Meeting Minutes

The City of Monroe Commission on Environment and Water Quality MINUTES January 9, 2020 7:00 pm, 1st Floor Conference Room

published: June 3rd, 2020

Call to Order: Chairman Egen called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm

Members Present: A roll call of members was taken and a quorum was present.

Richard Micka

Dan Stefanski (via phone)

Milward Beaudry

Brian Egen

Andrew Felder

Butch Uhl

Barry LaRoy

Excused:          Ed Kane

Guests:            Melanie Foose, EGLE AOC Coordinator

Approval of Agenda – Motion by Micka, Seconded by Beaudry, motion passed.  Stefanski abstained.

Approval of minutes from December 12, 2019 meeting – Motion by Micka, Seconded by Beaudry, motion passed. Stefanski abstained.

2019-2020 PAC Support Grant: Discussed PAC Support Grant potential tasks with EGLE input.  Items discussed are:

  • Adopt-A-River-as a fundraising effort, use to clean sections of the river
  • Interpretative Sign Maintenance-redesign & replace panels
  • Boat / Overlay-either purchase or receive a donated boat & overlay with RR Legacy logo, use for parades, cleanups, etc for outreach
  • 1 Hour RR Film on PBS-3 phases (beginning, middle, end), suggest ½ hr with grant on 1st film, history & community, last ½ hour (future grant) on where we are and future outlook
  • River Raisin posters-describe current AOC monitoring, identify goals, work done/projects, talk to peers, suggest having one geared toward peers & one for public
  • Homeowner’s Guide & Field Guide-mesh the two documents into a new document with updates, revisions, new info, plan on City staff time & print
  • Speaker Event / Podcasts-Speaker panel, podcast, experts speak on podcast program (like Youtube with Audio onlyJ), distribute to different interfaces, consider an honorarium approach (i.e. $500) to have speaker/expert on board, possible speakers include EGLE, academia, EPA, MPS personnel.
  • Sticker Program-Oval examples provided, suggest using RR and toting facts such as “crookest river”, put RR Legacy website on them, using features with old State Map with City of Monroe as a star on the map, other suggested wording includes “I Support RR (i.e. downtown business windows) & “Remember the Raisin”, use clings instead of stickers for removal & reuse ease.
  • Riverwalk fencing-DDA Partnership using Riverwalk Concept plan, retrofit sections as a demonstration project with a design fence to meet all partner & grant needs, fencing is a barrier to the river such that EGLE will not approve this option.
  • Waterproof lanyards/phone/wallet bags-put RR Legacy logo & fun facts on them, develop them toward a fisherman use, put history of AOC & facts on them
  • Historic Marker-long duration to develop, longer grant is good option to complete, need to wait until delisted before developing the marker, however PAC grant funds won’t be available once delisted.
  • Fun Day with River Cleanup-consider a combined or separate event, suggest a kayak race with a reward, record event, food later in day so as to premiere the RR film, possible food trucks, NPS use of kayaks, have a full day event
  • Stairway from Riverwalk into the river-needed for aiding in gaining access to river
  • Save-the-Date-post cards mailed for events/river cleanup, define audience or area to send to, costs include City staff to develop, print, postage
  • Maintain RR Legacy website-ongoing maintenance cost for site
  • Sturgeon or Fish Festival-consider bringing students to river and catching a fish, consider talking to Monroe Public School Lake Erie outreach center for this effort one day & next day have the festival
  • From Ed Kane via Email: Riverwalk permanent fishing pole mounts on posts, additional benches for fishing.

Discussion occurred on these tasks on funding options including PAC grant, corporate partners, & other grant options.  COTE will attempt to review / define these tasks further & price them so as to submit an application.  The PAC grant max awarded is $75,000 through February 28, 2022, max per year is $35,000, $5000 is the minimum award.  A PAC support letter with COTE motion / approval is required as well.

COTE Ordinance: Briefly discussed the section of the COTE ordinance that may need to be recommended to City Council to be amended, decided to leave ordinance wording as is, no recommendation at this time.

