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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 04/03/19910 MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD 218 N. COLLEGE AVE. - CONFERENCE ROOM APRIL 3, 1991 Board Members Present Will Smith Tim Johnson Harold Swope Chuck Davis Board Members Absent (excused) Bill Miller Staff Prese Ward Luthi Dave DuBois Deni LaRue Christine Ferguson Tom Shoemaker Julie Bothwell Karen Manci Edith Felchle Minutes It was moved, seconded, and unanimously approved that the Minutes of the March 6, 1991 NRAB meeting be accepted with typographical corrections in paragraph two of the public participation section. National Heritage Area Legislation Shoemaker said that Senator Brown intends to introduce the Legislation within days. The City places great emphasis on the Poudre River Corridor and its resources. Senator Brown recognizes this and is pushing toward some type of federal designation to recognize the river's importance. Shoemaker said the National Heritage Area will allow local control, and will be more politically feasible than other designations considered. The emphasis of a Heritage designation is on culturally and historically significant resources. The purpose is to emphasize the working river and its history in our development, focusing most of the interpretive and educational facilities in the Fort Collins and Greeley areas. Council will consider a resolution at the April 16 meeting to endorse the draft legislation and urge Congress to move ahead with the Heritage designation. Council is interested in hearing comments from the Boards and Commissions. Miller, Shoemaker, and Johnson met on April 2, to discuss the draft legislation. Miller had the following comments: on page three, top of the page, "natural open space" should be added; he would like to put "habitats" after "historical lands" on page three, line fourteen; add "and natural" on page fifteen, line twenty-one after "cultural." Johnson felt this was workable, but it was not acceptable to Utility Services. Shoemaker said that, for NRAB, part of the theme of the Shoemaker said that, for NRAB, part of the theme of the "Working River" relates to how human use of water affects the environment, how it affects wildlife, and how it may enhance wildlife habitats. Shoemaker said that the drafted memo to Council recommends endorsing the legislation, but it also underscores the belief that natural areas are part of that cultural heritage and will be included in the future programs. He said that there was good support for the draft and that the Greeley City Council is preparing to endorse it as well. Johnson said that the letter focuses not only on water management, but also on providing irrigation water. Smith asked how this will interact with other things that are going on within the City such as the Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Poudre River which would be in the Corridor area between here and Greeley. He wanted to know, with the river running through the Gateway area, how that affects some of the consideration of the purchase of land in the Gateway area for preservation. Shoemaker answered that operations along the river or the development of the river would not be affected. It was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously to transmit to Council the Poudre River National Heritage Area Legislation letter as written. Environmental Awards Recommendation LaRue said that she, Felchle, Johnson, and Smith met and went over the applications and determined a winner in each category. Nelson Metals was the winner in the business category. LaRue said they felt Nelson Metals had "gone where no business had gone before in the area of recycling." Smith added that the key in the business category was action beyond what others were doing. Karen Christophersen (Lopez School) was the winner in the school category. LaRue said they were looking for a school program that was innovative. Ms. Christophersen was active across the entire range of the school. Citizens Planners was the winner in the Group/Organization Category. The committee felt that this organization had the ability to really make a difference. LaRue said the message that they wanted to send out is that participation pays off and that you have the power to take part in the City's environmental policy, plan- ning, and future. Felchle commented that having three members on the NRAB that are members of Citizen Planners did not have an effect on Citizen Planners being chosen. NRAB members of Citizen Planners excused themselves from the discussion. LaRue said that all nominees would be recognized at the symposium for their efforts and actions. The winners will receive plaques. The runners up will receive certificates. