Lake County Water Authority Board of Trustees. SUBJECT: Site Resident Leases and Hickory Point Resident Lease

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1 Ben Gugliotti, Land Resources Director Ron Hart, Water Resources Director DATE: September 7, 2018 SUBJECT: Site Resident Leases and Hickory Point Resident Lease Consent Item Approval of Site Resident Leases and Hickory Point Resident Lease Preserves Site Leases The Water Authority maintains annual leases for site residents living on certain Water Authority Preserves. The leases are renewed each year in conjunction with the start of the Water Authority s fiscal year. Staff conducts annual inspections for each home prior to executing the leases to make sure that the homes are kept in a livable condition and that repairs have been current. The three sites below are recommended for a lease renewal of 12 months: 1. Crooked River Preserve - Sgt. Michael Bond, Lake County Sheriff s Office 2. Sawgrass Island Preserve - Deputy Weston Paul, Lake County Sheriff s Office 3. Bourlay Nature Park - Deputy Charles Pendergrass, Lake County Sheriff s Office All residents are required to submit a monthly report listing activities that have been performed on the Preserves. Each resident must perform from hours per month depending upon the location of the site residence. Activities that are approved under the leases include, but are not limited to, patrolling the property, providing information to the public, trash pick-up, trail maintenance, citing illegal activity, invasive exotic control, and maintaining the residences and grounds. Hickory Point Site Lease The Water Authority maintains an annual lease with a site resident for the park s residence. Staff is recommending renewal of the Hickory Point Park lease with Mark Wiley. Water Resource Structure Site Lease The Water Authority also maintains an annual lease with a site resident for the M-5 structure. Staff is recommending renewal of the M-5 lease with LCSO Deputy Mark Day. Executive Director s Recommendation: Authorize the Executive Director to execute lease agreements with the Water Authority site residents at the Crooked River Preserve, Sawgrass Island Preserve, Bourlay Historic Nature Park, the M-5 Water Control Structure and Hickory Point Park.

2 Ron Hart, Water Resources Program Manager DATE: August 7, 2018 SUBJECT: Approval of Agreement with Lake County for Citizens Lake Monitoring Consent Item Approval of Agreement with Lake County for Citizens Lake Monitoring In January 2011, the Board authorized an agreement with the Lake County Lab for the volunteer monitoring program. Staff has attached the Interlocal Agreement for the Board s consideration. The agreement states that the County will coordinate the program on our behalf in conjunction with the existing Adopt-a-Lake Program. They will train and coordinate volunteers, analyze monthly samples for color, alkalinity, total phosphorus, total nitrogen (nitrate and total kjeldahl) and chlorophyll-a, provide monthly data reports, and record data in the State s database. The Lake County Water Authority (LCWA) has the right to approve any sample sites prior to acceptance into the program and agrees to pay the County $70 per sample for the total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chlorophyll-a portion of the analysis. The LCWA would be obligated to fund a maximum of 12 samples per site and the total program cost cannot exceed $35,000. Because the LCWA has the ability to approve any sites accepted into the program, we have the ability to cap our expenses at any dollar amount by not approving any additional sites. The agreement automatically renews each year unless one of the parties provides notice of termination. The Board has included $35,000 in its FY draft budget to support this program. Prior to the execution of the contract with Lake County, the Florida Lakewatch Program was costing on average $110,000 per year. To date, the switch to the Adopt-a-Lake Program on March 2011 has saved the LCWA approximately $674,931. Executive Director s Recommendation: Pending the Final FY Budget approval, authorize the Executive Director to continue the funding agreement with Lake County for the Lake Monitoring Program in an amount not to exceed $35,000.

