All right. >> All right. I'm going call to order the uh environmental advisory committee meeting on June 10th, 2026 at approximately 2 p.m. Uh want to roll call. >> Brad Freeze >> here. >> Thomas Bradford >> here.
>> Michelle Shrauss >> here. Joe Wenta, >> Barbara Gomez >> here, >> Brookonama >> here, >> Drew Henriquez. >> Okay, I'm going to sus uh suspend the rules and move item number
five, I think. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Old business five. >> Yeah. Under regular agenda, old business five. Um, and as soon as number five is over with, the uh rules, it's a temporary suspension. So, uh, and I'm doing that
so Sue Panella, uh, can give us an update on the Jupiter Narrows Conservation Effort uh, at the Jupiter Narrows. Well, what what's the new name now? >> It's Jupiter Narrows Conservation
Alliance. Can you hear me? >> Yes. >> Yes. No, I meant the new name of the uh Bud Harris. Is it the >> Oh, the inbredad Harris Island. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> So, um she's going to give us an update
and uh maybe just a slight bit of background because we have two new members that may not be familiar. >> That'd be super. I appreciate it. Superella. >> Okay, let's see. Can you see my screen? >> Yes. Yes.
>> Good. Because I can't Hang on a second here. Okay. Uh first of all, thank you so much for uh inviting me to give an update. We've got a lot going on and I just wanted to be sure that you guys and council were among the first to know sort of our
updates and what's happening here in our community. So, as a bit of a background, and I'll I'll go through this fairly quickly for the newer members. I don't know how familiar you are with uh the restoration we're working on, but we are working on restoring the mangroves and
seaggrasses that are on the east side of the inter coastal just north of Ko's Bridge. So, if you've been out there on the water, you've seen the pathetic looking mangroves that are still there. Um on this map, I'm showing you that we
are directly across from the Bureau of Land Management Restoration north of the bridge. And that's very significant because they have allowed us to share the um sta the mo the mobilization they're using as well as their staging area that's just south of the bridge. So
that's going to save us a lot of money. We're doing similar kind of restoration. So it's a really a perfect fit. Um this goes back probably four years ago. I'm a passionate resident. I am not a
scientist, but I remember as a young girl looking out at these mangroves and seeing what here you can see in the mid 90s, but I've been looking at them since the 70s. Um, and you can see from the exact same vantage point how severely
degraded these mangroves have become. >> Um, and I looked out my window and I said, "Look, I'm retired. I got to make some phone calls. I don't know what I'm doing, but let me see if I can get some experts to help us out. And in the meantime, looked at some more historical
photos, and you can see from the 40s that this was a solid stretch of mangroves. >> By the time I was a young girl looking at them, there were four very distinct and very robust islands. And now you can see, actually, this is from 2022.
The top two islands, the northernmost islands are very degraded. The the third one down is gone. It's been gone for more than a decade. And the one down closest to the bridge is also now dead. But we started this permitting process
before it died. So, we are going to revive that one. And if you're out on the water, you can see how unhealthy they look and how a lot of human behavior is actually impacting them. Um, it's really due to the fact that the
Narrows is called the Narrows because the inter coastal becomes quite narrow and between that and the fact that there is just so much more boat traffic than there used to be, the wave action has degraded and and um destabilized the
sediment under the mangroves as well as the mangrove roots. So, they're literally topp toppling over. So anyway, about three years ago, I made the phone call to FWC and one of their representatives came out with someone from Palm Beach County
and they snorkeled the area and said, "This is a really important ecosystem. This contributes greatly to the amount of wildlife you see here, the clarity of the water and so forth." So they said, "Really, it's a good idea to try to restore this." And so at that point in
time, we had them come um to meet with a group of residents who live in the area. Um we invited Peter Dwit who came from the BLM side and actually your very own Tom Bradford came and was there as well
representing the EAC. Um and the experts really helped us understand the importance of the mangroves and the seagrasses to the whole ecosystem. And I was very heartened to see how many residents came and expressed interest. The one thing that did come out at the
end of the meeting though was FWC in Palm Beach County said, "We don't really have the capacity to take this one on ourselves." Um, you'd be much better off to work privately on this. And of course, not being a scientist, I was a little bit uh
intimidated to say the least about, okay, so what's next? And so I continued to make some calls and was very fortunate to meet the director of Florida conservation for the ocean conservancy, JP Brooker. And he partnered with me to found the Jupiter
Narrows Conservation Alliance. And that really was a gamecher because the Ocean Conservancy brings a lot of advocacy, science, uh, credibility quite frankly, um, and experience. And so things really moved quickly from there and we
developed some very strong partnerships. Um I'm very grateful to the village of Tquesta. Um the village has been an amazing partner and it started with your group uh listening to what we were trying to do and introducing us to
council who then also listened to what we were trying to do and um have provided letters of support um formal formal declarations of support um in the naming but also the restoration. Uh, I've worked very closely with Jay
and Meg when we were trying to um we wrote a U application for a grant that required a municipal partner and unfortunately the funds didn't come through because they were federal funds that fell through but um that took a lot of time and I really appreciated that
effort. Um the the village has been very supportive in helping us get the word out. Um, you probably saw there was a full page in the smoke signals maybe a year ago and there is a page on your website helping to inform people as to what we're trying to do. So really
appreciative of the support that the village has given us. Um, I can tell you a little bit more about a couple of these. I I I'm sure you're familiar with Mang. uh they're a BC corp that makes uh sunshirts and so forth and a percent of their profits
goes to growing mangroves and they are donating all the mangroves that we're going to be growing here and planting here and I'll talk about some of these other partnerships in a minute. um the plan that we hired Taylor Engineering, one of the top engineering
firms, and actually they're the ones doing the project for the BLM, so they're very familiar with the immediate ecosystem. Uh the plan is to install three natural limestone breakwaters between the navigational channel and what's left of these islands.
um it'll help stabilize the root system and the sediment so that these things can thrive naturally, but also what will provide the conditions so that we can plant some additional mangroves successfully. So, we're excited about that. And we also have a long-term monitoring plan to
track our progress over the years as well as um raising awareness and education about how to be better stewards of these natural resources. So between signs, we're going to be applying for permits to put someformational buoys around and then we're developing some educational
materials. The breakwaters will look similar to what you've seen in the immediate area. Um and I I share these two pictures very intentionally. The top one is south of the lighthouse. And if you've been down there recently, um they planted those
mangroves three maybe four years ago now. and they are absolutely taking off. Just giving them the right conditions, they love this area. They just need the right conditions to thrive. So, that's a
really big success story there. This the um picture below it is the Lockah Hatchee River central and bamement and there not only have the mangroves thrived, but the seaggrass in less than 5 years grew 860%.
