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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 10/20/2011Water Board Minutes October 20, 2011 1 Fort Collins Utilities Water Board Minutes Thursday, October 20, 2011 Water Board Chairperson City Council Liaison Gina Janett, 493-4677 Wade Troxell, 219-8940 Water Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison Steve Balderson, 223-7915 Brian Janonis, 221-6702 Roll Call Board Present Chairperson Gina Janett, Vice Chairperson Steve Balderson, Board Members Brett Bovee, Rebecca Goldbach, Lori Brunswig, Steve Malers, Duncan Eccleston, Johannes Gessler, Brian Brown, Reagan Waskom, and Phil Phelan Staff Present Brian Janonis, Susan Smolnik, Dennis Bode, Lance Smith, Roger Buffington, Mark Sears, Lindsay Kuntz, Lisa Voytko, Ken Sampley, Basil Hamdan, Carrie Daggett, and Harriet Davis Guests Don Silar Meeting Convened Chairperson Janett called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Public Comment None Approval of September 15, 2011 Minutes Board Member Gessler moved to approve the minutes from the September 15, 2011 meeting. Board Member Brown seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Board Member Eccleston abstained from the vote due to his absence on September 15, 2011. Maxwell Farm Conservation Easement Water Use Agreement (Attachments available upon request). Water Resources Engineer Susan Smolnik introduced the topic and introduced Natural Areas Program Manager Mark Sears. Mr. Sears stated the Natural Areas Program has been working in partnership with Larimer County and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on conserving farm land located between the City of Fort Collins and the Town of Wellington. The Maxwell Farm was purchased in 2009 with the intent of placing a conservation easement on the farm. The Natural Areas Program now intends to resell the farm. There is a water component to the farm, including three wells on the site. This well water can only be used on the farm. There are also twelve shares of North Poudre Irrigation Company (NPIC) water that are not necessarily tied to the farm but are essential to irrigation. Natural Areas would like to keep the water rights tied to the farm but useful to Utilities as well. The benefit to the Natural Areas Program includes revenues to offset the cost of conserving the farm. Water Board Minutes October 20, 2011 2 Ms. Smolnik reiterated there are twelve NPIC shares associated with the property and that Natural Areas wants to keep the property as an irrigated farm. Under the proposed plan, Utilities will purchase eleven of the twelve NPIC shares. One share remains with the property. In exchange for purchasing the shares, Utilities will enter into a raw water transfer agreement. Utilities will transfer an amount of water equivalent to the yield of the eleven shares back to the Maxwell Farm property each year. There is a benefit to Utilities because of how the NPIC share is divided. There is both an agricultural (ag) portion and a multiple use portion to the share. The multiple use portion of the share can be used by Utilities now. The ag portion of the share is more difficult for Utilities to use. Under the raw water transfer agreement, Utilities will substitute water from the ag portion of NPIC shares already owned by Utilities and will instead use the multiple use water derived from these eleven shares. Utilities receives the benefit of using the eleven shares for approximately half the market price and Maxwell Farm receives the benefit of not having to pay full price for the shares. Board discussion: Who would maintain operation of the farm? Mr. Sears stated that Fox Creek would maintain operation of the farm. Fox Creek is a cow/calf operation that raises cattle primarily in Wyoming. They will winter their cattle on Maxwell Farm and raise corn and hay during the summer months. Are there any negatives to the proposed deal? Mr. Sears stated the proposed deal is a win-win solution for all parties involved. Fox Creek will benefit because they will not have to pay full value for the shares. Is there a use for the additional water by acquiring the additional shares? Ms. Smolnik stated there will be a benefit during certain critical years. The key piece of the share is the multiple use portion of the share. Is the water going to the farm part of ag shares that are already owned by Utilities? It would be the amount of water allocated each year by the NPIC under the ag portion of the share. The ag water would be swapped with other shares as part of the raw water transfer agreement. A board member asked for clarification to explain the mechanism to tying the water to the land? Mr. Sears stated there are two agreements that will tie the water to the land; the conservation agreement between Natural Areas and Fox Creek and the raw water transfer agreement between Utilities and Fox Creek. These agreements will ensure the water has to be used on the land. What happens in the future? If the terms of the raw water transfer agreement are not followed, the shares would remain under the ownership of Utilities. Is Natural Areas going to pay for the lease agreement? The owners of Fox Creek will pay the assessments. A board member asked for clarification on the financial aspect of the proposed agreement. Natural Areas paid 1.4 million for the property and will sell the property for $800,000. The eleven