committee and all of you sign your name, give us your phone number and we will try to
get the issues brought to the Commission. Again, we are an advisory board.
Member Riesa — I think this is very important. I have attended the planning meetings
right after the storm, except for the last one the other day, and listened to the
Commissioners there to as much disheartenment as I have right now, because it really
truly felt like let's put it on the agenda for next month and next month and next month
and I said what's happening here. I am not familiar with Robert's Rules and maybe that
is what a lot of this is but, maybe from my corporate background, if you have a problem
you have to find a solution. You can't just keep putting it off. But meeting individually
with Kathleen was not helpful. If you meet individually with Kathleen, I am sure it will
be informative, but it won't be helpful because Kathleen understands up until now what
you can and can't do due to private versus public. Nobody is trying to make these
determinations. Instead of playing Dr. No, let's figure out a way around it because I
don't want honestly anybody to meet privately with Kathleen because she will tell every
one of you "no ". I am not saying this because she wants to say "no ". This is what she
knows to be "no ". Chair Svenstrun — There are rules and regulations that we have to
follow. Member Riesa — But we have to do it together. I am going to tell you what I said
in the Commission and I don't care that it is public now. "I voted you in. I can vote you
out" and I believe very strongly that the Commission up to now hasn't done enough
except for maybe a couple of folks. I am very, very concerned that the Commission is
not doing what they need to do.
Al Giachetti — After going to the meetings three or four times, we finally got them to
change the way they were thinking and that is what I am asking this committee to do, too.
I am asking you to start to change people's opinion. There won't be any beach for the
turtles to nest. Beach re- nourishment is very important. There won't be any protection
for the public when that water washes between the buildings, like it did at Ambassador's,
and it is up on AIA. If nothing else, and don't care about me as a homeowner, it is an
environmental and public safety thing. The government has a fiduciary to the people
who pay their taxes to protect them and they are not doing it.
i
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Irwin Zigoria — We need to change public opinion in Highland Beach. Chair SvenstUM —
We are willing to help you. I will have Elyse head up the committee, if this
is something we can do, and she can contact you. I am willing to go to any condo and
speak for you. Irwin Zigoria — The people, both in the private homes and the condos,
need to understand that the garbage needs to be dealt with and not just every six months.
Chair Svenstrup — We will do what we can but you must remember that we are an
advisory board. Irwin Zigoria — This board needs to roll up its sleeves collectively and
push the Town Council to an action plan, at that level, as to what can be done to enhance
and maintain the value of all the homes in this community.
Chair Svenstrup — I encourage you to read the economist's report. Irwin Zigoria — Could
you tell us how much the cost per resident was on an average in that report? Chair
Svenstrup — There was a base cost that every single resident in Highland Beach would
pay and that base was fifty percent of the total cost of beach cleanup. The other fifty
percent was going to be borne by the people that were actually beach front property
owners. All of this was according to your property value. Some would be paying a little
more than $100. Irwin Zigoria — Really, I spend more then that to go out to lunch. Chair
Svenstrup — It went as high as $1600 for the most expensive home on the beach in a year.
But we still need people to go to the different condominiums and homes because the
votes are there. We will do whatever we can to make people aware and appreciate what
our beaches mean to us. Irwin Zigoria — Boca Raton and Delray Beach have a reserve set
aside each year so there is money set aside out of the budget each and every year to
replenish the beaches. If the money is not needed by this town but it is allocated in the
future then there is money to do other things. But certainly in the event of another
emergency, the tides are changing and the water levels as a reserve for the potentiality
that there is another storm. Not doing it and waiting for it to happen again is a shame.
Chair Svenstrup — We hear you. There are rules and regulations we have to follow and
you must understand that money just doesn't fall out of the budget for it. I am sure the
Town Commission will be looking into this and I will try to speak before the
Commission and tell them of your concerns and our concerns because they are there with
you. Elyse can set up her committee with your objectives.
Member Riesa — This is what I want to focus on and please let me know. I basically
believe it is split up into two areas. One is clean up and one is options for replenishment.
Within the cleanup I have trash. In terms of replenishment I have things like protection
of the citizens itself because I thought that was a tremendous area to bring up in order to
get federal funding or any other kind of funding if we are protecting our citizens. We
have to talk about this in terms of marketing, changing public opinion, partnerships
public and private. How other communities are doing this such as Delray and receive
FEMA money from the storm. Obviously part of replenishment is discussions with the
Army Corp of Engineers and finding out what they recommend. I also have budget
versus tax; reserve versus charter. I understand the Town Commissioners just changed
the Charter which would have a lot of difference in terms of what we can be taxed on
versus what they can do in terms of just allocating through their budget. I believe the
number went up significantly from what it used to be from the Charter because I
remember arguing that point at one of the Commission meetings. Regardless of what we
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December 11, 2012 Page 10 of 10
do, we need to have a communication plan back to our residents in email something
beyond the Highland Beach website and although I use it regularly, it is obvious that
unfortunately not everyone uses the website. I don't want to spend a fortune on that. I
would rather spend my money on finding ways to clean up and replenish. All members
were in agreement.
8. ADJOURNMENT:
Chair Svenstrun called for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 11:15 a.m.
MOTION: Member Albertson moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:15 a.m.
Member Andrews seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
APPROVED:
Rosalind Sv p, hair
Oaklander, V' h
Linda Albertson, Membe r
Elizafieth Andrews, Member
S san Hiles, Mem er
e Jiov , Membe
1 .
Elyse Rgsa, 0knber
ATTESTED:
R sake DeMartino
Administrative Assistant
Date