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Item J6 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: August 15,2007 Division: Growth Management Bulk Item: Yes ~ No Department: Administration Staff Contact Person: Beth Bergh (x 2511 ) AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Approval of a grant task assignment with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to receive an $80,000 grant for the removal of invasive exotic plant species from conservation lands that are owned or managed by Monroe County. ITEM BACKGROUND: Monroe County has been awarded grant funds for invasive exotic plant removal from FDEP through the Florida Keys Invasive Exotics Task Force. This grant is for the State's FY 07-08 and is intended to build on the success of the FY 05-06 and FY 06-07 Monroe County grants that enabled the County to hire contractors to perform exotic removal on 81 parcels. The local match for the grant will be in the form of the Land Steward's time, use of Public Works' equipment and dump fees. PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: February 18, 2004 - Approval of 10 year FDEP contract PL-029 for funding to remove invasive exotic plant species. September 21,2005 - Approval of Task Assignment FK-061 under FDEP contract PL-029 which provided the County with $30,000 to contract the removal of invasive exotic plant species from County conservation lands. This task assignment ended June 15, 2006. July 19, 2006 - Approval of Task Assignment FK-073 under FDEP contract PL-029 which provided the County with $60,000 to contract the removal of invasive exotic plant species from County conservation lands. This task assignment ended June 15,2007. CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES: Relative to last year's task assignment, the grant award for this task assignment has increased from $60,000 to 80,000. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Approval TOTAL COST: $106,444 (grant + local match) BUDGETED: Yes ~ No Land Steward Salary & COST TO COUNTY: $26,444 (local match) SOURCE OF FUNDS: Env. Restoration Fund REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes No --X. AMOUNT PER MONTH Year APPROVED BY: County Atty. L OMB/Purchasing L Risk Management L DOCUMENTATION: Included x Not Required_ DISPOSITION: AGENDA ITEM # JUL-31-2007 01:37P FROM: TO: 7103 P.2/2 MONROE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS CONTRACT SUMMARY Contract with: FDEP Contract #_ PL029-FK-079 Effective Date: upon execution Expiration Date: June 15,2008 Contract Purpose/Description: Task Assignment # FK - 079. Contracted removal of non-native, invasive plant species from publicly owned conservation lands in Monroe County. Contract Manager: Beth Bergh 2511 Growth Management / 11 (Name) (Ext.) (Department/Stop #) for BOCC meeting on Aug 15, 2007 Agenda Deadline: July 31,2007 CONTRACT COSTS Total Dollar Value of Contract: $ 80,000 Budgeted? Yesr:8J No D Account Codes: Grant: $ 80,000 County Match: $ 26,444 (in kind) Current Year Portion: $ - - - - ----- - - - - ----- . - - - ----- - - - - ----- ADDITIONAL COSTS Estimated Ongoing Costs: $~yr For: (Not included in dollar value above) (eg. maintenance, utilities, Janitorial, salaries, etc,) CONTRACT REVIEW Date Out Division Director County Attorney 1~7 YesD No0' 1 -- .J.t, - Comments: OMB Form Revised 2/27/01 MCP #2 . . , T ASK ASSIGNMENT NOTIFICATION FORM DEP CONTRACT NO, PL-029 Task Assignment Number: FK-079 Date: July 12, 2007 Contractor Name: Monroe County 25't Contractor's Contract Manager: Elizabeth Bergh (305)~2511 Project Title: Monroe County Australian Pine DEP Contract Manager: Greg Jubinsky 850-245-2809 DEP Site Manager: Jackie Smith 561-791-4720 MA ID#: Task Description and Payment Schedule: Exhibit 1 describes the scope of work for this project. The Contractor is not authorized to perform work on any additional sites until such time as the DEP and the Contractor have fully executed a Change Order for said additional work. Any work performed by the Contractor contrary to this Task Assignment shall be at the Contractors expense. Contractor is allowed to subcontract. Task Assignment Conditions and Deliverables~ I. Control is defined as treatment effective in preventing re-sprout of treated target vegetation. 2. If 95% kill rate is not achieved for any area of the project after two months following project completion, one additional thorough treatment of the plant will be the responsibility of the contractor at no cost to the contracting entities. 