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HomeMy WebLinkAboutArt In Public Places Board - Minutes - 03/21/2022 AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR Monday, March 21, 2022, 5:30 – 8:00 pm via Zoom 03 /21 /22 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:32pm 2. ROLL CALL • List of Board Members Present − Karen Artell- Chair − Wayne Chuang − Jason Miller − Greg Boiarsky − Mark Houdashelt − Dan Welsh • List of Board Members Absent − Greg Clark • List of Staff Members Present − Cassie Archuleta, Staff Liaison − Nick Heimann, Active Modes Specialist − Honore Depew, Climate Program Manager • List of Guests − N/A 3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION a. No public comment 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES b. Wayne moved and Greg B seconded a motion to approve the February AQAB minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously 6-0. 5. PREVIOUS BUSINESS a. Air quality outreach and engagement position − Cassie mentioned there is a new position open for the City of Fort Collins Air Quality Team in outreach and engagement. It closes March 30th. AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 03/21 /22 – MINUTES Page 2 b. The EPA grant application submission deadline is Friday, March 25th. c. There have not been any updates from the oil and gas team. They are attending the City Council meeting on March 22nd. Karen will monitor the meeting. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Active Modes Plan − Nick Heimann, Active Modes Specialist, provided an overview regarding development of an Active Modes Plan, which will combine and update the 2011 pedestrian and 2014 bicycle plans. Nick shared the plan, vision, and goals. He also asked for feedback on the draft bicycle network. − Vision: “Active transportation is an integral part of daily life and the local cultural experience. Fort Collins is a place where walking, biking, and using other active modes are safe, accessible, convenient, joyful, and desired by people of all ages and abilities.” − Goals include network connectivity; access; safety and comfort; heath and equity; and community culture − Top destinations noted by community includes Fort Collins City Park, Walmart near North Lemay, Lincoln Middle School, and King Soopers near North College Avenue. − There has been a significant amount of engagement with the community through workshops, online surveys, web maps and focus groups. Respondents expressed concern that there is a gap/disconnect in the network or they do not feel safe using active modes in the following areas: o Walking – North, Northeast, and Central/South o Biking – Northwest, East/Northeast, and Central o Skating/scootering – Northwest, North, and South − The plan includes different types of bikeway facilities and spot improvements − Review draft plan in May or June and final plan in July. Anticipated City Council adoption in August (after meeting, updated to September). − You can provide feedback on current areas being considered and create new points of interest on an interactive map at www.fcgov.com/walkbikeplan AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 03/21 /22 – MINUTES Page 3 − Discussion − Nick will find out if this will be the only chance to give feedback and if they will want a recommendation from the Board for City Council. − There was also discussion on the map legend and a recommendation to also use patterns for better access to those who have a color vision deficiency. − The Board expressed concerns for the following: o Intersection of Riverside and Lemay o Seneca St and surrounding cul-de-sacs near Johnson Elementary and Webber Middle School o Crosswalks near Prospect and Lemay o Winter maintenance and snow removal b. Our Climate Future − Honore Depew, Climate Program Manager, shared updates on implementation of the Our Climate Future (OCF) plan and received input on proposed community engagement, including for the Council Priority to explore climate emergency messaging and reviewed community climate goals. − Targets as community o 20% carbon emission reduction below 2005 levels by 2020 o 80% carbon emission reduction below 2005 levels by 2030 o Carbon neutral by 2050 − Big moves: o Better together – shared leadership and community partnership; zero waste neighborhoods; and climate resilient community. o Live Better - Convenient transportation choices; live, work, and play nearby; efficient emission-free buildings; healthy affordable housing; local, affordable, and healthy food. o Resource better- healthy local economy and jobs; and zero waste economy. AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 03/21 /22 – MINUTES Page 4 o Breathe better- healthy natural spaces; 100% renewable electricity; electric cars and fleets. − If everyone is to benefit from these efforts, we must intentionally put people at the center of the work. We can’t get there alone, and “engagement” is not enough. There is power in community leadership. − There is a City Council work session on April 12th. − Discussion − Greg was concerned about the term ‘climate emergency’, as an emergency is a response for something that has already happened and can be overwhelming. − Karen asked if they are receiving opinions from and involving the youth in the City, specifically middle and high schoolers. Honore stated they have been meeting with the Youth Advisory Board and have had youth focused ambassadors but will make sure that is part of the next round of engagement. − Mark suggested when this is presented to Council, emphasize quick action is critical due to the importance of the amount of carbon that will be emitted between now and when reaching our targets. He also feels like the plan is a lot less specific than the original plan. He is worried that we might still be wondering how to hit the 2030 goal. o Honore stated that staff needs to do a better job to communicate this (OCF) is not a lowering of commitment or backing away from the importance of carbon mitigation efforts. Centering equity in climate work means providing benefits in the daily experiences of residents and businesses, while reducing emissions and waste, to ultimately broaden and scale up our results in a transformational way to reach 2030 goals. There is a polarity in local climate work between moving fast to match the urgency of the moment and working inclusively and equitably to ensure the transition benefits all. o Greg suggested building on what people can do now in small, easy, and local ways that are part of the bigger plan. o The importance of a community aspect was stressed throughout the Board. If those actions tie in more community wide with neighbors it would bring a bigger impact, be longer lasting, and help build community. o Honore stated that is why it shows up front and center in the OCF Big Moves. This reflects what people in the community want to see when they envision the future. This is not to replace or back off quantifiable GHG goals, but to AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 03/21 /22 – MINUTES Page 5 recognize the interconnected nature of strategies and place value on improving resilience and equity outcomes while we also address the primary greenhouse gas, renewable energy, and waste goals − Honore will send slides, webpage, and invitation to the Our Climate Future event to be held on March 31st. 7. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Mark mentioned issues with the City’s building code regarding air quality. This includes post mitigation radon testing and gas stoves leaking methane. o Post radon mitigation testing was voted to be removed from the plan by builders serving on a technical review committee. There will be another opportunity to bring additional recommendations to Council. Karen is interested in researching more about these issues to see what the best recommendation would be. Greg recommends focusing on methane leaks and sources. Cassie wonders if it would be easy to incorporate this into the Healthy Homes assessment as it is a more accessible assessment for low-income households and relativity low cost. Cassie will research having someone that worked on the code come give a debrief and to go over what is still missing. • The EPA Grant will be submitted by Friday, March 25th. We would be notified of approval a few months before the work would start in the fall. The City of Fort Collins is leading the application process, with CSU proposed as the lead investigator. The Center for Environmental Justice at CSU would lead on outreach events, workshops, engagement on understanding air toxics, and risk communications. The City and County want to form an Air Quality Monitoring Advisory Board. This is something they may start working on with or without the grant. Cassie suggested a brainstorming session with the AQAB regarding how the Board might see the advisory committee coming together. • Mark had a question about a APCD ozone presentation – why are VOCs and NOx dropping on charts, and the ozone stays constant? Wayne’s understanding is there is a meteorology component that affects ozone values. It does not show a distribution of ozone throughout the year. This modeling is the best way they can predict what could happen in the future based on an average case in the past. For modeling, a year is chosen that has more typical meteorology, activity, and conditions. • Dan reminded the board that Air Quality week is May 2nd-6th. 9. OTHER BUSINESS • 6-month Calendar Review − Interest shown in Poudre School District connections, radon testing and mitigation AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 03/21 /22 – MINUTES Page 6 requirements, building code updates, gas stove conversion, RAQC updates on ozone modeling and SIP planning. • Agenda Planning − Board elections will be held in April 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 pm.