ROTONDA WEST ASSOCIATION, INC.
Aquatic Canal Systems Committee
Minutes - April 25, 2007

Present: Nick Gizzi, Chair, Norb Zoltowski, Cleon Kern, Bob Winter, Dick Stravino, Earl Haas.

Absent: Olga Durham, Linda Harrison, Bob Seneca.

Management: Norene Kugler

Others: George Krabbe, Claudette Romano, John Farrell, John Eisele, Derek Gilbert, Charles Dodd.

Call to Order:
Chair Nick Gizzi called the meeting to order at 3:30 PM with a quorum present.

The minutes of the March 28, 2007 Aquatic Canal system Committee meeting were approved.

The meeting was turned over to Norb Zoltowski to lead the discussion per the attached Agenda Items.

Web Site Mission Statement Additions:
Addition of wording to be added to mission statement discussed. Motion by Nick Gizzi seconded by Norb Zoltowski to add the following to the Mission Statement and post it on the web site. Passed unanimously.

In order to accomplish this, volunteers actively working under the guidance of the following Subcommittees are needed:

Residents interested in volunteering their time/talent are urged to contact the subcommittee Chair for their area of interest. Outdoor activities include water quality sampling, aquatic vegetation monitoring, rainfall and flood level measurements, canal depth measuring &fishery studies using the RWA boat. Additional studies include database development, data input and trend analysis, canal infrastructure improvements, water retention analysis, flood mitigation, control structure engineering concepts, legal analysis, Grant pursuit and Canal Ecosystem improvements requiring interfacing with various Government agencies.

Update on Annual Trash Cleanup:
The trash cleanup spearheaded by Linda Harrison, Kathy Gizzi, Don Olsen and approximately100 volunteers picked up 150 bags of trash (about 1500 lbs) along with an air conditioner, stove and hot water tank. A picnic was held at the Rotonda West Community Park to thank the volunteers on Saturday, April 21, 2007. Hot Dogs and hamburgers were cooked by the Eisele family. Again, our thanks to all the volunteers and the Eisele family.

Discussion on draft portion of 5 Year Plan: 6.7 Canal Trash Prevention/Inspection and Clean out.
Don Olsen is interested in leading the establishment of a year round cleanup effort to be conducted on a monthly basis. This effort ties in with our prevention plan to keep trash from Builder sites and Garbage collection from getting into the canals. The Aquatic Canal System Committee suggested that Don Olsen and Linda Harrison be on both the Beautification Committee as well as our Aquatic Trash Prevention/Cleanup Subcommittee. This would maximize the co-ordination of this much needed effort. Nick Gizzi will discuss this with them.  

RWA boat update:
John Farrell has agreed to allow the boat to be stored at the dock behind his property on the Rotonda River in Pebble Beach. Dick Stravino will develop the plan for training, maintenance and usage of the RWA boat for volunteer RWA activity; e.g. Lake Watch sampling, etc., Canal depth measuring, Canal bank slope monitoring etc.

5 Year Plan – status report:
Norb Zoltowski, Bob Winter and Earl Haas have been revising the existing 5 year plan which was primarily written by Norb in 2002 and it has been completed through section 6.0. It is being reviewed by Bob and Earl and the draft for the entire Volume I should be completed and ready for distribution by the next meeting. Volume II will be an addendum containing pertinent canal system documentation-historical data in one location.

Canal Problem Areas reported:
1) Canal Bank Erosion/Fill in: A draft of 5 year plan section 6.8.4.1 Slope and Erosion Control and the New Build Slope Inspection/Enforcement Process was presented by Norb Zoltowski. The general discussion of this section centered on the 4/1 slope on canal banks as dictated by our Deed Restrictions and how needed inspections for compliance have not been carried out. Lack of inspection with follow up enforcement have lead to significant bank erosion, canal fill-in due to sediment barrier collapse, unsightly vegetation, steep bank mowing problems and requests for waiving deed compliance. Bob Winter noted such a problem with pictures in a previous meeting.

If we cannot get volunteers to do this important task we should hire someone as it must be done to minimize future aquatic vegetation control expense. Anyone who sees a violation of the 4/1 slope at new construction sites on the canal should notify the RWA office. Earl Haas stated that prevention is certainly better than correction of the canal problems created.

Nick mentioned that he has discussed the slope measurement with Deed Restriction Chair George Burger to have this task added to the Deed Restriction Inspection efforts. County assistance in slope enforcement prior to Certification of Occupancy has fallen on deaf ears.