So that's the kind of recovery we're expecting to see in this area. Once we reduce the wave action in these immediate areas, we expect to see um a tremendous growth of the mangroves and the seaggrasses. um for the long-term monitoring. I
wanted to raise this because in addition to what's required in the permit for the engineers to do three years of um monitoring of the seaggrasses and the mangroves, we've established a really great partnership with JERSA, the Jupiter High School Environmental Research and Field Studies Academy. And
so these kids have already been out in the water. We have a board member who's got her PhD and specializes in seaggrasses. She's trained these kids to do some of the seaggrass monitoring and they're committed to doing this over the next four years of their high school and
then they'll be training the next wave of students to continue this beyond. So it's a just a great community partnership. We're also partnering with a lot of other NOS's and academic institutions. So yesterday I was on the phone with University of Miami and they have a
student who's going to be doing some very specific monitoring of the mangroves and then they're also going to be uh doing some surveying on biological diversity to show how when you save the habitat you would certainly expect to see the increase in
the amount of um of biodiversity out there. Um, Inwater Research Group, which is an NGO further north from here, is going to be installing an acoustic receiver to track juvenile turtles. Um, and the great thing about that is any
tagged animal can be tracked by these receivers. So, I know the American Shark Conservancy has tags out there and they've wanted to have some kind of monitoring in the inter coastal to see what kind of shark movement there is. Um, similarly, other turtles, other
types of fish. So, um, it's a real collaborative effort. So, let me get to the big milestones and highlights and successes we've had really recently. We have both permits that we need from the D and the Army
Corps. It was in a year and a half process. So, we're thrilled to finally have them in hand and be ready to go. And the restoration's going to start in August. So, excuse me. We met with the engineers and the
contractors about three weeks ago and uh we expect to have a signed contract with a firm quote in the next one or two weeks. They will be mobilizing uh north of Ko's Bridge in early August and then they're deciding how they're going to divvy up the work between the east side
and the west side for the BLM project and our project or whether they can work concurrently. But we do know the restoration should take no more than 60 days. And then after that is done, after the installation of the breakwaters, then it's really up to Mang, the
experts, to determine when is the optimal time to plant the mangroves. We may want to wait till after hurricane season's over. So, um, stay tuned on that. Um, we have a video and some social media content being worked on
right now so that we can make sure the community is aware of kind of what we're doing, why we're doing it, what it's going to look like, and so forth. So, be on the lookout for that over the next few weeks to get started there. And then as Brad mentioned um at the
very beginning, we're happy to report that the islands effective July 1st will be officially named the Andrew Red Harris Islands. Let me just I don't know how familiar you are with the Andrew Red Harris Foundation. They're based in Jupiter. It
was established in 2014 after Andrew was tragically killed by a boat while snorkeling. And he lived in one of the condos directly adjacent to these islands. And so when he passed, his parents established this foundation with the
mission to enhance and protect the marine environment in northern Palm Beach County. So if you've heard of them, you're probably most familiar with the artificial reefs they've done offshore off of Jupiter and Juno. They've got a couple miles of these reefs,
but their uh donors were increasingly asking them to find something inshore because not all of them scuba dive. So not all of them can really look and see and and and see the impact of these reefs. So about seven or eight years ago, Scott Harris, Andrew's dad, was
looking at these islands saying, "We got to do something here." And he just didn't have the capacity or the wherewithal to do it. And we got introduced to each other. So we're doing exactly what he had wanted to do. And they have partnered with us. They've um
committed a sizable chunk of money to to help with this uh restoration and we have officially as of April 21st got the governor's signature to name the islands the Andrew Harris Islands. So we're thrilled with that. We um it was
sponsored by Senator Harrell and Representative Snyder. Uh we had letters of support from Toquesta, Jupiter and Palm Beach County for the naming and the Florida Senate and House voted unanimously to make this change. So um again just a great uh
community effort and community story. So what we've been doing uh while we've been waiting for the permits is really trying to get the word out in the community and trying to connect with community groups, recreational groups. I've met with some of the triathletes and the swimmers who come up and down
the inter coastal, the kayakers, um paddle boarders. We just want to make sure people know what we're doing and how it's going to benefit them. We've gotten some great media. We've gotten some nice donations from local businesses um and some foundations. And so I'm
happy to report we have support from so many different organizations in the broader community. um some through donations, some through letters of support, some through technical advice. Um but we expect this project to come in
at about $1.2 million and we've raised already over a million dollars. So we're we're it's all privately funded. Um and we're really thrilled with the support we're getting from the community.
So that's really all I had to share. I would encourage you to go to our website if you want to learn more. You can subscribe on the website so you're sure to get our newsletters that are sent out to um interested residents. Um if you're interested in helping with the planting
of the mangroves when that comes around, be sure to tell us that when you subscribe so we can um reach out. And uh >> yeah, thank you for your time. I'm I'm happy to take any questions. >> Questions? >> No question. That's great.
begins. >> No questions. >> That was exciting. >> Begin August. Congratulations. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Congratulations. Um and I really appreciate you uh coming on and and giving us an update. It comes comes off
much better from you than me, >> for sure. >> Well, you know, and it's since you saw the original update I sent to council, we had even more updates. So, it's like this is news hot off the press. So, >> nice. We're super excited about getting it going here just in two months.
>> So great. >> Thank you very much. I appreciate your time. >> Thank you so much. Appreciate your time. >> Bye now. >> Thank you. >> Bye. >> Bye. >> Bye. >> That's awesome. >> Back to the agenda. Communications from citizens. >> I'm If you I know, but you're here, so I
thought I'd give you an opportunity if you want it. Um >> Thomas Heler. I live at Quest Tower. the biodiversity that we're hoping. I'm a fly fisherman. I used to see
I used to see a bunch of small fish and there were people fishing at Coral Cove. So, as I said to one fellow, Tom Tweifford at the West Palm Beach Fishing Club kindly donated their foundation did. I
expect to see boats coming back where people throw their cast nets and grab their bait fish. It's what used to be there. So, there's a whole lot more than just
mangroves and seaggrass and stuff and uh thrilled to be part of it. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> You right. Um, next presentations. Jay,
four minute. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody, uh, Jay Hutch. Um, before I get started on, um, a little bit of a tutorial, I'd like to introduce our two new, uh, EAC members, uh, Barbara Gomez and Brooke Benima, and, um, give them an opportunity to kind of introduce
themselves and to the committee. Go ahead, Barbara. >> Uh, my name is Barb Gomez. I've been a resident of Tquesta since 1986, born and raised in Palm Beach County, and my background is in school administration. Right now, I am retired,
not planning on going back to full-time work, but um I'm involved with um the Nathaniel Reed Wildlife uh refuge up in Martin County and the um Hope Sound Wildlife Center. So, I try to stay up to
date on some of the things that are going on and I'm very happy to be here. I hope I can be a good contributor to this group. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> My name is Brooke. I have been a part-time resident of Tquesta for the last five years and then a full-time