3. The Contractor shall notifY the designated site manager prior to entering the work-site. 4. The Contractor shall provide written notification to the Contract Manager upon completion of treatment event(s). 5. Upon Site Manager approval, the Contractor is authorized to control incidental occurrences of any current EPPC category one or category two invasive exotic plant species encountered within the Project Site(s). Costs for these control operations shall not exceed the established Task Assignment amount, and must not jeopardize the Contractor's ability to achieve the required level of control for the primary target species. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to determine that all control operations do not exceed the established Task Assignment amount. Task Assignment Type: Task Assignment Term: Execution of task through June 15,2008 Cost Reimbursement Total Task Assignment Value Funding Information: Org. Code IE.O. 13710-2800-222 I 07 jObiect Code I 139904 IFund_ISpec. Cat. I I 102334 MONROE COUNTY Contract Manager Date ~~n'/~ Departme t DIrector r- Lt),/)7 Date MONROE COUNTY ATTORNEY APPROV AS T FOf\M: SUSAN M. G ASSISTANT COU Y ATTORNEY (;)~te '? - ~~ -o? cc: Gwenn Godfrey, Contracts Office (MS93) Contracts Disbursements Section (MS78) Amount Not To Exceed: $80,000.00 $80,000.00 IProiect # IYear I 029FK079 I 07-08 IAmount 1$80,000.00 FL DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 7/IJJo7 Date i,;)7 at lfy;w- DEP Contract No. PL-029, Task Assignment No. FK-079, Page 1 of 2 TASK ASSIGNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONTRACTOR: 1. Upon full execution of the Task Assignment, the Contractor will coordinate with the DEP Site Manager to establish a mutually agreeable work schedule. 2. A Ground Crew Supervisor, employed by the Contractor, will be present at all times when work on the site is underway; 3. Ground Crew Supervisors will be responsible for all control activities and safety on project sites. The Ground Crew Supervisor will assure contract crews are knowledgeable of, and remain within property and treatment boundaries. Every effort shall be made by the Contractor to avoid damage to native vegetation and wildlife; 4. Ground Crew Supervisors will be pesticide applicators possessing current certification by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) in the Forestry or Right-of-Way categories. A copy of each supervisor's FDACS certification will be provided to the DEP Site Manager prior to initiation of on-site supervisory duties; 5. The Ground Crew Supervisor may supervise a maximum of eight (8) field employees at any given time, unless otherwise noted in the Task Assignment; 6. The Ground Crew Supervisor shall be responsible for the collection, recording, and timely submission of all data and reports required. At weekly intervals and at the completion of initial treatments and site reassessment, a complete report will be submitted to the Site Manager detailing sites treated, number and size of plants killed, and type of treatment used, This data will be recorded on the DEP "Daily Progress Report Form". 7. The Contractor will strictly adhere to all herbicide label application, precautionary, and safety statements; 8. All control efforts (except cogon grass treatment) shall be at least 95% effective in preventing re-sprout of treated target vegetation. If 95% kill rate is not achieved for any area of the project after two months following project completion, one additional thorough treatment of the plant species listed under "Project Goals" in the project area will be the responsibility of the Contractor at no cost to the DEP; 9. Cogon grass treatments shall be 100% effective in killing above ground portions (top kill) of target vegetation. If 100% top kill rate is not achieved for any area of the project after 30 days following project completion, one additional thorough treatment of the plant species listed under "Project Goals" in the project area will be the responsibility of the Contractor at no cost to the DEP; 10. The Contractor shall forward an original invoice along with all corresponding Daily Progress Report Forms, completed and approved. to the Bureau of Invasive Plant Management, 3915 Commonwealth Boulevard, MS 710, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 within ten (10) working days of work completion; RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEP SITE MANAGER: 1. The Site Manager reserves the right to inspect, at any time, the Contractor's procedure, spray system(s), spray solution(s), and other ancillary equipment, and to approve operating personnel. Inspection, however, will not relieve the Contractor of any obligations or responsibilities nor will it transfer any liability to the lands listed under "Project Location."; 2. No additional work can be added to this Task Assignment without a fully executed Change Order. Additional work includes additional treatment areas or change in treatment methodology. 