Future Topics: Reoccurring Items – Life After Delisting and Non PAC Support  Projects

EGLE Items:

  • Past trapper (for mink) @ Ford Warehouse to obtain tissue samples was unsuccessful, requested to do mink trapping again, but no luck. Requested a local trapper to gain access daily.  Briefly discussed PAC Support grant. SPAC meeting tentative March 2020, need sponsors for rooms & ideas, COTE suggested Rep Bellino

Members Time:

Uhl-none

Felder-none

Micka-mentioned the Detroit River wall collapse & Army Corp of Engineers input, noted expected rain this upcoming weekend is 1”~3”, hopes City and other agencies are prepared, beach areas to be affected.

Milward-none, had to leave @ 8:48 pm

LaRoy –Mentioned 2020 Flowering Rush spray grant, forwarded IWR meeting mintues to COTE, discussed the NOAA grant opportunity-Feasibility & Design Study to establish fish habitat along RR adjacent to public properties complementing all AOC work done.

Egen-Mentioned RR Film @ Thunderbay International Film Festival, Alpena, MI on 1-25-2020, RR film will be @ 1pm for Q&A

Stefanski–Good luck with rain event

Citizen Comments: None

Adjournment: 9:02 pm a motion made by Felder, Seconded by Micka to officially end the meeting.  Stefanski abstained.

The City of Monroe Commission on Environment and Water Quality MINUTES December 12, 2019 7:00 pm, 1st Floor Conference Room

published: January 28th, 2020

Call to Order: Chairman Egen called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm.

Members Present: A roll call of members was taken and a quorum was present.
Richard Micka
Dan Stefanski (via Phone)
Milward Beaudry
Brian Egen
Andrew Felder (7:02 PM)
Ed Kane
Butch Uhl
Barry LaRoy
Guests: Emmaline Felder

Approval of Agenda – Motion by Kane, Seconded by Felder, motion passed, Stefanski abstained.

Approval of minutes from October 10, 2019 meeting – Motion by Beaudry, Seconded by Kane, motion passed, Stefanski abstained.

2019 PAC Grant: Grant document released 12-10-19. Document is not competitive, no match required, timeframe to complete the projects is March 31, 2022, no deadline to submit. Letter of Support from PAC is required with similar project task grant proposal language in the past is fine. Funding range can’t exceed $75K over the grant timeframe, no more than $35K/year, minimum grant amount is $5K. COTE brainstormed ideas including: a boat for outreach functions, possible boat donation from Cabelas with funding to overlay it for COTE; update / print Raisin posters, update & mesh home owner guide with field guide & print; Speaker(s) event within City Council chambers for partnership building; sticker program for RR Legacy including printing them; maintaining website; develop a mascot for COTE (i.e. Richard G. Muskrat or sturgeon); State Historic Marker, placemats, citizen scientist option, discussed partnering with the DDA on potential projects including decorative guardrails. Mill Race Park discussed but determined to be more recreation related. Chairman Egen assigned a task for each member to come back with at least 1 item for discussion at the next meeting.

COTE Ordinance: Reviewed & discussed the COTE ordinance. COTE to discuss at next meeting on potential language change for recommendation to City Council on amending.

Future Topic Items: Discussed this item that will be placed on the agenda going forward. The item is for COTE members to bring items of potential

COTE input and or action, to record into the minutes, vetting and discussion for COTE to decide whether to take on as a COTE task in relation to the COTE responsibilities. Logistics on how to implement related scenarios were discussed.

EGLE Items:
Port of Monroe Landfill and Army Corp of Engineers Navigational Dredging discussed via
email from EGLE. Also discussed the old Revere Copper and Brass site seawall collapse
that occurred in November 2019.

