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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 06/24/1998MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING STREETS FACILITY 625 NINTH STREET JUNE 24,1998 For Reference: Eric Levine, Acting Chair - 493-6341 Scott Mason, Council Liaison - 226-4824 Tom Shoemaker, Staff Liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present Harry Edwards, Raymond Sons, Nancy York, Eric Levine, John Schroeer, John Fooks, and David Gallup Board Members Absent Mandar Sunthankar and John Scanlon Staff Present Natural Resources Department: Tom Shoemaker, Linda Devocelle, Brian Woodruff, Sally Maggart, and Terry Klahn Guests Fred C. Tuttle, interested in Board membership After a presentation by Dr. Doug Lawson on the North Front Range Regional Air Quality Study, the meeting was called to order at 8:55 p.m. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the May 27, 1998 meeting were approved as written. Review and Update Action List — All tasks were completed • Hybrid Air Quality Action Plan Timeline — in packet • Transportation Funding Report — distributed at meeting • Benchmark Committee update — in packet • Proposed schedule for monitoring committee — in packet • Memo to Council on City Alternative Fuel Program — in packet Six Month Planning Calendar • July 28: Transportation Funding Study Session • August 25: Mountain Vista Sub -Area Plan and Northeast Truck Route Project Study Session Air Quality Advisory Board June 25, 1998 Page 2 • September, October and November: Budget Review • October 27: Revisions to the Master Street Plan Study Session Air Quality Action Plan Update Timeline Linda Devocelle, Environmental Education Specialist, presented the timeline proposal for the Air Quality Action Plan update. She said that the proposed four-year plan allows for the flexibility to adjust priorities when new critical issues emerge. Devocelle said that staff will do an initial draft of the Plan to present to the Board. Brian Woodruff, Environmental Planner, explained that the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) component will be removed from the Action Plan to coincide with the update schedules in other City plans. He said he is working with Transportation Department staff to determine when these "triggers" occur and to ensure that the Natural Resources Department is part of the process. Woodruff explained that by removing the VMT growth issue, the Air Quality Action Plan becomes more manageable. Eric Levine commented that he is not comfortable with the VMT part of the Plan. He noted that short trips with cold starts hurt air quality more than the VMT component. Woodruff said that the Plan will be more strongly tied into the City's VMT growth through City Plan, the Master Transportation Plan, the Pedestrian Plan, and the Transportation Management Plan. Levine said the Board needs to be at the front end of those plans. Tom Shoemaker, Natural Resources Director, said the proposal will allow the Board to spend more time focusing on air quality impacts within other plans. Nancy York commented that removing the VMT component would help remove the hypocrisy from the Plan. She noted that the Board needs to take a strong position on the development of a transit area in the northeast transportation corridor. Devocelle said the proposed plan will provide annual updates to Council within the context of the four-year timeframe. She noted that a mid -course correction at the two- year interval provides an opportunity to focus on budget issues and to identify new and emerging issues that might need to be incorporated into the Plan. Staff will have a retreat in August to finalize the first draft of the plan and the Board will begin working on the plan at a retreat in September. She said that the final draft will be ready in November. The public input process will be in January and February, a Council study session will be held in February if necessary, and the updated plan will go to Council in March. Devocelle will draft a memo to Council explaining the four-year plan and the VMT issue. Y • • Air Quality Advisory Board June 25, 1998 Page 3 OTHER • Eric Levine will be acting Chair until the election in August. • Staff will look more in-depth at the North Front Range Air Quality Study to determine how it fits into the updated Air Quality Action Plan. • John Fooks distributed a memo regarding the Transportation Funding Advisory Committee's (TFAC) recommendation to John Fischbach. He said the message to Council is that this it is a quality of life item that should always be part of the general fund. The committee may meet again if directed to by Council. • Harry Edwards made a motion to offer thanks from the Air Quality Advisory Board to John Fooks and Nancy York for their years of valuable service to the Board and to the community. David Gallup seconded the motion. It passed unanimously. • Fooks and York said that they have enjoyed being on the Board and have learned a lot. Items for Next Meeting Agenda • Presentations on the air quality aspects of the Mountain Vista Sub -Area Plan (Lucinda Smith), and the Northeast Truck Route Project • Schedule a Board retreat • Briefing on the Mason Street Multi -modal transportation corridor (Susanne Edminster) Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.