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Home My WebLink AboutAIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD - MINUTES - 11/18/20241 11/18/2024 - Minutes Air Quality Advisory Board REGULAR MEETING Monday, November 18, 2024 – 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Room 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:30 PM 2. ROLL CALL ● Board Members Present – • Dan Welsh (Chair) • Mark Houdashelt (Vice Chair) • Adam Schmidt • Michael Cheeseman • Jeremiah Gorske • Kaori Kyser • Michael Johnson (arrived late) • Maria Moore (arrived late) • Matt Ayres (arrived late) ● Board Members Absent – ● Staff Members Present – • Selina Lujan de Albers, Staff Liaison ● Guest(s) – • Rob Cagen • Dave Tenney 3. AGENDA REVIEW No changes. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Rob Cagen stated he previously chaired the Parks and Recreation Board, previously served on the Air Quality Advisory Board, and is interested in possibly seeking another Board position. Dave Tenney commented on environmental noise pollution, which he stated is a form of air pollution, and stated he is seeking a position in which he can share his experience. 2 11/18/2024 - Minutes 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – OCTOBER 2024 Members discussed changes to the minutes. Schmidt made a motion, seconded by Gorske, to approve the minutes of the October 2024 meeting as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. NEW BUSINESS ● 2025 Annual Work Plan Chair Welsh reviewed the changes he made to the Work Plan and members discussed preferred wording and content changes. Vice Chair Houdashelt made a motion, seconded by Johnson, to approve the 2025 Work Plan as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously. ● Public Outreach Interest Statement Chair Welsh stated Moore and Schmidt spoke with Assistant City Attorney Ted Hewitt which prompted a response from City staff with some questions about the Board’s intentions with conducting education and outreach. He added that he drafted a statement to address those questions; however, after further discussion, it was determined a Code change would be required to grant the Board permission to conduct education and outreach, which must be done by City Council. Additionally, Chair Welsh noted Councilmember Ohlson requested an unrelated meeting with the Chair of the Boards to which he is a liaison. Chair Welsh stated there seems to be broad support among members to pursue getting permission to conduct education and outreach efforts and noted the topic could be broached with Councilmember Ohlson at the upcoming meeting. Moore commended the draft statement written by Chair Welsh. Vice Chair Houdashelt asked if the statement is meant to go directly to Council without answering the questions posed by staff. Chair Welsh replied his thought was to take the statement to Councilmember Ohlson to determine his thoughts first given that the questions from staff would be moot if Council does not support making the change. Schmidt noted there is a Code section that already calls out other Boards that are allowed to do this kind of work and the goal would be to add the AQAB to that list. Moore asked about the activities of other Boards that have the ability to do public outreach. Lujan de Albers replied outreach efforts are program specific and stated she would gather more information. Lujan de Albers noted the City has recently hired an education and outreach specialist. Chair Welsh commented on the ways in which the Board could provide education and outreach and noted it is currently the job of the Board to advise Council, which may include advising that there is a lack of education and outreach and engagement of the public at large, regardless of who provides the education and outreach. Vice Chair Houdashelt noted the Natural Resources Advisory Board includes a 3 11/18/2024 - Minutes responsibility to promote citizen participation and public education on citywide natural resources and environmental protection issues and asked members if they would support the inclusion of a similar statement. Moore expressed support for that statement. Lujan de Albers suggested a statement such as that could possibly be placed in the Work Plan. A board member stated there should be a foundation on how to educate in a constructive manner if that is a goal of the Board, which is a difficult task. Moore read the prepared statement from Assistant City Attorney Hewitt which states ‘the Board may also promote citizen participation and public education on citywide air quality issues.’ Chair Welsh noted the inclusion of that language would still require a Code change. Members discussed possible changes to the statement prepared by Chair Welsh to take to Councilmember Ohlson. Lujan de Albers noted the statement, if submitted on behalf of the Board, would need to be in an official format and voted upon by the Board. Chair Welsh suggested more of an informal approach to the conversation with Councilmember Ohlson followed by a more formal letter if he expresses support or interest. Lujan de Albers recommended the Board take a vote specifically on allowing Chair Welsh to share the statement with Councilmember Ohlson. Schmidt made a motion, seconded by Gorske, to approve Chair Welsh addressing this topic with Councilmember Ohlson. The motion was adopted unanimously. Chair Welsh thanked the Board for their support and asked if there are other topics or ideas members would like him to share at the meeting. 7. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Michael Cheesman commented on working with the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Group in Boulder to organize an outreach and networking event in the spring for people interested in air quality in the Front Range. Matt Ayers reported on COP29 having a CSU delegation. A board member asked about the City regulations on commercial woodfired ovens. Moore replied they are allowed. Chair Welsh stated there are statutory regulations around indoor wood burning in the seven county Boulder/Denver area and Fort Collins has a nuisance smoke ordinance for backyard outdoor firepits. Vice Chair Houdashelt stated a group with which he volunteers met with the City’s climate team and noted the climate tax dollars for next year have not all been allocated and it is likely they will try to accelerate spending and grant funding and develop specific plans for the use of the funds for the next five years. Additionally, he noted Council will be considering building performance standards at a work session in January and stated staff would be willing to talk to the Board again if it is interested in developing a letter of support. 4 11/18/2024 - Minutes Lujan de Albers noted, if passed on Second Reading, the City budget will include funding for two new positions specifically dedicated for the coordination of the Our Climate Future refresh which will also include a strategic funding plan for the 2050 climate tax. Chair Welsh provided an update on the Air Quality Monitoring Advisory Committee’s upcoming meeting which will be a participatory event with an artist who does installations around air quality. Lujan de Albers noted the Board must switch from Zoom to Teams in January. She asked if the Board would like to have a holiday celebration in December and noted Vice Chair Houdashelt is still serving in an interim position. Vice Chair Houdashelt stated he would be happy to give up the position if another member is interested. Lujan de Albers stated the Board could vote at its next meeting. Lujan de Albers requested members provide any desired meeting topics for the coming months. 8. ADJOURNMENT ● 7:47 pm Minutes approved by a vote of the Board on 12/16/2024