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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Watershore And Beach Advisory Committee - 06/06/2019 WATERSHORE AND BEACH ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Regular Called Meeting, Thursday, June 6, 2019 5:30 pm First Floor Staff Conference Room City Hall, 1201 Leopard, Corpus Christi, TX 78401 Members Present Members Absent Staff Present Cliff Schlabach Terry Palmer Darren Gurley Philippe Tissot Jermel Stevenson Carrie Robertson Meyer Josh Wentworth Lauren Williams Martha Lawhon Jyoti Patel Daniel Mazoch Mukesh Subedee Meredith Darden I. CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 5:30 pm. II. EXCUSED ABSENCES: Daniel Mazoch Philippe made a motion to excuse last month's absences and Jyoti seconded, unanimously approved. III. ROLL CALL The roll was called, and a quorum was present. IV. ADOPTION OF MINUTES Minutes from the May 2, 2019 meeting were distributed for review. Carrie made a motion to accept the minutes, Meredith seconded, unanimously approved. Motion passed. V. HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC There was no one from the public in attendance that wanted to be recognized. VI. BUSINESS FOR DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE ACTION 1 New Business a. Safety devices for Gulf Beaches Cliff reported that at the last ISAC meeting there was a woman there that had witness one of the recent drowning and thought that if there has been some kind of safety device available, she would have thrown it to the victim and maybe that would have helped the situation. Darren reported that there have been such items available in the past but the beach visitors either threw them in the water or just stole them. He did say that Beach Operations would try putting some out again and that they would be installing new signs warning of the rip current. Meredith is currently working on a project and getting pamphlets from other beach towns so she will look at what/if anything other beach towns do. Carrie reminded the group that the Bay beaches do not have rip currents and therefore safer for families. Meredith relayed that when she was working on Memorial Day, she would recommend to families to go to the Bay beaches because the conditions were "red" flag at the Gulf beaches. b. Kiteboarding on North Beach and the Gulf Beaches Everyone got a copy of the ordinance Section 10-66 (Vessel Operation) about watercraft and the first item discussed was in section (a); Is 50 feet a sufficient distance, since the kite lines are about 100 feet? The main issue as Cliff see it, is that the kiteboarders are kiting too close to the shore and to kids, which poses a safety issue. The Gulf beach ordinance does not apply to the bay beaches. Carrie said that most kiteboarders that she sees on North Beach stay a safe distance from swimmers and beach goers; however, there are one or two who do come too close. The Park Compliance Officer, Adam, warned one kiteboarder earlier this year, asking him to stay farther away from the beach users. That's one reason it's important for North Beach to have it own Park Compliance Officer, which it doesn't now that Adam quit. 2 On the Gulf beach, Darren witnessed one kiteboarder weaving in and out of people and Cliff has received this complaint from several people. The main problem is enforcing the rules. Darren will speak to the Gulf beach lifeguards, beach operations and enforcement regarding this problem. The ordinance needs to be clearer; it is confusing. This ordinance will be revisited next meeting. c. Camping Locations Currently camping is allowed on the Gulf beaches (City's) except for in front of the seawall and in front of any permanent structure. Darren is suggesting that WBAC look at the ordinance and discuss limiting the camping to only the north and south sides of the channel. This is a safety issue. Cliff wants to get some reactions from the public before he is on board. d. Swimming at the Jetty Darren would like to prohibit swimming 50' from the jetty, there is an ordinance prohibiting swimming 1 00' from Bob Hall pier but the City doesn't have one regarding the jetty. Carrie made a motion that the City erect"No Swimming Within 50" of the Jetty" signs for both sides of the jetty, for safety reasons, Daniel seconded, unanimously approved. Motion passed. Darren will work on getting a brochure done that will cover what has been discussed tonight. 2. Old Business a. Update: North Beach Nourishment Darren relayed that this is being held up in GLO's legal department because it is FEMA. b. Update: North Beach Breakwater Carrie told the group that Peter Davidson is now working for Blackard. Philippe is working a technical group that is looking at water quality. c. Update: Packery Channel: USACE Permit (Moving Sand) Darren has done everything he can do with HDR. Darren and Engineering did not like the price ($98,000), so they are trying to negotiate the price. HDR is on retainer with the City for 5 years. The plan is to amend the permit (so the sand can be moved) and then extend the amended permit. The permit (Beach Maintenance Permit) doesn't allow for the sand to moved from the jetty to the seawall, that's what the amendment will do, and it will also allow the sand to be moved by trucks. Darren explained that he has 3 ways to get the sand moved: dredging this winter, moving the sand (through the permit) in the off season and looking at doing a CEPRA project. VII. PARK AND RECREATION ACTION COMMITTEE—Jerry Plemons Jerry did not attend this meeting. VIII. ISAC Report Cliff reported that the committee discussed life rings, some Island projects and the location of the new Beach maintenance facility(the Island people don't want it, period!). They talked about the beach access roads: Newport and Zahn, both are scheduled to be done in the spring, before Spring Break. The Park Rd 22 bridge will go out for bids once the City hears from the Developer. The Packery Channel project is waiting on FEMA. Deidre's contract was redone for 1 year. Cliff relayed that there is study being done to determine how/when the monitoring survey need to be done. The bid for the pavilion is way over budget. IX. STAFF LIAISON REPORT Josh reported that the old North Beach concrete block bathhouses at Dolphin Park and Surfside Park have fallen into a state of disrepair and are very difficult and expensive to maintain, so Parks crews have closed them up with boards and installed a row of port-a-potties nearby. As a winter project, his crews plan to bulldoze both of those outdated bathhouses and in their place install port-a-potties and pole showers on concrete pads. The showers will be similar to the new showers on the beach at Water's Edge. Darren told the group about a survey online for Cole Park Pier and to please take it. Dimmit Pier has not been inspected yet and there are wanting to do an underwater evaluation of Cole Park Pier. Darren reported that there is a Rugby tournament on the Gulf beach in July and a Corgi convention this weekend on the Gulf beach. Darren is working on the showers for the beach near Packery Channel; there are many permits involved. C:AUsers\NormaD2\AppData\Local\Temp\Minutes Watershore And Beach Advisory Committee-06_06_2019_4498920\Minutes Watershore And Beach Advisory Committee-06_06 2019.doc 3 X. IDENTIFY ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON NEXT AGENDA 1. Update: Safety devices for Gulf Beaches 2. Review Section 10-66 (Vessel Operation) &Section 10-66 (Camping) 3. Update: North Beach Nourishment 4. Update: Packery Channel: USACE Permit (Moving Sand) XI. ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business the meeting adjourned at 7:14 pm. C:AUsers\NormaD2\AppData\Local\Temp\Minutes Watershore And Beach Advisory Committee-06_06_2019_4498920\Minutes Watershore And Beach Advisory Committee-06_06 2019.doc