District 5 – Harmony Fire Station 54 - August 18, 2009

Richard Earp presented the Stormwater Program Presentation.

Osceola County Employees in attendance included:
- Iris Soto (Administrative Support Coordinator)
- Linda Tolete (County Manager Administrative Assistant)

Resident Concerns:
Q: How much credit will be given for stormwater facilities?
A: Credits vary based on land use type; however the credit policy and percentages may change in the future. Currently, the credits are as follows:
-  Agricultural, Forest, Parks, 1%
-  Single Family Residential & Mobile Homes, 8%
-  Multi-Family Residential, 15%
-  Institutional, Military, Governmental Facilities, 10%
-  Industrial, 9%
-  Commercial, 19%
There is also an additional 4% credit for water quality.

Q: Will there be an opportunity for an exemption if, for example, you have 3,000 square feet of impervious surface on 15,000 acres?
A: Based on feedback from many of the Public Outreach meetings, we are going to take into consideration this and other scenarios where we may be able to provide additional credit or potential exemptions.

Q: If I live on a non-subdivision acreage parcel, what would the fee pay for?
A: The only fee you would be assessed would be the base fee, which would pay for maintenance of the primary drainage system.

Q: How does this program better the system?
A: The program will establish a more proactive methodology of maintaining our stormwater systems. The program will help establish a regular inspection cycle for the stormwater systems throughout the County, including ponds and structures. The program will also establish a maintenance cycle for the primary drainage system in the County, so all ditches, canals and other types of conveyances are serviced regularly and more frequently than the current program.

Q: Will any of the money pay for cleaning county-owned ponds?
A: The portion of the stormwater assessment that is collected for structure maintenance, mowing and aquatic weed control within county owned and maintained ponds will be used for that specific purpose. Each subdivision will be assessed based on the acreage of mowing and pond area and frequency of mowing. Ponds that are part of the primary drainage system may be cleaned using the base fee.

Q: What are the different tiers for assessment?
A: There is a base fee for maintenance of the primary drainage system. The next assessment is for structure maintenance for subdivision ponds. The structure is the large, concrete box that regulates the flow of water out of the pond. The last tier is the mowing and aquatic weed control. The structure maintenance and mowing and aquatic fees are ONLY assessed to those subdivision ponds which are owned and maintained by the County. If your pond is privately maintained, then you will NOT be assessed these fees (only the base fee).

Q: How long has there been a Stormwater Program in place?
A: The stormwater program has been in place, at various capacities for ¬¬¬¬nearly 10 years. However, Road & Bridge maintenance of the stormwater systems has been around much longer.