Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD - MINUTES - 07/21/20251 7/21/2025 - Minutes Air Quality Advisory Board REGULAR MEETING Monday, July 21, 2025 – 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Room 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:33 PM 2. ROLL CALL a. Board Members Present – • Dan Welsh (Chair) • Mark Houdashelt (Vice Chair) • Michael Johnson • Matt Ayres • Howard Gebhart • Michael Cheeseman • Christina Swope (arrived late) • Maria Moore (arrived late) b. Board Members Absent – • Adam Schmidt c. Staff Members Present – • Honore Depew, Environmental Services Senior Manager • Selina Lujan de Albers, Staff liaison • Cassie Archuleta, Lead Air Quality Specialist d. Guest(s) – • Nancy Wendland 3. AGENDA REVIEW No changes. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JUNE 2025 Members discussed changes to the minutes. Houdashelt made a motion, seconded by Gebhart, to approve the minutes of the June 2025 meeting as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously. THE MOTION CARRIED. 6. PREVIOUS BUSINESS a. Elections – Vice Chair Chair Welsh noted Houdashelt is willing to continue to serve as Vice Chair; 2 7/21/2025 - Minutes however, he would prefer not to remain in that position. No other members expressed interest in the position. Houdashelt stated he would remain. b. Air Quality Monitoring Advisory Committee Update Chair Welsh stated the AQMAC has had intermittent regular meetings and has divided into two factions: the engagement subcommittee focused on outreach and education, and the technical subcommittee focused on the actual monitoring. He stated there have been a number of recent education and outreach opportunities. Chair Welsh read a statement from Micah Warners thanking the Air Quality Advisory Board and AQMAC for support at Bike to Work Day. Chair Welsh noted the AQMAC technical subcommittee has not had recent formal meetings, though there is a field campaign underway that is a partnership between CDPHE, the Regional Air Quality Council, and CSU’s Atmospheric Science Department seeking to characterize the formation mechanisms of ozone throughout the region. He noted there are two mobile labs that are driving throughout the region as far south as Denver and as far north as Fort Collins. Cassie Archuleta, Lead Specialist, stated the technical subcommittee did have a meeting to tour the mobile lab and hear an overview of the project from a CSU representative. She also noted there will be an engagement meeting next month. c. Change in Date for August Meeting Chair Welsh noted there are two opportunities for workshops through the Regional Air Quality Council in August and the Fort Collins workshop takes place on the same day as the regularly scheduled AQAB meeting. Additionally, he noted he and Lujan de Albers will both be out of town on August 18th . Some members expressed interest in attending the workshop and all agreed to move the meeting to August 25th . Gebhart made a motion, seconded by Johnson, to move the August meeting to the 25th. The motion was adopted unanimously. THE MOTION CARRIED. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Our Climate Future (OCF) Refresh Project – Honore Depew Honore Depew, Environmental Services Senior Manager, stated this item is specific to one component of the OCF strategic refresh, which is how to incorporate new and existing Environmental Services work and strategies into the OCF framework to help advance them more effectively with less siloing and separation. He provided a timeline of the overall project and noted staff is currently in the latter phase of the engagement portion. He stated next steps are to summarize and incorporate the feedback and create proposed implementation strategies. Additionally, the other component is the Strategic Funding Plan which Council will be discussing in an October work 3 7/21/2025 - Minutes session. Depew discussed the project overview process, which included a gaps assessment and peer city research, as well as an assessment of current revenue streams, funding priorities, and sequencing. He stated the enhanced OCF framework, which is more effective and inclusive of the City’s sustainability efforts, is aligned and integrated with municipal sustainability and adaptation efforts, and includes coordinated and useful planning, implementation and storytelling, will be complete by the end of 2025. Additionally, the OCF Strategic Funding Plan, which is a strategy and guidance document with a 15-year time horizon that provides high-level vision and guidance for the medium and long term, as well as clarity and focus for implementation strategies in the near term, will be complete by the first quarter of 2026. Vice Chair Houdashelt asked if both of the deliverables need to be approved by Council. Depew replied they do not need to be officially adopted by Council, as OCF was adopted in 2021 and its text and content are not changing. Depew discussed the OCF’s alignment with City Plan and other adopted plans. He noted there is no adopted Council goal for air quality. He discussed the OCF big moves that are grouped into the following categories: better together, resource better, breathe better, and live better. Depew outlined the big question regarding local government sustainability: how to achieve long-term sustainability goals for the community when