MINUTES BROWARD COUNTY MARINE ADVISORY COMMITTEE PARKS AND RECREATION DIVISION THURSDAY- MARCH 1, 2018 I II CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL - Appointment of Richard Pfenniger and Rossana Petreccia to the Marine Advisory Committee. Members: Ron Anania Cliff Berry Allan Burrows Mark Ercolin Peter Grady Debera Hallmark James Harrison James Mathie Rossana Petreccia Richard Pfenniger Clive Taylor Anita Walker Barry Webber Daniel Yaffe Staff: Guest: John Fiore, Staff Liaison Linda Thompson, Broward County Parks & Recreation Division Sgt. Todd Mills Fort Lauderdale Police Department Dayna Bhaggan Fort Lauderdale Police Department James McEntee Pompano Beach Power Squadron Sgt. Rick Shawver Wilton Manors Police Department Sgt. Frank Pilewski Wilton Manors Police Department Sgt. Sean Gerber Hollywood Police Department Officer Rob Marren Hollywood Police Department Sgt. Chris Keating Hallandale Beach Police Department Dep. Steve Salach Broward Sheriff s Office - BSO Capt. Daniel Jackowski Broward Sheriff s Office Lt. Dave Fernandez Broward Sheriff s Office Leslie Cedeno Broward Sheriff s Office Sgt. Paul McCormick Lighthouse Point Police Department Bob Knight TAC Lt. Jim Pugliese Hillsboro Beach Police Department 1
III IV PUBLIC COMMENTS- None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Yaffe asked for a motion to approve February 1 st, 2018 agenda. Debra Hallmark made the motion accepting February 1 st, 2018 MAC Minutes and Allan Burrows seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously V VI VII CORRESPONDANCE- NONE OLD BUSINESS- Manatee Weekly Surveys - Mr. Fiore reported that there were approximately 25 manatee sightings earlier in the week. It appears that due to the warm weather, all the manatees left the County and went up to northern Florida. NEW BUSINESS- Five Minute Presentation of FY 2018/2019 EMLEG Applications by Applicants, followed by questions from MAC Members. City of Wilton Manors - Sergeant Rick Shawver and Detective Frank Pilewski were present and said that the Wilton Manors Marine Patrol Unit has nine police officers that do marine patrols. The Marine Unit is funded by the EMLEG grant and the City of Wilton Manors. The officers work city hours for water patrol, special events, and holiday hours. Marine Patrol officers patrol the waterways, boat ramps, parks and interact with the citizens. Time spent interacting with citizens includes the distribution of Broward Safe Boating Guide to help keep the waterways safe for the city. They are requesting $37,168 in EMLEG funding to cover four (8) hour weekend shifts per month and four (8) hour afternoon patrols plus 5 holidays for a total of 808 hours of waterway patrols. Mr. Ercolin asked if it was the same amount as last year. Sergeant Shawver stated it was the same. Mr. Anania asked about utilization of the previous funds. Sergeant Shawver stated that it was down to 46%. Detective Pilewski stated that there have had staffing issues. Currently, the department has 32 sworn officer positions, however, they are down 3 officers. Capt. Taylor asked about the miles of canals and marinas that are covered. Sergeant Shawver replied that there are 8 miles of river and canals but no marinas. Mr. Ercolin volunteered to review the Wilton Manors Application. Pompano Beach Power Squadron - Both Mrs. Walker and Mr. Pfenniger stated that they will be filing a conflict of interest form as they are involved in the Power Squadron. 2
Mr. James McEntee was representing the Power Squadron and said that they are for educating the public about boating safety. The Squadron has been focused on marketing to get more participants. The largest amount of EMLEG money goes to print advertising in the Sun Sentinel, the Deerfield Observer, and the Pompano Pelican. Last year, combined readership of the three newspapers is roughly 500,000 people a week. In Broward County, 28 percent of the residents can see the ads. They are also educating the public via online advertising and social media. The marketing of their safe boating campaign has increased participation since 2015 by 58 percent. Mr. Mathie asked about the demographics of students and if they were using Comcast? Mr. McEntee replied that it s mixed with 1/3 of families, ¼ single male adults, ¼ couples, and the rest older adults. Currently, they only advertise their classes in print and social media. Mr. Mathie volunteered to work with the Pompano Beach Power Squadron. City of Margate No application was submitted. City of Lighthouse Point Sgt. Paul McCormick was representing the City of Lighthouse Point, which is a small community with 13 miles of inland waterway and shares the Intracoastal Waterway with Hillsboro Beach. Their usage was down last year due to serious patrol boat engine problems. Since then both motors have been replaced. Sgt. McCormick has stated that they have nine officers trained for the marine