3 Ron Hart, Water Resources Director DATE: September 6, 2018 SUBJECT: United States Geological Survey (USGS) FY 2018/19 Agreement Consent Item Approval of Agreement with USGS for Water Level Monitoring At the beginning of each budget year, the Lake County Water Authority has traditionally entered a joint funding agreement with the USGS. The purpose of this agreement is to fund the basic surface water data collection needs of the Authority. The primary area of data collection is the Palatlakaha River Basin where the Authority is responsible for the operation of its dams. Other data collection areas include seven lake level measurement sites and an inflow measurement site to Wolf Branch Sink (see following map). This year, USGS informed us that the sampling cost was going to increase from $144,190 to $147,730. This represents an increase of 2.4 percent. The surface water data collection program has an associated total cost of $162,930. The USGS has agreed to provide $15,200 in matching funds. This leaves the Authority with a remaining balance for the program of $147,730 (attached spreadsheet). The proposed budget includes funding for this program. Executive Director s Recommendation: Pending the final FY budget approval, authorize the Executive Director to execute a Joint Funding Agreement between the Lake County Water Authority and the USGS for an amount not to exceed $147,730.

4 Ron Hart, Water Resources Director DATE: September 6, 2018 SUBJECT: Alum & Polymer Purchase Order Consent Item Approval of Purchase Orders for Alum and Polymer Staff currently utilizes bids from other governmental agencies to locate the best prices for alum. We then piggyback the lowest bid that the suppliers are willing to provide. Because of the recent issues in receiving tankers of alum before and after the hurricane, staff ordered alum from 4 companies (Chemtrade, C & S Chemicals, Thatcher Chemicals, and Affinity Chemicals). In a separate memo, staff will address releasing a bid for alum that should help ensure a more reliable flow of chemicals to our facility. Our recommendation is to issue three purchase orders to Thatcher Chemical, Chemtrade, and C & S Chemicals for up to $1,000,000 each. Because of Affinity s higher cost associated with their long distance from their Woodbine, Georgia, staff will only attempt to purchase from this source if the others are not able to meet our demand. In addition, we also issue a purchase order for polymer with Fort Bend Services. This chemical is necessary in order to run the centrifuge and separate dredged solids from water. This year staff is recommending that we also issue a purchase order with another polymer supplier (NALCO). Staff requests authorization to issue a purchase order for polymer to both Fort Bend Services and NALCO for up to $100,000 each. These purchase orders only encumber the money and authorize staff to purchase these products, if needed. It does not guarantee that the money will be spent. The purchase orders would expire at the end of FY Executive Director s Recommendation: Pending the final FY budget approval, authorize the Executive Director to issue purchase orders to Thatcher Chemical, Chemtrade, and C & S for up to $1,000,000 each. Pending the final FY budget approval, authorize the Executive Director to Authorize the Executive Director to issue purchase orders for polymer to Fort Bend Services and NALCO for up to $100,000 each.

5 Christina Rider, Executive Office Manager/Financial Coordinator DATE: September 14, 2018 SUBJECT: Approval of Blanket Purchase Orders Consent Item Approval of Blanket Purchase Orders Staff is requesting the Board approve the following FY blanket purchase orders: Sumter Electric Office Electricity ( ) $ 11,000 Hickory Point Electricity ( ) $ 22,000 NuRF Electricity ( ) $ 60,000 TOTAL: $ 93,000 City of Tavares Office Utilities ( ) $ 4,500 Hickory Point Water ( ) $ 60,000 TOTAL: $ 64,500 WEX Fuel ( ) $ 20,000 Lake County Board of County Commissioners Admin Employee Insurance Benefits ( ) $ 45,475 Water Resources Employee Insurance Benefits ( ) $ 27,285 Land Resources Employee Insurance Benefits ( ) $ 27,285 Field Services Employee Insurance Benefits ( ) $ 45,475 TOTAL: $ 145,520 Florida League of Cities (amounts include new bldg. & workers comp deductible) Admin Workers Comp ( ) $ 5,000 Water Resources Workers Comp ( ) $ 8,695 Land Resources Workers Comp ( ) $ 8,100 Field Services Workers Comp ( ) $ 7,085 Auto, Property & Liability ( ) $ 31,432 TOTAL: $ 60,312

6 Lake County Sheriff Marine Patrol Unit Education ( ) $ 17,175 Marine Patrol Unit ( ) $ 211,780 TOTAL: $ 228,955 Jani-King of Orlando Office Custodial Services ( ) $ 3,200 Preserve Bathroom Custodial Services ( ) $ 14,000 TOTAL: $ 17,200 Executive Director s Recommendation: Pending the Final FY Budget approval, authorize the Executive Director to process blanket purchase orders for FY for the following entities up to the following amounts: Sumter Electric...$93,000 City of Tavares...$64,500 WEX...$20,000 Lake County Board of County Commissioners...$145,520 Florida League of Cities...$60,312 Lake County Sheriff...$228,955 Jani- King of Orlando...$17,200

