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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 01/26/2009AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES January 26, 2009 DATE: . Monday, January 26, 2009 LOCATION: 215 N. Mason Conference room 1-A TIME: 5:30 -8:00 P.M. Dinner is served starting at 5:15 For Reference: Eric Levine, Chair - 493-6341 David Roy, Council Liaison - 407-7393 Brian Woodruff, Staff Liaison - 221-6604 Board Members Present: Eric Levine, Kip Carrico, Dale Adamy, Katrina Winborn, Dennis Georg, Dave Dietrich, Greg McMaster. Two new members of AQAB in attendance were Hugh Mackay and John Schroeer. Staff Present: Alexis Hmielak, Brian Woodruff Eric Levine called the meeting to order at 5:37 pm Public input none Transit Strategic Plan Transfort/Dial-a-Ride Manager Kurt Ravenschlag, and Transit Planning Specialist Nicole Hahn addressed the AQAB with an overview of the Transit Strategic Plan update. Kurt began by describing the many reasons to invest in public transportation • Economic o Stimulates the economy ■ For every $10 million invested we see $30 million in return to the economy. o Creates and sustains employment ■ Nationally, it is shown for every $1 billion invested, 47,000 jobs are created. ■ This means locally, $1 million should yield 50 jobs. The Mason Comdor's investment of $82 million should generate 4,000 jobs. o Enhances personal economic opportunity and saves individuals money. ■ A typical 2-car household can be reduced to 1 car if they use public transportation, resulting in a large annual savings. o Investing in transit provides a catalyst for increased real estate development because homes located near transit have proven to be higher in value. o Fosters more livable communities that are more pedestrian -friendly as a result of access and mobility from transit corridor. • Energy and environment o Each year public transportation use in the US saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil every 11 days, 140,769 fewer service station tanker trucks each year and 300,000 fewer automobile fill -ups each day. o Based on current figures in the US, if an individual took transit to work they could reduce 5000 pounds of COZ annually (based on average vehicle miles traveled). • Social benefits o Transit provides benefits for seniors, students and those in poverty. • Impacts on the transportation network o Reduces investment required for expansion of streets o Relieves congestion and travel time o Protects mobility o Complete streets — In Fort Collins when we build new streets they need to be complete (with infrastructure such as utilities, bike lanes and capacity for transit.) Transit Strategic Plan Kurt explained that in the last Budgeting for Outcomes process, Council was asked to fund the update of Transfort's 2002 Strategic Operating Plan with a focus. on updating the premise of developing a grid transit network and identifying financing, efficiencies and cost effectiveness. • Transportation decided to partner with the City of Loveland and Poudre School District (PSD) along with stakeholder agencies within the Fort Collins' urbanized area. • The purpose of the project is to get a dialogue started in the community to develop a new path of multi -modal transportation in order to provide more options to meet the needs of the community. The process for doing this is: o Collect input from community o Examine existing conditions in Fort Collins/Loveland/PDD o Examine existing conditions plus Mason Corridor o Develop a system of build out to meet community needs o Financial planning • The project began in July, 2008, with public outreach through the summer, updated operational plans in the fall and will continue public outreach in early 2009. o They assembled a committee of citizens from Loveland and Fort Collins as a Financial Advisory Committee and asked them to write a recommendation to fund and implement expanded transit in these areas. o Comments heard: - Schedules and routes should be easy to understand. - Implement a grid system. - Increase hours of service, especially on weekends. - Increase frequency of trips to at least every half hour. - Access lower income housing areas. - Have more bike room. - Cover a larger area. - Have regional connections. In answer to a question from Dennis Geog, Kurt stated the citizen Financial Advisory Committee is working on evaluating what people are willing to pay to have the above level of service but there are no results at this time. • The Study area is the Fort Collins urbanized area, Loveland and Berthoud. o They're also looking for opportunities to regional connections. • The existing transportation system has 18 fixed routes, 23 vehicles in peak service and had 1,641,509 annual ridership in 2007. • Loveland's system is smaller with 3 fixed routes, 5 vehicles in peak service and had 115,922 annual ridership in 2007. • They are targeting the high schools to find redundancies of PSD service. o In answer to a question from Greg McMaster, Kurt stated they are working with the PSD to see what opportunities there are for the IB students to use public transportation at certain time points during the day.. • Financing is the heart of the project. 