commitments to transformational change can be in tension with near-term priorities and resource constraints. He noted the areas of influence that can help get at that question include economic drivers, regulations and policy, infrastructure investments, and behavior change through education. OCF then works as a strategic framework providing goals, vision, and implementation support. Depew stated the purpose of the OCF strategic refresh is to make OCF simpler to talk about, more inclusive of the City’s sustainability efforts, and a more useful tool for planning and accountability. He summarized what is needed for the refresh, including navigating tensions between priorities, clarifying how next moves add up to big moves, supporting resourcing OCF related work, aligning and integrating municipal sustainability and adaptation, and identifying and integrating related new and existing work into the OCF framework. Depew outlined next steps in the process, which include incorporating input and feedback from staff and community engagement, summarizing enhancements to the OCF framework, and developing an implementation approach for 2026, including the OCF Strategic Funding Plan. Vice Chair Houdashelt asked about the motivation for this project. Depew replied the motivation related to having the Strategic Funding Plan be more deliberate and clear about what types of criteria are used to help sequence and prioritize investments, to help guide and inform Council in its decision- 4 7/21/2025 - Minutes making, to assist staff throughout the organization understand what sorts of projects and programs would be eligible for funding, and to help the community look at and respond to how the 2050 tax dollars are being used. As a precursor to the Funding Plan, it was necessary to ensure the structure on which the Funding Plan was built makes sense and helps to deliver those outcomes. Additionally, Depew stated there has been an evolution in the way sustainability is considered. He noted OCF was a joint update of the Road to Zero Waste, the Energy Policy Plan, and the Climate Action Plan, and since it was adopted, the Environmental Services Department has been reorganized, a more inclusive definition of climate work has been normalized and socialized, and the time is right to attempt to help make more sense of these complex issues without losing the details and importance of acting individually. Lujan de Albers added that going through a strategic refresh allows for a better understanding of shared leadership across the organization and community when implementing next move strategies to get to the big moves and goals around emissions reduction and zero waste. Depew noted it is important to define and clarify responsibilities and authority to help guide investments. Chair Welsh noted a lot has happened since OCF was adopted, including the development of potential funding sources such as the 2050 tax to aid or implement the areas of influence. Depew noted Sustainability staff has been more reactive in the past and has reviewed budget offers through the lens of mitigation, resilience, and equity by assessing impacts to greenhouse gas emissions, for example. He stated the goal of this work is to try to get ahead of that type of reactivity. He noted remittance fees from the disposable bag ordinance and the ongoing budget from the Energy Services Department for advancing efficiency and renewable electricity are funding sources as well as the 2050 tax. Swope noted the City is not on track to meet its 2026 goals and requested input as to how clarifying goals now will help. Depew replied it is important to clarify how we support moving toward and achieving outcomes and goals, or how we can be more clear about why we are not. He noted goals are used as indicators of progress, staff has been directed to maximize potential for reaching long-term goals while simultaneously reaching toward the interim goals. Additionally, he commented on the importance of thinking through the lenses of the areas of influence, including direct investments, given the ballot language of the 2050 tax relating to reducing climate and air pollution and reaching 100% renewable electricity. A Board Member asked if there has been any quantitative analysis of the strategies. Depew replied there has been a great deal of quantifiable analysis of the impacts on mitigation of different strategies, and it can be projected how much emissions would be reduced given certain infrastructure investments, for example. He noted that is particularly well documented in terms of electricity, though a full cost benefit analysis of dollars invested to greenhouse gas emissions reduction has not occurred. Additionally, he noted 5 7/21/2025 - Minutes it is difficult in terms of climate action to assign a direct correlation between a new bike lane and a reduction in wildfire, for example; however, it is known that the cost of inaction leads to overall warming of the planet and inconsistent weather patterns. Depew opened a discussion about how to better incorporate air quality strategy into OCF by outlining the goals of the 2019 Air Quality Plan, including reducing emissions, measuring and tracking, reducing pollution, focusing on transported pollution, managing pollutant sources, and resilience and adaptation. He discussed a proposed regrouping of the overall air quality strategies