7 Christina Rider, Executive Office Manager/Financial Coordinator DATE: September 14, 2018 SUBJECT: Approval of Change Order for Employee Health Insurance Purchase Order Consent Item Approval of Change Order for Employee Health Insurance Purchase Order At the October 25, 2017 the Board approved an additional Field Services Position. Staff is requesting a Change Order to increase the Purchase Order to Lake County for health insurance for this additional position in the amount of $7,580. Executive Director Recommendation: Approve the increase of $7,580 in the Lake County Health Insurance purchase order to $43,960.

8 Christina Rider, Executive Office Manager/Financial Coordinator DATE: September 13, 2018 SUBJECT: Authorization to Transfer Funds from Chemtrade Purchase Orders for Alum Consent Item Authorization to Transfer Funds from Chemtrade Purchase Orders for Alum Due to limited supply from Chemtrade staff has not been able to purchase the needed quantity of alum from that company. As such, staff has had to increase purchases of alum from Thatcher and C&S. Thus, staff is requesting to transfer monies allocated to the Chemtrade purchase order # to Thatcher and C & S as follows: Chemtrade P.O. # ($200,000) Thatcher P.O. # $100,000 C & S P.O. # $100,000 Executive Director Recommendation: Authorize the Executive Director to transfer $200,000 from the Chemtrade purchase order to Thatcher ($100,000) and C & S ($100,000) purchase orders.

9 Christina Rider, Executive Office Manager/Financial Coordinator DATE: September 14, 2018 SUBJECT: Notification of Emergency Purchase and Subsequent Approval Consent Item Notification of Emergency Purchase and Subsequent Approval In June this year while the NuRF was running at maximum capacity, the conveyor belt to the centrifuge broke. An emergency purchase was made between three employee LCWA credit cards to purchase a gear box to get the centrifuge conveyor repaired and up and running as quickly as possible. Staff is requesting subsequent Board approval for this emergency purchase. Executive Director Recommendation: Approve the June 2018 purchase via LCWA credit cards of a gear box to repair the centrifuge conveyor at the NuRF.

10 Ben Garcia, GIS Manager DATE: September 12, 2018 SUBJECT: Approval of Contract with USF for Lake Atlas Maintenance Consent Item Approval of Contract with USF for Lake Atlas Maintenance The Water Resource Atlas has been up and operating since April This Web site ( consolidates information on the water bodies within Lake County. It is a web-based atlas designed to provide citizens, environmental professionals, planners, and anyone else interested in water resources with current and historical water resource data and information in Lake County. The Atlas provides a one-stop location to find comprehensive and current water quality, hydrologic, ecological and recreational information. The concept was developed by the University of South Florida s (USF) Center for Community Design and Research. The Water Atlas was upgraded recently with a new front page (see Figure 1) including the new in front water levels and flows functionality. This information is provided on the front page for easy access for people looking for it of most popular water bodies. The Board included $25,000 in its FY budget to provide annual (Standard) maintenance of the atlas instead of the basic maintenance. Since the front page was updated and the spring s page added, Staff did not see the need to keep the standard maintenance at the higher fee. The only concern was the frequency of data updates. Last year the university agreed to keep the updates frequency the same and to help Water Authority staff with improving the bathymetry data and maps. The maintenance fee was also negotiated down to $25,000 and kept down since last year while keeping the same functionality and data updates included in the standard maintenance, plus some future upgrades to the advance mapping section and also, bathymetry maps assistance. The same maintenance fee with the same functionalities of the water atlas are kept the same. The Scope of Services for the agreement is attached for the Board s review. Executive Director s Recommendation: Pending the Final FY Budget approval, authorize the Executive Director to enter into an agreement with the University of South Florida s Florida Center for Community Design and Research (USF-FCCDR) for the Basic maintenance and functionality of the Lake County Water Atlas program, for an amount not to exceed $25,000 for Fiscal Year

