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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 04/22/1998MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCES CENTER 405 CANYON AVE. APRIL 22,1998 For Reference: John Fooks, AQAB Chair - 229-5225 Scott Mason, Council Liaison - 226-4824 Tom Shoemaker, Staff Liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present John Fooks, Raymond Sons, Eric Levine, John Schroeer, David Gallup, Nancy York, Hang Edwards (until 8:45 p.m.), John Scanlon and Mandar Sunthankar Board Members Absent None Staff Present Natural Resources Dep ent: Linda Devocelle, Sally Maggart and Aaron Fodge Fleet Services: Tracey Oschner and Ken Mannon Transportation: Tom Frazier Guests Jeff Eisert, Natural Resources Department intern The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the March 25, 1998 regular meeting were approved as written. Review Council Six -Month Plannine Calendar May 12: Trash Districting Aug 25: Northeast Truck Route Study July 21: Impact Fees Transfort Improvements, Tom Frazier Tom Frazier, Multi Modal Transportation Group Leader, explained that City Council has passed the recommended street oversizing fees that were presented by the Transportation Funding Committee. He gave a brief overview of the operations and maintenance funding gap, noting a reduction in the maintenance shortfall from $8.4 to $7.3 million. Frazier said that there is a $3.3 million shortfall in maintenance, with the majority in the pavement management program. Frazier presented a short history of transit operations, with maps of Transfort City routes from 1989, 1991, current and future to 2002. He noted that the total ridership in 1991 was over 1.3 million. Frazier added that the seven year planned expansion includes Loveland, Larimer County, and Greeley. He said that City Plan shows Transfort as a significant piece in order to accomplish land use goals. Air Quality Advisory Board April 22, 1998 Page 2 Harry Edwards asked if ridership goes up, would revenue go up in terms of ridership fees. Frazier responded yes, that revenue averages around 25 percent of the total budget. He noted that the CSU student fee represents 2/3 of the revenue; CSU students recently passed a referendum for an additional $2.75 student fee to provide night service Mandar Sunthankar asked how much the night ride would cost. Frazier responded that the fare is 90 cents. Reduced passes are available for general ridership, and Poudre School District students 17 and under ride free. He said that the difference between costs and revenue is made up from the general fund. David Gallup asked if there had been any discussion about connecting routes. Frazier responded yes, there will be transfer centers at I-25, in the Mason Corridor, at CSU and on the north side. John Schroeer asked about a contiguous route from North College to Harmony. Frazier explained that it is harder to stay on schedule with longer routes. Eric Levine asked if the efficiency of scale had been factored in the cost figures. Frazier responded no. Frazier noted that a recommendation is due to Council by the end of June Alternative Fueled Vehicles Linda Devocelle Ken Maranon, Fleet Services Director, distributed a Summary and Recommendation for the Fleet Services Alternative Fuels Program. He noted that Fleet Services is seeking a recommendation from the Air Quality Advisory Board. Maranon said that the Fleet Service's goal is to have 75 percent of the fleet vehicles (passenger cars and light duty trucks) meeting 1998 U.L.E.V. standards or better. He added that the question is how to get there. One option is to expand purchase of new compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. Mannon noted that fueling is a problem because there is only one CNG fueling site, located at the Public Service Company, and it is not large enough to accommodate large buses. He said that he would like support for a north side fuel site. Tracy Ochsner, Fleet Analyst, explained that there is a proposed partnership with Natural Fuels to provide a fuel station on Fleet Services' property. Boardmembers expressed concern about the future of CNG vehicles and the short term alternative expense involved. Linda Devocelle, Natural Resources Department, explained that until recently it was one of the cleanest fuel alternatives around. Devocelle added that technology is at a major crossroads in terms of what is going to happen with the gasoline engine, and Fleet Services wants to replace the fleet with the cleanest available. Frazier explained that diesel engines are much improved, but manufacturers are looking at a hybrid CNG engine that will make buses more desirable air quality wise. The boardmembers made the following comments: • More information is needed. Go for the cleanest, either solar or electric. Light duty L.E.V. gasoline vehicles are just around the corner. Investing in a CNG station sends a message that the City is willing to do the right thing. Air Quality Advisory Board April22, 1998 Page 3 Because we do not know what technology's going to do over the next few years, a decision has to be made to either do something now with what exists or wait five years to see what happens. Since the Air Quality Advisory Board's purview is the human health perspective, we would like to see particulates and carcinogens addressed and make a