ROTONDA WEST ASSOCIATION, INC.
Aquatic Canal System
Minutes - May 23, 2007

PRESENT: Norb Zoltowski, Bob Seneca, Cleon Kern, Bob Winter, Olga Durham Linda Harrison, Earl Haas and Richard Stravino

ABSENT: Nick Gizzi

MANAGEMENT: Dianne Brophy, Secretary

OTHER MEMBERS/VISITORS PRESENT: John Farrell, George & Donna Krabbe, Claudette & Joseph Romano, John & Margie Carroll, John Eisele, Derek Gilbert and Don Olson

Meeting was called to order by Norb Zoltowski acting as Chair at 3:00 pm. Roll call was taken. Minutes from April 25th  were reviewed. Linda Harrison stated her email address was incorrect. Correction was made and minutes were approved as corrected.  An agenda with a timeline was introduced.

Norb Zoltowski asked Linda Harrison to introduce her new subcommittee members. Linda Harrison said the 2 new Subcommittee members are Don and Belinda Olson and they were not yet present. A recent newspaper picture of the recent cleanup efforts with Linda was shown. Ms Harrison talked about the Beautification and Canal Trash Prevention/Cleanup subcommittee efforts. It will comprise of people who will do clean up in specific areas. This will happen approximately once a month. Discussion ensued. Linda Harrison stated there will be two (2) meetings. The first will be at Don & Belinda Olson’s house on June11, 2007. The second will be on June18, 2007 at 7:00 pm at the community center with the subcommittee. They will set up a to-do list, the who, what, where and when. The clean up will include trash--large items, stones, etc. Linda Harrison stated she will contact Waste Management for any help they can supply. Linda also "thanked" everyone for their help during Clean Up Week. She went on and talked about the "Golden Broom" award and items picked up. Linda Harrison said her Canal Trash Prevention/Cleanup subcommittee would focus on the Canal/Canal Banks areas.

Claudette Romano stated clean up started with the Beautification Committee. Will the clean up committee be under Beautification and Aquatics? Linda Harrison responded that this would be decided at the June 18, 2007, meeting.  Norb Zoltowski stated canal cleanout started with the canal committee and there were other groups involved with clean up such as the Women’s Club.

Joseph Romano said the responsibility has to be to one (1) committee. John Farrell stated cleaning the canals is in the Aquatic contract and is his responsibility. Bob Winters stated that if volunteers helped clean the canals that would save time and contract money on the Aquatic contract by minimizing that task. Claudette Romano stated that two (2) separate committees one (1) for Beautification and one (1) for Aquatics is needed. Linda Harrison said she could do Beautification and she and Don Olson could do Aquatics. Discussion followed. Norb Zoltowski indicated that co-ordination is required and this could be accomplished by Linda being on both committees and suggested that there be a liaison for Aquatic and Beautification clean up. He also stated that we are trying to keep costs down on the Aquatics contract by keeping trash out of the canals. Bob Winter stated that he used the RWA boat for clean up week in 2005 &2006 with help from neighbors to clean up the White Marsh and Pine Valley sections. The boat was filled with trash. Norb also noted he walked the river canal bank in White Marsh and accumulated significant trash with a hook/extension pole device he contrived.

Don Olson arrived late to the meeting and made his presentation. He talked about the Clean Site Program that he was involved in, where builders put a $1,000.00 in a bank account controlled by the RWA. Monies can be taken from this if the builders and their subcontractors do not keep their building sites clean.
Mr. Olson went on to say that when residents are out walking they can take trash bags along and pick up the trash they see. That portion of the clean up committee should be under Beautification. Mr. Olson stated he is also interested in cleaning the canals. He was particularly concerned when he saw a bird with a plastic ring around its neck. The canals/canal banks contain mostly trash from building sites; such as, lunch papers, cups, soda cans and bottles. Residents need to support these clean up projects. We need to get people to sign up and who will walk a segment once a month collecting trash. The subcommittee meetings are scheduled for June 11, 2007 at the Olson house and June 18, 2007 at 7:00 pm at the community center. No meeting date has been arranged for canal clean up. Discussion followed.