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously approved that Nelson Metals receive the 1990 Environmental Action Award in the It was moved, seconded, and unanimously approved that Citizen Planners receive the 1990 Environmental Action Award in the Group/Organization Category. Swope, Smith, and Luthi excused themselves from voting on this category because they are members of Citizen Planners. This reduced the voting quorum to four for this particular vote. Education Committee Felchle presented an approximate agenda for the opening of the Symposium. The Mayor is being invited to give a five minute presentation. Then the Environmental Action Awards will be presented. Felchle added that there will be tables for handouts. There will be a separate table for Holnam materials. Felchle handed out copies of criteria for handouts and said that all handouts must meet this criteria. Transportation Committee Smith said that City Council had no major problem with the Transportation Plan Mission Statement and Objectives presented to them, although there were some questions. He said that Mayor Kirkpatrick stated that under the automobile and truck plan there is nothing about sign synchronization. Smith said that Councilmember Horak had some concerns with the third principle in the overall mission statement. Smith said one of his concerns is that the Transportation Plan is such a broad document, the key is going to be how specific issues will be implemented. Shoemaker was asked to let NRAB know when Council's planning retreat will be held. New Business Goals and Obiectives of City LaRue stressed that goals and objectives from 1978 are still viable today. Johnson said on page 21, regarding the Natural Areas Fund, he would like to change the wording from "Open Space" to "Natural Areas". Shoemaker commented that it would be very useful for board members to look over this document. He said that within a week staff will be finalizing the summary of the EMP Framework. Part of that discussion will review the goals and objectives related to the environment. Luthi said that one of the considerations should be what these mean when they come up against an issue, what interpretation was meant by statements of goals, policies, etc. Johnson asked the Committees to focus on their areas and bring recommendations to the May 1 NRAB meeting. Johnson wanted some input on the Economic Development section. Johnson said he has drafted a brief letter pertaining to a comment Tom Peterson made at the last Joint Chairs meeting regarding a mechanism for assessing the public benefits and cost of economic development in the community. Johnson asked Tom Peterson if such an assessment was possible. Peterson replied that it was possible without too much effort, but he wondered what purpose it would serve. Johnson said that the initial primary impacts are generally accountable, but the secondary ones are not accounted for at all. of economic development in the community. Johnson asked Tom Peterson if such an assessment was possible. Peterson replied that it was possible without too much effort, but he wondered what purpose it would serve. Johnson said that the initial primary impacts are generally accountable, but the secondary ones are not accounted for at all. He also said that these kinds of economics are a little apart from NRAB, but the question does impact NRAB. Johnson asked the Board how this should be handled. LaRue asked if it was possible to come up with the measures. Luthi said that the City Manager has indicated that it is not necessary to calculate costs of development because development will pay its own way. Johnson replied that NRAB should just recommend that there be accounting for this. Johnson will mention this to Tom Peterson at the April 4, meeting of the Joint Chairs. 1992 Budget Issues The NRAB discussed the items for input to the 1992 budget process. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously approved that the NRAB adopt the following listing of priority budget items: (1) Natural Areas; (2) Alternative Transportation; (3) Low Interest Conservation Loans; (4) Public Benefits and cost of Growth Study (5) Recycling Education; (6) and items such as, but not limited to, Stormwater Water Quality Support, World Class Environmental Center, additional Air Quality Monitoring Station. Natural Areas Policy Plan (NAPP) Shoemaker said that the preliminary draft will go to the printer the weekend of April 5, then will be hand delivered to NRAB. Shoemaker also said the plan is to discuss the status in May, and then ask for final recommendation in June. A tour has been scheduled with the Stormwater Board for April 12 at 2:00 p.m. NRAB is invited to attend. A tour has also been scheduled for April 20 at 8:30 a.m., with lunch provided afterward. Shoemaker said that sometime in late April two evenings will be scheduled for a slide show and round table discussion, one open house, and two sessions of public tours. He stated that a forty -minute slide show has been put together that walks through the content of the NAPP recommendations. Because it was rather late to start something this lengthy, he asked if the board wanted to go ahead with the discussion now or reschedule this item. It was moved, second, and unanimously approved that a special meeting be set to view the Natural Areas Policy Plan on April 10, at 7:00 p.m. Staff will announce a meeting place. Announcements Luthi stated that at one time the Board had asked Joe Frank and Tom Peterson to determine the amount of pavement and roof top area in Fort Collins, and did not receive an answer. Luthi asked if NRAB could receive some information about n U Holnam in Lyons burning hazardous waste, and leakage coming from the burning, so the information can be used in their considerations regarding Holnam's proposal in LaPorte. Shoemaker replied yes that staff would work on gathering some information. Luthi also asked for a copy of Denver's low flow toilet resolution. He said he also would like a reply on the cost of maintained, versus non -maintained, park land. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:20.