resident for the last two years. And my day job is being an environmental attorney. So, I'm very passionate about the environment and obviously moved down here to Dquesta for the natural environment. and I'm excited to do my part to help continue its support and
its beauty. >> Thank you. >> Excellent. Thank you. >> And then I'll I'll just jump back into my presentation. Uh Vice Chair Bradford um was gave me a great idea which was to just give everybody kind of a refresher on Sunshine Law with new members and
just kind of talk a little bit about board procedures. So just bear with me a quick quick overview of Sunshine Law. Um the purpose is just to ensure transparency in in government and governmental decision- making and ensure that it's open and accessible and
viewable to the public. Um we do have to have open meetings. So anytime there's two or more members of the EAC that are deciding official village business, uh we have to have an open meeting for that. If you see each other out at Publix, you're welcome to say hi. You can talk about the environment. Say,
"Hey, did you see how nice the water looked at Jupiter and Narrows today?" That's totally fine. But just as long as you're not talking about specific business, um then then we're good. And then um you know, just specifically board members can't use private meetings, email chains, text messages,
or even intermediaries to discuss board business. So technically, you're not even supposed to have if you have a mutual friend with someone, you can't even say, "Hey, there's this thing happening at the upcoming meeting. Can you talk to can you talk to the other board member for me?" So, uh, that's just a quick quick overview, high level
overview of that. And then as far as board procedures go, we send the agenda out generally the week before the meeting. So, the meetings are on Wednesday. We try and get it out Wednesday or Thursday before so people have a little bit of time to review it. Um, if you have any items that you want
to add to the agenda, um, this is a refresher for everybody. Um, you can you can mention it at today's meeting kind of at in the closing. you know Brad will the chair freeze will generally you know say does anyone have anything they want to discuss further does anyone have anything they want to discuss at future meetings you have an opportunity to talk
about that there or you are welcome to um send me an email again because of sunshine law you can't even technically go directly to chair freeze um it's it it drives him crazy I I know um but you would technically just send me an email
and say hey I have this new thing I want to talk about I have a speaker I want to bring out for the next meeting and then I will communicate that to Chair Freeze and we'll we'll work it on the agenda. Sometimes we may have a full agenda and we may say, "Hey, that's a great idea and and Chair Freeze may say, "Well,
that's a great speaker, but let's add them to the following agenda." So, we'll typically kind of work those things out in advance of the meeting. And uh that is my overview. Any questions? >> Uh just to be clear on the emails,
you can send one-way email, you just can't reply. Deny all. >> Correct. >> Or reply all. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> That's that's always the uh you you'll see the emails come over. Do not reply to this email.
>> Well, I don't want to go to jail. Okay, that's it. >> Jay, that's it. >> That's it. >> Okay. Um, next consent agenda. Uh if you've had an opportunity to look at the minutes from our March meeting,
um do you have any modifications to it? >> If not, someone please motion to approve. >> Uh I make a motion to approve the consent agenda including the minutes of was that March March
>> March 11th, 2026. >> Yeah, I second. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. against. Motion carries. Uh regular agenda, old business, the vertical oyster garden
recap and next steps. Jay. Okay. Uh so we had a really good vertical oyster oyster garden garden event back in April. Thank you uh everyone that attended and participated. I think our three you three were here. I
think Jill, you were not here. No, I think she >> I have nothing to tell. I think she was excused. Um, but we had a we had a really great meeting or event. Um, a lot of residents stopped in. I don't know the exact numbers, but it seemed like it was in the ballpark of
100. >> It was a very good turnout, I thought. Very good. >> Yeah, we heard a lot of good good feedback afterwards. We we have a great partner with the Echo Scouts, I'm sorry, the Eco Scouts, um which is a group of young children who are generally homeschooled and uh as part of their
homeschooling, they they get together during the week and do a lot of fun environmental things. So, um they've actually already been doing vertical oyster gardens. So with Tom Tweifford who's, you know, been our our kind of sherpa throughout this process. He kind of linked us up and um it's it's great
cuz they're actually a lot of them are are Toquest the kids. So So it's fantastic. Got a few photos for those that weren't able to attend. Um Michelle's on her phone there, but she did she did do a little bit of work. >> Gotcha. I was ordering gorsters.
>> She did a little work, but Brad and and Tom really put some work in. So, thank you. Thank you both. >> I will have to say if you're any if you're frustrated about anything, it's actually very therapeutic to eye holes in those oysters.
>> That was a fabulous event having it right up front. So, it was so visible and of course whenever there's an activity that engages people and it did engage people of all ages actually. That >> is great. >> So, it was good >> and our parks guys loved it too. Um, you
know, they're they're surfers and environmentalists, so they they were very excited to have us uh there and thought it was great. Um, and Michelle, I uh you did a great job of getting people to sign up. So, we have a list of I think 14 14 residents that have
volunteered so far to have vertical oyster gardens installed, including Michelle. So, >> thank you. >> 14. >> I hung that demo one on my box, right? And then me made up a flyer and put it out to the neighbors on the water. >> Excellent. >> There you go.
>> Good job, girls. >> Yay. >> Yeah. >> So, here's all the vertical oyster gardens we we did. We, you know, we're kind of learning how to do it a little bit. I think in the future we could be probably more effective. Um the the wood that we had wasn't the the best. It was
it wasn't the easiest. It was it was good to just use like the 2x4 rather than the the little >> the plywood. So I think we know how to do it a little bit better in the future. Um I think we could be pretty effective and crank crank it out if we you know decide to do one again. Uh but I will
say there is demand for it. Um the the echos scouts sorry the eco scouts have been doing the installations for us which I will get to on this next slide. So this was something we put out on our social media. So again we're partner with the the Echo Scouts and the West
Palm Beach Fishing Club. They're the ones that give us the oysters. So, this went onto our social media and onto our newsletter. And then these are the Echo Scouts installing the vertical oyster gardens.
They did this recently. Um they've they told me that they they had, you know, everybody wanted more than than they could even give cuz you can you can put, you know, one or two up or you could say, "Hey, no, throw up 10, 15, 20." is one per 5 ft.
>> Yes. >> Yes. >> And they said that people wanted a lot of them. So So they they uh >> so we need we need more vertical oyster gardens moving forward. They do some of their own events where they they have
the kids do them. Um but if the committee is open to it, um we could have another event. Unfortunately, the, you know, the summer concert series is is over, or not the summer, but the the concert series we did in the spring is over. Um, but we could always look to piggyback on
some other event or do a standalone event. Um, we're open to ideas. Later in the meeting, I'm going to mention an idea, which is to um to work on the shredded event. The the village manager wants us to to take on some ownership of the shredded event. So maybe there's an
opportunity there. Um open any ideas and thoughts. >> Would the shred event if you relocated that to the park >> and do the oysters on that same day if that's feasible for shred the shredding operation? >> That's the question we'll have to figure
out if that's if that's doable. >> Is it too soon too fast to try and figure out if isn't the village doing a July 4th event? >> I'm at park I am not sure. I can ask Jeremy. >> You do the four mileer before the
>> Oh, right. >> That's right. >> I can get an answer to that before the end of the meeting. >> They're just ideas that are popping up because that such a great interactive opportunity. And uh we got to build some more.