Richard Stravino gave a report on the condition of the RWA boat and accessories. Also given in the report is what is needed for the boat including prices for items needed. Discussion ensued on what was needed and where was the boat cover as it was not on the boat.

Motion by Linda Harrison that the Aquatic Canal System Committee recommends that the Board of Directors approve the expenditure for the list of items needed to repair and outfit the RWA boat. Cost not to exceed $300.00.

John Eisele stated that he thought the boat was in good condition.

Norb Zoltowski handed out the 5 year Master Plan draft for the RWA Aquatic Canal System. Mr. Zoltowski explained that Sections 1 through 5 include the Introduction, accomplishments, scope, purpose and an overview which explains the design/history of the aquatic canal system. Section 6 is the task activity for the maintenance of the waterway habitat/infrastructure inside the circle. Section 7 defines the Rotonda outfalls and storm water outflow structures outside the circle. Also their purpose, present condition and repair required.

Earl Haas explained that the bracket [ ] after each section indicates the appropriate subcommittee responsible for that Section activity i.e. 1, 2, 3 or 4.  The subcommittee chair is responsible for submitting a budget estimate to the committee chair in accordance with Section 10.

Norb indicated that the bracketed [ME] sections [7] is for the Maintenance Entity—that is the not yet identified entity responsible for the repair/maintenance of the Outfall/Outflow structures outside the Circle and Section 8 through 12 are administration. He asked the committee members to read over the plan and have any feed back Emailed to him in two (2) weeks. Discussion followed. Norb noted that the meetings to date have established that this entity is not the State or the County.

Mr. Zoltowski said he would like to have the 5 Year Plan through the committee and before the Board of Directors soon. He also noted that the associated budget estimates based on the appropriate 5 years plan section would be required by October based on discussions with Nick.

There was a report by Bob Winter on his demo on collecting water samples from a bridge for the Lakewatch volunteers and discussion on taking water samples.

Norb reported on the meetings held with the County Stormwater Manager Joanne Vernon and also with Charlotte Engineering attended by Nick Gizzi, Cleon Kern and Norb Zoltowski.  Discussion followed on action needed for water level control, storm water and the outfall weirs.  Letters documenting these meetings were distributed at the meeting.

Bob Winter talked about an article that will be in the next West Ways. He also said that the residents need to be educated that the canals are more than ditches. Mr. Winter stated that residents who draw water from the canals to water their lawns need to know that the water is full of nutrients. Bob Winter also stated that he will work with John Farrell regarding canal plantings.

Bob also noted that committee members need to reply to the Meeting Minutes request indicating change or approval. Norb noted the committee Chair would like to have the minutes approved this way prior to the meeting to save time and to get it published earlier. He noted this is the procedure used by the Board.
John Farrell proposed a Fountain-Aerator system be installed at one of the marinas. He explained its purpose and advantages for having such a system. The cost of the system would be $15,370. The RWA, John Eisele and Florida Aquatic, Inc. would each contribute $5,000.00. Norb Zoltowski suggested to John that he request a time allocation for a future committee meeting to brief the proposal.  People need to understand the purpose of the fountain-aerator and the benefits to the canal system.

Olga Durham suggested it be discussed at the July meeting. Joseph Romano stated it should be brought before the Board of Directors. Norb Zoltowski said it should be a committee meeting first. John Farrell suggested that he would like to bring in one of his subcontractors and brief the committee at large. This meeting would be broader than Aeration. Norb suggested possibly a separate meeting from the monthly meeting. Discussion followed and it was suggested that this briefing should be in the August to October time frame based on discussion with John’s subcontractor and should be well publicized. A follow-up briefing to the committee on the aeration proposal should be scheduled. John Farrell will supply us with suggested dates.
John Farrell stated the White Marsh Marina would be the best site for the fountain aerator.

The next meeting will be June 27, 2007, at 3:00 pm.

The meeting adjourned at 4:40 pm

Dianne Brophy
Secretary