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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Commission - MINUTES - 04/17/202504/17/2025 MINUTES Page 1 of 5 Water Commission REGULAR MEETING April 17, 2025 – 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Ave., 1st Floor, Colorado River Room 1. CALL TO ORDER a. 5:31 PM 2. ROLL CALL a. Board Members Present (in person): Chairperson Jordan Radin and Commissioners Laura Chartrand, Paul Herman, Rick Kahn, Nick Martin, Nicole Ng, Greg Steed b. Board Members Absent: Commissioners James Bishop and Carson Madryga c. Staff Members Present (in person): Jill Oropeza, Katherine Martinez, Jesse Schlam, Kathryne Marko, Leslie Hill, Nicole Poncelet-Johnson d. Staff Members Present (online): Jen Authier, Michael Neale, Richard Thorp e. Guests: None 3. INTRODUCTION OF NEW WATER COMMISSIONERS a. Chairperson Radin asked commissioners to introduce themselves. b. City Council re-appointed Commissioner Paul Herman c. City Council recently appointed Commissioners Laura Chartrand and Carson Madryga. Commissioner Chartrand moved to Fort Collins in September 2024 and is excited to be an active community member. She is an energy and natural resources attorney in private practice with significant background in water law; clients include agricultural interests, industry, developers. Commissioner Chartrand previously worked for the federal government as a regional solicitor at the Department of the Interior and prior to that was the Deputy Attorney General for Natural Resources & Environment. 4. AGENDA REVIEW 5. COMMUNITY MEMBER PARTICIPATION (3 minutes each) a. None 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: March 20 Commissioner Martin moved to approve the minutes as presented Commissioner Kahn seconded the motion Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 7-0 7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. None 04/17/2025 MINUTES Page 2 of 5 8. NEW BUSINESS a. STAFF REPORTS i. Financial Monthly Report Senior Financial Analyst Jen Authier answered commissioners’ questions. Discussion Highlights: Commissioners commented on or inquired about various related topics including the 21% over budget figure for Stormwater Fund operating revenues on the bar chart (Ms. Authier responded that staff budgets conservatively on operating revenues as well as on development items). ii. Water Resources Quarterly Report Water Resources Engineer Michael Neale answered commissioners’ questions. Discussion Highlights: Commissioners commented on or inquired about various related topics including the raw water rentals process, how it relates to agricultural interests (Mr. Neale responded that the City rents water to agriculture primarily through its shares in North Poudre Irrigation Company [NPIC] and Water Supply and Storage Company [WSSC] and that any excess is available to rent via a lottery system if conditions are favorable; if condition are not favorable, the water is retained for City use in summer. He referred commissioners to the chart showing remaining supply (Colorado-Big Thompson Project water through NPIC). Conditions are quite good this year, therefore Water Resources Division staff has decided to allow rentals. Other topics included the Water Shortage Action Plan; water supply and demand; whether the City has an option to cancel deliveries if necessary (Mr. Neale replied that once water is rented, it’s gone and longer available for City use); irrigation uses; other local ditch companies; augmentation and lease agreements; revenue from raw water rentals (Mr. Neale responded that Utilities receives roughly $1 million revenue from rentals, which covers about half of the total assessments). iii. Presentation & Discussion: Fort Collins’ Utilities Approach to Addressing PFAS Senior Environmental Regulatory Specialist Jesse Schlam presented information on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (known as PFAS). Fort Collins Utilities is committed to protecting public health and the environment. Mr. Schlam addressed current state and efforts to address PFAS (“forever” chemicals) in our water systems. Our drinking water is safe, and there are ways customers can reduce exposure to PFAS, namely through buying personal care and other products that do not contain PFAS. 04/17/2025 MINUTES Page 3 of 5 Discussion Highlights: Commissioners expressed appreciation for the presentation, and inquired or commented on various related topics, including evolving treatment options; whether there are any cities treating for PFAS (Mr. Schlam responded there are various treatments for PFAS that combine and condense but can’t destroy the chemicals (most incinerators can’t reach the temperatures required) and that some communities between Colorado Springs and Pueblo are indeed using these methods; resulting materials are considered hazardous materials; everyone who works in water collection is seeing PFAS especially in industrial areas; PFAS exists in some fire retardant chemicals (Mr. Schlam clarified that Fort Collins uses