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8-13-25 ESC Adopted MinutesMINUTES Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Meeting f Wednesday, August 13, 2025 - 6:00 PM City Hall, Commission Chamber 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 Present: Bruce Andrews, ESC Member Amy Palmer, ESC Member Anastasia Houston, ESC Member Jeannie Gracy, ESC Member Christina Kelcourse, ESC Member Amy Franqui, ESC Member Sarah Boren, ESC Chair Daniele Giovannucci, ESC Member Todd Miner, ESC Member Also Present: Amanda Askew, Neighborhoods Department Dir. (NDD) 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Sarah Boren called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Sarah Boren noted that items 9E and 9F were redundant as 9E was incorporated in 8C and 9F was incorporated in 9A, and suggested these items be removed from the agenda. No other amendments were proposed. A. Approval of Agenda MOTION. Motion to approve the agenda as amended. Motion: Daniele Giovannucci Second. Todd Miner Bruce Andrews For Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci (Moved By) For Todd Miner (Seconded By) For Motion passed 9 to 0. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 1 of 11 3. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR (5 MINS.) There were no public comments. 4. CHAIR REMARKS Chair Boren apologized for the packed agendas in July, explaining that many items came up the week before the meetings that needed to be conveyed to the committee before the budget season closed. Chair Boren mentioned that the Chapter 23 revisions had been removed from tonight's agenda based on feedback that recent agendas had been too lengthy. Staff proposed to place Chapter 23 solely on the August 27th meeting agenda. She thanked Jeannie Gracy for making public comments at the July 28th Commission meeting and providing a summary for the agenda packet. She also thanked Amy Franqui and Jeannie Gracey for submitting member update reports, noting this was part of a new efficiency process. Regarding the Cosgrove case, Chair Boren reported that discussions were still not allowed as Mr. Cosgrove has 30 days to appeal the Special Magistrate decision, after which the case would go to circuit court. She plans to gather case details to share with the committee once they are allowed to discuss it. Chair Boren reported that at the July 28th meeting, the Commission passed their 2025-26 priorities, including ESC's priority to introduce incentives for protection of mature trees by December. She noted that several initiatives were already underway to meet this deadline, including the heritage tree pilot grant program, quarterly master arborist days, the elder's campaign, and proposed changes to Chapter 23. She mentioned that both Commissioner Bole and Commissioner Kelly had discussed using tree fund dollars to pay for a full-time or part-time city arborist. Chair Boren shared that she had sent an email to Commissioner Kelly expressing concerns about using tree fund dollars for salaries, believing these should come from the general fund. Chair Boren provided an update on her call with Lisa Goodrich, Chair of the ARCC regarding a neighborhood newsletter. Kevin Hogencamp is working on a mock-up by the end of the week. The newsletter would combine recreation, arts, culture, and environmental stewardship information, providing another tool for promoting events and sharing information. Chair Boren also mentioned a planned meeting with the city manager to review current 2050 goals and determine which ones the city has direct influence over. 5. CONSENT AGENDA Chair Boren explained that all matters listed under the consent agenda are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion with no separate discussion unless requested. A. Approve minutes of the July 9, and July 16, 2025 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. B. Items ESC has consensus to share with Commission in next 30 days Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 2 of 11 11 C. Proposed Content for COAB Promotion through end of September 2025 D. ESC Member Updates/Reports MOTION. Motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion: Bruce Andrews Second. Amy Franqui Bruce Andrews (Moved By) For Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui (Seconded By) For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci For Todd Miner For Motion passed 9 to 0. 90 DAY CALENDAR A. Calendar Chair Boren noted that the committee had voted to switch to the second and fourth Wednesday of each month starting on August 27th. She confirmed with Amy Franqui, Dan, Jeannie, Bruce, and Anastasia that they were still available for their chosen commission dates. Chair Boren asked if anyone was available to attend the Saturday, October 18th town hall meeting at 10 a.m., but no members volunteered. Chair Boren highlighted upcoming events, including Amy Franqui's Florida Friendly series beginning September 4th, which already had about 20 people registered for each session. Amanda noted they would raffle a rain barrel at the rain barrel series. Regarding community service days, discussion ensued about Hopkins Creek cleanup planned for October 11 th. Amy Franqui noted concerns about safely accessing the creek and mentioned the possibility of using reacher arms, grabbers, or possibly a small boat from public works. Amanda agreed to check with the city attorney about liability concerns. For beach invasives removal, Bruce Andrews mentioned that the Army Corps would be handling one variety, but there were other invasive species identified by the consultant that could be addressed in a community service day. The committee agreed to consider a February date, potentially aligning with the citywide weed wrangle. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 3 of 11 7. MOTION. Motion to approve the 90 -Day Calendar with the amendment of moving the Commission Town Hall to October 18th. Motion: Todd Miner Second: Daniele Giovannucci Bruce Andrews For Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci (Seconded By) For Todd Miner (Moved By) For Motion passed 9 to 0. B. 2025 ESC Master To Do List The committee briefly discussed the Master To Do List and Organizational Excellence Tracker that Chair Boren had developed to help track projects and priorities. C. 2025 Organizational Excellence Tracker The committee briefly discussed the Master To Do List and Organizational Excellence Tracker that Chair Boren had developed to help track projects and priorities. COMMISSION AND/OR STAFF REPORTS A. Monthly tree report with current tree fund amount Director Askew reported that the tree fund currently contains between $200,000- $300,000. Chair Boren discussed ways to improve the monthly report, the semi-annual permit process report, and the biannual state of the trees report to make them more publicly understandable. Suggestions included differentiating between permits and arborist tree columns with shading, adding a tree fund status table showing balances and expenditures, and potentially tracking city tree loss due to age, disease, and storms. Dan Giovanucci volunteered to take the lead on reviewing data fields across all three reports, and members were asked to submit their data field suggestions by August 20" B. Howell Park Dig Out & Littoral Planting Community Service Day Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 4 of 11 C. "Opt Out" ROW locations feedback from staff Chair Boren explained that this agenda item was related to replacing Saratoga and Forest Hall locations with new right-of-way (ROW) tree planting locations where residents would need to opt out of receiving a tree in their right of way. MOTION. Motion to approve the proposed opt -out ROW city plantings locations. Motion: Amy Palmer Second: Daniele Giovannucci During discussion, Bruce Andrews suggested removing Tideview from the list as it had already been heavily planted. After further discussion, the motion was amended to include Club Drive, Upper Seminole north of 18th to the city limit line, and Sailfish East defined as the loop above Plaza. Bruce Andrews For Amy Palmer (Moved By) For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci (Seconded By) For Todd Miner For Motion passed 9 to 0. D. ESC Member Report Out on Recent Commission Meeting Jeannie Gracy Public Comment Amy Palmer reported on the recent City Commission meeting on August 11, 2025, noting that Commissioner Kelly had apologized to the ESC for her suggestion of using the tree fund for staffing. She mentioned that a new RFP for the farmers market was going out, and Commissioner Ring was interested in finding a solution for allowing people in multifamily residences to keep hens. Amy also reported that the commission discussed selling Atlantic Beach water to Neptune Beach for fire suppression only, and that there was a complicated situation regarding a property on 10th Street that was denied variances by both the CDB and the commission. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 5 of 11 8. OLD BUSINESS A. Quarterly Master Arborist Day MOTION. Motion that the ESC approve up to $12,000 to schedule one master arborist day 2 to 4 times per year where citizens can sign up for a free time slot to have their mature and/or potential heritage trees (prioritizing trees 20 inches plus in DBH) assessed and evaluated for health and longevity and provided with a care and maintenance plan. Motion: Daniele Giovannucci Second. Bruce Andrews During discussion, Bruce Andrews expressed concern about the cost, noting that $3,000 per day seemed high for arborist services. Chair Boren explained that the "up to" language provided flexibility for negotiation and that unused funds would remain in the tree fund. Amy Palmer suggested starting with twice a year rather than quarterly to gauge interest and ensure capacity. Bruce Andrews (Seconded By) For Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci (Moved By) For Todd Miner For Motion passed 9 to 0. B. Elders Campaign Anastasia Houston provided an update on the Elders Campaign, noting that she had reached out to Larry Figart for advice on different species and what would be considered mature for each, but hadn't heard back. She planned to do a pilot program in a 2x2 block area and report on how it could work in practice. She suggested that from a marketing standpoint, volunteer participants could be called the "Canopy Crew," and even have t -shirts made that say "I'm a tree guy" inspired by Commissioner Grant's comment. MOTION: Motion that the ESC approve the Elders Campaign that would include heritage trees but also mature maritime species (e.g., 20+ inch DBH). Motion: Anastasia Houston Second. Bruce Andrews Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 6 of 11 Bruce Andrews (Seconded By) For Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston (Moved By) For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci For Todd Miner For Motion passed 9 to 0. C. ESC Meeting Dates & Agenda Formats Chair Boren presented a proposal for standardizing the format of ESC's two monthly meetings, with the second Wednesday being a business meeting and the fourth Wednesday being a more informative, idea -generating meeting with a focus on trees. MOTION. Motion to approve the meeting dates and agenda formats with the removal of the second member closing remarks (keeping it only once per cycle). Motion: Todd Miner Second. Daniele Giovannucci The committee discussed whether to extend meetings beyond 8:00 p.m., with some members preferring to stick to the two-hour limit with better time management, while others were open to extending to 8:30 p.m. on occasion when needed. The committee decided to maintain the two- hour limit for now but revisit if needed. Bruce Andrews For Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci (Seconded By) For Todd Miner (Moved By) For Motion passed 9 to 0. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 7 of 11 9. D. Film Series motion Chair Boren presented a motion to seek funding for both ESC awards and a film series in partnership with ARCC. MOTION: Motion that the ESC seeks $5,000 in funding in the 2025-2026 budget to support: 1) the AB Environmental Stewardship second annual awards for $3,000; and 2) an educational quarterly film series in partnership with the ARC for $2,000. Motion: Daniele Giovannucci Second: Amy Palmer Bruce Andrews For Amy Palmer (Seconded By) For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci (Moved By) For Todd Miner For Motion passed 9 to 0. NEW BUSINESS A. 2025-2026 ESC Workplan Chair Boren explained that the city manager had suggested ESC submit a 2025-26 work plan to the commission for approval by resolution. She presented a work plan that prioritized incentivizing protection of mature trees (the commission's priority for ESC), along with the tree fund spending plan, Chapter 23 revisions, tree reports and data, and work toward better performance measurement. MOTION. Motion that the ESC adopt the attached 2025-26 work plan and submit it to Commission for approval by resolution. Motion: Jeannie Gracy Second. Bruce Andrews Bruce Andrews (Seconded By) For Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy (Moved By) For Christina Kelcourse For Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 8 of 11 A►np Frangui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci For Todd :Miner For Motion passed 9 to 0. B. Steps to Determine a 2026-2027 Marsh Pilot Chair Boren explained that the city manager had asked if ESC would be willing to figure out a marsh pilot to put in the 2026-27 budget. The proposed approach included hosting a workshop, forming a working group of residents and subject matter experts, and making a recommendation by February 2026. MOTION. Motion that the ESC approve the following general approach to discern a realistic and viable marsh restoration pilot project to recommend to commission to fund in the 2026-27 budget by February of 2026: Host at least one presentation workshop at a location west of Mayport Road, e.g., Baker Center Church, AB Urban Farms, delineating impacts and the causes of the impacts to the marsh, impossible realistic and viable approaches and solutions that address marsh erosion, loss of vegetation, and storm damage. Put together a working group of residents and subject matter experts that assess possible solutions, fill in data or knowledge gaps, e.g. degree of wave energy hitting marsh from the ICW, History of mosquito lanes, what the US Army Corps of Engineers has done or is doing in the US for coastal cities, and vet and propose possible Marsh pilot projects to the full ESC. And finally, ESC discusses projects and makes a recommendation in time to be considered for the 26-27 budget cycle, e.g. February 2026. Motion: Bruce Andrews Second. Todd Miner Bruce Andrews (Moved By) For Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston For Jeannie Gracy For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci For Todd Miner (Seconded By) For Motion passed 9 to 0. C. Update: COJ Urban Forestry Management Plan Amy Palmer reported on her attendance at a City of Jacksonville stakeholder meeting for their urban forestry management plan. She had reiterated for the third time the desire Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 9 of 11 for Atlantic Beach to share tree data with COJ. Jacksonville had around $20 million in their tree fund and recent ordinance changes now allowed them to hire staff to implement tree programs. However, some changes were developer -friendly, reducing replanting tree sizes and mitigation fees. She noted that heat island data showed Atlantic Beach was "hot" compared to other areas, though better than other beach communities. Chair Boren mentioned her efforts to get Atlantic Beach access to Jacksonville's Tree Plotter program through Planet Geo, but initial requests were denied. She planned to continue pursuing this through various channels including the interlocal agreement. Dan Giovannucci shared that in his research for Chapter 23 changes, he had spoken with Jacksonville officials who indicated they were actually increasing mitigation fees from $188 per inch to closer to $200 per inch for mature oaks and heritage trees. D. Share: National Foundation Climate Collaborative • Press Release • Short Video Share: National Foundation Climate Collaborative • Press Release • Short Video Amy Palmer shared information about "community lighthouses," a resilience hub concept that has gained traction in Louisiana. These are locations that provide power (via solar), information, and supplies during storms or disasters. The goal is to have these lighthouses within a 15 -minute walk in urban areas or a 15 -minute drive in rural areas. She suggested this could be a model for Atlantic Beach's resiliency planning. E. Format for ESC's Two Meeting Agendas Motion for Format for ESC's Two Meeting Agendas 07.09.2025 REVISED F. Workplans Discussion 2024-2025 Priorities Status Update ESC Proposed Priorities without Tree Fund Plan 10. MEMBERS CLOSING REMARKS Due to time constraints and the committee's earlier decision to have closing remarks only once per meeting cycle, this section was abbreviated. Amy Franqui mentioned observing that the house at 401 Skate Road with a heritage tree was close to completion and would soon be on the market. She suggested this as an outreach opportunity to encourage continuation of the heritage tree designation. The committee discussed drafting a welcome letter for new owners and potentially reaching out to realtors. Dan Giovannucci offered to draft the welcome letter. Chair Boren announced that staff would host a lunch workshop for developers and builders in October per Commissioner Grant's suggestion. She proposed that ESC could piggyback on this Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 10 of 11 11. Attest: to gather input about tree ordinances and incentives. She also suggested pursuing a separate lunch and learning with realtors and title companies. The committee briefly discussed participating in the city's centennial celebration starting in December 2025. Ideas included showing tree canopy changes over 100 years and involving youth groups in planning for the future. ADJOURNMENT There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjounied at 8:33 p.m. Amanda Askew Sarah Boren, ESC Chair Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) August 13, 2025 Page 11 of 11