>> I like the idea of piggybacking on something else. >> Um I I wouldn't mind the shredded event either. Um, I think we could set up a table because they come in. I'm assuming the con the uh configuration will be the same as past shredded events and they
just sort of the car pulls up and actually the guys will take the papers out of your car and bring them to their truck. But when they pull up, they have to kind of stop and sit there for a little bit or get out and help the guys take the paper out. So, if we had like a
table right there where this the cars actually pull up, um it would give visibility. I don't know how interactive it would be because they're trying to keep the line going >> because it's a well attended event. >> There's somewhere for them to park, right?
Park and >> not a whole lot. The only parking would be right here, >> but that can be like five or six cars. >> That green space >> Yeah. >> was is beautiful. The park in front of the facilities. It's two separate events in traffic flow
>> wise. >> I mean, have you have this anyone here been to a shredded event? I have not. Every every six months. >> So, I know that law enforcement sets up a table. I think it's right out the door here.
>> Um, and you know, they've got donuts and coffee. Mhm. >> Um it would be I in my mind set up right next to them or right near them >> because if there is an opportunity where people get out of their car and walk away from their car, >> that's where they would be
>> to get coffee and donuts. >> So So >> So part of the reason that you you are being brought into this is that the police officers are do going to start doing coffee with the cop on the road. They're going to start doing it more at local coffee shops and so they will not be at the the shredded event. Okay. And
so, uh, the village manager and and the clerk's office thought it might be a good partnership to have the EAC there, uh, with with, you know, flyers and still coffee still coffee and donuts >> from EAC instead. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> From the AC and with a table and we can
have brochures and it's it's an opportunity to educate, but it's also not until October. So, it's it's it's it's several months away. So, if we're looking for a summer event, um >> maybe July 4th if if we're actually >> Yeah. If we can find that or I know I
know I think the parks department will sometimes have some summer like night events where it's like kids like a kids night in event at the the rec center. So, u if the EC is open to it, we we actually have all the materials for for
a vertical oyster garden event and we can kind of pull it together quickly. So, if you all are open to it, if we find the right event to kind of piggyback on, I can just shoot an email out to the EC and say, "Hey, there's a
kids kids event on July 14th. Is is the EC okay with doing that?" And and we can run with it and and partner with the Echo Scouts. Eco Scouts again. >> We know it. >> We don't want to keep correcting you.
>> I know. And so so we could partner with them and we could also see what type of summer events that they plan to have and and find another one because it's once you have the material, it's not that hard to set up and we can get the word out on our social media and newsletter pretty
quickly. >> Yeah. If I remember correctly, most of the people that were pounding holes in the oyster shells were kids anyway. >> They were. It's I think it's a great kids event. >> Except for me and Tom. >> Yes. And you I'm sorry. I love doing that.
>> Quite quite. >> Okay, we'll we'll wait to hear about some dates and float them out and we'll see. >> Yeah. >> I mean, if it's in July, >> we'll just make a plan to do it. >> Yeah. >> And that's if it's quickly. If it's if it's a little later in the summer, maybe
even like a back to school type event, then we could have time to talk about it at the next July meeting. But, um, I'll I'll plan ahead. But I next meeting >> I I would definitely think um the shredded event would be kind of a no-brainer in my opinion.
>> Yeah. >> Uh to piggyback on that, >> we're going to need multiple events. >> There's >> we need a lot of oysters. >> That's great. >> Quick question if I might. >> Yeah. um when the school year starts again, there's several service uh
organizations within the high school and I'm fairly certain if we market it to them as far as hours of community service and that kind of thing and we have it set up so that the sponsors don't have to do a lot themselves. you know, we've got all the material, we've
got all the information to give them that we could get quite a few uh high school kids to get involved. And even then at the middle school, they have that AVID program and that's a kind of a service oriented. They have to come up and they may be able to help us out too.
Jupiter Middle. >> Yeah. >> And the only other question that I this is a question is that um are these oyster um what are they called? oyster gardens only being installed into Qua or
is it feasible to go up toward the north passage area because everybody there's got a dock in their backyard. Um have we gotten involved with any of the people up there? >> We're we're trying to keep what we are
funding within the village right because we're we are spending village tax dollars on on some of these things. The uh Echo Scouts are >> are actually Thank you so much. Love it.
They're they're actually not all toqua residents. So they they've been doing some things that are, you know, outside of toquest the toquest the limits. Um but we're trying to focus our efforts on just to quest the residents for for now. But Barb, to your point, there are other
organizations and some friends that have expressed interest in us, but they're in Martin County. >> I refer them to CCA. So CCA is doing the same program up in Martin County. >> Okay. >> So at least, you know, we don't want to ever say no. So that give them another resource.
>> So Mr. Heler, did you did you raise your hand? Um to to Barbara's point, I do know some people in the uh HOAs up there that have docs who are interested. Um I also volunteer on the IRL NEP Indian
Riverview National Program. So um to the degree that I'm allowed under Sunshine Laws to communicate with you all about uh who I've been in touch with that have expressed an interest here, I'm all in. Um
I think you're free to share. >> Yeah. >> Right. Yeah. >> Um and then um you know, I know the boat docks over near us, the HOAs over there are interested in it. Sue and Sue in particular have been talking about that. Also, the South Florida Water Management
District is monitoring for oyster spat over here on the other side of your your US1 A1A bridges. That area would be prime target for this for boat docks. Okay, >> it's Jupiter. Thank you.
>> All right, that's it for the vertical oyster garden. Uh for um Barb and Brooke, you guys understand what these are, right? Okay. I just want to make sure >> I gave him a I had a one-on-one with them and gave them
>> What roughly does does it cost to construct 10 of these? I mean, >> it's it's actually not much at all. So the the shells themselves are recycled and so that's free. We get those for free from the Palm Beach Fishing Club
and then the real costs are the metal line and then um you have to get some little equipment to to for the strings and then you have to get paracord when you actually hang it. So, I don't have a dollar amount per per one, but it's
probably >> less than a dollar per >> It's probably a little more than that. The met the the metal's kind of expensive, but it it's probably five bucks per line. It's it's cheap. >> Well, and there were some startup costs to this endeavor. >> Exactly. So, >> wage tool.
>> Yes. Yeah. Exactly. So, we have a lot of the startup costs some of these tools that you had we had to use. Um, but now that we have those, it's it's pretty cheap. It's it's just a matter of of of labor and coordination.
>> Okay. All right. On to the next. Oh, I'm sorry. >> The one thing I might add, um, we've done this myself making the oyster gardens um, down at North Palm Beach and working with Tom Twifford. >> They are looking for alternate sites to
cure the oysters, >> right? He was the first one, the prime mover down in Palm Beach. Um so if there are sites up here in inquesta uh or in Martin County um
affiliated with the groups you're part of uh they are looking for they know how to set them up. It's they got a cure for six months at least in the sun and then you know there are ancillary issues like you know raccoons and other things that
like to clean them up. So it's not a neighborhood kind of thing. >> I think there's some discussions with Peter Detta at Jona about having them there as well. Um so I can circle back with Peter and see because that's ideal for us. It's as close as we can get.
