CITY OF SATELLITE BEACH, FLORIDA

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1 CITY OF SATELLITE BEACH, FLORIDA 565 Cassia Boulevard Satellite Beach, FL (321) FAX: (321) INCORPORATED 1957 May 19, 2017 Mr. Frank Sakuma, COO IRL Council Via Dear IRL Council, Please accept this letter as my endorsement of the City of Satellite Beach s application for the Desoto Parkway Drainage Basin Enhancement Project. The associated funding request of committing to matching funds is financially acceptable and the calculations used to determine these figures have been thoroughly reviewed by City staff. This project falls in line with the current direction and forward focus of the City of Satellite Beach sustainability initiatives, focusing on climate change and, more specifically, the impacts of sea level rise. The City has created a Sustainability Action Plan outlining the City s future sustainability-based endeavors for both residents and the municipality itself over the next 25 years. This project will help the City to achieve parts of this action plan, mainly by supporting the plan s Complete Streets initiative while also addressing the impacts of sea level rise. In addition, the project will also allow City staff to collect data about the absorption rate of nutrients in bio retention swales. This data will in turn help to create a measurable impact from planting and revegetating public and private areas in the City in the future. Work to be completed for this project will be led by the City s Environmental Programs Coordinator, Nicholas F. Sanzone. He will design and implement the project via the direction of Allen Potter, Director of Public Works with assistance from their staff and David King, the City s Engineer. Mr. Sanzone will create and conduct workshops and community outreach programs to recruit volunteers for the turn dirt portion of the project where volunteers and staff will create and plant bio retention swales and plant vegetation along the shorelines of retention ponds in the Desoto Parkway drainage basin. Sustainability is a key focus for the City of Satellite Beach. We as a City take pride in protecting our natural environment. Environmental integrity is vital to the success of our City as a whole and our residents. We look to protect our future while optimizing our present to secure a sustainable social, economic, and environmental future for our island city. We are committed to proactive action and we hope this project could one day be a part of that necessary and vital action. Sincerely, Courtney H. Barker, City Manager

2 Executive summary: IRLNEP Proposal, May 2017 Project Title: Desoto Parkway Drainage Basin Stormwater Enhancement Project Project Applicant: City of Satellite Beach, Nicholas Sanzone, Environmental Programs Coordinator Partners: Dr. John Trefry/F.I.T; Balance for Earth Amount of Request: $33,000 ($35,000 match) Other Funding Sources and Amount of Total Match: Project Description Narrative: The goal of this project is to increase the effectiveness of the City s current stormwater system by implementing a Water Quality Restoration and Habitat Restoration Project to protect the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) from stormwater. This will be accomplished by installing vegetated stormwater bio retention swales and planting vegetation along the shorelines of retention ponds. The residence time of stormwater will be increased, allowing stormwater and nutrients to be absorbed by the soil and vegetation. This would help to reduce nutrient content by allowing stormwater to slowly percolate into the soil profile and into existing City stormwater infrastructure that is already in place. The four primary pieces stormwater infrastructure already in place in the City are ponds, weirs, ditches, and exfiltration pipes. Project Location: (Latitude and Longitude): near N and W CCMP Action Plans addressed by project: FSD-1, FSD- 2,FSD-4,FSD-6,FSD-9,FSD-10,FSD-11,W-6,W-7 Project Outputs (Deliverables) and Outcomes: Project Boundary Map: Figure 1. City of Satellite Beach Desoto Parkway Drainage Basin, N and W 11,500 sqft planted 10,000 spartina grasses planted 500 mangroves planted Increase in the residency time of stormwater Significant decrease in the nutrient content and total suspended solids entering the IRL Water quality monitoring pre/post 3 educational videos Construct 3 educational signs about the project 10,000 educational door hangers Conduct 6 work days Promote at 4 city events Conduct 3 workshops Create online links to existing material IRL Location Map: NEP Core Elements addressed by proposal (list): Outreach and public involvement Assessment and reporting All Ecosystem Restoration and Protection Projects Core Elements

