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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 08/07/2002MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 281 N. COLLEGE August 7, 2002 For Reference: Randy Fischer, NRAB Chair - 226-5383 Ray Martinez, Council Liaison - 416-2154 Michelle Pawar, Staff Liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present Kelly Ohlson, Reagan Waskom, Steve Ryder, Nate Donovan, Linda Knowlton, Phil Murphy, Arvind Panjabi, Randy Fischer, Don Rodriguez Staff Present Natural Resources Dent: Mark Sears, Michelle Pawar, Susie Gordon, Terry Klahn, Margit Hentschel, Rick Bachand Utilities: Mike Smith Guests Jerry Kaltenhauser, citizen Eric Hamrick, Council member Water Conservation Update, Mike Smith Smith distributed the 2001 Annual Report and a graph reflecting the City's 2002 daily water use since June l't. • Ohlson: Have any tickets been issued? • Smith: No, we have given out packets of information and entered names into the data base. There is some confusion. We have the Council adopted restrictions, but we've also had a water wasting ordinance. When someone wastes water we're not too lenient. • Ohlson: How do you define `working well"? • Smith: We want the average to be below the green line on the chart. We're still 4 or 5 percent above it. • Knowlton: Do you anticipate any further restrictions? • Smith: There's so little summer left that even if we went into a more serious mode we wouldn't save that much water. If things don't improve this winter and next spring, we'll be back out doing the same thing, maybe more stringent, and earlier. We're getting the bugs out of the system, and unfortunately preparing for next year. • Ohlson: At some point you'll have to write tickets, or it won't be taken seriously. • Smith: We have some people in mind already. • Ryder: What kind of response have you had from the HOA's that have bigger systems that are automated? Natural Resources A visory Board • August 7, 2002 Page 2 of 5 • Smith: Most have been pretty good. We have 30 or 40 variance requests for the large acreage's. We've had about 20 homeowner requests for variances due to medical hardships. Those are the only kind we allow. We've had a lot of requests for inconvenience. • Knowlton: I spent most of the day on the Water Conservancy tour. There was a lot of talk about the restrictions. They say you don't save water when you do what we did. They say you restrict watering times. • Smith: If we had to go more strict we would probably cut down to one day, then cut the hours down. The tighter you get the more enforcement problems you have. • Ohlson: I don't really think we water a water shortage, I think we have people and consumption overage. To say we have a water shortage is old model. • Smith: We have created an environment in Fort Collins that is not natural. Most years it works ok, right now it doesn't. We've built an artificial environment and some years we're going to pay the price. We get calls about that. Some people like it, and some think that maybe the green space is a little too green. Maybe blue grass should be limited. • Ohlson: Are we making sure the hoa's aren't preventing xeriscaping? I would hope that Utilities would go retroactively after hoa's to undue agreements that prevent xeriscaping. We need to look at systemic change. Restrictions get attention, but we need to look at soil preparation and xeriscaping. • Ohlson: At City Hall they're putting a moving water feature in the xeriscape turf. I would hope Utilities would weigh in on that. • Smith: It's Art in Public Places. • Ohlson: It may not be the most appropriate place to put one. • Panjabi: Do we know how much of the total water usage is for residential lawn use. • Smith: We're not sure. We can't break it out for residential use. It's about 40% commercial and residential. • Ohlson: 85% of our water goes to external water. • Panjabi: Is there another sector of water we can look at that would make a difference? • Smith: The next piece is the inside use,and water used by business. That gets to be the question, do you really want to restrict business. We need to make sure they use water wisely. You don't want to cause problems with the local economy. • Panjabi: Do you think higher prices would have any affect? • Smith: I think it would stimulate thought. We're looking at it with Water Board, and there's a Council study session in September. • Panjabi: Do you think it will reduce water use? • Smith: Yes, there've been good studies that say you will see behavior change. • Smith: We're updating the Water Supply Policy. We're looking at the future of the City utility. We're land locked by water districts. The city water utility is slowing down. Eventually it will stop growing. What do we need as a city utility to make sure we have adequate supply for build out? The thing we found we needed most was additional storage. The City of Fort Collins has a very diverse water supply. Our biggest threat isn't us, it's the Denver metro area. Natural Resources A visory Board • August 7, 2002 Page 3 of 5 • Ohlson: What do you need from the board? On real environmental issues I would like us to be plugged in before the work sessions. • Smith: Council has to make a decision on Halligan before the end of the year. I don't see a problem of getting that to your board. Council will consider whether to exercise the option, or let it go. • Smith: It would be helpful if you would like to endorse the concept of block rates. • Donovan: Could we get some information by email, or something. • Ohlson: The purpose of the pricing is to reduce consumption. They're adopting a policy of supply before you see one or two seasons of that pricing. It appears it's setting the groundwork to say yes to Halligan even if it's not needed. Can you pull the plug if it's not needed. • Smith: If we don't build it, North Poudre will. In a sense we would benefit because we're not a majority shareholder. • Panjabi: hi our projections of how much water we're going use, lets bind ourselves to some kind of conservation and not leave the door open. • Smith: We can bring the issue up at Council. If we initiate these regulations and we have x-percent reduction in use, here's how it impacts the numbers. • Ohlson: They should have other things on the table for the future, enforce existing laws, 50% turf maximum. • Smith: I'm not sure how to get that without the planners and everyone being on the same page. • Ryder: Is there anyway of extending the option for one year? • Smith: Anything is negotiable. It