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RVCA General Meeting

Recap

Commissioner Ben Sorensen addresses the meeting audience

t the most recent RVCA Meeting on April 21st, RVCA President Lori Sterling & Residents For Resilience founder Suzee Bailey
Commissioner Ben Sorensen, Suzee Bailey and
ATricia Halliday with Residents for Resilience, Mike
Lambrechts with Coastal Conservation Association Florida,
and Jeff Maggio “Lunkerdog”, presented and spoke about
the city’s water quality issues and challenges. In their
discussions, they covered a multitude of solutions that are
being evaluated and implemented.
Currently, the city is working with Mike Lambrechts and
CCA on planning for mangrove planting in various areas
and CCA is also set to begin another oyster study, this
time on the New River, with a larger goal of creating large
scale oyster reefs in permitted locations to enhance natural
filtration and restore some estuarial characteristics that our
waterways originated as. Suzee Bailey is leading efforts
with top universities to implement living seawalls, shoreline
enhancements, and other solutions to promote natural
habitat and filtration.
Commissioner Sorensen was complimented on his
leadership and efforts in bringing groups of experts
together and bringing more awareness of the dire
condition of our waterways and the urgency to do more
to alleviate some of these issues. Mike Lambrechts spoke
in depth about the City’s new Chief Waterways Officer
position, set to be filled any day now, as a key fixture to
direct and manage water quality projects, buckle down
on compliance and enforcement for bad actors polluting
the waterways, and to be a thoughtful community leader

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