11 Patricia Burgos, Environmental Projects Director DATE: September 7, 2018 SUBJECT: Approval of Agreement with the USDA for Nuisance Wildlife Removal Consent Item Approval of Agreement with the USDA for Nuisance Wildlife Removal For over 18 years the Water Authority has been working on reducing the feral hog damage at the Preserves and Hickory Point Park. Over the past seven (7) years, the Water Authority has entered into a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture s team for the removal of hog and other nuisance wildlife. Nuisance wildlife such as hogs can displace native wildlife, kill native vegetation, affect the hydrology and more importantly create an opening for invasive plant species to get a foothold on the Water Authority s properties. Hogs compete with native species such as gopher tortoise, quail, turkey and deer for resources. The Water Authority has entered into agreements in the past with private individuals to remove the hogs for free. While this has been a low-cost solution, it has not been always been effective. Since it is voluntary, and they are using their personal resources, hog trappers work on their own schedule and often there is no incentive to provide a consistent presence to eradicate the hogs. More importantly these free hog trappers are working in remote areas under somewhat dangerous situations, which can expose the Water Authority to potential liability. Staff had spoken to the Lake County Parks and Trails Department about their hog issues. The County has found success with the U.S. Department of Agriculture team for hog and coyote removal, as well as nuisance species surveys. The USDA Wildlife Services has a trained professional staff that can remove nuisance wildlife including feral hogs, coyote, feral cats, feral dogs, armadillos, nutria, exotics snakes, lizards and more. Employees are in uniform and all traps have signs stating who they are and why they are there. In addition to the removal, they perform disease sampling when they remove animals from the property adding to the scientific information used by the department. They are a department of the Federal Government and are self-insured and have liability coverage. Staff has included the APHIS/USDA agreement for review. This is an all-inclusive price including personnel, vehicles, gas, traps, bait, etc. Since they are already working in the County, they can coordinate visits to our preserves with other properties in the area to be more cost efficient. The agreement can be terminated with 30 days written notice by either party.

12 Staff has included Flat Island Preserve, Hidden Waters Preserve, Crooked River Preserve, Treasure Island Preserve, Tanner Preserve and Hickory Point Park, but also would like the flexibility to add additional properties to the agreement should the need arise. It has also been beneficial to have extra eyes on the preserves. The Board has included $10,000 in its FY budget for feral hog, coyote and other nuisance wildlife removal should the need arise. Executive Director s Recommendation: Pending the final FY budget approval, authorize the Executive Director to enter into an agreement with the APHIS/USDA Wildlife Services for nuisance wildlife removal at a cost not to exceed amount of $10,000 for Fiscal Year

13 Michael J. Perry, Executive Director DATE: September 13, 2018 SUBJECT: Approval to Renew Contracts with Naturalist and Education Contractors Consent Item Approval to Renew Contracts with Naturalist and Education Contractors The Water Authority has contracted with an Education Contractor and a Naturalist for several years to assist in preparing and implementing educational activities for the agency. The Education Contractor and Naturalist have assisted with Student Field Trips and School Events by hosting high school students from public schools including Eustis, Leesburg, Mount Dora, South Lake, Tavares and Umatilla at the Nutrient Reduction Facility, middle school students and Environmental Science students from Lake Sumner State College. The Education Contractor and Naturalist also assisting with Community and Adult Education Events such as the Wolf Branch Sink open house that attracts an estimated 700 community members, Wings and Wild Flowers Festival, leading hikes at the preserves including Hidden Waters, Hickory Point, Bourlay and Flat Island and leading kayak and canoe trips often in partnership with Lake County Parks. They organize and participate in Lake and Stream Cleanup Programs, Earth Day, Drop-by-Drop teacher and community mini-grants and the Water Authority sponsored Lakes Academy. The Education Contractor and the Naturalist will provide their annual reports and summaries of their activities at the October Board meeting. The Board included funds for the Education Contractor and the Naturalist in its FY budget. Executive Director Recommendation: Pending the Final FY Budget approval: Authorize the Executive Director to execute an agreement with Ms. Maryann Krisovitch, Education Contractor for an amount not to exceed $12,500. Authorize the Executive Director to execute an agreement with Mr. Marc Crail, Naturalist Contractor for an amount not to exceed $12,500.