Members Time:
Micka-none
Felder-none
Uhl-none
Kane-question on how to go about reporting dumping in his neighborhood into rear yard
drainage structures. Discussed taking pictures and reporting to Environmental Health, Drain
Commission and Monroe Township.
Beaudry-none
Kane-Noted picture in Monroe News of a young man (Vincent Sanders) who caught a 40” salmon
while on a trip to Manistee, his favorite place to fish is in Monroe on the Riverwalk.
Stefanski–Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
LaRoy–discussed meeting at SEMCOG with Michele Selzer & Adaptive Management Approach
plan that will be sent to COTE for input in 2020.
Egen-State of OH is spending funds (appropriations) on addressing HAB in Lake Erie, OH has
changed their laws & are now appropriating funding. Suggest MI consider the same approach
for municipal action. Noted that election for Chairman of COTE is open if any COTE member is
interested. After discussion a motion was made by Micka, supported by Kane to nominate Brian
Egen to be Chairman of COTE, Stefanski abstained.
Citizen Comments: none

Adjournment: 8:30 pm a motion made by Felder, Seconded by Kane to officially end the meeting,
Stefanski abstained.

The City of Monroe Commission on Environment and Water Quality MINUTES October 10, 2019 7:00 pm, 1st Floor Conference Room

published: January 28th, 2020

Call to Order: Chairman Egen called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

Members Present: A roll call of members was taken and a quorum was present.

Richard Micka

Dan Stefanski

Milward Beaudry

Brian Egen

Andrew Felder (7:06 PM)

Ed Kane

Barry LaRoy

Absent: Butch Uhl

Guests:            Melanie Foose, EGLE, Meaghan Kern, USEPA Region 5

Approval of Agenda – Motion by Stefanski, Seconded by Beaudry, motion passed.

Approval of minutes from September 19, 2019 meeting – Motion by Beaudry, Seconded by Stefanski, motion passed.

2019 Flowering Rush Spray: The 2019 spray occurred on September 30th.  Notices were mailed & each property was field marked.  Per the consultant (Aquaweed) they are pleasantly surprised at how the invasive species (flowering rush, purple loosestrife, etc) have reduced in density and area.  COTE will work with our CISMA on securing funding / opportunities to spray in 2020.  5.6 acres total sprayed in 2019, in 2018 over 12 acres were sprayed.

Great Lakes Restoration Celebration: Openings for the event on 10-18-19 are still available via the weblink provided.  Event will be at the Henry Ford in Dearborn 8am-12:45 pm.  Chairman Egen is coordinating a Model T tour/ride after the event.  River Raisin has projects included in the booklet.  A Raisin AOC update will be provided by COTE / PAC members.  Raisin AOC pull-up banners will be on display as well.

2019 PAC Grant: Funding for EGLE (pre-award and whole amount) received.  New departmental structure is slow with different requirements/reviews/etc. Not likely to receive an RFP, but guidance with limited to no timelines to accomplish PAC grant project tasks.  Project spring 2020 for guidance, not competitive.  Letter of Support from PAC is required with similar project task grant proposal language in the past is fine.  Funding range will be $20K~$30K.  COTE brainstormed some ideas including: a boat for outreach, functions, possible boat donation from Cabela’s with funding to overlay it for COTE; update / print Raisin posters, update & mesh home owner guide with field guide & print; Speaker(s) event within City Council chambers for partnership building; sticker program including printing them; maintain website; develop a mascot for COTE (i.e. Richard G. Muskrat or sturgeon); State Historic Marker-discussion on Lake Erie marker @ sterling state park.

EGLE Items:

  • Participated in PAC Support Grant above, No SPAC meeting upcoming. Discussion on upland Ford Project (PCB cleanup), handled by Mannik & Smith Group for Ford in accordance with TSCA. Some upland PCB results found were 1500 ppm.  Meghan Kern, USEPA noted that if 2020 test results are similar to past results TSCA may on their own obtain their own sampling to aid in resolving this issue.

Members Time:

Micka-Questions for Meaghan Kern (TFL) on management actions completed to remove BUIs, Ford upland investigation, Chuck Pinter (Ford).  Had general questions on bow thrusters affecting the CAP in Port, sent slide 16 from Mike Alexander’s ppt, noted Port contractor (DRM) information and a story.