as laid out in the strategic plan involving understanding and characterizing the problem, source reduction, and adaptation and resilience. Members discussed a California air quality analysis tool and modeling for meeting the building energy codes. Depew requested input as to the pros and cons of grouping strategies and air quality work into cohorts and what general feedback the Board may have in terms of integrating and aligning air quality strategies into OCF. A Board Member asked about the definition of cohort in terms of the OCF framework. Depew replied cohorts would be organizational arrangements of strategies that are smaller than a big move, but larger than a next move in OCF. Moore noted the State has already acted on many of the topics, including construction, oil and gas, small engines, and industrial sources. She stated she would prefer to see more specifics and an evolving list from Fort Collins. Gebhart stated it is good for the Plan to take credit for things in which progress has been made; however, it also needs to be forward looking. Depew stated he would like OCF to be less of a plan that might take credit for something and more as a way of organizing thinking and helping to direct resources and suggest which policies, programs, and investments should be sequenced and prioritized. Lujan de Albers asked if the cohort categories (problem characterization, source reduction, and adaptation and resilience) resonate with the Board as a starting point. Members generally concurred with the cohorts and Gebhart stated they seem to be scientifically oriented. Vice Chair Houdashelt stated the proposed cohorts would not be the way he would like to structure funding conversations. Depew noted the list is not exhaustive in terms of strategies but is illustrative of the groupings and requested input as to how they could better be grouped or defined. Moore stated she would like the list to be more specific and exhaustive. Depew stated the sequencing intention for this phase is to ensure that OCF as a framework, which is now connected to funding, strategy, and helping to support sustainable initiatives widely across the organization, has air quality outcomes, or cohorts, embedded within it so that as the Strategic Funding 6 7/21/2025 - Minutes Plan is finalized and the next moves plan is updated, there is a place for them to land. Moore expressed concern that things in the space are rapidly evolving and reiterated her desire to see more specifics. A Board Member stated he does not see any fundamental issue with the three outlined cohorts; however, he stated he does not feel equipped to look at it through the lens of Council in terms of funding. Gebhart commented on needing to know what data gaps need to be filled by the City and having funding go toward that. Chair Welsh commented on the possibility of a timeline framework examining expected revenues which could be either used for larger identified projects or smaller programs or initiatives that could also use funding. Vice Chair Houdashelt suggested ‘Source Reduction’ could be changed to ‘Source Reduction Strategies’ to be more specific. Depew commented on OCF being a larger bubble to help network and holistically connect the more specific strategies that are in other adopted plans such as the Active Modes Plan. He also discussed a new program being implemented by the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) that will provide $1.5 million to Larimer and Weld Counties. Moore reiterated her concern that OCF lacks measurable outcomes. Vice Chair Houdashelt expressed concern that there is a lack of information as to the actual effectiveness of plans that exist. Members and staff discussed the Regional Air Quality Council’s metrics and accounting for how emissions inventories can be completed based on how programs impact emissions inventories. Moore commented on the possibility of doing emissions research at schools during drop-off and pick-up times. A Board Member commented on the emissions reduction goal numbers and noted something is being measured in that realm. Depew stated there is an annual inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for both municipal operations and community wide divided by sector and source. Moore stated that information needs to be more transparent. Depew stated the intent was to have monitoring as one element of problem characterization. Gebhart suggested identifying separately that there is funding dedicated toward the monitoring verification component. Moore commended the framework but stated more specifics need to be 7 7/21/2025 - Minutes included. Chair Welsh commended the idea of the strategic refresh process and asked Depew if the conversation has been beneficial. Additionally, he noted the Board’s request for additional specifics regarding filling data gaps and including quantitative evaluations of which metrics and source areas will be the most effective use of resources. He asked if a list of which specifics and elements that are not included in the presentation could be provided and asked Board Members to provide ideas back to staff such as anti-idling campaigns or small engine conversions. Depew stated that accepting and expecting non-closure is part of the spirit of a different way for staff and Board Members to engage with one another. He stated the goal would be for staff to be