08-04-1983 Workshop Meeting
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CITY OF CLERMONT
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MINUTES
WORKSHOP MEETING
August 4, 1983
A Worskhop Meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held
Thursday, August 4, 1983 at Center Lake. The meeting was called to
order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Beals with the following Council Members in
attendance: Mayor Pro Tern Pool, Council Member Turville, and Council
Member Dupee. Other Officials present were: City Manager George Forbes,
James Modica from the Saint Johns Water Management District, and Eric
Coppenmeier from Lake County Aquatic Weed Control.
CENTER LAKE
Mayor Beals explained that the purpose of this meeting was to discuss
different solutions to aesthetically improve Center Lake in Clermont.
City Manager Forbes explained various alternatives for solving the weed
problem at Center Lake which have been discussed in the past. These are:
1. Draw down the lake to expose the muck. When thoroughly dry, a
bulldozer would scrape the lake bottom, and the muck would be
hauled to another site. This alternative has been rejected
because there is no convenient place to send the water being
drained from the lake, and in addition, this operation would be
very expensive.
2. Aeration has been discussed because it improves the circulation
of air throughout the lake and helps to breakdown organic materials.
It is particularly good for breaking down organic materials, but
is not of much use for inorganic materials. In addition, since the
lake is relatively shallow, it does not appear to have any aeration
problems; and aeration has been ruled out as a solution.
3. Grass Carp have been considered, however, the representative from
the Lake County Aquatic Weed Control stated that the City could
no longer obtain permits for the fish. It was believed that some
Grass Carp in the lake would help by eating the floating vegetation.
4. It was explained that many years ago a dragline had been used on
the lake and it had proven to be very beneficial for cleaning the
shoreline. However, a dragline would totally destroy all vegetation
along the shoreline.
Jim Modica of the Saint Johns Water Management District explained the benefits
of shoreline vegetation to the Council. The vegetation is actually good for
the lake, and even the cattails reduce nutrients and assist greatly with water
quality. He stated that he believed the water quality of the lake was fairly
good, largely because of the vegetation. He discussed that mowing the vegeta-
tion instead of pulling it out by the roots would also be beneficial for
good water quality.
5. The use of chemicals to control floating vegetation was discussed
in detail. The Council believed this was an expensive alterna-
tive if contracted out, since a one year program of control costs
about $2,000. Eric Coppenmeier discussed the problem, and stated
a chemical that the City already has on hand (Sonar) could be
approved for this use. Upon further discussion, it was decided
not to consider this alternative because the use of chemicals is
short term and would have to be repeated yearly, and at times
the lake is pumped into other water bodies.
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CITY OF CLERMONT
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MINUTES
6. The use of an aquatic mowing machine on the lake was discussed in
detail. This machine seems to overcome most of the objections to the
alternatives listed above because it would simply be harvesting the
weeds along the shoreline. It was the consensus of the Council that
the mowing of the cattails would be a sound idea, but that the City
should also do something about removing some of the ducks from the
lake. Each duck adds a tremendous amount of pollutants to the water,
equivalent to three times as much as one person. In other words, one
duck excretes coliform bacteria equal to three human beings.
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
It was the consensus of the Council to have the City Manager obtain bids
for the use of an aquatic mowing machine to clear weeds from Center Lake,
and present the information at a future Council Meeting.
/);~<-iL ;3.13h.i,
Ch~B. Beals, Mayor -
Attest:
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Wayn Saunders, City Clerk