3 Section 1 Title Page 1. Project Title: Desoto Parkway Drainage Basin Stormwater Enhancement Project 2. CCMP Action Plans implemented by this project include the following: FSD-1, FSD-2,FSD- 4,FSD-6,FSD-9,FSD-10,FSD-11,W-6,W-7 3. Applicants: Nicholas Frank Sanzone, Environmental Programs Coordinator, The City of Satellite Beach Florida, 565 Cassia Boulevard Satellite Beach, FL Tel: Fax: Website: nsanzone@satellitebeach.org Section 2 Project Specifics A. Project Goals and Objectives The current stormwater infrastructure of ditches, ponds and weirs in the 296-acre Desoto Parkway drainage basin filters approximately 389 million gallons of water per year. During large rain events stormwater flows into ditches, weirs and ponds through exfiltration pipes that lead into the lagoon. By installing vegetated stormwater bio retention swales and planting vegetation along the shorelines of the retention ponds, the residence time of stormwater will increase, allowing stormwater and nutrients to be absorbed by the soil and vegetation. This will reduce nutrient content by allowing stormwater to slowly percolate into the soil profile and into existing stormwater infrastructure. The goal of this project is to increase the effectiveness of the City s current stormwater system by implementing a Water Quality Restoration and Habitat Restoration Project to protect the IRL from stormwater. This long-term project goal will be reached by completing 3 main deliverables. 1. Short-term (1-3 year): Reduce sediments and excess nutrients that enter the IRL. This will be done by creating 8,500 sqft of vegetated bio swales and planting 3,000 sqft of pond shoreline to manage runoff using the Department of Environmental Protections (DEP) design, found at The swales will be planted with a minimum of 10 different species of native plants including a minimum of 10,000 Spartina grasses to help achieve the desired effect. The planting of the swales along the ditches will include a minimum of 500 mangroves, in addition to other native plants. An example of plants and plant costs can be seen in Table 1. Planting will take place in March and April of This will ensure that the plants are established and rooted by the rainy season in May and June, reducing the potential for washout, increasing the likelihood of success. 2. Short-term (1-3 year)/long-term (5+ years): Slow the flow and reduce the volume of water entering the lagoon during storm events. This will be done by enacting the enhancements previously discussed. This best management practice (BMP) increases the residency time of stormwater before it enters the lagoon. This 296-acre area receives an annual rainfall of inches per year, accommodating approximately 389 million gallons of water per year that enters into the City s stormwater system. The swales will be dug between.5-1 feet deep and 3-6 feet wide when possible. They will be able to accommodate a minimum of 21,563 gallons of water. Removing that amount from the stormwater system will increase the amount of water that percolates down into the ground instead of running off into the IRL, accomplishing this objective. Water quality data will be collected to determine the effectiveness of the planting. 3. Short-term (1-3 year)/long-term (5+ years): Educational components that engage the public include: City meetings, educational workshops, work days, three produced videos and online material. Educational outreach will also be conducted with signage at three locations that explain the project. Each sign will have links to related information posted on the City s website,

4 including a page devoted to stormwater education and specifically this projects components (i.e. swales and shorelines). The three videos, created by the nonprofit Balance For Earth, will engage the public to recruit volunteers, showcase the project, summarize important components of the project, inform residents on how they can create stormwater swales on their property, and will finally help to communicate data collected by the project. Lastly, 10,000 informational door hangers will be created and distributed to the public at City events, workshops, and at City Hall. 4. Upon completion maintenance of the project sites will fall to City public works crews. The plants used to vegetate the stormwater swales will become a living resource as an additional seed source for the City that can be used to propagate additional plants that would be used to replace any plants if necessary used initially in the project and to vegetate other areas within the City. This will increase the longevity of the project by utilizing the plants in the stormwater swales as effective tools to propagate future vegetation to be used as replacement plants, which is the fourth and final objective. This project has a high likelihood for success because of its simplistic design and the proven fact that swales with native plants absorb and retain more nutrients and water than areas without them. B. Technical Merit/Justification The project area, located near N and W, is 296 acres and currently vegetated with large trees and grass. This area was selected for improvements to the stormwater system because of the high volume of water that enters into the stormwater system at this location. This location has room for improvement around stormwater entry points and along the two main ditches, weirs, culverts, exfiltration pipes and three ponds that feed water into the stormwater system. The 296-acre Desoto Parkway drainage basin filters approximately 389 million gallons of water per year into the IRL. When large amounts of water flood into an area, the velocity of water increases, carrying sediment and nutrients with it as it moves into the stormwater system, which is designed to remove water from roadways. The creation of a vegetative buffer in the form of swales would enhance the existing stormwater infrastructure. The areas inside of the swales will allow for a minimum of 21,563 gallons of stormwater retention, where sediments can fall out of suspension from the stormwater and excess nutrients (specifically nitrogen and phosphorous that contribute to nutrient loading and algae blooms in the IRL) can be absorbed by the soil and vegetation. The locations shown in Figure 1 in the Executive Summary will be where the stormwater swales will be created to enhance the existing stormwater infrastructure. Current estimations of nutrient loading are from the City of Satellite Beach s South Patrick Drive TMDL study, modified in 2013, as shown in Table 2. Water quality sampling before and after the installation of the swales and vegetated shoreline will determine project effectiveness. This project will be led by the City s Environmental Programs Coordinator in coordination with Public Works who have an excellent record when completing projects of this nature on time and on or under budget. To better ensure this, a project timeline has been created and is available in Table 3. C. Benefit(s) to the IRL Benefits to the IRL will be immediate and long-term, focusing on BMP`s of reducing the residency time of stormwater entering the lagoon and absorbing and reducing nutrients by increasing the vegetative biomass available by planting swales. Additional components include: creating habitat for wildlife and educating Satellite Beach residents and others about the project via the City s website. With DEP approval, the City will post a link to the City`s website that connects to existing stormwater education and specifically the benefits of swales that is available as a PDF on the DEP website. The estimated reduction in excess nutrients and total suspended solids is 1-5%. This will be determined by water quality sampling. To measure the success of this process two pre and four post project