2 o The Finance Advisory Committee met in September, 2008, and will make a recommendation in March, 2009. o -Operating costs of current service costs is a little over $8 million. o Requests for increased frequency, coverage, night service, weekend, connections to neighboring communities and Denver will cost a lot of money. o Fort Collins is often compared with Eugene Oregon, Colorado Springs and Champaign, Illinois, however those cities have dedicated funding for their transportation system. Transfort does not. It competes with other projects within Fort Collins for financing. o The Finance Committee is looking at many options for funding. o Hugh Mackay wondered if Fort Collins' rider requirements are less than sister cities since a smaller percentage of our. population work in Fort Collins. • There are 3 phases to expand Transfort's service out to 2015. o Phase 1 — 2011 ■ Fort Collins — modest growth ■ Addition of MAX BRT ■ Restructuring of CSU-related service , ■ Some local route modifications ■ Loveland — more aggressing restructuring ■ Increase 3 to 6 buses ■ Renumber bus routes ■ Service to be anchored at COLT's existing transfer stations o .Phase 2 — 2013 — more aggressive bridge network ■ Fort Collins o Significant service growth - Targeting enhanced travel corridor o Renumbering routes o Expanded geographic coverage, span of service and service o Added 2 regional routes ■ Hwy 287 to Longmont ■ Commuter service to Denver Union station with two trips (morning and pm). This is being proactive and not waiting for the north I-25 EIS that is currently only in a planning stage. • Loveland o Expanded geographic coverage, span of service and service frequencies. o Assumes same 3 transit facilities as scenario 1 o Facility improvements and 3 transit facilities. o Phase 3 — 2015 ■ Fort Collins — significant service growth o Additional routes along enhanced travel corridors o Expanded geographic coverage, span of service and service frequencies o Added 3 additional regional routes ■ Loveland o Significant expansion of service _ o Assumes same three transit facilities as Scenario 1 o Assumes new transfer facility at Thompson valley town center • In answer to a question by John Schroeer who asked if funding for the Mountain Vista Transit Center has been allocated, Kurt stated it is being addressed through the Financial Advisory group. Also, once the 2015 projections of population density are there, they will be running busses there. • Brian Woodruff pointed out the Planning Department has asked to present to the AQAB in February about the Mountain Vista Plan. 3 • Draft Poudre School District analysis of existing conditions (for all 3 phases) o Purpose was to determine number of students within % mile of transit route and to see if the school district wants to adjust their bussing boundaries to provide the additional option of students using public transit. o Second consideration was to look at financial partnerships (purchasing bus passes). This would be an option for students to ride public transportation. o Transfort currently gets a grant from the Bohemian Foundation for students to ride public transit for free, but the grant doesn't come close to covering Transfort's cost. PSD has said they would help supplement the cost. o CSU students do not ride Transfort for free. Their tuitions cover a fraction of the cost. Transfort is investigating other opportunities to establish additional partnerships with CSU outside of the students. • Next Steps. o February 10 — Council work session to provide project overview and status to get Council thinking of what is coming up. o February 24 — Loveland public open house o February 25 — Fort Collins public open house o March 26 — Citizen Financial Advisory Committee provides final funding recommendation o April — May — Board and Council adoption process. • Any questions - go to www.fcgov.comAsp • In answer to a question from Dale Adamy regarding the associated costs between Phases 1, 2 and 3, Kurt stated ballpark figures in Fort Collins, projected out to the year of implementation, are: o Phase 1 —under $1 million o Phase 2 - $12-14million for total operating costs o Phase 3 - $19 million o Regional costs could be $20 million - $30 The AQAB members asked questions and made suggestions about Kurt Ravenschlag's presentation. • Dennis Georg stated this presentation was not clear on what Transfort's mobility strategy is to achieve their results and suggested it be part of this presentation. It would also be helpful to include metrics such as increased ridership or CO2 reduction so Council can make an investment decision. • Eric stated that when he was involved in developing the Climate Action Plan, the estimated transportation VMT reduction for 2012 was underachieved. As a result, Eric would like to see VMT and CO2 reduction as part of Transfort's strategy to support the Climate Action.Plan. • Kurt pointed out the Transit Strategic Plan is partly to have a system in place so that when the market creates an environment where people don't want to drive as much, there is an expanded public transit system in place for them. • Greg McMaster suggested there are many positive reasons in the plan, but they need to sell them stronger. He reminded the group that the last time the City had a transit plan, they didn't do a good job of selling it. • Dave Dietrich asked Kurt if he had any statistics on how much more time it would take someone to take transit instead of driving around town. Kurt answered that's the goal for the grid network and rapid transit on Mason. Right now our system is circuitous. When we have more resources we can straighten out the routes. Travel time and frequency are the key elements to increase ridership. • Eric wondered if by 2015, what percentage of the Fort Collins population would be able to go where they want to go when they want to get there. He suggested bus service every half hour is what people want. You can't do that with the current 23 busses. 