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DREDGING COMMITTEE MINUTES:
Minutes of meeting
10:00 AM
(THIS IS A PUBLIC DOCUMENT)
Status
of Federal Channel Dredging Project –
Scott Mitchell advised the group that the USACE representatives could
not attend today’s meeting. David
Miller stated that he had talked with the USACE folks yesterday and
received an email from the project officer Rene Perez about the status
of the project. The email
stated that the RFP has been placed on hold, because the USACE was
amending the contract. Amendments
were required because of the number of good questions raised during the
contractor/USACE meeting and amendments were necessary to answer the
questions. The USACE’s
target date to complete the amendments was to be today October 22 with
the closing date of the RFP being
Status of the Bank-to-Bank Project – Carlos Espinosa, Miami-Dade DERM stated that basically they have approval of the project in cooperation with the USACE and state’s FDEP water quality permits. The county has some funding in their new budget and is requesting additional funding from the state. Also they are applying to the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) for grant funding. Roman Gastesi advised that the city is finalizing a funding arrangement with the county to help fund the bank-to-bank project. It was discussed that property owners that did not signed the consent form and may now want to sign, should send the consent form to Ed Swakon. Ed Swakon stated it may be too late, but they will try to add any new consent forms to include their property in the bank-to-bank project.
Status of Land Certification – Roman Gastesi advised that there was an issue with the certification of a large culvert that runs underground from the river to the temporary drying site, which is owned by FDOT. FDOT is reluctant to issue any permit for use of the culvert until they have a clear understanding of how it will be used. No one will know how or even if it will be used until acceptance of a contractor proposal by the USA CE. The USACE understands this issue and although they would prefer a permit to use the culvert they feel they can deal with the issue as it stands. It is expected that this issue will be covered in the USACE’s amendments.
New
Business – Ms. Fran Bohnsack advised that Mr. Kevin Horn,
who was contracted by the USACE to complete an economic study of the
river to justify the cost of dredging, has completed a preliminary
report that is very positive. Mr.
Horn will be back in
David Miller advised that approximately a year ago the USACE conducted surveys of certain river front properties that appeared to have encroached into the federal navigable channel. David received copies of letters form the USACE that show the properties encroaching into the channel and directing property owners to remove bulkheads and/or pilings that were in the channel. The letter advises the property owners to do this within 30 days or be subject to civil penalty action. There are approximately 7 properties that received this notification letter.
The next
dredging meeting was scheduled for