Felder-none but wanted to discuss items after meeting

Beaudry-MPACT now has podcasting capabilities, RR AOC story is an option

Kane-Noted picture in Monroe News of a young man (Vincent Sanders) who caught a 40” salmon while on a trip to Manistee, his favorite place to fish is in Monroe on the Riverwalk.

Stefanski–none, will miss Nov meeting and be in Florida thereafter until spring 2020.

LaRoy–Update on PFAS info on Ford site.

Egen-noted the Great Lakes Restoration Celebration at the Henry Ford.

Citizen Comments: none

Adjournment: 8:21 pm a motion made by Stefanski, Seconded by Beaudry to officially end the meeting.

The City of Monroe Commission on Environment and Water Quality MINUTES September 19, 2019 7:00 pm, 1st Floor Conference Room

published: October 11th, 2019

Call to Order: Commissioner Stefanski called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm, Stefanski filled in for Chairman Egen (Egen entered meeting at 7:03PM).

Members Present: A roll call of members was taken and a quorum was present.

Richard Micka

Dan Stefanski

Milward Beaudry

Brian Egen 7:03PM

Andrew Felder

Ed Kane

Butch Uhl

Barry LaRoy

Guests:            Melanie Foose, EGLE, Lee Schoen, EGLE, Mike Alexander, EGLE, Justin Richards, Resident/Student, Stephanie Jourdan, Resident

Approval of Agenda – Motion by Felder, Seconded by Beaudry, motion passed.

Approval of minutes from August 8, 2019 meeting – Motion by Micka, Seconded by Felder, motion passed.

River Raisin Sediment Remediation Year 2 Post-Monitoring Update:  Mike Alexander, EGLE, presented the Year 2 Anchor QEA presentation that was provided in February 2019, results of the Year 2 post NAPL CAP construction report.  There are some surprises from the Year 2 monitoring.  A fish survey is expected in 2020.  Activities included: Bathymetric Survey results, Sediment probing, Surface Sediment Sampling (SSS) results, Semi-Permeable Membrane Device (SPMD) results, and Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) results.  The 1997 “hotspot” is close to the NAPL location.  Year 3 sampling is being done in which a similar report will be forthcoming in 2020.  The overall testing results appear verify thus far that the CAP in intact & is working, there may be some erroneous installation with the probes based on the results and analysis, the results are inconsistent/inconclusive, the 2019 data will validate the 2018 findings.  A possible upland leaching of PCB may be occurring, a cleanup project started in September that may last a year to address these finds the last 2 years of high results just downstream of the NAPL along the shore.  Mostly 2’+/- additional sediment has filled across the NAPL, it varies in depth.  SSS results stable/about the same as year 1, TOC & PCB correlation to be developed.  SPMD testing in 9 locations, all recovered but 3 moved during the sampling.  The SPMD results near the north shore adjacent to NAPL is elevated in which the small cleanup hopes to address.  It may be a possible 1997 staging/storage leaching location, RCRA is funding the cleanup.  SPME results showed elevated Total PCB increased, likely erroneous after evaluating a sensitivity analysis.  2019 sampling enhanced to interact more with divers/procedure.  Conclusions are 4 of 5 have good data, SPME results unexpected, CAP testing results don’t indicate it’s a failure, need more data, need local fish data (2020), year 3 sampling ongoing, Raisin AOC is still an AOC, bentonite is needed per Micka.

2019 Flowering Rush Spray: The 2019 spray is scheduled for the week of September 30th.  Notices have been mailed & each property will be field marked.  Overall the invasives are reduced such that it appears from COTE and the consultant that the annual spraying is working.

AOC Conference-Cleveland, OH: Keith Grasman, bird reports (Herring Gulls) were bad news from conference, population of birds decreased, increased PCB levels, productivity is a little better, they are still immune depressed, increased contaminants in birds & tree swallows, bald eagles have less contaminants.  Outreach sessions were excellent, national geographic and others including Chairman Egen were on a panel discussion looking ahead at the AOC recovery story/documentaries.  Raisin AOC documentary video was shown along with Muskegon’s video.  Thanks to Melanie Foose (Foot), EGLE for assistance with the event and panel. 340 people attended.  Great Lakes Watershed Map and other posters provided during poster sessions.