5 water quality sampling days will be conducted at two out flow sites, at least half of the sampling days will take place after a rain event. Sampling will be conducted by Dr. John Trefry of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Dr. Trefry and his team will collect measurements for: conductivity, temperature, ph, and dissolved oxygen. Discrete samples will also be taken for: alkalinity, turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS in mg/l), dissolved NO 3 - -NO 2 -, NH 4 +, HPO 4 3-, organic C (DOC), TN, TP, Fe, Cl -, SO 4 2-, and Ca 2+ as well as particulate Fe, Al, Si, N, P, Ca, and C (POC). D. Local Commitment This project is an extension and enhancement to the existing Stormwater Master Plan 2001 and the Stormwater Quality Master Plan 2011 that is available online at the City s website at E. Project Readiness This project can be classified as a simple turn dirt project. It requires no permitting and the basic design outline is complete. There are also no contracts to bid/award. The project will begin in February 2018 following approval and will be completed in April Tentative milestone dates for this project include: promoting the project online via the City s website and Facebook page as well as in print in the bimonthly City newsletter and conducting outreach to schools and other groups through the first week of February, organizing volunteers and conducting a workshop for potential volunteers by the second week February, ordering plants in the first week of March, mapping, flagging, and outlining the locations of where each plant will be planted by the second week of March, promoting the project again online via the City s website and Facebook page as well as in print in the bimonthly City newsletter through the third week of March, and finally planting the plants with City staff and volunteers through the last week of March and into the first week of April at planting events. F. Project Monitoring/Evaluation and Maintenance Plans The water quality aspect of this project will be monitored by Dr. John Trefry. To measure the success of this process, two pre and four post project water quality sampling days will be conducted at two out flow sites. At least half of the sampling days will take place after a rain event. The sampling will be conducted by Dr. John Trefry under benefits. This project will also be monitored by the Environmental Programs Coordinator on a weekly basis. Annually, plant survival will be measured with a goal of having a 75% or better survival rate for all planted vegetation. The City s Public Works crews will water the newly planted plants twice weekly unless excess rains make watering unnecessary. Once planted, the plants will be allowed to go to seed. The seeds will be collected and propagated at the City s shade house. Additional plants propagated will be used to replace the plants initially planted for the project. This will allow the project to become sustainable beyond grant funding. G. Citizen/Volunteer Engagement and Outreach Components As part of this project, the City will create a new volunteer program called Satellite Stewards, where citizens will be engaged and volunteers will be gathered to promote sustainability and stewardship. The project will use the following outreach components: online media through the City s website, on Facebook, in print in the City s bimonthly newsletter, through outreach to local schools and other environmental groups, and through public workshops. Volunteers will be directly engaged through in the planting of native plants that will be used for the project. There will be a brief synopsis of how and where to plant the plants before each of the planting event days. Through the afore mentioned types of promotion and via educational signage about stormwater that will be installed onsite at three

