Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 04/01/1992MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY 281 N. COLLEGE AVE. - CONFER] APRIL 1, 1992 0 BOARD ICE ROOM For Reference: Will Smith, NRAB Chair - 223-0425 Cathy Fromme, Council liaison - 223-9360 Tom Shoemaker, Staff liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present Will Smith, Phil Friedman, Bill Miller, Chuck Davis, Steve Erthal, Tim Johnson, Deni LaRue Board Members Absent Hal Swope (excused), Christine Ferguson (unexcused) Staff Present Tom Shoemaker, Julie Bothwell, Edith Felchle, Greg Byrne Guest Present Bob Blinderman, Stewart Environmental Consultants minutes There was discussion of the Minutes of the March 4, 1992 NRAB meeting. On page 7, paragraph 4 where Meisel stated that bikes move 25-30 mph, Smith thought that was a little fast and was not sure if that is what she said. Bothwell will check for clarification (after review of the tape, 25- 30 mph was the speed stated). The Minutes were unanimously approved with Friedman abstaining. Old Businpaa NRAB Attendance Policy Smith suggested that the discussion be tabled. The City Attorney's Office needs to review the Board's ability to adopt an attendance policy. update on National Heritage Area Legislation Shoemaker said that the bill was scheduled for committee hearing in the Senate. Mayor Kirkpatrick and Kari Van Meter -Henderson from Planning were in Washington D.C. giving testimony on the Bill. Shoemaker said he will include a copy of Mayor Kirkpatrick's testimony in the Board's next mailout. Retreat Summary Boardmembers all agreed that the retreat went well. They also enjoyed the field trip to the Waste Water Treatment Plant I after the retreat. Miller and Johnson suggested a letter of thanks to Suzanne Jarboe - Simpson for facilitating the retreat and to Councilmembers Fromme and Azari for attending. At the retreat there was discussion about scheduling a second Board meeting each month. LaRue stated that if a second meeting was added that 1 each meeting should be trcused on separate items. smith stated that if a second meeting was added it would be for informational purposes. It would not be a meeting that would require any voting to be taken and it would not require a quorum. Johnson added that it would be committee driven so that everybody would not be required to come, but the relevant committee should primarily be present. Smith asked how Boardmembers felt about having a second meeting each month. The Board agreed that a second meeting would be good. Johnson suggested setting a date as the alternative meeting date and decide at each regular meeting if the second meeting would be needed. He said it should be a standing date so Boardmembers can leave that night open. Shoemaker said if the Board does want a second meeting, staff will find a way to implement what the Board wants. There are some issues that need to be worked out, e.g., will minutes be required. Staff is working with the City Clerk's Office and City Attorney's Office. There are some work load and budgetary problems that he will have to look at also. Felchle said that staff could have final information to the Board regarding the legal issues by the May 6 meeting. Shoemaker clarified with Boardmembers that the second meeting of the month would be aimed at informational items. Shoemaker said the notes from the retreat have been transcribed and asked if the Board would like a summary. It was agreed that a short summary would be good to have on file. Shoemaker will have those available and supply them to those who desire a summary. Environmental Action Awards Friedman reported the Education Committee's recommendations for winners of the Environmental Action Awards. He briefly explained each applicant and why the winner was chosen. The .winners will receive a plaque, the second runner up will be presented a certificate with Honorable Mention, and everyone else will receive a certificate. o In the Individual Category Mark Degregorio was the winner with David Dinwoodie and Mike Doten receiving a Certificate with Honorable Mention. o In the Government Category, the City of Fort Collins, Wastewater Treatment Division, Resource Recovery Section was the winner and the City of Fort Collins, Parks and Recreation Department will receive a certificate with Honorable Mention. o In the School Category, Fullana Elementary School was the winner and Olander Elementary Save the Earth Club will receive a certificate with Honorable Mention. Erthal moved and Friedman seconded that the Board approve the recommendations that the Education Committee brought forward for the Environmental Action Awards in the categories of Individual, Government, Business, and School. The motion was passed unanimously. 2 Miller said when*e committee discussed th*roup/organization category, he did participate in the discussion, but he did not vote since he is a member of Operation Osprey, which was being considered for an award. Friedman said that since the Education Committee could not decide on a winner in the Group/organization category they would like the Board to decide on the winner. Friedman briefed the Board on the Environmental Task Force of the First Presbyterian Church and on Operation Osprey. The Board took a vote with Miller abstaining from voting due to conflict of interest. The vote resulted in another tie. LaRue stated that both programs were great and she wanted to be sure that the Environmental Task Force would get recognized with an Honorable Mention. Smith said besides the fact that Operation Osprey is bringing back a species which has not been in this region for quite a while; it also drives a number of programs and helps to generate support for more natural areas and open space. He said there are other organizations that are doing the same thing as the Environmental Task Force. Erthal said that he was impressed with the Environmental Task Force because Operation Osprey is expected to be involved, and a church, organization would not be expected. He feels the church should be the winner because Operation Osprey does not need any more motivation to keep going. Erthal moved and Davis seconded that the Board give winner status to both Operation Osprey and the Environmental Task Force of the First Presbyterian Church. LaRue asked if anyone wanted to change their vote after the discussion. No one did. Motion passed 6-1, with Smith opposing. Concrete Facts will receive Honorable Mention in this category. Smith would like for a copy of the Environmental Actions Awards press release