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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-05-10May 10, 2012 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page 1) An adjourned meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on May 10, 2012, at 12:00 noon, to participate in the Rivanna River Basin Commission’s Tour de Stormwater. The tour began at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Performing Arts Center (Charlottesville High School), then traveled to Greene Community County Park, then to Library Avenue in Downtown Crozet, and ended back at Charlottesville High School. This Board meeting was adjourned from May 9, 2012. PRESENT: Mr. Christopher Dumler, Ms. Ann Mallek and Mr. Duane E. Snow. ABSENT: Mr. Kenneth C. Boyd, Mr. Dennis S. Rooker and Mr. Rodney S. Thomas. The meeting was called to order at 12:05 p.m., by the Chair, Ms. Mallek. __________ Following is a brief synopsis of the m eeting: The Tour de Stormwater educational stormwater tour was organized by the Rivanna River Basin Commission (RRBC), an entity of local government, of which Albemarle County is a part. Albemarle County has two elected representatives to the RRBC (Mr. Duane Snow and Mr. Dennis Rooker) and one appointed citizen (Ms. Lizbeth Palmer). Ms. Mallek, Mr. Snow, and Mr. Christopher Dumler were present for the tour, which started at the Charlottesville High School at 12:00 p.m. Ms. Mallek reconvened the meeting of Albemarle County Board of Supervisors at 12:05 p.m. (a quorum of the Board was not present). Mr. Marvin Moss, Chair of the Rivanna River Basin Commission, then opened the RRBC meeting. The purpose of the tour was to showcase three of the four stormwater best management practices (BMP) that were funded in part by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to the RRBC and its local government partners. Each stop was designed to highlight a different aspect of stormwater management. Ms. Leslie Middleton, Executive Director of the RRBC, and Mr. Dave Hirschman, Program Director for the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP), were leaders of the tour. Staff members from each locality where stops were made along the tour (Charlottesville, Greene County Community Park, and Crozet Stormwater Wetlands) provided information about the specific BMP and stormwater management in general. Presentations on the Charlottesville High School Bioswale were provided by project partners: Mr. Dan Frisbee, Stormwater Program Coordinator, City of Charlottesville; Dr. Teresa Culver, Associate Professor, UVa Civil & Environmental Engineering; and Mr. Rick Wellbeloved-Stone, Environmental, Ecology and Earth Sciences Teacher, Charlottesville High School. The bioswale adjacent to the Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center collects rainwater runoff from approximately four acres of parking lot and the adjacent neighborhood and treats the runoff by filtering it slowly through engineered soil and native plantings. The excess is discharged to piping that routes the clean water to the stream below the high school athletic field. Part of the project required monitoring the effectiveness of the biofilter, and RRBC worked with UVa's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (with the initial set-up and study coordinated by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission). The bioswale has been found to remove 60% to 90% of the nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment and reduce excessive and harmful flows to the receiving stream. In addition, there is a rooftop rainwater harvesting system that collects rainwater from the roof of the Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center and stores it in tanks for use in irrigating the adjacent athletic fields. Attendees boarded a chartered bus at approximately 12:50 p.m. and travelled to the Greene County Community Park in Stanardsville, Virginia, where the RRBC project funded the design of a large linear biofilter that collects and treats rainwater runoff (stormwater) from a large adj acent parking lot, the adjacent soccer fields, and the impervious surface of the rooftop of a newly constructed comfort station. The biofilter was designed by the Center for Watershed Protection with project funds, constructed with project funds, and planted with native plants and shrubs using volunteer help from the Greene County Ruritans. The group also toured a small stream restoration with adjacent riparian buffer plantings installed downhill from the biofilter that slows the water velocity and is decreasing stream-bank erosion. Discussions about these BMPs were led by Mr. Carl Schmitt, RRBC and the Greene County Ruritans; Ms. Stephanie Golon, Greene County Planner, and Mr. Hirschman, Program Director, Center for Watershed Protection. The tour departed the Greene County site at approximately 2:45 pm and travelled to Crozet. At the Crozet Regional Stormwater Wetlands construction site, there was a presentation and discussion led by Mr. Gregor Patsch, Albemarle County Water Resources Engineer; and Mr. Greg Harper, Water Resources Manager, about the project, which has been designed to collect and treat current and future stormwater runoff from downtown Crozet. This project has been funded by Albemarle County, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and the RRBC NFWF grant, and is a creative solution to encouraging in-fill development in Crozet by managing the stormwater offsite. The stormwater will be treated in a series of wetlands cells that run adjacent to Powells Creek. The site will provide native habitat for flora and fauna and have walking trails for local visitors. At 3:30 p.m., the tour participants boarded the bus for Charlottesville, and returned to the Charlottesville High School, where participants disembarked. May 10, 2012 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page 2) At 4:00 p.m., Ms. Mallek adjourned the meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and Mr. Moss adjourned the meeting of the Rivanna River Basin Commission. _____ In addition to the above-listed Board members, the following persons were in attendance: Mr. Julius Bates, Greene County Parks and Recreation Director Mr. J. Robert “Bob” Brame, III, Culpepper Soil and Water Conservation District Director, RRBC Treasurer Dr. Teresa Culver, University of Virginia Civil & Environmental Engineering Associate Professor Mr. Dan Frisbee, City of Charlottesville Stormwater Program Coordinator Mr. Jim Frydl, Greene County Board of Supervisors, RRBC Vice Chair Ms. Stephanie Golon, Greene County Planner Mr. Greg Harper, Albemarle County Water Resources Manager Mr. Dave Hirschman, Center for Watershed Protection Mr. Mac Lafferty, Albemarle County Planning Commissioner Ms. Jessica Lassetter, RRBC Program Development Coordinator Ms. Danielle Martin, RRBC Summer Intern Mr. Brendan McIntyre, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Ms. Leslie Middleton, RRBC Executive Director Mr. Marvin Moss, Fluvanna County, Appointed Citizen, RRBC Chair Mr. Timothy Padalino, Nelson County Planner Dr. Liz Palmer, Albemarle County Citizen Mr. Gregor Patsch, Albemarle County Water Resources Engineer Mr. Andrew Pompei, Fluvanna County Planner Mr. Richard Randolph, Albemarle County Planning Commissioner Ms. Kristel Riddervold, City of Charlottesville Environmental Administrator Mr. Carl Schmitt, Greene County Mr. Jeff Sitler, University of Virginia Ms. Dede Smith, City of Charlottesville Councilor Ms. Natalie Wilson, NBC29 Reporter Mr. Rick Wellbeloved-Stone, Charlottesville High School Environmental Ecology and Earth Sciences Teacher ________________________________________ Chairman Approved by Board Date: 08/01/2012 Initials: EWJ