6 separate locations, the public will be made aware of the benefits of the project and how they as individuals can expand upon it by implementing similar practices on their own properties. To determine the outcome of this change in behavior and to show who has made changes that will benefit the IRL, the City will track the anticipated percent increase in residential properties within Satellite Beach that are able to be selected for the Lagoon Friendly Lawns Program that currently exists as a partnership between the City and Keep Brevard Beautiful, using the current number of Lagoon Friendly Lawns as a baseline. In addition to these engagement components 10,000 door hangers will be created to be distributed at public events, workshops, and at City Hall. The door hangers will have information pertaining to the project and stormwater impacts and how swales are beneficial to the environment. Three videos created by Balance For Earth will be used to engage the public about the project, recruit volunteers, showcase the project and educate on swales, and communicate project results after project completion. The success of this educational component will be measured by the number of online views. H. Experience and Past Performance I, the City of Satellite Beach Environmental Programs Coordinator, Nicholas F. Sanzone, have 5 years of experience coordinating restoration projects and leading volunteers along the IRL. I have planted thousands of mangroves and Spartina grasses with groups of up to 100 volunteers, both at the Blowing Rocks Preserve for the Nature Conservancy and at the Port Canaveral for the Marine Resources Council. Using the Port Canaveral project as an example, I coordinated with local schools and have held workshops to educate volunteers about the techniques to be used during planting events. The projects I have implemented did not receive funding from the NEP or IRL License plate fund. All projects were privately funded. This project is for TMDL enhancement of existing stormwater infrastructure that addresses sea level rise by reducing the impacts of stormwater, specifically from large storm events. Project Funding A. Partnership and Cost Sharing This project will be undertaken by the City of Satellite Beach. At this time project partners include Dr. John Trefry and his team from FIT, who will be collecting the water quality monitoring data. During the volunteer recruiting stage of the project, outreach will be conducted to entities and organizations that have partnered to provide volunteers in the past. The list of organizations includes: Keep Brevard Beautiful, Surfrider, and the Marine Resources Council. Sources of matching $15,000 worth of funds will be obtained from 200 volunteers working in support of the project. Documentation will include: volunteer waivers and sign in sheets that will document the total number of volunteer hours. $6,000 will be obtained from the water quality work conducted by Dr. John Trefry and his team from FIT. Lastly, Balance For Earth will donate one of their three educational videos as match, valued at $600. The reminder of the match will be a direct cost paid for by the City in the form equipment use and maintenance and a total of over 400 City staff hours spent on creating and implementing all aspects the project. $33,000 Requested Grant Funds $35,000 Match Funds $15,000 Value of In-kind Match (volunteer labor time is $22.14/hr.) Match as percentage of Total Project Costs = 51.5%

7 B. Project budget including in-kind and cash match amounts and source of all funds. Task Line Item Task Description IRL Funding Amount Cost Share Funding Amount Cost Share Funding Source (cash or inkind) 1 Project Design $0 $2,000 Satellite Beach 2 Plants $0 $2,000 Satellite Beach 3 Plants $30,000 $0 NEP 4 Installation $0 $2,200 Satellite Beach 5 Maintenance $0 $3,000 Satellite Beach 6 Volunteer hrs/ coordination $0 $15,000 Satellite Beach 7 Education $3,000 $1,800 Satellite Beach/Balance For Earth/NEP 8 Monitoring $0 $8,000 F.I.T./Satellite Beach 9 Reporting $1,000 Satellite Beach Summary Cost $33,000 $35,000 Project Costs $68,000 B. Funding for projects under this RFP do not consist of IRL Council Member contributions.

8 Appendix Table 1. Plant List Plants Type Size Cost Number Total Cost Dune sunflower (Helianthus debilis) ln $18.40 Red Mangrove 7g 45 1 $45.00 Coontie Palm (Zamia pumila) 1g $13.56 Railroad vine (Ipomoea pes-caprae) ln $4.40 Horsemint Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) 1g $16.80 Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella) ln $35.20 Marsh Hay Cordgrass (Spartina patens) 1g $6.60 Purple Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis) 1g $7.20 Salt Grass (Distichlis spicata) ln $5.00 Table 2. South Patrick Drive Treatment Calculations BMP Existing TP Load (lb/yr) Existing TN Load (lb/yr) Existing TSS Load (lb/yr) Baffle Box # Baffle Box # Total Tasks 1.Project design Jan- Feb 2. Pre-planting sampling X 3. Volunteer outreach / project promotion X X Table 3: Timeline 4. Educational materials created X 5.Planting of swales and shorelines March- August- Jan- Mar- July Dec Mar July X 6.Sampling and analysis X X X X 7.Educational videos and online material 8.Data interpretation, report preparation X X X August- Dec 9.Maintenance X X X X