4 • Dennis asked Kurt, if Transfort had 1.8 million riders in 2007, what fraction of total trips taken (including walking, biking, cars, etc.) does that 1.8 million riders represent and could he then forecast what those trips would be if Transfort grows out to the Transit Strategic plan's projection. Kurt stated Transfort has those statistics. He also projected busses would increase from 23 to 54 in 2015 and to 93 in the region. • Eric wondered if there were any studies that show various unrecovered costs to cities that are worked out by density, since it was his understanding density determines ridership and thus, affordability of transit systems. He also .wondered if any parts of the City are projected to be denser than they are now. Kurt stated 7 homes/acre is a minimum number Transfort uses to determine whether transit is effective. The goals of the Mason Corridor is to focus growth into the core of the community. • Eric suggested one way to market this plan is to focus on affordability for the individual family like the Electric Policy is doing. • Dennis suggested Kurt also integrate the City's Mobility Plan and show how the Transportation Plan intersects with what the City does for pedestrians, bicyclists and alternative modes of transportation. • Eric pointed out that the cost of increasing transit capacity on streets after a certain point goes up exponentially. For example, expansion of transit on College Avenue can only go over or under it. Kurt stated the master street plan is based on full -functioning transit network. You would be underbuilding if you don't have transit system to take part of it. • Dave Dietrich asked if the hospital system has any internal plans to expand transit to Harmony Center, especially for employees. Kurt stated Transfort is looked at having a route between Harmony Campus and Loveland in Phase 3. The Financial Advisory Committee is looking at the City's existing agreements, such as with CSU, and will pursue additional financing agreements with them, large businesses and apartments. • Eric suggested The Transportation Plan needs to compare their costs to the costs of road projects. • In answer to a question from Kip Carrico, Kurt stated the fleet currently has 4 alternative fuel vehicles and the goal is new replacement vehicles will be alternative fuel. • Dale Adamy stated this Plan should contain a "Goals and Objectives" section so that decision makers can more effectively address the underlying measures. Objectives ought to address social needs as well as congestion (and related pollution) reduction. Strategy ought to address land use code and mobility management. o Kurt stated this Transportation Plan feeds into the City Plan and they are trying to work with the goals and objectives of the City Plan. • Dale Adamy asked why there are no bus stops on Trilby, since the busses depart and return from their barn on Trilby. Kurt explained that would be adding an additional route for which they do not have revenue or potential income to fund. • Eric Levine asked how the $10 million and $30 million return stated in the Plan were calculated. Dennis cautioned Kurt to be careful with return figures when it isn't specified return to whom. o Kurt stated these were national statistics. When the money goes in, it comes back out into the community and sparks additional investment. enhanced property values and development. • In answer to a question by Eric who asked when the Mason Street BRT is going in, its time of service and path, Kurt stated opening day is in 2011. It will begin south of Harmony Road at the new transit center and will travel north/south to the downtown transit in a five -mile corridor. At University Avenue it exits to a dedicated guideway through the CSU campus. There will be eight stations and eight additional curbside stops. The articulated busses will be 60' long with low clearance and will be going from 6:00 am to midnight. Projections for the Mason Corridor alone will be double the current system -wide ridership. G • Kurt Ravenschlag stated he. may come back to the AQAB in March or April to present the final plan and funding recommendations. That way, the AQAB could -make a recommendation before the April Council session. • Brian stated that, in order to make the most sense for air quality, the overall goal of the Transportation Plan should be to reduce vehicle miles travelled. • Dennis suggested the beginning slides of the presentation should be about how this plan will make Transfort more productive and why this is a good investment, based on hard evidence about impacts and results you are going to deliver. • Eric suggested having synergy between Mason Street Corridor and the Transportation Plan. This would show potential for increased ridership. Kurt pointed out the east/west feeder network is also necessary to make Mason Street Corridor work. Budget -For -Outcomes process (BFO] The AQAB Discussed the City budget process and opportunities for Board input as described in a memo from Chief Financial Officer Mike Freeman who wants input from Board and Commission members by March 27, 2009. The group also had suggestions how to improve the BFO process. e Brian briefly explained the consultants that developed this BFO process suggested having a small number of overarching goals with results statements as a starting point. The content of these goals are left up to Council. Results Teams are then formed for each goal that state the desired results. Then the City Departments pitch how to spend the money and how their project will get the desired results. This BFO process was brought to Fort Collins by Darin Atteberry when he became City Manager. • Dennis Georg stated that in the past he has found the BFO process frustrating because you can't find funding for major programs unless you go line by line. He suggested the BFO process list service areas that are based on City services and programs. It should also have a results area that clearly shows if the City is adequately funding major initiatives such as -the Climate Action Plan. He stressed that the City budget needs to follow City policy. There needs to be another view of the spending proposals that reflect the funding of elements that support city policies. o Eric agreed the BFO process does not show the interconnectivity of things. o Dale suggested a gridded view of policies and how they are funded so it is clear where funding is coming from o Katrina suggested staff be designated to be an advocate of each policy. o Dennis voiced his disappointment the BFO process is a spending process, not