patrol. The grant is split on weekends and holidays and evenings. They are asking for $54,560 this year, which includes $2,000 to send officers to the marine law enforcement classes. Mr. Yaffe asked when does the Department expects to have the police boat up and running. Sgt. McCormick stated that it has been fixed and is use. Mr. Webber asked if the hourly rate was amended. Mr. McCormick stated yes. Ms. Hallmark volunteered to review the Lighthouse Point Application. City of Hollywood - Sergeant Sean Gerber and Officer Rob Marren presented Hollywood s EMLEG Application. Last year their usage was 99.3%. Officers were sent to the Marine Law Enforcement Classes for the past few years for the purpose of utilization for the grants. They are short staffed and stated one officer uses their 3 boats. The City is asking for the same amount of grant funding as last year to continue to provide services as per the EMLEG requirements. Mrs. Walker stated that the other departments should take note of how Hollywood is using their funds and have increased the usage of their EMLEG funds, even though they also have had short staff issues. Their usage numbers went from up 76% in 2016 to 99.3% in 2017. 3
Mrs. Walker volunteered to review Hollywood s Application. Town of Hillsboro Beach - Lt. Jim Pugliese spoke on behalf of the department. He stated that there are 18 officers and 12 are marine trained. The areas are patrolled as long as they have the manpower. They are surrounded by Deerfield Beach to the north, Lighthouse Point to the west, and Pompano Beach to the south. They patrol 3.2 miles of the Intracoastal Waterway with a 29 Contender patrol boat. Last year, they were able to buy new engines. The department depends on the EMLEG program assist in providing funds to continue their marine patrols and to provide marine training for their officers. They are asking for the same amount from last year in the amount of $30.336. In FY 2016/2017 they had a decrease in usage due to staffing and equipment issues. Mr. Yaffe volunteered to review the Town of Hillsboro Beach s Application. City of Hallandale Beach Sargent Chris Keating was advised to come last minute to attend the MAC meeting and did not have the specifics of the Grant Application. Hallandale Beach is not asking for an increase in funding. They are asking for the same amount as last year. They use the EMLEG funds for patrolling the Intracoastal Waterway and for educating boaters. Mr. Germano volunteered to review the City of Hallandale Beach s Application. City of Fort Lauderdale - Sergeant Todd Mills stated that they are a full time unit that consist of seven officers in two squads. The squads are split to cover the waterways accordingly. They have one public service aide who is entitled to work the grant as well. The Department has new boats and equipment to assist in their daily operations. The grant usage was low due to personnel changes. They plan to have more officers work the grant this year. Once officers are properly certified, they will increase usage and coverage. They have FTO training for part time and full time officers. Another factor for decrease usage was due to Hurricane Irma where the Marine Unit officers were working 20 hours straight after the storm. This depleted the number of officers available to work EMLEG. Special events also contributed to for decrease of usage. Sergeant Mills suggested the board change their shift time requirements to help with coverage availability. They are requesting $152,696 for 3,276 additional hours and two officer to attend the Marine Law Enforcement Class. Mr. Taylor asked how many miles the waterways cover and he stated approximately 300 miles. Website says 165 miles waterways and seven miles of ocean coastline. Richard Pfenniger volunteered to review Fort Lauderdale s Application. 4
Broward Sheriff s Office - Captain Jackowski was present in the absence of Sergeant Weirder due to a death in his family. Broward County has the authority to patrol all waterways in the County. BSO is asking for more money while working less fewer hours. The BSO unit was audited last year and a change of command was implemented. New maintenance procedures were added along with adding another mechanic. They are looking to fix issues with their equipment. Internal issues for the EMLEG was due to the availability of hours, staffing, and equipment. They are asking for ways to add enticing incentives to make the officers comply and work extra hours. The grant is important to get deputies to man the waterways and maintain boating safety. Fort Lauderdale mentioned their officers work 10 hour work days and gives officers 3 days off. This may work and BSO is willing to give it a try to help with hours. Captain Jackowski is also requesting an increase in the hourly rate from $46 to $57 for the officers to ensure coverage. Mr. Fiore stated that if the MAC gives a rate increase