to go to each applicant. He thanked the Education Committee for all their work. Shoemaker asked if everything was in order for the announcement of the winners at the April 21 Council meeting. Felchle said, "yes" and that Friedman would present the winners with their plaques as well as mentioning the other applicants. Cost of Growth Study . Greg Byrne, Director of Community Planning and Environmental Services, distributed some cost of growth materials to the Board. He stated that the process began in January with staff work and presentation to Council at work sessions. The information in the material is from the Council worksessions. Byrne said the study is divided into three major components: 1. "Cost of Development" which is defined as the site -specific dollar costs to provide services to a piece of ground as it develops. It may be costs that are associated with direct on -site work, e.g., sewer line, or off -site, e.g., sewer plant costs., but they are dollar costs clearly tied to that piece of ground; 2. "Impacts of Growth", recognizing that there are costs and benefits; 3. "Regional Effects", recognizing that the City of Fort Collins does not operate in a vacuum. It is surrounded by County 3 jurisdictions; there are special taxing districts wi hin the city limits; water districts, sewer districts, hospital, county taxes within the City limits, utilities that are part of the City organization within city limits and without. Two other cities in the region (Loveland and Greeley) form a part of a labor market, housing market, and a transportation network. So it is important to get the issues on the table as to what the City does and how it will affect other city jurisdictions, other areas. They in turn may respond with actions which will affect the City of Fort Collins. Byrne said Council, at the minimum, wants the first element to have a meaningful study. That would take approximately a year, and it would be imprudent to jump into other activities in advance of doing the foundation level work, collecting the data, and evaluating the information. These all need to be done before going on to the broader philosophical and political issues that arise from growth. Council passed a resolution stating that they want staff to gather information about impact fees, and development fees as they are currently constituted, and evaluate that against the cost of providing those services over some period of time in the past, and evaluate the policies that are currently on the books in the City's Comprehensive Plan Elements that relate to growth. Council also wants staff to look at economic indicators that would help the City better understand the health of it's economy as it relates to growth and development. Council wants to see a formal workplan for those elements. Byrne stated that this where they are now. Byrne said Council has narrowed the focus of the work to the first major component -- Cost of Development -- with some other economic indicators. Staff is drafting a workplan and will be presenting it to Council in May. Smith stated that if it is a work session he and maybe some other Boardmembers would like to attend to hear the discussion. Johnson asked if elements of schools and the cost of schools would be part of the impact of growth. Byrne answered that it would be part of the first part even though it is a regional effect. Byrne said that the indicators that Council has asked for are inclined more toward the state of the economy. They recognize that is "a tough nut to crack;" indicators are useless unless they indicate something. The idea is to try and develop some indicators that have the potential of setting off the "alarm bells". They have thought about taking the SID issue as a case study; track it back and see if there are indicators that could have been developed or been used that might have set those alarm bells ringing before they ran into serious problems. Miller said there are two ways to look at this cost. 1.) What does it cost the City infrastructure directly, and 2.) on the other hand, if you have population increases because of development, costs are coming out of the property owners' pockets. So even though there is a directly identified cost of extending water, electricity, municipal services, etc., there are other costs that are going to affect the taxpayer. He asked how far this study will go to identify that versus just what it costs the City. Byrne stated that they do not know at this time. Byrne said Council discussed what they refer to as the difference between "horizontal and vertical growth." Horizontal refers to the expansion of population, housing stock, and businesses, which forces the 4 expansion of the infratructure on a linear bass Vertical refers to economies of scale, increments of growth in the community. It is not accurate to compare the cost of living'in a town of 5,000 with a cost of living in a town of 100,000 if vertically the services are different. Erthal said he would like to compared areas that have limited or no growth, and to look at whether the standard of living increases, what percentage crime goes up, and what percentage health risks increase because of increased pollution and environmental effects. Byrne stated that some of that information is under "the notion of impacts of growth" in the packet of material. Council deferred that segment to a later time in anticipation of creating baseline data. Smith wanted to know what the public review process would be at the first stage, in terms of participation, the selection of indicators, factors and specific costs. Byrne replied that the one -page excerpt from the Council workplan suggested that there is going to be an Ad -Hoc Committee; he does not think that is going to be the case. He thinks that the project will require a more sophisticated citizen participation process. Staff is currently defining that process, including what indicators they will look at, what fees they will look at, what costs will be incorporated under the umbrella of any particular fee, and Council's policy basis for assessing a fee to one group or another in the community. Friedman asked what would be done with the outcome of the study: would development fees be adjusted, would there be a limitation on building permits, would it be used to chart the course for the next few years? Byrne said that will be council's decision. Options might include direct fiscal impact; change of growth management techniques (to get the same effect for less money through planning differently); higher density