Yeah. >> Okay. All right. On to uh agenda item number four, hazardous waste event update. >> So on this one, um hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the village council did
not really prioritize expending dollars on this for a for hazardous waste pickup day. um with the property tax situation that's that's kind of floating out there. I think there's um you know kind
of a conservative approach to the budget this year. Plus the villages some of their big priorities this year are to Quest the Park. Um, so the village manager just wanted to remind me that we are going to take on ownership of Village
Park and it passed through legislation and we'll be the owners of Questa Park pretty soon. >> That's the one on County Line >> and County Line Road. >> Fantastic. >> Let's put some dry oyster dryer. >> That's an an option we could look at doing there, too. >> Yeah. >> Oh, yeah. Right.
>> Oh, yes. One question, uh, Mr. Heler, before you leave. >> Yes. Um, >> how bad does it stink? >> Um, it just >> imagine if you get a bunch of oysters curing, there's going to be a whole lot
of flies. >> Yeah. >> And so I didn't visit their curing site, but um Tom did say that when they set it up, they wanted to put it in an area where, >> you know, scavengers can do their thing
and it's not, you know, near neighborhood >> don't want to be downwind. >> Yeah. I mean, personally, I was thinking some part of Johnson and Dickson State. Um or, you know, because it'll feed all the critters there. >> Yeah.
>> I was just mentioning FWC owns that corner on County Line in US1 and it's total sunshine there behind that building. You know, where the mobile gas station is right across from it. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And that's FWC. Would they allow that? >> Um,
>> yeah. Yeah, you know, >> that'd be a good place. >> Obviously something that gets permitted somewhere, >> right? >> He was his Tom's initial source was the Breakers. >> Oh, right. >> To get all the oysters, uh, it might be good if there was some communication
from Tqua for local restaurants. >> To begin, if you're going to look at sighting it to supply some of their stuff here, thousand North, you've got >> Tiki >> jetties and that whole thing. Um, so the the one thing on that is that from what
I understand, Tom is not short on oysters right now, though. I I've so I've been to the caring station and he's he's got a pretty good inventory of them. So So they're not running out of oysters from what I understand cuz I've I've personally offered I said, "I'll I'll pick them up from up here and take them down to your curing station." He
said, "I don't I don't need it right now." He's like, "I've got enough oysters." >> So bottleneck when I talked to him was getting them installed. >> That's that's the challenge. But it would be nice to have one up here uh and would make it a lot easier for us to do these things moving forward.
>> This idea had about going to um be happy to share the contact we're working with there because that's a great idea and I >> Barbara didn't mention but she's got some contacts at Jupiter. She's she worked there for
>> 35 years. >> 35 years. So she's >> long time. Yeah. So, but I they're great that that's a great um program and I think that some of the other clubs might be interested as well. They're all these children need community service of some kind
>> if they're planning on going to college. So, >> I look forward to getting to know you guys better. >> Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> All right. So, the bad news on the hazard. >> Yeah. Back to the hazardous waste. So, um, you know, with with budget
shortages, they they weren't open to prioritizing that for funding cuz I think the cost is around $40,000. So, they wanted to to just push residents to take their stuff to the S SWA facility in Jupiter to put some
stuff out in social media. So, Meg and I are going to pump some stuff out this summer. Um, just like, you know, hey, summer cleaning, did you know you can go to S SWA and drop your stuff off there? And one of the council members uh had a had an interesting idea which was to to
try and encourage people to even take their neighbors hazardous waste, >> right? >> So, you know, put out there and say, "Hey, you know, >> because if if somebody has one or two cans, they're not incented to drive all the way there." So, that's a good idea to somehow figure out >> Yeah.
>> a way to have neighbors all consolidate a little bit. >> Yeah. Although there's been times in the past when I've gone down there, I feel like I'm driving a ticking time bomb or something. You know, if somebody runs into But I was wondering if did they mention
liability as as a item as well? >> That's so that's the issue cuz the the council member had the idea. It was like why don't we just get the AEC members to to collect to have an event and collect but anything that's like village sponsored where we would be taking on ownership you have to be licensed to to
drop hazardous materials and even our fire department. So if you remember when chief came here, the our fire department is not even authorized to officially take hazardous materials to SWA, >> which is primarily the reason we'd have to contract >> contract with a specialist and they
charge, you know, an arm and a leg. >> But the village is going to educate and remind >> educate and remind and >> that's good. >> And so yeah, if you get a chance, tell your neighbors. Okay. >> All right. Um, skip number five. That's
already done. New business, the EAC uh reorg. >> Um, so I'll take I'll take this on since you're technically the chair. So, it's our annual reorganization where we would uh vote for chair and vice chair. So,
with that in mind, I would accept nominations for chair or vice chair. >> I nominate to keep it the same. I'm sorry. What' you say? >> I nominate to keep you two. That's the same chair and vice chair.
>> I second that nomination. >> Going good. >> Okay. >> If you guys are up, if you guys are up for it, >> I'm up for it. You're up for it. >> Yeah. But I, you know, uh Jill and Michelle have been here a long time as well. If they if they're interested, you
know, that >> to be vice chair, it's fine with me. >> Another couple years to travel. Okay. >> Priorities. >> Okay. And we have to go for a vote. >> Yeah. With that in mind, vote. >> Um, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> I.
>> Against. Motion carries. Um, the shredded event is next. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Sorry. Appreciate it very much.
>> I appreciate it. Thank you. >> Yes. So, I think we mostly did cover the shredded event, but um yeah, I think it's it's just an opportunity to do education um and and kind of push what uh the EC is working on. Uh one thing that was mentioned is that uh we want to
get EAC like table covers. So, we will work to get some table covers for you for that event and for other EAC events. And then um since we've got some time before that meeting, if you want to think about materials that we that you'd like us to prepare for you to hand out
um we can put that on that maybe the next meeting and then Meg and I can kind of work to pull some stuff together. So you've got handouts for everybody. >> If I remember correctly, law enforcement basically had that table when you first
walk in. Mhm. >> Uh they just moved it out and had all of the materials that were on that table. I think that would be a good start. If there's something EAC specific that can be made, that would be nice as well.
>> Um so this is in October. Uh we have some time to brainstorm it, think about it, >> provided we make quorum. >> Just out of curiosity, what does what is the cost to the village to run the shredded event? It's not very much. And
I think the cost of the donuts and coffee was around $200. >> Okay. Then but the company that comes in, there's no fees to them. >> Oh, my recollection is that >> it's in the contract. The village has contracted
for what do they call it? Waste management to do it twice a year per their contract with the village. >> So it's already built into the budget, >> I think. So, it used to be that way, but you know, if it is today, I'm not
positive, but I think it probably is. >> I have a question. For getting the materials made, what is that process like for getting flyers and things that we want? I guess are there rules that we need to follow or
>> No, I mean if if there's a specific um educational area that you want us to work on, uh we could discuss it at this meeting and then Meg and I could work something out. Sometimes you'll just give us cart blanch to do something on a specific subject or if you want us to to
run bring you do something and bring it back for review, we can we can do that way as well >> in house. Um >> yes. Yeah, I know. I knew where you were going. >> Thank you. That's helpful. >> Anything else, Tom? >> No. >> All right. Uh, and number eight, Dover
Ditch tour. >> Yeah. The other thing that occurred to me is that we have the Dover Ditch tour open and done, but we have not yet done a tour of it. So, I thought there might be an opportunity at the next meeting or at a future meeting that, you know, when the meeting wraps up, maybe we even wrap
it, make sure that it wraps up a little bit early, we could have Allison from the water department give you a tour of the do ditch. >> Okay, great. >> How does that work with sunshine laws? If we're all together going to this, >> somebody has to be here. >> It would be we could probably even put
it on our agenda and it would be it'd be noticed. It would be publicly noticed. That's that's a thing, too. As long as of as long as you have a meeting and it's publicly noticed, the public knows that it is happening, then it we're all good. >> Okay. >> And her presence there satisfies the
that a staff or employee of village has to be with us. >> Yeah. And I Megan and I will go too. >> Yeah, we'll go. >> Well, there is another very if it's noticed, they also have if if they're interested, they also have the right to show up with us.
>> Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I talked to I talked to So, Allison's at a conference this week, but I talked to one of her co-workers this week and and asked if we should open up to the public and we realized that, you know, in the summertime, I don't know if it's the best idea to have people come out at 3:00 on a
>> in in on July 10th or whatever it is, >> walk in a ditch. >> What a promotion. >> Walk the ditch with us. and 98. >> Yeah. And I also I also don't know that there's enough to see. It's not I don't
know if if how much interest we'd get, but we can we can put it out there and you know say, "Hey, after this upcoming EC meeting, you're welcome to come join us at 3:30 to walk >> the ditch crawl." >> The ditch >> the ditch crawl. >> We'll make some vertical oyster gardens
while we're around there. And and on that note too, um we could also do another uh Jona tour of the construction project. Um for the new members, the Jona uh restoration project, we were invited to a tour
probably January. >> I think we've been on three. >> We went on multiple ones. >> But I but I wonder if we could actually get Peter Dit to offer one to Altquesta residents. So, the one that we did, it was council members and EAC members and
staff that maybe there's an opportunity where Peter could would agree to let the EAC host one and invite the public. There's a lot of misinformation about the project and it might be a good opportunity to to clear some stuff up before it opens up. >> That's an excellent idea. >> So, yeah,
>> if you guys are open to that, I can I can run it by Peter and see if there's a a good time in the summer. >> I have I have no problem with it. But I think it's a good idea. Does anyone have a an issue? >> Good education and it's transparent. >> I know that because it is still a
construction site, there was some hesitation maybe to have a bunch of people there. Not saying that there would be a bunch of people showing up, but I think he on purpose tries to keep or limit the amount uh during a tour.
Maybe maybe just reach out and I could find out when's a good time like before the construction is done or between when the construction is done and when it officially opens. Yeah. >> So kind of like a sneak preview before it opens because I'm sure there will be a lot of
>> as it's done and opening there will be a lot of social media and chatter in the community about it. >> But using those words sneak preview, that's a good catch to encourage people. >> They love they like that. Do we know what their anticipated
um completion date is? >> I thought it was going to be around July or August, but I I haven't checked in with Peter in a while, so I don't know. >> Yeah. >> But I'll I'll bring some information back at the next meeting. >> Yeah. Okay, great.
>> All right. >> And in regard to Dober Ditch, it's a misnomer. It's not really a ditch. It's it's it's basically a drainage canal that it serves Jupiter on the south
side, toqua on the north. Jupiter contributed money to Tquesta to make phase one happen. It's anticipated they'll do the same for phase two and phase three. Uh the only real problem
that has ever existed is that when high tide occurs, brackish water comes inland on that peninsula that it's located on. And that uh back when I was village manager years
ago, it caused s saltwater intrusion in the vicinity of our surficial wells that provided drinking water to the community. So uh but they now they have a weir like a little dam and allegedly
when high tide occurs it doesn't let it go any further beyond the weir but I don't know if that's it looks like a I've already walked it and it looks the weir looks to be maybe that tall
that high so I don't know if that does a a job stopping the brackish water coming in at high tide I Not. But >> I digress. I just wanted you to know it's not a ditch. >> I'm I'm sure Allison would have been um
aware or you know like interested in that fact. >> I hope so. >> I mean this was engineered probably to death. So I would >> I can only I mean it would be an assumption but >> uh that they uh engineered and to
account for that. >> I hope so. It does. The wear does not look brand new. That's why I I'm worried. >> Well, if we on a tour, you can uh >> can you can always shoot Alison an email as well.
Um okay. Uh the next part is sort of free form in a way. Um does anyone here have any comments about anything today or maybe something in the future? maybe a potential agenda item that you you'd
like to see. >> For starters, I'm all I like that EAC >> logo >> logo thingamajig. >> Yeah. Did you guys >> That was all Meg via AI. >> Yeah, >> that's really cute.
>> AI/Meg. >> I like it. >> Yeah. So, we could put that on, she's Meg started putting that on promotional materials whenever the EC is doing stuff, but we could have that put on a like a tablecloth when we have for when we have events.
>> Perhaps somehow get this on there. >> I would think. >> Yeah. >> But >> somehow um in regards to what you just said, so your email that came out and uh had the link to the workshop. >> Yeah, I was coming to that.
>> Okay. Oh, wait. Uh, anything else? Okay. So, I emailed and I don't recall I may have emailed you guys as well um to take a look at the uh last workshop
um specifically. I think it was like about the last 15 minutes of the workshop um because there was a lot of information in there about uh advisory committees. Mhm. >> Um it was a workshop so I guess no
determinations were made but uh there was a lot of ideas back and forth about uh frequency of meetings about um members and you know we we don't have six today but we have seven total um you
know bringing those committees down to five meeting less frequently. Um, so I just wanted everyone to be aware that these are discussions that are going on. I don't know if like the next regular meeting they're going to make a
determination on, you know, okay, advisory committees and committees like the PNC, this is how it's going to be, you know, making wholesale, not wholesale, but making changes >> uh to what we've come accustomed to.
>> Yeah. Um I don't know if anyone >> I think the primary from listening to it it sounded like the primary driving force for that is um staff time because it requires obviously both of you to be here for everything. So for
every month and uh any costs associated with it. That's what I pulled up from it. And so I'm wondering if is that the what what it is is it a a concern of being able to have the resources of staff and time and
money that they want. I mean, you would be best to answer that, but in my opinion, I think that that's probably the um impetus of of even bringing it up at a council meeting workshop. >> Um, you know, uh,
>> which I understand. >> I don't I don't know for sure. Um, >> I mean, I understand that perspective obviously and also in light of what might be coming. um we used to or once a month especially in the beginning because we had so many topics at one
time and um so if we're to uh be asked to consider the one month meeting approach um it's different than what we're used to but still viable every other month or
>> I'm sorry each quarter once a quarter. >> Yeah, they were talking about quarterly. Yeah. And we've kind of it feels like we've come to a place where that is a manageable uh time frame. In the beginning it wasn't because we had so many topics. Not to say that a lot of
topics may come up again at some point. And if we are on a once a quarter schedule, would we be able to call a special meeting if we had quite a bit that we needed to >> address? That's a good question. that
time can can an additional meeting be requested. So I would >> like to know that >> I unfortunately don't have all the answers. I just >> I watched the workshop and I was like right >> okay there's I mean >> I do understand costs.
