PRESENTER: Presenter
Greg Malatek, Director of Public Works
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of New Braunfels and Comal County Water Recreation District #1 regarding the reimbursement for the construction of a permanent silt fence and authorizing the City Manager to execute the Memorandum of Understanding.
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DEPARTMENT: Public Works
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Over the past two decades, biologists with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP) have noted that areas in Landa Lake that previously held high-quality habitat for the Comal Springs Riffle Beetle, an endangered species endemic to the Comal Springs system, has been covered over by sediment moving down the slope of the western bank. In a collaborative project with USFWS, EAHCP, the Comal County Water Recreation District #1 (CCWRD), and the City of New Braunfels, a silt retention fence is to be constructed on private property near Spring Island in Landa Lake. This silt fence is designed to limit sedimentation from the slope along the western bank of Landa Lake into the portion of the Landa Lake shoreline where the prime habitat was previously observed. This project is the first phase of a larger project to restore this high-quality habitat area. This first phase aims to limit future sedimentation into the habitat restoration area before removal of the existing sediment begins. The second phase will consider the removal of accumulated sediment from the lakebed, shoreline, and spring orifices that is covering the Riffle Beetle habitat.
This project is 100% funded by the USFWS and EAHCP. This MOU outlines the payment to CCWRD by the City of New Braunfels for the construction of the permanent silt fence where the full amount is to be reimbursed to the City of New Braunfels by the EAHCP.
ISSUE:
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☐Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☒Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☐Community Well-Being ☐N/A
This project supports the natural resources the City of New Braunfels is well known for and aims to extend the likelihood that the endangered species found in Landa Lake will continue to thrive in the future.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost of the project is not to exceed $118,764 and will be reimbursed 100% by the EAHCP.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommendation to approve a MOU between the City of New Braunfels and the CCWRD #1 regarding the reimbursement for the construction of a permanent silt fence and authorizing the City Manager to execute the MOU.