an investment process that results in competitive spending versus outcome -oriented spending. It would be better if the City discussed results in the BFO process. o Dennis suggested the City Council budget for at least what they have agreed to do. • Brian pointed out there are three stages where the AQAB is encouraged to get involved in this process. o Before the goals are set o Before requests for results are finalized o Before the cut list where the proposals are prioritized with funding next to them and final funding selections are made • Eric summarized the question: How does the AQAB fit in the BFO process when the AQAB would like the BFO process to be different. Specifically, how can the AQAB take the outcomes it wants to see and give feedback. o Dennis suggested looking back at the recommendations the AQAB made and connect where funding should be for those items. o Hugh Mackay stated the AQAB's mandate would probably be input regarding air quality issues. Z o Dale suggested all the boards come together to collaborate on the BFO process. o Dennis suggested the group think about which specific policies they would like to see funded so the AQAB can achieve their objectives as a board. • Brian pointed out the AQAB is not being requested to suggest improvements to the budgeting process. • Brian will make a courtesy call to Mike Freeman to alert him that the AQAB may be making recommendations regarding the BFO process and invite him to the February meeting if he would like to discuss. • The AQAB agreed to continue this discussion in February. The group will think about the policies and a priority list and pass a list around. Brian can assemble that list. Inspection/Maintenance bill, SB 09-003 • Brian stated this is a very limited bill that establishes boundaries within which the IM emissions inspection would operate and removes loopholes for classic cars to prevent Junker" cars from taking advantage of collector car status. • Dennis stated he was confused what the bill was doing because he saw no metrics or cutpoints in SB 09-003 and wondered who makes the decision of boundaries and cut points. o John Schroeer stated it was his understanding those items have already been decided and Randy Fischer only asked the Air Quality Advisory Board to review this document and let him know if anything didn't look right. • In answer to a question by Hugh Mackay, John stated the expanded emissions area coincides with the ozone non-compliance area. The general thought is that the expansion area is basically for future use. The Air Quality Control Commission will tweak the boundaries down to the populous area so there will not be a program where there are no people. • In answer to a question from Dennis, John stated the emissions testing method will be IM240. The IM240 was designated because of its ability to quickly expand the current program into our area. • Dennis said was his understanding the EPA specified there also has to be an option for an OBD system and wondered why it wasn't in the SIP. John Schroeer answered that it is most likely in the SIP to provide for cities that were not going to do IM240. John did not know if there was a waiver from the EPA. • Dennis stated he objected to the IM240 program because less COz and.ozone are removed than the OBD system and also because of the ultimate cost of the IM240 system. o In answer to a question from Dennis Geog, John Schroeer pointed out, even though newer cars have the OBD system installed and repair shops have equipment to read it, the OBD system also requires more infrastructure such as data collection systems, procedures and tie-ins to the central information system. • Brian pointed out the IM240 was selected for this area in the SIP. Even though it hasn't been formally signed yet, it is too late to change it. He also talked to the City's legislative coordinator, Tess Heffernan, and told her the AQAB was looking at the bill. She stated, if the AQAB felt strongly enough about the bill, the City could take a position on it or send a person to testify about it. The group agreed no action needs to be taken by Tess on behalf of the City. • Eric stated the City's goal is reduce ozone non-compliance and the AQAB doesn't have much choice but to support this. Dennis Georg moved and Dave Dietrich seconded a motion that the AQAB will send a memo to Randy Fischer saying we reviewed this house bill and, with regard to the included two areas of that bill (expansion of the area for testing and the treatment of collector autos) we agree with the bill as presented and recommend his support and it is consistent with interests of the AQAB regarding air quality in the City of Fort Collins. Motion passed 8-1 with John Schroeer abstaining Review AQAB Annual Report. The Board is required to submit an annual report of its activities by 30 January. The group discussed a prepared draft that outlined the recommendations to Council made by the AQAB in 2008. The group agreed the draft was good and Greg McMaster will add a section regarding the programs and issues discussed. Minutes of December 17, 2008 Dale Adamy had some minor changes to his statement and gave them to the recording secretary. Greg McMaster pointed out a typo on page 3. Dennis moved and Greg seconded a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Motion approved unanimously Brief updates & announcements • The group agreed to move the AQAB February meeting date from February 16, to February 23, 2009, because the 16`h is President's Day. • The group also agreed to move the AQAB March meeting date from March 16 to March 23, 2009 because of spring break. • The group agreed to have elections at the March meeting. Greg McMaster moved and Dave Dietrich seconded a motion to adjourn. Eric adjourned the meeting at 8:50 pm Submitted by Alexis Hmielak Administrative Secretary I Approved by the Board on J 3 52009 Signed r L/ Al strative Secretary I Date L