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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 03/27/2003MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 281 N. COLLEGE AVE. FORT COLLINS, COLORADO March 27, 2003 Linda Stanley, Chair Sarah Fox, Staff Liaison, 970-221-6312 Eric Hamrick, City Council Liaison, 970-226-4824 Board Members present: Linda Stanley, Everett Bacon, John R. Long, Kenneth Moore, Cherie Trine, Katie Walters, Nancy York Board Members absent: Jim Dennison, Mandar Sunthankar Natural Resources Staff present: Sarah Fox, Senior Environmental Planner; Lucinda Smith, Senior Environmental Planner; Zoe Shark, Air Quality Education Outreach Coordinator; Theresa Vanderdreische, Smart Trip Coordinator Council Members present: Eric Hamrick Also present: Kelly Nelson, CSU student observer Linda Stanley called the meeting to order without a quorum present at 4:46 p.m. A quorum was present by 4:50 p.m. New Business Minutes The minutes from February 27, 2003, were amended to include, under Radon Mitigation in New Construction: Given the high cost of medical care and the likelihood of death from this type of cancer, the benefits of radon mitigation are many times higher than the cost per cancer avoided. However, Board members were concerned that the assumptions made by staff in calculating the cost per cancer avoided were too conservative in terms of radon exposure and average lifetime of a home. For example, the average lifetime of a home was assumed to be 70 years and the average median exposure in 24,000 new dwellings was assumed to be 2.5 pCi/L. However, the lifetime of a home is likely to be longer, especially with today's building codes, and the exposure to radon without mitigation is likely to exceed a median of 2.5 pCi/L. Thus, actual cost per cancer avoided will be significantly less than the staff estimated cost per cancer avoided ($56,000). Requiring radon mitigation during new construction is significantly cheaper than mitigating once the home is built. In addition, owners of existing homes now mitigating radon levels at the time of resale are not receiving the benefits of their investment in mitigation. Katie Walters moved to accept the minutes as amended; Cherie Trine seconded. The motion carried unanimously, 6-0. In addition, Ken Moore clarified his vote against recommending an active radon mitigation system as the minimum standard in the revised Building Code. He was unaware that the radon -resistant requirements would apply only to residential construction; he was opposed to requiring an active system for all construction, but supports the requirement for new home construction. Travel Demand Management Youth Programs -- presented by Zoe Shark and Theresa Vanderdreische Some of the programs outlined included: • School Pool -- carpool to school program for 15,000 families. Now a year-round program. • Walk a Child to School Day -- with SafeKids and Safe Routes to School. • Library Summer Reading program -- outreach, data collection, and encouraging taking alternative transportation to library. • Helmet safety and bike rodeo kits for elementary schools. • Drive Less Contest for high schools -- last year's annual report showed this program saved 201,000 VMT; 1,075 students signed up. • Care For the Air traveling trunk of activities for elementary schools and junior high -- just developed for teachers, for the end of this year and next fall. Fifth and sixth grade units on alternative transportation integrate graphs and charts to be part of the lesson plan. • Care For the Air booth at Youth Fest on the last day of school in Foothills Mall parking lot -- about 1000 kids stopped by. • Air Quality Monitor is available for high school projects, like testing the air on the Cathy Fromme Prairie or in the copying room at Rocky Mountain High School. Environmental science students at RMHS want to use it to compare parking lot air on regular and Drive -Less days. • Work with environmental clubs at the schools to conduct projects and get the word out about other programs. Transfort has no youth program, but information about buses is in the traveling trunk. One of the big air -quality issues is the number of students who drive to high school, and attendant parking problems. There is no longer Transfort service to Fort Collins High, Transfort to Poudre High School drops kids off a block or so from the school, and more students bike to Rocky Mountain than take the bus. Poudre, especially, has a serious parking problem, with cars overflowing into the surrounding neighborhood. Special carpool spaces have been designated for students, but there are none for staff or visitors. AQAB felt strongly that City Council needs to hear about this situation, because young people are the chance to change the mentality about using alternative transportation. The TDM Youth Programs do not deal with health issues, simply modes of transportation and their effect on air quality. Linda Stanley wanted to know if the students are actually learning something about air quality through all these programs, and if there are figures comparing the total cost of youth outreach and its benefits. Teresa Vanderdreische will get budget numbers. She added that School Pool and Drive Less are partnerships with CDOT, and the Drive Less program tracks kids through e-mail, following up to see how many are continuing to use their cars less once the contest is over. Ms. Stanley added that it is important to have some numbers to make the case for such programs. In the Drive Less program, staff spends two weeks each semester at each high school. Nancy York suggested a pilot program at one school for 30 days, to see if a longer exposure would have any effect on increasing participation or more firmly changing habits. Ms. Vanderdreische and Ms. Shark said the youth program is a work in progress, and they welcome suggestions from the board for improvements. Summary of Recent Recommendations/Memos Since the beginning of the year, the AQAB has made recommendations to City Council on City Plan, Electric Supply Policy and, most recently, Radon Mitigation in New Residential Construction and the Mason Street Corridor, and submitted its 2002 Annual Report. Linda Stanley reported that Council has approved requiring 15 percent of City - supplied electricity come from wind sources. New Meeting Time Linda Stanley asked the Board if 5 p.m. would be a better time to start the meetings. Everyone agreed, and Katie Walters suggested trying to maintain the 7:30 p.m. end of the meeting, if possible. Changing the day of the meeting to the second Thursday of the month from the fourth was also discussed. Linda Stanley will e-mail Board members to check their schedules, and Sarah Fox will check availability of meeting space. For April, the place and day remain the same, but the time is changed to 5 p.m. Short Discussion Items Possible AQAB Subcommittee to Work on AQPP Linda Stanley asked for the Board's opinions on forming a subcommittee to work on updating the Air Quality Policy and Action Plans. Lucinda Smith explained updating