fire suppression chemicals that do not contain PFAS, while some fire departments especially those at airports do use PFAS-containing fire suppression chemicals; Poudre Fire Authority stopped using PFAS-containing fire suppression foam years ago). b. Regular Items i. Michigan Ditch Forest Health and Pre-Fire Mitigation Project: Phase 2 The City owns Michigan Ditch, a critical water supply infrastructure located near Cameron Pass within Colorado State Forest State Park. Watershed Program staff along with regional partners from the Colorado State Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently completed a multi-phase Michigan Ditch Pre-Fire Mitigation Plan. The plan identifies forest thinning treatments that will help reduce the risk to the Michigan Ditch infrastructure and water supply from future large-scale wildfires. The Watershed Program was recently awarded a $1 million grant from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources to implement the project’s Phase 2 (scheduled for 2026-2028), which will include up to an additional 180 acres of targeted forest treatments designed to create fuels breaks and reduce the risk of future large-scale wildfires reaching the ditch from the north and west. Watershed Program Manager Richard Thorp presented the project’s Phase 1 to the Water Commission last year. He returned to provide an overview of Phase 2 including the Forest Health and Pre-Fire Mitigation Project, and request a recommendation from Water Commission that City Council approve accepting the grant and entering into an intergovernmental agreement regarding the project’s Phase 2 services. The project is in strategic alignment with City Plan’s Environmental Health Outcome and the City Council Priority to “protect community water systems in an integrated way to ensure resilient water resources and healthy watersheds.” 04/17/2025 MINUTES Page 4 of 5 Discussion Highlights: Commissioners commented on or inquired about various related topics including clarifying the grant is already approved; expense of hauling out timber (Mr. Thorp responded that the goal is to reduce fuel); a match of $317,000 from the watershed protection budget (from the Water Fund’s Utilities capital improvement fund); staff plans to apply for another grant this fall that if awarded would mean the Water Fund would not have to be used; clarifying that no other cities or other water providers are contributing money to the project; the observation that one state entity is giving a grant, and staff is processing it and giving that money to another state agency; whether the U.S. Forest Service is doing similar work (Mr. Thorp replied that they’re not as it relates to this project, which is part of a larger landscape-level effort; Watershed Specialist Jared Heath presented the wildfire readiness project to the Water Commission last year). Commissioner Herman moved for Water Commission to recommend that City Council formally approve of the City entering into the Intergovernmental Agreement Regarding Michigan Ditch Forest Health and Pre-Fire Mitigation Project Phase-2 Services through the Colorado State Forest Service and accepting the Colorado Department of Natural Resources’ Colorado Strategic Wildfire Program Grant. Commissioner Ng seconded the motion Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 7-0 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Commissioner Reports i. Commissioner Steed shared that he attended the Colorado Rural Water Association conference in Loveland that featured many exhibits and interesting information on technologies of the day. ii. Commissioner Kahn shared an update on a presentation by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) on the greenback cutthroat recovery program at the headwaters of the Poudre River that the project will begin in August in Grand Ditch and its tributaries above Long Draw Reservoir in Poudre Canyon, and that CPW and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will formally notify the City soon. iii. A commissioner inquired about whether the City was impacted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s recent termination of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant programs. Staff Liaison Jill Oropeza responded that the City’s Environmental Planning Department received a large BRIC grant for nature-based stormwater solutions; staff received assurance that the project can continue. 04/17/2025 MINUTES Page 5 of 5 b. Officer Elections at May 15 regular meeting i. Chair and Vice Chair A. Chairperson Radin asked commissioners to consider volunteering for chair or vice chair, and encouraged them to contact him and Commissioner Herman who has served as vice chair in the past with any questions about these roles. Staff and the two officers meet one week before the monthly regular meeting. He shared that he’s found it to be a very fulfilling role, and that staff provides a lot of support. 10. ADJOURNMENT a. 6:33 PM Minutes were approved by a vote of the Water Commission on May 15, 2025.