MEMORANDUM
Members, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly
THRU: Dale Bagley, Borough Mayor
Max Best, Planning Director
Scott Holt, Finance Director
FROM: John Mohorcich, Kenai River Center Manager
DATE: December 22, 2004
SUBJECT: Resolution 2005-007: Accepting $12,283 from the Kenai Watershed Forum to fund implementation of the Kenai River Habitat Protection Ordinance
This resolution accepts funds from the Kenai Watershed Forum for reimbursement of expenses incurred in FY03 and FY04.
For two years the Kenai Peninsula Borough, through its staff at the Kenai River Center, conducted a baseline resource inventory on anadromous streams located on the Kenai Peninsula. The identified streams are regulated under KPB Ordinance 21.18, which establishes a 50-foot Habitat Protection Area on each side of the stream.
In the spring of 2002, the borough contracted with a local air service to fly a fixed wing aircraft over the designated streams. Staff used digital video and still images in developing the baseline data. In preparation of each flight, staff collected and inventoried GIS mapping which included vegetation information, soils information, ownership information, and any documented development. The overflight images provided additional information regarding erosion and sediment active areas, vegetation information, and development information such as the number, type, and use.
In the summer of 2002, after the flights were conducted, staff prioritized areas to conduct field inspections. Through 2002 and 2003 staff conducted field inspections, which included additional digital photographic documentation, field measurements of developments and proximity to each stream, any associated floodplain and any adjacent wetlands. Staff conducted site visits of no less than 20 parcels per stream, to well over 80 parcels on certain streams. Staff completed the transfer of the field digital images to electronic records stored on a Kenai River Center database.
These funds would reimburse the borough expenses incurred in this project.