and combining the two plans, with some issues in context of the ongoing City Plan/Transportation Master Plan Update, will take the better part of a year, and the Air Quality Advisory Board has an important role to fill in the process. Ken Moore, Nancy York and Katie Walters volunteered to be on the subcommittee; Linda Stanley will attend when possible. Ms. Walters suggested the meetings be held over the lunch hour, depending on availability of staff. Ms. Smith, who is now the manager of the Clean Air Team, tentatively scheduled the first meeting for Tuesday, April 22, from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Ms. Walters emphasized that the subcommittee should keep the full Board updated on their discussions via e-mail, and the Board should trust the subcommittee to make decisions when necessary. Ms. Stanley would like the full Board to meet on the issue at least twice during the update process. Liaisons to Other Boards -- presented by Carrie Daggett, Senior Assistant City Attorney. Several legal issues affecting City Boards and Commissions were discussed. Ken Moore brought up potential conflict of interest rules that seem to make his expertise more of a liability than an asset to the AQAB by removing him from many areas of discussion. Carrie Daggett confirmed that a board member cannot try to influence an issue on which there is a conflict; if a board member has a conflict question, he or she should contact the City Attorney's office for guidance. Ms. Daggett distributed copies of the City's Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement, as well as a memo outlining procedures for executive sessions. On the subject of liaisons to other boards and commissions, she explained that the duties and functions of each board is specified in City Code -- AQAB is covered by Section 2- 93 -- and any changes require adoption of an ordinance by City Council. As written, the section does not charge AQAB with active education or public health protection functions. If the Board feels it is important to add these functions, a request can be made to Council and the City Attorney's office would draft new language for consideration. It would be a policy decision by Council to make the change. Section 2-93 specifically directs AQAB to work with other boards to review and recommend revisions any plans with an impact on air quality, so sending and receiving liaisons to and from other boards is clearly within the Board's purview. Anyone serving as a liaison should represent only the Board's position, not personal opinion, and be aware of the level of participation in the other board's work that is appropriate. Ms. Daggett also confirmed that taking input from the public on issues dealing with air quality is also part of the AQAB's function, as long as members do not convey as policy any policies not adopted by Council. Lucinda Smith confirmed that the AQAB has an advisory role on the State Implementation Plan for attainment of acceptable levels of carbon monoxide only. Nancy York and John Long volunteered to share the duties of liaison to the Transportation Board, and Katie Walters is willing to get meeting packets and information about discussion topics from the Natural Resources Advisory Board. She added that it would be important for AQAB to have a position on topics to be discussed by other boards before sending a liaison to a meeting. Sarah Fox will give their names to the staff liaisons of those boards. Linda Stanley will talk to chairs of other boards that might be interested in creating a liaison. Council Policy Agenda Discussion In response to a request from the City Manager, the Board identified the following topics as priorities for the new City Council: • Options for Replacing Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program. • All aspects of the Mason Street Corridor and an improved transit plan. • Public Health Impacts of Air Quality; including but not limited to radon mitigation and enabling the Natural Resources Department to consider public health impacts of proposed policies. • Enforcement of Existing Air Quality and Energy Code Requirements. • Pollution Prevention, including but not limited to: • Reinstatement of the Pollution Prevention Program; • Reducing vehicle miles traveled; • Reducing hydrocarbon emissions from gas stations and dry cleaners; • Implementing standards for wood stove emissions; • Climate protection; • Support for clean -burning vehicles and alternative fuels. Linda Stanley will draft an advice memo incorporating these suggestions with a short explanation of each drawn from the AQAB Work Plan and forward it to City Council and the City Manager's office. Agenda Planning Katie Walters suggested the City Council study sessions on May 13 and July 1 would be best for bringing air quality issues to Council, since radon mitigation, the Mason Street Corridor and the Transportation Master Plan Update are already on the agenda for those meetings. John Long recommended getting a memo on the Transportation Master Plan to Council for the May 13 meeting. Cheri Trine requested a cost/benefit analysis comparing active and passive radon reduction systems be prepared for the presentation to Council, and asked that staff positions on various issues be made public in a timely manner to allow for public input. Ms. Trine and Linda Stanley will meet with Sarah Fox and Brian Woodruff of the Natural Resources Department to discuss ways to make the radon presentation more compelling. While staff should not take a position on issues still before Council, information on the issues should be available in enough time for serious consideration and comment. There was extended discussion about taking public input at AQAB meetings. Nancy York suggested the Board invite public health experts to future meetings to discuss and explain technical aspects of various air quality health impact studies. She added that all Board members should be on the lookout for articles, studies and other information to share with other members for consideration at future meetings. Linda Stanley will work with Ms. York and Ms. Fox to develop a systematic approach to bringing studies before the Board, perhaps devoting part of each agenda to "sharing time". Items for next meeting's agenda: • Brainstorm action plan for Council study sessions • Discuss Radon Mitigation presentation • Mark Jackson of the Transportation Department to present a report on the Transportation Master Plan Update process • Discuss public input at AQAB meetings • Discuss public health studies/experts coming before the Board for informational purposes. New Business Announcements Everett Bacon will be traveling for the next six months and will not be able to attend meetings. Sarah Fox is now the staff person responsible for implementation of the new smoking ordinance. Next Meetin¢ Thursday, April 24, 2003, 5 p.m. (new time), 281 N. College Ave. Ken Moore moved to adjourn at 7:30 p.m.; seconded by Katie Walters, carried unanimously, 7-0. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki + /April 16, 2 003 5