decision based on that. More data on tailpipe emissions are needed in order to compare benefits. John Fooks said that the Board does not have to act if there are still questions about the recommendations. No action was taken. Staff will provide more information. Ambient Monitoring Review Project, John Fooks Brian Woodruff, Natural Resources Department, said that a committee is being formed to discuss monitoring, objectives, procedures and site location for the ambient monitoring plan. He explained that this is updated every other year, as directed by the Air Quality Action Plan. Woodruff noted that the committee would meet on an as -needed basis. Mandar Sunthankar and Raymond Sons volunteered to participate. It was suggested that Harry Edwards be asked if he would be interested in participating. Nancy York noted an article in the Coloradoan about the new air system at Poudre Valley Hospital that cleans ambient air. She said that Mulberry and Lemay is the third busiest intersection and this could be an opportunity to monitor intake air. Woodruff said that he will check this out. Air Quafily Action Plan Revision Process. Aaron Fodge Aaron Fodge, Natural Resources Department, introduced himself and explained that he was fulfilling the last portion of Susan Caplan's contract. He noted that he had sent boardmembers a questionnaire and would be arranging individual meetings to collect ideas on streamlining the process of updating the Air Quality Action Plan. Fodge said that he has three goals: 1) To set up a timeline for the work plan for the Air Quality Action Plan; 2) To determine what departments or agencies need to be involved, public participation concerns, and methods to provide information (intemet, television, etc.); and 3) To determine Board satisfaction with the process. Nancy York said that it would be good to involve the public. She added that she would like to do surveys in conjunction with transportation. After some discussion, boardmembers agreed to a schedule a retreat focused on the Air Quality Action Plan. Discussion of By-laws An excerpt from the Air Quality Advisory Board's by-laws dealing with members speaking to media was read. John Fooks noted that boardmembers can identify themselves as a member of the Air Quality Advisory Board, with the disclaimer that their opinion is not necessarily the opinion of the Board. Nancy York suggested that this would be good to include in the orientation to new members. Redesignation Update Air Quality Advisory Board April 22, 1998 Page 4 This is on the Council agenda for May 5 as a discussion item. It is an opportunity for board members to share their opinions with Council. The Board's recommendation is on record through a joint memo with staff to Council. State Health Department representatives will be there to urge Council not to pass the resolution because the legislature has ordered areas to redesignate as soon as they become eligible. The Board and staff are planning to tell Council that it is not in the City's best interest to redesignate. John Schroeer and John Fooks will attend the work session. Diesel Idling Survey, Jeff Use Jeff Eisert explained that he has been working on an idling truck survey for his internship at CSU. He explained that he researched complaints and performed field surveys as part of the report that he distributed to the Board. Eisert noted that complaint numbers were low and rare in Fort Collins. He added that of 36 trucks he observed idling in the Old Town area, three were idling an average time of 19 minutes. Eisert reported that the reefer (diesel powered refrigeration system) units were louder than truck engines. He noted that they run on diesel, are not regulated, and have no emission control devices. John Schroeer expressed that this was wonderful insight about the reefer units being an issue. Nancy York said that she has noticed City vehicle trucks idling. She said that she was told they idled to keep the warning light batteries from running down. John Fooks asked Eisert if there was any statistical significance to the data. Eisert responded no, the significance is in the percentage idling versus non -idling. Brian Woodruff, Natural Resources Department, explained that this was a quick random survey. He added that if statistical validity is important, more numbers would be needed. Eisert added that the original intent of the survey was to gather information about a potential ordinance as called out in the Action Plan. John Fooks asked if an ordinance is needed. Woodruff said that the survey confirms that most companies have a policy against idling. Fooks said that it appears no further analysis is necessary if what we are seeing confirms what we are hearing. Eric Levine suggested more public education on idling. Linda Devocelle, Natural Resources Department, said that it could be included in the breathing lesson promotion. 7- ransportation Funding Advisory Committee Update, John Fooks John Fooks explained that the committee meets twice a month. He said that they have been discussing operation and maintenance costs. Less than 25 percent affect Air Quality Action Plan goals; the rest directly affect transportation goals. Items for Next Meeting Agenda • Report from Aaron Fodge • Emission package and potential health relationships: Linda Devocelle Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m