>> Yeah. Like of course like uh I know Megan and Jay you know their their time is valuable. I mean you have a million things going on. If you've ever seen a council workshop or a council meeting, I mean Jay is like Jay Jay.
>> Um and uh and I know it takes some effort to put our committee meetings together. Um, so yeah, I agree with you in in the sense that maybe we have a little bit less right now to uh to
address than we did early on at one point, >> especially when we were reviewing the comp plan. >> Um, >> well, that would be something to consider. So, when the next comp plan comes up, is once a quarter enough? And if it isn't
>> put together special meetings for >> ad hoc type things. My concern with say bimonthly or quarterly was uh in the recent past we had
two or three occasions where for whatever reason we had to cancel the meeting >> the monthly meeting and it all in my it always felt like to me that when we had the subsequent meeting after that cancellation
that everything was disjointed that and in some instances we may have failed to have a quorum because what I'm getting at is I think that people get accustomed to a monthly thing
and they tend to lose track attention whatever you want to call it if it's bimonly or quarterly. Uh, I mean, if it's quarterly, you're basically just sitting around waiting for somebody to email you or send you a a phone call telling you, "We're going to have a
meeting." You know, u, >> it does. >> I worry about that. >> Yeah. Continuity. >> Continuity. >> So, the bimonthly, in my opinion, gets too chaotic. >> So, it's either monthly or you keep
going. But maybe there's certain seasons, for example, summer >> where it's not required. Or if we do quarterly, we just really adjust to that and keep communications going. Obviously, not replying to
emails, but we can still keep communication going through emails in terms of interesting topics. Yeah, >> at the end of the day, we're gonna have to do whatever they >> Yeah, I was going to say it's not unfortunately it's not our decision, it's their decision, but >> it is. But I just wanted
>> just to have some discussion. Um, and just like so the past two months we haven't met. >> That first month we didn't at least Jay and I didn't think we had enough to actually put the meeting together and and for it to be worthwhile.
Last month we weren't going to have quorum and it was kind of an oddball thing because two people left the committee >> right >> so it was you know extremely difficult and I think there might have been one person I won't name any names because I don't know the name but couldn't you
know couldn't attend and that happens it's no no problem so we weren't going to make quum and obviously there's no reason for us to meet um I agree with you 100% I think we need to I I I mean, I would love for us to stick stick with
uh per month. Uh the thing that I kind of bothered me a little bit when I was listening to that workshop is they're treating all the committees as the same. Okay? Like for for instance, PNZ, you know, they have things that they
need to do, but there are times during the year where they don't have anything. you know, they're they're looking at plans and zoning and during those times they don't meet, which makes complete sense. Um we I in my opinion, other than
April, um we always seem to have a good amount of um material to go over during our meetings. >> I I agree. If you don't if if you as chair and in collaboration with Jay, for example, if you if you don't feel like
we have enough to warrant a meeting, well, that's fine. >> Um >> that's uh that's kind of like what do they that's up to you guys to decide and and >> but generally speaking, I worry about continuity.
>> Yep. Um, one of the other problems that they have, which I'm I'm going to refer to as council and staff, is some of them, not all of them, some of them do not understand the difference between a
standing committee. Standing committee is like the planning and zoning board. It's in the code. There's a that the process to approve new development runs through PNZ and then they make a recommendation that goes to council for
a final decision. For example, in many cases that's a standing committee. >> EAC is >> advisory and uh well >> we're standing as well in that respect because we're written into code. No, >> no, we're not. Um,
>> I thought we were >> the the term for us has just gone right out of my head. >> Ad hoc. >> We are We pardon >> ad hoc. >> Ad hoc. We are ad hoc >> and uh they keep getting confused about
other ad hoc committees they've had in the past and us and standing committees and it, you know, they're night and day and and I think you already hit on it. They're night and day.
>> And I wrote Jeremy after I watched that on YouTube, the meeting that you're talking about, and I told him, you know, basically, we do have a sunset provision for the EAC. It's in the resolution
that was adopted that created us. Okay? And all they have to do is pass another resolution and say there's no more EAC >> and it's over. Um because we're ad hoc. Uh but I argue, not argue, but I I set
forth the argument to Jeremy, the manager, when I wrote to him after that meeting. I said, "The EAC was set up as ad hoc, but in reality, we probably should be a standing committee because
environmental issues are not going to go away." Mhm. >> Mhm. >> And you know, he may agree or disagree. I don't know. He hadn't responded to it, but uh that's the first thing they got to get in order is what's the difference between a standing committee and an ad hoc and treat them appropriately because
they're different. And um >> and the other thing I just think that they had forgotten or did not know that there is a sunset provision in the resolution that created us and all they have to do is pass another resolution
and we're out if that's what they did. >> So the next council meeting I didn't have an opportunity to take a look at their agenda. Is this on their agenda? >> It's not. And I can circle back with Jeremy Allen, but I don't I don't think there's any imminent push to to bring it
back up again from what I understand. >> Okay. >> I have a question. I watched the link, but what is like a workshop from a very high level? Is it something that's open to the public? Does the public get notice of it? Is it just like for the council members to kind of hash out what they want to plan at the next meeting?
So, I know at last month's meeting, they discussed, oh, we worked through some of these items in our workshop. And I was just curious like how that process works. >> Yeah, great question. So the council typically has two meetings a month. One is their regular meeting and that's where usually the official business
takes place where we adopt ordinances. We um have standing reports from certain departments. Um they approve uh contracts and financial things. That's kind of where official business happens. And workshops are they are publicly noticed meetings. The public is welcome
to attend. the public is welcome to talk, but it's more of an opportunity to do a deep dive on a subject. Um, because a lot of times there's a lot of business that happens at a normal meeting that you don't you maybe don't want to take an hour to talk to do a deep dive on a subject. So, that's where they will kind
of beat something up a little bit and and dig into it a little bit more than they would at a normal meeting and then it would come back to a to a normal meeting for business. >> Okay, that makes sense, Steve. >> All right. Any other comments on that? >> Um, as I have said in the past, at the
end of our meetings, uh, please feel free to send either myself or Jay, uh, anything you would like to see on the agenda, um, for next month or or any month in the future. Um, we're always looking for
good ideas. Did any of you see the uh uh water imp? I don't remember what uh Allison called it and it might have been at the workshop as well. >> It was on that same >> was it $54 million improvements needed at the water
operator. That's a lot of money. >> That's I think primarily addressing the PAS. >> Yeah. Right. >> So she Exactly. you they addressed that was it Kimberly Horn that came in and and and presented their treatment options. I went through it and listened
to it. >> So they've got a big um I I believe their compliance is by 2029 >> something like that. Yeah. So that's that's a >> but she is I don't know someone said it I don't know if it was Allison or
someone else that they anticipate that it's going to just move keep moving forward >> at least for a few years because >> it was interesting because the three options are different ways to handle >> those contaminants and of course with
any options you have your shortterm quick fix less expensive long-term end of the road uh provides for the future and it's more expensive. >> Yeah. >> So, but but they're on it.
