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Commissioner Zorc mentioned that when the IRFWCD was created, the land was <br />primarily agricultural, but it has evolved over time; he wanted to know how much agricultural <br />activity remains, and what the other land uses are. <br />Vice Chairman Davis advised that the Board would need to find out if it is legal and an <br />appropriate expenditure for the IRFWCD to be concerned about water quality versus drainage. <br />Commissioner O'Bryan wanted to ask Federal and State legislators to designate specific <br />funding earmarked for Central and North Lagoon projects, so the counties can tap into those <br />monies as projects develop. <br />Vice Chairman Davis wanted to see funding for sewer improvements in Sebastian, which <br />would help both the economy and the environment. He discussed the lack of utilities (sewer) in <br />portions of the North County, and the importance of having a centralized system that is backed <br />up by a generator, to keep sewage out of the Lagoon in a power outage. He mentioned that <br />entrepreneurs are often deterred from launching a business because of the expense of hooking up <br />to the force main sewer system. <br />Commissioner O'Bryan suggested conducting research to find the specific areas where <br />the septic isotope is leaching into the drainage ditches, so that a defensible decision can be made <br />to convert the septic tanks to sewer. <br />Commissioner Zorc estimated that a $7 million allocation might be sought from the <br />State/Federal allotment for water improvement projects, with perhaps $4 million for TMDL <br />mitigation; $2 million for sewer enhancements in key areas; and $1 million for additional <br />testing/monitoring, or some formula thereof. <br />County Administrator Joseph Baird advocated the sewer improvements, stating that they <br />accomplish both environmental and economic development initiatives at once. <br />November 5, 2013 27 <br />BK 144 PG 536 <br />