14 Michael J. Perry, Executive Director DATE: September 4, 2018 SUBJECT: Approval to Renew Agreement with the Trout Lake Nature Center Consent Item Approval to Renew Agreement with the Trout Lake Nature Center The Water Authority has contracted with the Trout Lake Nature Center over the past several years to promote and support the study of Lake County s freshwater resources and the Floridan Aquifer by offering school and public programs, to promote whenever possible the LCWA s Preserves, programs and objectives and to have TLNC staff work with LCWA staff and the Education Contractor to deliver water resource education to students from Pre-school to High School without duplicating services. In FY , staff evaluated the Mini Grant program and has determined that many of the Education Grants to teachers were for the cost to attend programs at the Trout Lake Nature Center and/or for transportation to the Trout Lake Nature Center. As such, staff discussed with the Board that since a significant portion of the grant funds are requested and awarded for schools to travel to and attend programs at the Trout Lake Nature Center, a more efficient way to handle the administration of these funds would be to provide the funds directly to the Trout Lake Nature Center and for TLNC staff to work with the schools that would like to attend and work out the transportation needs with the school personnel, rather than Water Authority staff administering multiple grants to individual teachers. The Trout Lake Nature Center staff would be responsible for coordinating with the School Board personnel, maintaining records and reporting how the funds were administered to the Water Authority. The Board approved an additional grant in FY to the Trout Lake Nature Center for $10,000 ($2,000 for schools that the School Board would not otherwise fund to attend programs at TLNC, $6,000 for transportation to the TLNC, and $2,000 to provide in-school programs for schools that are not be able to travel to the TLNC). For FY the Board provided $8,000 ($2,000 for schools that the School Board would not otherwise fund to attend programs at TLNC, $6,000 for transportation to the TLNC) in addition to the $7,500 grant to TLNC for FY to fund their facilities, maintenance and personnel for a total amount of $15,500.

15 For FY , staff recommended providing $8,500 ($2,000 for schools that the School Board would not otherwise fund to attend programs at TLNC, $6,500 for transportation to the TLNC) in addition to the $7,500 grant to TLNC for FY to fund their facilities, maintenance and personnel for a total amount of $16,000. The Board included an additional $25,000 in its FY budget for the Trout Lake Nature Center to offset costs related to implementing their education programs. The full amount of the grant to the Trout Lake Nature Center was $41,000. For FY , staff is recommending providing $8,500 ($2,000 for schools that the School Board would not otherwise fund to attend programs at TLNC, $6,500 for transportation to the TLNC) in addition to the $7,500 grant to TLNC for FY to fund their facilities, maintenance and personnel for a total grant amount of $16,000. The Trout Lake Nature Center will provide its annual report and summary of their activities at the October Board meeting. Executive Director Recommendation: Pending the Final FY Budget approval: Authorize the Executive Director to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Trout Lake Nature Center and approve the disbursement of $16,000 to the Trout Lake Nature Center - $7,500 to fund their facilities, maintenance and personnel; $2,000 for schools that the School Board would not otherwise fund to attend programs at TLNC; and $6,500 for transportation to the TLNC.

16 Patricia Burgos, Environmental Projects Director DATE: September 7, 2018 SUBJECT: Brightwater Mitigation Lease Renewal Action Item Brightwater Mitigation Lease Renewal for Trailer Parking In February 2015, the Board entered into a lease agreement to allow residents of Imperial Terrace West to park their trailers on the Water Authority s Brightwater Mitigation property. The acre Brightwater Mitigation property, located on the Dead River, was donated to the Water Authority in exchange for property that was initially under a conservation easement held by the Water Authority. Residents had intruded upon the property located adjacent to a power line easement. The mitigation property is primarily wetlands, but does contain a small amount of uplands, as shown in Photo #1. Photo #1: Southeast corner of Brightwater Mitigation Property looking north.

17 Photo #2: Picture taken of the boat trailers in the leased area. The leased area appears maintained and mowed in and around the trailers. The homeowner association is directed each year to submit hold harmless paperwork from the residents using the Water Authority s property. The HOA also submits liability paperwork and is required to add the Water Authority as an additional insured. This requirement will be enforced with the renewal of their license agreement for Executive Director s Recommendation: Authorize the Executive Director to renew the Imperial Terrace West HOA License Agreement for the Brightwater Mitigation property through September 30, 2019.