able to tap into the guidance and expertise of Board Members in addition to having them advise Council. Swope commented on her desire to see staff come to the Board with specific ideas to improve air quality and then have Board Members provide feedback. Depew replied staff is attempting to change the systems so that strategy and implementation can be done more effectively. He acknowledged the frustration with the way local government works but stated this work and continued conversations will enhance the ability to do the kinds of things mentioned by Swope. He provided an example of a specific FC Moves project that would aim to get people out of cars to reduce emissions that may involve certain expenditures or engagement by Council at the regulatory level. He also commented on the importance of building the foundational organizational structure to help Council make better decisions. Depew summarized the discussion topics, including clarifying that the cohorts would be tied to proactive funding strategies, developing some loose definitions for each of the cohorts to better describe them, considering cross cutting factors such as regionalism, partnership, and monitoring, thinking about areas of focus across timelines, identifying where the data gaps are specifically in the problem characterization cohort, looking to partnerships and regionalism, considering pulling out monitoring as a separate category, including and emphasizing transparency about metrics and tying that to the sophisticated greenhouse gas reporting that is being done, and continuing to engage the AQAB in prioritizing sequencing strategies to support air quality. Moore suggested adding more specific deadlines to the timeline. A Board Member asked what climate pollutants are included in the greenhouse gas inventory other than carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Depew replied industrial processes and product use are also included. Archuleta noted there are also particle and ozone precursor inventories. Depew noted the City adheres to the carbon accounting practices from international protocol and has an A+ rating for reporting. He also noted the City is attempting to discuss air pollution and climate pollution together. Vice Chair Houdashelt commented on the importance of monitoring against 8 7/21/2025 - Minutes expectations. Depew noted he will be returning to discuss the Strategic Funding Plan and next moves strategies that support the outcomes. Additionally, he noted air quality strategies have largely been a part of resilience but stated he would like continued feedback and suggestions. He suggested the source reduction cohort could tie in well with the convenient transportation choices big move in OCF. Chair Welsh noted this is an ongoing two-way conversation. 8. OTHER BUSINESS a. Board Member Reports Chair Welsh noted a meeting has been scheduled with Councilmember Ohlson on July 31st for himself and the Natural Resources Advisory Board and Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Chairs. He stated he generally feels the Board is functioning well and noted the more recent focus on interactions with staff. Vice Chair Houdashelt suggested getting a response from Councilmember Ohlson regarding the discussion this evening and whether the Board is to advise staff. Moore replied Councilmember Ohlson has already stated the Board is to advise staff. Other members concurred with her assessment. Chair Welsh noted the Board is not directing staff but is establishing a relationship. Lujan de Albers suggested ensuring the Board is still on track from the Council perspective based on its current efforts. Gebhart commented on the value of staff presentations coming earlier in the process. Lujan de Albers noted the feedback received from the AQAB in terms of having more direction and earlier involvement with staff has been heard across the department; therefore, Depew and she have shifted their approach in terms of establishing better collaborative partnerships with the Boards. She also noted that while the Board is not directing staff, it is advising staff on topics going before Council. Chair Welsh stated Council’s permission is not needed for the Board to find better ways to work internally. Vice Chair Houdashelt commented on the importance of staying within the Board’s scope. A Board Member suggested seeking input from Councilmember Ohlson on how to best interact with the new liaison. b. Six Month Calendar Review 9 7/21/2025 - Minutes c. Revisit Action Items from Previous Meetings and Preview of Next Meeting Lujan de Albers noted the plan for the August 25th meeting is to have Energy Services staff present prior to going before Council on September 9th for discussion of the Energy Building Code. She stated the presentation would primarily be informational given the timeframe and there would not be time for the Board to provide input to Council; therefore, the Board can opt not to hear the presentation if desired, though informational presentations may also hold some value. Gebhart stated informational presentations can have value and the Board must appreciate the difference between those and presentations that are seeking input. Vice Chair Houdashelt noted the Energy Building Code item has yet to be scheduled for Council adoption. 9. ADJOURNMENT ● 8:05 pm Minutes approved by a vote of the Board on 8/25/2025