shares will be sold to Utilities for $110,000. Natural Areas will recoup more than $900,000 of their initial investment. This difference is called the conservation value. Water Board Minutes October 20, 2011 3 Can this type of agreement be used with other properties in the future? Mr. Sears stated the ideal situation would be to find a landowner who would benefit from a conservation easement and would be willing to sell the conservation easement. How does this impact the Poudre River? Would it change the river’s use? The North Poudre shares would continue to be used in the same way and there will not be an impact to the river. Chairperson Janett stated the Conservation and Land Stewardship Board has reviewed this conservation easement and voted unanimously to recommend approval. Vote on the motion. It passed unanimously. Construction Specifications Update (Attachments available upon request). Vice Chairperson Balderson stated the item was presented to the Engineering Committee on October 10, 2011. The committee did not formally vote on a recommendation for the item, but did recommend that staff should present the item to the board for their review. Water Utilities Development Review Manager Roger Buffington introduced the item and stated the City maintains standard development construction specifications for water, wastewater, and stormwater improvements built within new residential and commercial structures. The current development specifications exist in three separate documents that were prepared at different times. The objective for the current update is to consolidate the current specifications into one set of specifications. The specifications will be converted to the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) format. This format is widely used by engineers and contractors. Once the documents are completed, they will be uploaded to the City’s website. Don Silar with Stantec, the company contracted to assist with the update of the specifications, stated he has worked with the specifications through the development process and the capital project process. The City has hired Stantec to bring the three separate documents into an industry standard. No information has been changed other than updating the standards. The Utilities Capital Group has used the CSI format for the last 30 years. Stantec used the Triple Bottom Line analysis to update the specifications. Mr. Buffington stated a procedure for future specification updates has also been included. This has been tailored after the process contained in the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards. These standards were developed by Larimer County, the City of Fort Collins, and the City of Loveland. Policy revisions would be referred to City Council. Technical revisions would allow for updates of products, manufacturers, and minor additions/corrections to be made by the Utilities Executive Director. Staff is requesting Water Board support for this item. Board Member Waskom moved that the Water Board support the Utilities proposed purchase of eleven shares of North Poudre Irrigation Company water from the Natural Areas Program and to support the Utilities entering into a raw water transfer agreement for the purpose of delivering water annually to the Maxwell Farm as part of a conservation easement. Board Member Goldbach seconded the motion. Water Board Minutes October 20, 2011 4 Board discussion: How do the standards overlap with the Stormwater Criteria Manual? Stormwater Quality Engineer Basil Hamdan stated the design criteria are similar to design concepts. The construction specifications relate to how a development is built. Do the specifications include water and sewer service lines and water meter pits? Is there a specification for gray water? No, there is no current specification for gray water. The specifications would have to be updated because the piping used for gray water is colored differently. Are the specifications included in the building code? Mr. Buffington stated these specifications refer to public improvements maintained by the City which are generally in street right-of-ways or public easements whereas building code refers to construction of private buildings. Mr. Silar reminded the board that the standards pertaining to developments are more generic. Capital standards are more project specific. The City is moving forward with goals of re-development. Are there allowances for re- development? Mr. Buffington stated these specifications do not include those differences and that those are considered on a case by case basis. These specifications cover the basic construction of a water, sewer, and stormwater facilities. Board Member Brown stated the Engineering Committee reviewed the information and looked at a tracking table created by staff that describes what items were modified. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously. Stormwater Criteria Manual (Attachments available upon request). Stormwater Quality Engineer Basil Hamdan introduced this item. The Stormwater Drainage Design Manual was originally adopted in 1984. There was a minor update to the manual in 1997 to include water quality requirements. The new Volume Three Manual was adopted by the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD) in December 2010. Staff is recommending adoption of the UDFCD Criteria Manual Three Volume Set as the standard for the City of Fort Collins. Project Goals Mr. Hamdan gave an overview of the project goals, including clarification of the existing policies, providing a mechanism for timely updates, and encouraging the use of sustainable technologies. Staff would also like to provide a standard methodology consistent with neighboring communities along the Front Range. Public Process The public process includes the formation of a steering committee and a stakeholders group. A draft document was created in February 2011. This document underwent a peer review in June Board Member Brown moved that the Water Board recommend approval and adoption of the Standard Development Specifications for Stormwater, Water, and Wastewater Construction including the process outlined for future updates. Board Member Eccleston seconded the motion. Water Board Minutes October 20, 2011 5 2011. The item was presented to the Planning and Zoning Board in July 2011. Staff would like to present the item to Council as soon as possible. Highlights from the Public Process Highlights from the public process include minimizing the number of absolute requirements, allow flexibility for site specific requirements, provide for a variance process in cases where requirements cannot be met, and provide criteria that are consistent with other communities along the Front Range while keeping what is specific to the City of Fort Collins. Proposed Criteria Highlights Proposed criteria highlights include the use of the UDFCD manual as a base with a Fort Collins Exception Manual, encourage Best Management Practices (BMPs) for stormwater quantity and quality management, promote the use of Low Impact Development (LID) technologies, and encourage stream protection and rehabilitation. Mr. Hamdan explained the concept of LID, which is a site design strategy that uses techniques to create a functionally equivalent hydrologic landscape. He shared examples of LIDs including bio-retention, block pavers, and tree filters. Stormwater Criteria and LID Design Mr. Hamdan shared the benefits of LID design, including lower life cycle costs, more design flexibility, and lower total impervious area. Staff is providing technical assistance to future developments in an attempt to bring issues to the forefront. LIDs do not solve all stormwater issues with respect to flooding. The LID policy is under development subject to effectiveness studies. LIDs could have higher initial investment costs. Chairperson Janett reminded the board that this item is a result of the implementation of the policy work from 2009-2010. The goal of the present board is to determine how these standards meet the policy objectives. Board discussion: Did Water Board or City Council have concerns about the issues? Was there new content for LIDs since Urban Drainage has already dealt with the concerns? Mr. Hamdan stated policy direction initially came from the Water Board and City Council to look at more innovative techniques. The ideas were part of Council’s vision and City has followed up by adopting the Urban Drainage Standards. Stormwater and Floodplain Program Manager Ken Sampley stated testing and monitoring is being conducted to evaluate the program since some of the techniques may not work well. Is there language in the manual to require LIDs as part of the stormwater framework? Mr. Hamdan stated “green” practices are encouraged, but not required. A matrix is used to determine what may work in certain developments. Does the new manual change the MS4 Stormwater Permit? Mr. Sampley stated it does not change the permit. He reiterated that the standards are site specific and depend on the particular development. What is the process to modify the standards if BMPs are not working? Staff will be working with legal to modify the technical standards as necessary. Mr. Sampley stated since there are only two years of data, it is too soon to determine if design standards should be modified. Water Board Minutes October 20, 2011 6 Are there opportunities to modify existing structures? Mr. Hamdan stated retrofits are not required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); however, staff routinely looks at what is functioning well and what is not functioning well. Is there an increased workload to staff because they will be providing technical assistance? Mr. Hamdan stated there is a dedicated staff member to work with new developments. He stated it is more productive to work with developers at the front end of a project rather than having to modify development design after the fact. Can an individual homeowner reduce their stormwater fee? Yes; however, the costs to do this may be more than what is saved with the stormwater fee. Will there be public outreach for these incentives? Mr. Hamdan stated this information will be provided on the City website once approved. Beyond the localized sites for stormwater monitoring, is there a City wide program to monitor how the City is doing as a whole? Mr. Sampley stated Environmental Regulatory Specialist Susan Strong monitors this as part of the MS4 Stormwater Permit. Mr. Hamdan stated there is also baseline data on several creeks in the City. Samples are taken on a quarterly basis at four locations. Is the monitoring sufficient to tell if the water quality has improved because of the new criteria? Baseline data is needed to effectively monitor this and data is only available for the past two years. Better