18 Michael J. Perry, Executive Director DATE: September 17, 2018 SUBJECT: Award Human Resources Consultant Agreement Discussion Item Award Human Resources Consultant Agreement The Water Authority Board directed staff to seek an outside firm to provide Human Resources (HR) consulting services to support the Board of Trustees, the Executive Director and staff of the Authority. Staff released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit responses that would result in a contract with a qualified provider to provide on-demand general human resources consultation and compliance assistance to augment and advise current staff in the maintenance of current human resources operations including, but not limited to: employee relations; performance management; position descriptions; salary administration; compliance with federal, state, local laws and statutes; regulations and policies related to employment; compliance with internal policies and procedure; modifying policies, procedures, and programs; development and delivery of various training programs; and the development of recommendations on initiatives for the Board of Trustees. Two responses were received by the August 31, 2018 due date, the LMC Group located in Manchester, NH and BlackRain Partners, LLC, located in Lake Mary Florida. The summary quotes are provided below: The LMC Group Quote BlackRain Partners Quote Direct Labor $125/hr. $125/hr. Indirect Costs N/A $62.50/hr. Full MBTI testing/training $250/per person included In general, the consulting costs are lower (Direct and Indirect Labor) for The LMC Group. Although they are in New Hampshire, staff believes that most of the HR services can be provided via, phone, or other electronic means that would require little travel. The proposal from BlackRain Partners was more detailed in its approach to the issues of Training, Development and Delivery, HR Operation Policies and Procedures, Employee Relations and Value-Added Services. BlackRain Partners included a listing of training courses they offer. Based on the strength of the proposal and being a more local firm, BlackRain Partners would be the recommended provider for Human Resources Consultant Services. Executive Director Recommendation: Accept the quote for Human Resources Consultant Services from BlackRain Partners.

19 Ben Gugliotti, Land Resources Director DATE: September 12, 2018 SUBJECT: Accept of Quote to Reshape Entrance Road Shoulder at the Sabal Bluff Preserve Action Item Accept of Quote to Reshape Entrance Road Shoulder at the Sabal Bluff Preserve On August 30, 2017 the Lake County Water Authority entered into an agreement with Duke Energy to relocate their power line onto the eastern boundary of Sabal Bluff Preserve. As part of the agreement, Duke would remove any trees within the easement that could eventually cause problems with the power lines. Additionally, Duke would pay to have beds of native vegetation installed along the boundary, excluding species that might cause problems in the future. Duke Energy also compensated the Water Authority for the value of the easement and the vegetation that was removed. 50% of this money ($100,000) would be available for restoration projects and improvements on the preserve. Now that the trees have been removed, staff has noticed that there is a portion of the shoulder of the entrance road that is too steep to mow with the normal mowers and tractors that are used to mow the rest of the property. Staff has used the boom mower on occasion, however feels it would be more cost effective in the long run to remove the stumps and roots and reshape the shoulder to a more gradual slope so that it can be mowed at the same time as the rest of the property using the same equipment. The project area is approximately 200 feet long and 25 feet wide and extends from the east edge of the road to the boundary fence. It is estimated that approximately 20 truckloads of material would need to be removed from the slope. Depending on the types and quality of the material removed from the slope, a limited amount could be redistributed on-site at the Sabal Bluff Preserve, however because of the Waif Tortoise relocation site designation, staff would prefer to move the majority off-site, to Bourlay Historic Nature Park. Staff is proposing to use a portion of the money from Duke Energy to pay for the project. Staff received four quotes for the project, but all were above $10,000 (see table below). There are currently Land Management Services agreements with three of the companies, but not all of the activities in the project are covered under contract line items. Company Quote 1 Habitat Restoration & Wildlife Protection Services, Inc. $10,940 2 Dawson Excavation $14,900 3 Promise Habitat Services, LLC. $16,750 4 Alshouse and Associates, LLC $23,400

20 Executive Director s Recommendation: Authorize staff to pay Habitat Restoration and Wildlife Protection Services, Inc. to reshape the shoulder of the Sabal Bluff entrance road and remove the excess material from the property for a cost not to exceed $10,940.