would cost money. If we offered enough money they would probably do that. • Fischer: I sat on the Water Board. One of the discussions centered around conservation. One member said that lining the irrigation ditches with an impermeable base would save huge amounts of water. There are huge opportunities for water conservation. Agriculture is a big enough player in this part of the country that some serious saving could be done. I would appreciate you coming back in September or October, good things could come of it. Smoking Update, Michelle Pawar Pawar said it would be appreciated if board members would fill out the smoking survey. She said it has been in the Coloradoan, in many different City buildings, and online. It's also included in utility bills and has been available at the meetings of several different organizations and groups. We're scheduled for a study session on September 24. There are two different data sets, the statistically valid survey, and the citizen input. • Waskom: What kind of input are we getting so far? • Pawar: It's been phenomenal. We've received about 600 comments to the web site. This is an issue people really care about. • Donovan: I'm glad you did a scientific survey. • Murphy: I would like to hear a report. • Fischer: What's the timeline for action? Natural Resources Advisory Board • August 7, 2002 Page 4 of 5 • Pawar: We'll come back to Council on September 24 and expect strong and clear guidance. • Murphy: I would like to see this board support the model ordinance. I would like to see the results from the survey. • Pawar: We've asked the City Attorney when the results of the survey should be released. • Fischer: Could we get a presentation at the September 18 work session? • Donovan: What boards and commissions are you seeking input from, and what information will they have? • Pawar: The AQAB. They've already taken a position on the model ordinance. • Donovan: I would like to know what questions were asked on the survey. • Ohlson: What are the ten key points of the model ordinance. • Pawar: We'll get you a copy of the ordinance and send it out. • Donovan: We should go ahead and schedule this for September 4. Solid Waste Update, Susie Gordon Gordon said she met with the Solid Waste Committee and talked about the memo that was sent. There was a summary of what occurred on July 9 where we talked with Council about the status of program. The reaction in general was very supportive. At least three of the six council members seem to be very enthusiastic about potential new projects. We were asked to develop more information and be prepared to submit ideas for the budget exception process. • Pawar: Our deadline to submit exception requests as a service area was last Friday. We submit to John, who submits to Council for review and consideration. We looked hard at revising the original dollar amounts. We decided that rather than submit five to nine different requests it would be more strategic to roll them into one comprehensive request that articulates what can be accomplished. We asked for additional FTE's. • Ohlson: I'm disturbed that PAYT is at the end of two year program. • Pawar: We're asking for a lump sum of money. If we get the money we can design the implementation of different issues. We could change the chronology, it's not set in stone. • Donovan: There are questions about PAYT and that's fine. But the analysis depends on getting good data. Why do we think we'd get better data than we have in the past? What can we accomplish by stepping back and analyzing the whole system? • Pawar: If we get the funding amount we'll be really happy, then we'll strategize. • Donovan: By rolling it all into one request does your request say we'll do all five if we get the money? • Pawar: There are priorities, but it's flexible. • Pawar: This is in no way the end of the road. We have support to align the solid waste process with the budget process. This is the exception piece right now. • Donovan: Is it the case that the department or the service area has discretion over productivity savings? Natural Resources A lsory Board • August 7, 2002 Page 5 of 5 • Pawar: The service area has a work plan. Last year it established Climate Wise as an ongoing program. • Hamrick: Will there be a memo from the NRAB advising Council on exception type items? • Fischer: There needs to be. I would like to see the request. I would also like to get the City Managers reaction to it. • Ohlson: Council is missing the boat, and staff is obsessing on the 35% diversion rate. There's more to changing how we live than the diversion rate. We ought to encourage people to live smarter, use less and waste less. I would like it not lost that this is the short list, not the all inclusive list. I would like it communicated from staff to Council accurately and honestly. • Ohlson: I find the memo to John Fischbach inaccurate. It doesn't put your best foot forward, it understates the support. The memo said several items were met with general support, that's dramatically understated. • Fischer: I had similar concerns. It gives a lot more credence to what I would perceive as the minority viewpoint. My recollection is there was strong direction from three council members to go ahead with all nine. It could have been written from a more positive perspective. • Panjabi: It does seem there are other things that could be on there. Was mandatory recycling ever considered? • Pawar: The original total list of 21 or 23 items included that. • Fischer: We need to take action on the budget memo to Council on the 2l't. I met with the City Manager on Tuesday morning. It's going to be "iffy" if he'll support new staffing for this. • Gordon: During the process of developing this short list it was suggested that we should attribute some waste diversion to PAYT. She said there was some waste not being created, say 5% or 7% percent would be reasonable. Nate was asking how we do better, we keep working at it, and make sure the system is being followed. Land Conservation/Community Separators, Michelle Pawar Pawar presented the draft version of the August 27 presentation to Council. The board gave comments, concerns and suggestions regarding the presentation. Pawar, Tom Vosburg and Rick Bachand will refine the presentation. All board members are invited to attend a meeting of the task force on Tuesday, August 13 at 8:00 am to review the changes. This presentation will be brought back to the August 21 special meeting of the NRAB for review. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m.