>> Um and there is a regulatory >> Yeah. That's that's what they needed to get everyone in gear. >> If you haven't had a chance to look at it, it's very interesting the different the three different types. And um Allison had talked about in one of our
other meetings that Jupiter I don't know the right terminology so I'm just going to say Jupiter skims off their their PFAS and PFOS um and it goes into their reclaimed water. So they don't have it in their drinking source but it is in the reclaimed water that
gets uh out onto all the golf courses. >> So there's Florida's going to have obviously a huge issue with it. Um Stewart has a system that they're using and they use one of uh that's the ion exchange one.
>> Yeah. >> And the concern not concerned but part of that process is it's they use resin to absorb those um contaminants and then there's a secondary issue disposing of that >> contaminated resin >> and it has to be done every 10 months.
>> Do they state how they're Yeah. what they do? >> Yeah, there are. And it, like I said, that presentation was very good and quite detailed and all the costs that were involved with it too. >> But from our standpoint, yay.
>> Looking at this is huge. Water is our number one >> concern. It is >> just if it's if you end up spending 54 million and you do a 30-year bond, not counting any interest, it's $1.8 million
per year for 30 years to pay it off. That's a lot of money. >> Mhm. And we're not going to be the only ones in this boat. >> So, it'll be interesting with federal funding to see how this all plays out. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> One thing they didn't talk about because
it's expensive as well. The big problem that we have was our surface water is the salenity. So, desalinization being the end all treatment and not having to deal with the surface water just the deep. It's not in the deep well
water that these contaminants. >> Yeah. Well, I think currently they do uh address that in the surficial wells. >> The salenity. >> Yeah. I because I >> they do but salenity as a long-term
option where you don't even have to use surface water. use that a desalinization option to provide drinking water so that you don't have to use but this is way out of my I'm just expressing that this was very
interesting and it was worth listening to yeah I don't want to talk to this because it's not my >> there is a difference between desalinization and reverse osmosis okay >> and so they do have reverse osmosis at our water plant and
>> but not at the capacity that they need. >> Yeah, they that's that's where that cost is coming from. If you want to get rid of the PASS, the idea basically what Allison said is the PASS are coming from the surficial water >> right
>> for for brook primarily the uh Tquesta has a hybrid system. They have surficial wells that >> for the minerals >> that are you know >> not very deep underneath the surface and
then they have the Florida aquifer wells that are use reverse osmosis to remove all of the minerals and salt and so on and so forth. Uh so that 54 million is b I my way of summarizing it is that if
you fasttracked and went all in on Roro assuming you could get the permits it would be 54 million that you'd be having to deal with. It'll be more than that by the time I get to it. >> Yes, that's right. >> Yeah, that's true. Not not by the time we but because of the rising costs and
the economy of all the materials but the um the surface water we we we had a beautiful thing because we have the deep water the aquifer system going through the RO system and then you have to add back minerals to that because
it's too acidic and it's corrosive to the pipes and >> the pipes >> and so the surface water provided that naturally but now our surface water is contaminated. So they might have to eliminate that and only do deep well, only do RO and then start adding the chemicals for the
minerals to make it not corrosive. >> It's interesting. >> Yeah, it is. >> Very interesting. And we're not the only ones in this boat. But that's a um and that one of the topics there was what can an individual homeowner do? And it's an RO system.
>> Yeah. >> All right. Is there anything else >> before before you break? Just a few final updates on my end. U just quick shout out to Jeremy Allen. He listens to the meeting sometimes and fact checks me as things are going forward. So he wanted me to remind you that we do not
own toquest the park just yet. The governor has until June 24th to either uh veto it or sign it. And sometimes he'll just not sign anything at all and it just becomes ours. So not officially owned, but we're in we're in very good shape for that. He did confirm what Tom
said about uh S SWA or waste management with the shred event. It's built into the contract. There's not an extra expense for that. Okay. >> And I think that is about it on that end. And then on the the EAC meeting situation, um as I said, I don't think
the council is imminently planning to to discuss that again. Um but uh in the event that they do um it sounds like the EEC again I think this came up in the fall too or last year the EC kind of took the position that you know you want
to continue the the normal meeting schedule of of once a month but maybe with a little more flexibility to cancel when when the chair and I feel like there isn't anything. Um I think that's worked pretty well but it sounds like there's also a new idea which is maybe to to slow things down a little bit. um
during the summertime or we usually do over the holidays. So, let me pitch a quick idea that I just thought of, which is what if we canled every June and July EAC meeting it well in advance and then also cancelled every December and
January meeting because usually January everyone's back, but when we're when Brad and I would be pulling the agenda together would be like, you know, the week of Christmas, right? >> Or New Year's week. And so if we had that, we would actually have four consecutive meetings in the spring and
then four consecutive meetings in the late summer into fall. And so you could keep that momentum and be productive during that time, but then get, you know, a little break here and there. Is that is that something that the EAC would be open to? >> I'm not in favor of it. Um I think
having two months off, it really it creates that disjointed um committee. Um, I mean, we we just had two months off and I was like looking through my notes and like, >> you know, you sort of lose touch of things if it's not on a regular basis. I
understand why 100%. Um, but I leave it up to everyone else. I mean, you know, I I just think having it on a regular basis per month, not taking two months here and two months there out, I I think that works
best. And giving us uh or me and you the latitude to say, "Hey, there's not much on the agenda. You know, I I'll call the meeting, you know, we'll cancel the meeting." >> Um I I'm going to dis disagree. Um, I
like that. So, eight meetings, four and four, very constructive during that time frame because those two months in the summer and the two months at those are not that constructive in my past experience with any committees and those
are the two slow slow times. Mhm. >> So you did you say December, January or >> December, January and then June, July. And I also said that with the thought that people it would help people plan their their summer and holiday vacations too. >> Are you deep into budget work in June
and July? >> No, it's it's it's fine for me. It it was more a thought for for the committee. Again, I know like pe you know sometimes pulling teeth to get people together in the summertime with with everyone's travel plans. Well, if it came down if it came down to
well, generally I I have the same continuity concerns. However, if it came down to either we do that or we shut down the EAC, I'd rather do that. >> Of course, of course, >> right? >> And I'm not even saying that that's even
on the table. It's just it's just an idea I had. Or or to even backtrack a little bit to meet Brad in the middle, it's you could just say maybe every July, every every January and July. >> Yeah.
>> Just helps people plan their trips. >> And again, to your point, >> I'm thinking of those if that becomes a decision. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> It's not ours to make. >> No, it is not. This is just uh discussion that's all.
>> Yeah, just >> okay. Um, anything else? All right. Uh, can I get a motion? Right. Motion to adjurnn. >> I make a motion to adjurnn. >> I'll second. >> All those in favor say I. >> I.
>> Against. >> Okay, people. >> Yeah, I think uh