21 Ron Hart, Water Resources Director DATE: September 7, 2018 SUBJECT: NuRF Supplemental Staffing Action Item NuRF Supplemental Staffing The consistent wetter than normal weather has resulted in Lake Apopka s water level remaining above regulatory levels for exceedingly long periods of time. As a result, the St Johns River Water Management District continues to discharge high flows through the NuRF. In order to handle these flows, the LCWA staff has been operating the facility 24-hours a day 7-days a week. This has resulted in many of the field staff accruing significant overtime. To assist staff on operating the facility, the Board approved a contract in July with Woodard & Curran, a consulting firm what specializes in handing public works type projects. Woodard & Curran have quoted a staffing cost of $30 per hour plus a supervisor fee not to exceed 4 hours per week. Staff executed a $20,000 purchase order (PO # ) as a means of paying Woodard & Curran. The amount provided in the PO is not likely to cover another month of necessary staffing at the facility. To address this issue, staff recommends increasing the PO to $34,999. This is the statutory limit for purchasing without producing a bid. In a couple of months, staff will again review the staffing expenses along with the antecedent conditions of Lake Apopka and determine how much longer, and at what level, the supplemental staffing will be necessary. If the cost is likely to exceed the new PO, staff would like to release a bid for supplemental NuRF staffing. If a bid is released, the bid results would be provided to the Board at a later meeting for consideration. Executive Director s Recommendation: Authorize staff to increase Purchase Order # with Woodard & Curran from $20,000 to $34,999 and to release a bid for additional staffing services if necessary.

22 Ron Hart, Water Resources Director DATE: September 18, 2018 SUBJECT: Authorization to Contract for Heavy Equipment at NuRF Action Item Authorization to Contract for Heavy Equipment at NuRF The consistent wetter than normal weather has resulted in Lake Apopka s water level remaining above regulatory levels for exceedingly long periods of time. As a result, the St Johns River Water Management District continues to discharge high flows through the NuRF. In order to handle these flows, the LCWA staff has been operating the facility 24-hours a day 7-days a week. Treating these flows has resulted in the accumulation of a considerable amount of floc residual. The equipment available on-site is too small to effectively handle the amount of material and additional pieces of heavy equipment such as loaders, dozers or long-reach excavators is required. Staff has contacted many heavy equipment suppliers and have been getting limited responses. Staff will provide details at the meeting; however, staff is requesting that the Board authorize staff to contract for additional pieces of heavy equipment if necessary for an amount not to exceed $30,000 Executive Director s Recommendation: Authorize staff to contract for additional pieces of heavy equipment if necessary for an amount not to exceed $30,000.

23 Jason Danaher, Water Resources Project Manager Add-On DATE: September 20, 2018 SUBJECT: NuRF Gate Repair East Pond Discussion Item East Pond Gate Repair The LCWA staff noticed the outfall gate in the east settlement pond was not working properly the last week of August. The event occurred when the SJRWMD attempted to open the gate to adjust for higher flows. During this event the gate retracted to a fully open position and could not be closed. It has remained in the fully open position after numerous attempts from LCWA staff to manually close it. The LCWA staff closed the inflow gate to the east pond to limit the loss of settled material from the pond. In addition, the west pond inflow and outfall gates have been closed and the SJRWMD has ceased sending water through the NuRF. Water discharged from Lake Apopka has gone over the lock and dam periodically at flow rates ranging from 100 to 300 cfs to reach scheduled regulation levels. The LCWA staff has been working with contractors and suppliers to try and quickly resolve the issue. The most responsive contractor to date has been West Wind Contracting (WWC) based out of Pembroke Park, but having satellite offices in the Orlando area. Currently WWC is performing work on the north shore of Lake Apopka for the SJRWMD and has contracted maintenance and civil work rates with the district. They have visited the NuRF site and offered immediate services to address the issue. They have offered two project phases to isolate the east pond gate and determine what is wrong with it. Phase I The box culvert allowing water to leave the east pond and return to the AB Canal has an octagon shape (Figure 1). This makes it difficult to plug the culvert with a traditional round plug. Phase I would allow WWC to install a mud plug (block and concrete) structure within the culvert to completely isolate the pond (Figure 2). This may allow LCWA staff to pump the water level of the pond down and expose the gate structure for determining what has failed. The LCWA staff will monitor stability of the pond embankments during draw down to the best of their ability and prevent any physical damage (i.e. collapsing) of the slopes. Large trash pumps would be rented from third parties to draw the east pond down and send the volume of material to the west pond. Staff has authorized WWC to begin construction of the mud plug at a cost of $9,100. Staff is also receiving bids for the water pumps and vendors state they can have equipment on site the week of September 24 th to begin pond draw down.