to one organization, then it must give to all. If done, it would cost an additional $176,000. To do that would require eliminating most of the Aggressive Hours. Mr. Fiore stated that some changes were made in the past to improve hour usage. Included were: 2 boats on patrol during the weekends and holidays in the Zone XI (Everglades). In Zone XII (freshwater canals) patrols are necessary during the daytime in the summer, but not the winter time and at night. The Everglades is unique and Mr. Fiore have been communicating with BSO about the hours and the need of adequate coverage. Two boats are allowed to patrol Zone XI at the same time for 12 hours a day for safety. Captain Jackowski reminded Mr. Fiore of the $2,000 to fund the purchase of 200 PFD s for child safety. Mrs. Walker states that units are using approximately 75%. Mr. Harrison volunteered to review BSO s Application. Broward County/Marine Law Enforcement Training Class - Mr. Fiore spoke on behalf of the Broward County/Marine Law Enforcement Training class request for $14,000. This will provide training for 14 officers from the seven participating EMLEG agencies. Some agencies applied and others didn t. Staff will include the training in their FY 18/19 Agreements. This year the training will be basic marine police training and will include wake and speed violation training. Mr. Bob Knight from Tactical Advantage Consultants, Inc. said that their staff is comprised of marine law enforcement officers with many years of training. TAC has provided the marine training for Broward County since 2013. Rosanna Petreccia volunteered to review the Marine Enforcement Law Training Application. 5
Broward County Parks and Recreation Division made a request to the MAC to submit an Emergency Request to review a BBIP Application for Deerfield Island Marina Boat Dock Replacement Project out of the normal submission period. Mr. Fiore stated that the BBIP rules does allow emergency procedures for projects to be taken out of sequence. Deerfield Island and The Florida Inland Navigation District have been working for number of years to replace the boardwalk at the park. In previous year, we did not receive funding for the boardwalk; however, this year funding was granted in a partial amount. Additional funds were needed to finish the boardwalk project which happed in November, but was after the BBIP application submission date. The County is proposing a 120 floating dock, with a 30 x 30 gangway. The existing docks, at low tide are too steep and dangerous to climb. In addition, they are not ADA compliant. Navigation inside the facility is also difficult. The proposed dock will be in compliance with ADA and will be more usable for the smaller boats which use the marina. The Parks and Recreation Division is asking for $125,000 and it will be matched with a $125,000 grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District for a total project cost of $250,000. The County plans on bidding for design, permitting, and installation in one contract. Allan Burrows made a motion to for the MAC to allow the project to be accepted out of sequence and that the Committee vote on the project at the April 2018 meeting The Motion was seconded by Mr. Ercolin and passed unanimously Mr. Fiore gave an update on the actions of the Florida Legislature concerning commercial airboat regulations and anchoring limitations in Hollywood. VIII IX X XI XII XIII CHAIR S REPORT- Broward County Municipal Marine Summit. Mr. Fiore stated many members of law enforcement were in attendance. A total of 54 people attended the Summit this year. Chair Yaffe thanked the City of Deerfield Beach for hosting the Summit. Mr. Fiore also publicly thanked them for providing the location, food and beverages. COAST GUARD REPORT- None DANIA BEACH MAB REPORT Clive Taylor made a brief report on their last meeting. DEERFIELD BEACH MAB REPORT- None FT. LAUDERDALE MAB REPORT- None HOLLYWOOD BEACH MAB REPORT- Mentioned attending the Summit 6
XIV XV POMPANO BEACH MAB REPORT- None LIASON S REPORT- Mr. Fiore went over the MAC Attendance Record. He also informed the Committee that the 41 ST Annual Waterway Cleanup would be held on March 3 rd, 2018 XVI MAC MEMBER COMMENTS Mrs. Walker announced the Pompano Beach Power Squadron was having their next Boating Safety Class graduation would be on March 8 th. Mr. Yaffe asked if anyone else had any additional comments. Mr. Pfenniger stated that one of the teachers that was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting was the husband of Debbie Hickson. She is a coordinator for the Marine Magnet program at South Broward High School. Mr. Pfenniger suggested that we send a card from the MAC with their condolences. Mr. Pfenniger made a motion to send the sympathy card. Allan Burrows seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. XVIII ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 3:17 p.m. 7