EGLE Items (via email):

  • PAC Support Grant – EGLE funded by EPA such that PAC grant RFPs will be coming in the future. Will work to have Meghan Kern, USEPA to attend a COTE mtg.

Members Time:

Micka-5 year plan to cleanup nuclear waste in Oregon, OH, Art Fair is this weekend.

Felder-thanks to EGLE for update, weed ordinance passed on 9-17-19, climate rally on 9-20-19 at Custer Statue (ad hoc)

Uhl-none

Beaudry-none

Kane-none

Stefanski–none

LaRoy–Update on PFAS found in potable water system

Egen-Great Lakes Restoration Celebration at the Henry Ford invite was emailed out, room still available.

Citizen Comments: Justin Richards, question on weed ordinance

Adjournment: 9:04 pm a motion made by Stefanski, Seconded by Felder to officially end the meeting.

The City of Monroe Commission on Environment and Water Quality MINUTES August 8, 2019 7:00 pm, 1st Floor Conference Room

published: October 11th, 2019

Call to Order: Chairman Egen called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm

Members Present: A roll call of members was taken and a quorum was present.

Dan Stefanski

Milward Beaudry

Brian Egen

Andrew Felder

Ed Kane

Butch Uhl

Barry LaRoy

Excused:          Richard Micka

Guests:            None

Approval of Agenda – Motion by Stefanski, Seconded by Beaudry, motion passed.

Approval of minutes from July 11, 2019 meeting – Motion by Beaudry, Seconded by Stefanski, motion passed.

2019 River Cleanup (MDEQ Volunteer River, Stream, & Creek Cleanup Program Grant):  The cleanup is scheduled for August 10th, 9am to noon.  Meeting point is Veteran’s Park.  Discussed the zones & access points for the cleanup, logistics for access, cleanup, signs, zone leaders, potentially downtown and requirement to cleanup debris collected before Art Fair & Jazz Festival, selected zone leaders, centralizing debris for pickup, getting pictures, no woody debris to be collected or removed, fire dept assistance for medical standby & either them using or providing a boat, discussed release forms for recording the event.  Other items discussed were the maps, sign-in sheets, event info, T-shirts, gloves, trash pickers, advertising, food, drinks, raffle items, bags for collecting debris, & community service verification forms.  Access points are IHM Riverhouse, Roessler Field, YMCA, Veteran’s Park, Waterloo Park (County Park) and Worrell Park (Cranbrook).

Future PAC Support Grants: Discussed future PAC Support Grant potential items with EGLE in the process of obtaining federal funding.  Some items include stickers with downtown businesses-pro-river & provide them stickers, potential buy-in contribution, adopt a zone for a river cleanup, approaching private entities including fish charters, possibly redo the homeowner’s guide & mesh with some field guide topics & branding, a historical marker may need to wait until we are closer to delisting-will need to hear from Mike Alexander of EGLE for the year 2 sampling, possibly fireworks downtown as an outreach and or a COTE boat & trailer with branding for outreach-can bring to events, fair parade, use for cleanups, etc.

EGLE Items (via email):

  • PAC Support Grant – EGLE is at the end of their 3 year cycle & need to structure/finalize the workplan. Request COTE to develop tasks & wording so it’s ready to go once the grant request comes out.

Members Time:

Uhl-none

Kane-none

Milward-none

Felder-welcomes Butch as a COTE member

Stefanski–Looking forward to cleanup on Saturday-will be good event & weather

LaRoy –Mentioned 2019 Flowering Rush spray timeline & use of glyphosate

Egen-Witnessed an Osprey dive bombing into river behind his home

Citizen Comments: None

Adjournment: 8:08 pm a motion made by Felder, Seconded by Stefanski to officially end the meeting.