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Home My WebLink AboutAIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD - MINUTES - 03/17/20251 3/17/2025 - Minutes Air Quality Advisory Board REGULAR MEETING Monday, March 17, 2025 – 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Room 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:30 PM 2. ROLL CALL a. Board Members Present – • Dan Welsh (Chair) • Mark Houdashelt (Vice Chair) • Adam Schmidt • Michael Cheeseman • Jeremiah Gorske b. Board Members Absent – • Michael Johnson • Matt Ayres • Maria Moore c. Staff Members Present – • Selina Lujan de Albers, Staff Liaison • Julia Feder, Natural Areas Department d. Guest(s) – • Matt Tribby, PRPA • Jeffrey Bauer • Christina Swope 3. AGENDA REVIEW No changes. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – FEBRUARY 2025 Members discussed changes to the minutes. Cheeseman made a motion, seconded by Chair Welsh, to approve the minutes of the February 2025 meeting as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. PREVIOUS BUSINESS a. Review recommendations for the Large Methane User Fee study Vice Chair Houdashelt stated the Natural Resources Advisory Board is receiving a presentation on this topic at its next meeting, though the AQAB does not have time for that in its schedule. He stated the fee would be 2 3/17/2025 - Minutes charged to the largest users of methane in the city, and as a fee, it could be approved by City Council without a city-wide vote. Additionally, the fee revenue must be used by the people who pay the fee to help reduce their methane use. Vice Chair Houdashelt provided members with a paragraph he wrote indicating the Board has received information on the proposed fee, but does not have enough information to endorse it; however, the Board believes it merits further consideration and recommends Council direct staff to examine a potential fee and report back to Council with findings. Schmidt asked about the timetable for evaluation of the proposal. Vice Chair Houdashelt replied there will be a push in April from various groups to attend Council meetings to propose the fee. Chair Welsh expressed support for sending the memo to Council as it is simply a request for further investigation. Members made edits to the memo wording. Gorske made a motion, seconded by Cheeseman, to send the memo to City Council. The motion was adopted unanimously. (**Secretary’s Note: Vice Chair Houdashelt noted this will be Gorske’s last meeting as he is leaving the Board due to an employment and work schedule change. He noted Council will need to officially appoint a new member. Members thanked Gorske for his service.) 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Natural Areas Strategic Framework – Julia Feder, Natural Areas Conservation and Stewardship Planning Manager Julia Feder, Natural Areas Conservation and Stewardship Planning Manager, noted the draft Natural Areas Strategic Framework is open for public feedback until March 31st. She noted the Framework is the overarching 10-year guiding plan that intends to set the vision, values, and goals that feed into the ongoing management planning and action efforts. Feder noted Natural Areas uses a zone-based management approach and there are six zones which are updated on a rolling basis. She commented on the public outreach and community engagement efforts for the Framework and discussed some of the results that are specific to air quality, including conserving land and water, leveraging partnerships to improve ecological conditions and address climate-related risks, safely accessing nature near home, and leveraging partnerships to improve trail connectivity both locally and regionally. Feder noted the outreach included discussions with historically underrepresented groups. Feder stated the revised vision for the Framework is “Thriving Ecosystems for a Greater Fort Collins Community.” The associated values include service, resource protection, partnership, connectivity, health and wellbeing, integrity, ecological function, and belonging. The Framework’s four goals are: conserve and protect land and water, strengthen habitats and ecological 3 3/17/2025 - Minutes resilience, support access to nature, and foster community connections and stewardship. Feder stated this item will go to Council on June 17th for adoption and stated the Board could make a recommendation if desired at its May meeting. Lujan de Albers stated she would provide a follow-up memo with a link to the Framework feedback page. Feder stated the link is on the Our City web page and noted the survey is toward the end of the page. A board member asked what air quality implications specifically have been examined. Feder replied the Strategic Framework itself does not contain that level of specificity; however, the management zone updates contain specific actions. She cited an example of the Poudre River zone restoration project at Arapaho Bend and noted all restoration projects now include information as to how much the work is shifting soil carbon rates. Additionally, she noted there is ongoing air quality monitoring at several Natural Area sites. Chair Welsh asked if there is a particular ask of the Board at this time. Feder replied a Board recommendation is always helpful, and Council appreciates seeing the staff/Board connection. Members discussed providing a recommendation at its May meeting. Feder noted staff presented the draft at an October Council work session and Council did not request an additional work session presentation. Vice Chair Houdashelt asked if staff is making a recommendation to Council about possibly attempting to renew the Natural Areas tax early. Feder replied the program is currently funded through two tax initiatives, one being Open Space Yes, the City’s sales tax, which extends through 2030. She noted there has been a citizen’s group that has historically been putting forth the tax measure and that group may be moving forward with placing the tax renewal on the ballot this year. Vice Chair Houdashelt asked how the future use of the Hughes Stadium site may impact the Strategic Framework. Feder replied the Framework will not contemplate the property. She noted there is an ongoing Civic Assembly process related to the Hughes site that will ultimately result in a recommended plan for the property. She stated it is likely Natural Areas will provide some information to the Civic Assembly given the existing Natural Areas nearby the Hughes property. She stated if any part of the Hughes site were to become a Natural Area, it would be part of the Foothills management zone. b. Air Quality Education Subcommittee Chair Welsh stated it may make sense to table this discussion for the time being given the lack of members in attendance. Lujan de Albers suggested the Board could discuss whether it wants to limit the subcommittee to two members. If that is not the case, open meetings regulations would need to be followed. 4 3/17/2025 - Minutes Chair Welsh suggested allowing the subcommittee to be open to all interested parties. Lujan de Albers stated the group will not actually function as a subcommittee, but a special meeting will be held. She stated she would work with Micah Warners to determine a possible date for the meeting. 8. OTHER BUSINESS a. Board Member Reports Chair Welsh reported on the family day at Kim Abeles’ Community Smog art exhibition on March 1st. He also reported on attending a meeting of the Larimer County Environmental and Science Advisory Board during which it was mentioned that an air quality study is going to be conducted by CSU in Fort Collins and in part of the non-attainment area. He stated he is pursuing the Larimer County Emergency Services Department to see about a potential coordinated presentation on wildfire smoke preparedness. Vice Chair Houdashelt reported on attending the Transportation Projects Fair and noted Council will be discussing federal funding and how much is subject to potential loss at its meeting tomorrow. b. Six Month Calendar Review Lujan de Albers noted there will be a Council work session on May 13th related to the Council priority around reducing climate and air pollution through best practices, emphasizing electrification. She stated Honore Depew offered to present to the Board in April if desired. Lujan de Albers noted staff members have been given talking points related to the City’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and federal grant funding. Chair Welsh commented on the Air Quality Monitoring Advisory Committee’s funding, which has remained, though he noted there is concern some of the AQMAC’s initiatives around equal access may be targeted by some of the federal cuts. Chair Welsh stated it may become appropriate for the Board to put forth a statement to Council regarding the City’s commitment to environmental sustainability and health equity should air quality standards be lowered at a federal level. Schmidt noted those commitments are already part of Council’s priorities and suggested it may be wise to stay out of the political environment in that manner so as to not make the Board a target. c. Revisit Action Items from Previous Meetings and Preview of Next Meeting Lujan de Albers stated she would reach out to the staff members who may be presenting at April’s meeting to determine whether both presentations could 5 3/17/2025 - Minutes fit. Members concurred the EV Readiness Roadmap would be prioritized if only one presentation occurs. 9. ADJOURNMENT ● 7:06 pm Minutes approved by a vote of the Board on 4/21/2025