2) Excess Tape grass has been reported in the White Marsh/Pine Valley (River & Creeks).  Dick Hazlik, a White Marsh Rotonda River resident sent Nick a letter containing pictures of the river when he bought his property 7 years ago and the present excess tape grass condition and asked what was being done about it. He noted much improvement in other areas. These pictures were given to John Farrell for comment. John indicated that part of the problem is the low water levels in the area. The mild winter also contributed in that the plant growth was not inhibited as much as usual. He also stated that this area has been receiving the most aggressive treatment he can provide without creating a lawn kill problem on property drawing water for irrigation purposes. It is a balancing act. The only guaranteed way to eliminate the Vallisneria is to hit it hard with chemicals. The problem with this is that the majority of people on the canals irrigate their lawns with this water and the chemicals would kill their plants and lawns as well. The only safe way to do this would be to restrict any water withdrawals from the canals for thirty days. The Golf Courses also draw from the canals therefore this effort would have to be coordinated with every one effected.

John indicated that he has used a harvester in the canal and is devising a weed cutter, but Vallisneria grows so quickly that it would require frequent cutting.

White Marsh Apex Spreader Pond Blockage:
A barrier stretched across the pond has caused plant growth to block the flow of water and caused it to channel rather than spread through the grassy filter area. John will inspect the area to see if it can be cleared and if so he will clear it.

Breech in the 2600 ft swale (Water Loss Problem).
Charles Dodd a member of the Charlotte County Drainage Advisory Committee and he also worked for the State park system as a heavy equipment operator clearing firebreaks in the St. Andrews area. Charles produced a map of the area prior to the creation of Rotonda showing how Coral Creek and Buck Creek flowed through the area that is now developed. Charles reported a serious breech in the 2600ft swale. He stated that 4-6 weeks ago water was flowing through the breech at 500-700 gallons per minute. He estimated that if the breech was not there we would have another foot of water in our canals at this time.
He has discussed the problem with the DEP and feels that sooner or later RWA must consider another weir near the Brass Bridge. We need control structures at both ends of the Rotonda River within our boundary to conserve our water.

Norb discussed several structures that could be built including a Notched Weir Seawall, Vertical Floodgate and an AMIL Gate concept.

Norb Zoltowski and Cleon Kern will finalize on some control structure concepts and develop as associated preliminary rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimates for a future meeting as part of the infrastructure & Storm water Outflow subcommittee efforts.

Rotonda Outfall Restoration/Maintenance:
A drainage easement resolution Indenture contract between Cape Haze Developer and Charlotte County was signed February 8, 2000.The County accepted this non-exclusive drainage easement for the Rotonda Outflows from the Cape Haze/Cape Cave Developer signed by Gary Littlestar and signed by Mac Horton for the County.

Norb Zoltowski and Nick Gizzi plan to meet with Joanne Vernon, Charlotte County Storm Water Manager to discuss the significance of this document and what the County plans are (if any) for the restoration/maintenance/funding mechanism of the outfalls located in the State owned section of St. Andrew.

Lake Watch Update:
Bob Winters reported on the training session for our new volunteers that Eric Schulz from The University of Florida’s Lakewatch, held on Tuesday April 24th. Eric demonstrated the methods to be used to collect and store water samples from our canals that will be sent to the University of Florida for testing. The water samples will be collected from the 5 outfalls and the one inlet. Bob Winter will conduct a hands on training session from the Cape Haze Bridge in Oakland Hills on Tuesday May 1st. Six primary volunteers have been recruited with two backups. We wish to thank these volunteers. Note- Lake Watch has indicated our system is eutrophic.

Aquatic Plants:
Last month a motion was sent to Board of Directors for funds to purchase aquatic plants for a pilot program of planting in the Pebble Beach and White marsh Marinas. The motion was denied by the Board on Wednesday April 11th.  John Farrell of Florida Aquatics recommended that he be given another year to get the weed situation under control before any planting proceeds.

Aeration of sections of the river to address muck buildup retardation and assure adequate dissolved oxygen along the canal bottom was discussed. This project apparently includes the use of an aerial spray fountain that can be seen in various eutrophic canal/lake communities for this purpose.
John Farrell will give a simple conceptual briefing of what he envisions for a pilot project at one of the section marinas at a future meeting. John suggested that he and John Eisele would each be willing to pay a third of the cost for a fountain if RWA would be interested.

Reserve Study:
Nick Gizzi asked that the subcommittees place dollar figures an all planed activities for the Five Year plan. Earl Haas indicated that this is in progress and that each identified activity will be estimated by the appropriate subcommittee.

Claudette Romano, as acting Treasurer, requested that once the estimated funds for projects included in the 5 year plan are approved by Board as part of an annual budget, all committees must request the release of such reserves funds prior to the quarter of the year that the project is to be started. Therefore, needed funding should be estimated on a quarterly basis. This is necessary as the Treasurer deposits the funds into CDs until required, for maximum returns on our money. CDs will be cashed as necessary.  

The next meeting will be May 23 at 3:00 pm. Please note the new time!