3. The site management agency authorizes Bureau of Invasive Plant Management staff to approve invoice payments of all funds encumbered under this Task Assignment. Payment will be approved only for that work approved by the Site Manager. A copy of the approved invoice will be forwarded to the site management agency. DEP Contract No. PL-029, Task Assignment No. FK-079, Page 2 of 2 Exhibit 1 Project Title: Monroe County Invasive Exotic Plant Control Contractor Grant (2007-2008) Working Group: Florida Keys Invasive Exotic Plant Working Group Site Manager: Beth Bergh Monroe County Land Steward 2798 Overseas Highway Marathon, Florida 33050-2227 Phone: (305) 289-2511 Cell: (305) 304-4442 Email: bergh-beth@monroecounty-fl.gov Grant Type: Sub-contract; cost reimbursement Project Goal The project goal is the eradication of invasive exotic vegetation, including Australian pine (Category I, II - Casuarina spp.), Brazilian pepper (Category I - Shinus terebithifolius) and other Category I invasive plant species, from publicly owned conservation lands in Monroe County. Project Description This project will build on the success of the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 Monroe County grants by allowing the County to hire contractors to remove Australian pine (I, II - Casuarina spp.), Brazilian Pepper (I - Shinus terebithifolius) and other Category I & II invasive plant species as authorized by the Site Manager from publicly owned conservation lands in Monroe County. The project will remove stands of exotic vegetation that are either too large or located too close to improvements (such as power lines, roads, and houses) to be safely removed by the Land Steward and the Invasive Exotic Plant Control Technicians. Project Location Lands in this project will consist of public conservation lands located throughout the Florida Keys either owned or managed by Monroe County (as the Board of County Commissioners or the Land Authority). Monroe County owns approximately 2,000 acres of scattered conservation lands throughout the Florida Keys. Additionally, Florida Forever, the State's land acquisition program, has recently purchased hundreds of parcels within the Florida Keys for conservation purposes. The County will be the managing agency for many of these parcels, several of which require invasive exotic removal work. The 2007-2008 project will target sites within the remaining untreated conservation lands owned or managed by the County in the Lower, Middle, and Upper Keys identified below. Upper Keys North Key Largo Key Largo Tavernier Plantation Key Upper Matecumbe Middle Keys Long Key Duck Key Grassy Key Crawl Key Fat Deer Key Lower Keys Big Pine Key and No Name Key Big, Middle, and Little Torch Keys Ramrod Key Summerland Key Cudjoe and Sugarloaf Keys Big Coppitt Key Boca Chica Key Key West DEP Contract No. PL-029, Task Assignment No. FK-079, Exhibit 1, Page 1 of6 . ' Exhibit 1 Most individual parcels are only 0.1 acre in size, but many are contiguous and combine to form much larger management units. All properties are public lands that Monroe County intends to manage in perpetuity for conservation and natural resource protection. Represented in these conservation lands are coastal beaches, buttonwood wetlands, rockland and maritime hammocks, and pine rockland. These areas provide habitat and resources for a myriad of wildlife, resident and migratory birds, and endemic plant species. The invasive exotic plants that invade these areas decrease habitat value and lower biodiversity. Just a few of the state and federally listed endangered and threatened species of animals and plants that utilize these habitats include: green turtles (Chelonia mydas), eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon cora is couperi), key mud turtle (Kinosternon baurii), piping