24 If pond draw down is successful there may be no need for additional infrastructure to service the gate area. However, if LCWA staff feels the pond draw down would compromise the east pond embankments or experience heavy rain during Phase I then there will be a need to implement Phase II. Phase II Option A Sheet piles will not be required if the water level in the east pond goes down without issues and the water pump is able to keep it down without major effort to a depth allowing crews to enter the pond and work safely in the area. Any remaining sediment will need to be excavated from the work area and a water pump will need to remain in operation to maintain work area. Option B The LCWA will need sheet piles if the water level goes down, but not enough to perform the work around the gate safely and adequately. However, because of the work completed in Phase I, the water depth could be greatly reduced and smaller sheet pile material (15 to 18 long) could be used with a large excavator to drive the sheets into place around the work area creating a cofferdam. A cofferdam is a structure that retains water and soil that allows the enclosed area to be pumped out and excavated dry. Cofferdams are commonly used for construction of bridge piers and other support structures built within water. Again, WWC has been the most responsive to our situation and estimated the construction of the cofferdam to be $63,733. Staff is continuing to work with other contractors for Phase II to see if costs can be reduced and determine mobilization time frames to the site. Figure 1. Box culvert at east pond gate structure.

25 Figure 2. Aerial view of east pond and Phase I and Phase II of repair work. Executive Director s Recommendation: Authorize the Executive Director to implement Phase II work, if needed, for an amount not to exceed $75,000 to construct a cofferdam around east pond outfall gate.

26 Ron Hart, Water Resources Director DATE: September 11, 2018 SUBJECT: Change to the City of Umatilla s Stormwater Grant Action Item Change to the City of Umatilla s Stormwater Grant In March 2017, The Board awarded 100% funding for the City of Umatilla s $150,000 design and installation of a nutrient separating baffle box. The box was to be located next to a 7.7-acre basin that drains to Lake Umatilla (Figure 1). New Proposed 14.8-Acre Location 7.7-Acre Location Approved in Grant Figure 1. Old and New Basin Proposed for Treatment by Umatilla s Nutrient Separating Baffle Box.

27 In April, the City of Umatilla requested, and the Board approved, relocating the sediment box to a new location. Construction and installation of the sediment box has been completed. Recently, the City of Umatilla requested an additional change to their grant that would allow a portion of the remaining funds ($9,000) to be used to remove plants and organic sediments near the outfall pipe in the lake. The City has provided the attached document in support of their request. Executive Director s Recommendation: Authorize the City of Umatilla add the removal of plants and sediments to their existing stormwater grant agreement for an amount not to exceed $9,000.

28 Ron Hart, Water Resources Program Director DATE: September 13, 2018 SUBJECT: Lake Denham Acquisition Discussion Item Lake Denham Acquisition The Lake Denham Muck Farm lies adjacent to our agencies Flat Island Preserve. The farm consists of 344 acres of muck cropland, 407 acres of wetlands, and 18 acres of agricultural homesite and camp cabins. The farm is estimated to export 1,100 lbs of Total Phosphorus annually to Lake Denham and its associated Harris Chain of Lakes. Previously the Board has authorized staff to work with the St Johns Water Management District (District) in having the site appraised.

29 This month, the two appraisals and their review will be completed. Staff will forward these documents to the Board for consideration at this month s meeting. Should the Board desire to extend an offer to the owners, staff will work with our attorney to draft an offer with the appropriate contingencies. Executive Director Recommendation: Authorize the Director to extend an offer to the Calhouns for the purchase of the Lake Denham Muck Farm.