residential, changes in transportation patterns. Davis asked if the study might again cause us to look at the creation of what used to be a Council of Government. Byrne said he did not foresee formation of a COG. Smith asked how the Board can be involved in the process. Miller said there will not be much information available during the nine months of the study; but maybe the Board should be updated once during that period. Johnson agreed that he would like to see what is going into the determination of the cost of development. Erthal felt that staff could give the Board guidance on how the Board could be involved in the process. Byrne stated that part of the workplan is going to include a citizen participation element. He sees a lot of diverse expectations of the study, not just growth, but also quality of life. Byrne would like for Boardmembers to read through the material and get back to him with comments and/or suggestions. Water Plant Proiect Smith stated that after the Board's tour of Water Treatment Plant I, there was a strong desire to generate action to convert the site to a city mountain park, a county park, or a state park. Johnson stated that he felt the Land Use Committee should discuss some of the initial items. Miller said they need to identify what parties G� should be involved and st, a date. Johnson said he would like for interested parties to meet the first of June. Friedman suggested for more public awareness, to get it incorporated into the annual river festival that happens in the middle of June. Also make a goal to have some disposition by next year. Shoemaker said that he briefed the River Guidance Team about the idea and the discussion from the Board and they received it favorably. He said the Parks Department would like to participate.in whatever working group looks at options and opportunities. He also said that Friedman's schedule is realistic, and that if something is to go into the 1993 budget, staff needs something definite by August or September. Smith said that he will leave it to the Land Use Committee to drive it forward in terms of an agenda. He will notify Council Liaison Fromme of the approach the Board is taking. Miller stated that since this is the Year of the River, it would be nice to get an organization to sponsor it. Johnson asked if Council has commented on the Board's Year of the River letter. Shoemaker said that Smith has copies of Council's response to the letter. Shoemaker read a note from Councilmember Azari noting that the Board's ideas of the Year of the River are excellent and extending her compliments to everybody. She thought the opportunities around a mountain park at the Water Treatment Plant, as well as the World Class Environmental Learning Center, would be potential anchors for the river around Fort Collins. Smith distributed copies of the letter regarding Year of the River that was sent to Council. He has not received comments back. Felchle said that Council did respond and the Board should be receiving it soon. Committee Reports (unscheduled) Smith stated that at the retreat there was discussion of the committee structure being used a little more effectively to look at some of the larger scope issues. He suggested that the committees meet at least once in the next month or two. He would like for each committee to look over their work plan for the year and see if progress is being made on the items. Felchle stated that if a committee has met and plans on reporting at the next Board meeting to please let her know so she can schedule time for it on the agenda. Announcements Felchle said that there have been some problems with Boardmembers not receiving mail. Bothwell distributed a copy of the labels that are used for mailing, and Felchle asked Boardmembers to look over the labels and see if the addresses were correct. She also reminded Boardmembers to notify staff if they move or their phone number changes. Johnson announced that April 26 is Gray Rock Trail cleanup. The 2 Sierra Club, Colorad*ountain Club, and Friendsof the Poudre will be • sponsoring it. The clean up starts at 8:00 a.m. at the Red Feather District located at 201 E. Olive and there will be a carpool up to the trail. There is a barbecue afterwards. Johnson announced that on June 7 there will be a river festival centered at Picnic Rock. There will be rafting and perhaps a tour of the Water Treatment Plant. Johnson announced that there was an article in Science News about biological treatment of hazardous waste, as opposed to burning. He noted that one of the hardest things for the incinerators to deal with are the chlorinated hydrocarbons and "biological plant" is going to be built that can handle 40,000 tons of contaminated water per day. Burning may be unnecessary now for some of these things. Shoemaker announced that Fort Collins Re -Leaf and Natural Resources Division are doing a planting project at River Bend Ponds April 4 and 5. There will be approximately 1,600 trees and shrubs planted. Felchle announced that Natural Resource Division has moved to 281 N. College. Erthal announced that in March the Light and Power Department and the Home Builders Association sponsored an Energy Efficient Home Building Seminar. It was an impressive presentation including all the latest in energy efficiency techniques. He would like the Board to get involved in the City's program with Energy Score. Smith announced that he has copies of applications for the Human Relations Award. If anyone would like to nominate someone for the award, let him know. Smith announced that he received two letters from Mayor Kirkpatrick. One is about the creation of the transportation Board and the other regards the proposed changes to stormwater quality. She thanked the Board for their comments. Smith reminded Boardmembers to keep working on their single occupancy vehicle challenge. It ends April 15. Shoemaker announced that Council vacancies to Boards and Commissions. membership are expiring; they need to the Board. The deadline is April 24. is accepting applications for filling He said that Miller and Davis's reapply if they would like to stay on Johnson announced that the Electric Board's meeting on April 15 will be about Demand Management. It is at 5:00 at Light and Power, 700 Wood St. Miller announced that Operation Osprey/Fort Collins Wildlife Coalition has bought the materials and put together 6 of the nest structures that will be attached to the poles. He said that there will be an auction April 16. Adiournmeat The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. FA