plover (Charadrius melodus), white- crowned pigeon (Columba leucocephala), Key Largo cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola), Lower Keys rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri), Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium), Blodgett's wild mercury (Argythamnia blodgettii), locustberry (Byrsonima lucida), silver palm (Coccothrinax argentata), and Garber's spurge (Chamaesyce garberi). Work Specifications The contractor will remove the exotic vegetation from designated conservation lands under the direction of the Monroe County Land Steward and in cooperation with the Exotic Plant Control Technicians. Work performance will consist of the contractor furnishing all labor, herbicides, diluents, small equipment, transportation, spray equipment, etc. and all operations necessary to control the exotic vegetation as described in the Project Goals section. Monroe County Public Works or a County contractor will provide heavy equipment (clam truck, dump truck, etc.) as required to remove and dispose of vegetative debris and to coordinate site cleanup as needed. Daily work logs recording date, name of site, and hours of work along with other data will be maintained by the Land Steward. Monroe County will submit invoices to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Bureau of Invasive Plants, for subcontract reimbursement for activities based on the work logs. The exotic vegetation will be removed and stumps treated according to developed effective control techniques. The vegetation will be chipped on site and either distributed on site in an environmentally appropriate manner or removed from the site. Decisions regarding specific plant treatment methods on each site will be approved by the Land Steward. Most treatment sites are expected to naturally re-vegetate with native species without artificial seeding or planting. However, severely degraded sites (such as sites with a thick mat of acidic pine needles) and those with distant native seed sources will be followed up with site preparation and planting of natives with funding from Monroe County's Environmental Land Management and Restoration Fund. Every effort shall be made by the contractor to avoid damaging native vegetation or disturbing wildlife. Data Collection The Land Steward will be responsible for overseeing contractors and conducting field work and keeping daily work logs. Work logs will record date, morning and afternoon weather conditions, name of site, specific location on site, hours of work, species treated, estimates of species abundance in each work location, treatment method, herbicide, DEP Contract No. PL-029, Task Assignment No. FK-079, Exhibit 1, Page 2 of6 Exhibit 1 concentration, and amount applied. Logs will be used for final report preparation and will be monitored by entering spatial information with attributes into a GIS database to track management activities on all county-owned conservation lands. Public Education/Outreach The Land Steward will coordinate discussions with neighbors and neighborhood associations prior to contractor work to explain the purpose and importance of the work. The Land Steward will work in partnership with The Nature Conservancy's invasive exotic program, which has been effective in fostering awareness of the invasive exotic plant problem and recruiting adjacent private landowners to allow volunteer exotic plant eradication efforts on their property. Proiect Time Frame The project will begin as soon as funding is available and conclude by June 15, 2008, with the Monroe County Land Steward providing a comprehensive final report to accompany the final invoice for cost reimbursement to the FDEP Bureau of Invasive Plants no later than June 22, 2008. Due to weather constraints, it is envisioned that most of the work will occur during the eight-month period from October to June. DEP Contract No. PL-029, Task Assignment No. FK-079, Exhibit I, Page 3 of 6 , . Exhibit 1 I- I I i ~s ~ -, .~"""", r- r --,,~ r .... -- . , ! ~ ~ I .' I- DEP Contract No. PL-029, Task Assignment No. FK-079, Exhibit 1, Page 4 of6 Exhibit 1 I- I ~G J:.' -- J :;--,. I~ ii ~ , & I ~ v f?;. _'l< J ~ _n~" :" -, ~ DEP Contract No. PL-029, Task Assignment No. FK-079, Exhibit 1, Page 5 of6 . '. Exhibit 1 l f,.}O,.,. , ~~,\r ,...:;.- .~ ~. I .~'. i. \.4": II II !s r: Q - I~ la ( / ~ --i ~ \~ DEP Contract No. PL-029, Task Assignment No. FK-079, Exhibit 1, Page 6 of6