data will be available in the future. Chairperson Janett stated the policy repurposing was completed to not only enable the changes but also encourage the changes. Have any developers suggested the improvements? What has been the reception to the new practices? Mr. Hamdan stated developers that have looked at long term benefits are realizing there will be more return on their investment with the “green” technologies. Most developers have been eager to adopt the standards and reception has been well received for the new practices. Mr. Sampley stated developers will see an economic benefit to the new practices. Is there a fee for adopting the Urban Drainage Standards? No; there is a cooperative effort in sharing the information. What will be done for the individuals in the floodplain concerning fees and BMPSs? Mr. Sampley stated the floodplain component is separate from the stormwater runoff component. How will Volume 3 for Water Quality Requirements be integrated so if a developer looks at Volume 3? The developer will have to look through the Exceptions Manual for changes. The Exceptions Manual lists detention requirements, channel designs, rainfall amounts, etc. Mr. Hamdan stated there is a guide that lists the changes to the manual. Chairperson Janett expressed a comment concerning the 5 percent slope as a minimum standard. She would like to see a maximum slope as well. She is concerned that the steep slopes are counter-productive to LIDs. She asked this be considered as part of the standards. Water Board Minutes October 20, 2011 7 Would the City of Fort Collins provide disincentives for a certain level of stormwater discharge? Mr. Sampley stated this is reflected in the current stormwater fees. There is a higher fee for impervious areas. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously. Authorizing Conveyance of a Non-Exclusive Utility Easement on City Property to Public Service Company of Colorado (Attachments available upon request). Mr. Janonis gave background information on this item. He stated these types of easements are not normally brought to the Water Board but that he requested this item be presented to the board for consideration before presentation to Council. Stormwater and Floodplain Program Manager Ken Sampley introduced the topic and introduced Real Estate Specialist Lindsay Kuntz. Mr. Sampley gave background information for the Xcel Easement on McClelland’s Creek. Xcel has requested a 10’ foot wide utility easement for the purpose of installing a gas line to a new development east of the creek. The proposed gas line will be bored underground and will be at least 30 inches below the creek flow line. There is no anticipated surface disturbance. Construction will be scheduled sometime in 2012. Mr. Sampley explained the easement alignment and detail map. Part of the easement would cross Poudre School District property. The property and creek is owned and maintained by the City of Fort Collins’ Stormwater Utility. Real Estate Services has determined a value for the easement based on past acquisition costs for similar stormwater properties and the fact that the property is in the floodway. This item has also been presented to the Natural Resources Advisory Board. Discussion on the motion: How big is the gas line? The gas line, including the encasing, is approximately 6 inches. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously. Draft 2012 Annual Work Plan Chairperson Janett stated the 2012 Annual Work Plan will be adopted at the November Water Board meeting. She requested the board secretary to send the 2011 Work Plan to all board members and requested Work Plan drafts from each board chair by November 8, 2011. A board member also requested a list of all committees and their respective members. The board secretary will send this information to all members. Board Member Gessler moved the Water Board recommend that City Council consider approval of conveyance of a utility easement on City Property to Public Service Company, consistent with staff’s recommendations. Board Member Brown seconded the motion. Board Member Balderson moved that the Water Board recommend Council approval of the proposed Fort Collins Stormwater Criteria Manual as attached to this Board packet and recommends incorporating the proposed Stormwater Criteria Manual update into the City of Fort Collins Land Use Code and the City of Fort Collins Municipal Code, as appropriate. Board Member Phelan seconded the motion. Committee Reports Conservation and Public Education Committee (Board Member F/ic/an): This committee met on October 19 to discuss their 2012 agenda. Engineering Committee (Board Member Balderson,: This committee met on October 10 to hear information about the Construction Specifications Update as presented earlier. Legislative, Finance, and Liaison Committee (‘Board Member Goldbach,): This committee did not meet in October. They would like the City’s Lobbyist Tess Heffernan to attend their next meeting in November. Water Supply Committee (Board Member Gessler,): This committee did not meet in October. All the committees attended special meetings in September and October to hear an update on the Water Supply and Demand Management Policy. Staff Reports Monthly Water Resources Report Water Resources Manager Dennis Bode provided this report for the agenda packet. Other Business Mr. .Janonis introduced Lance Smith, the new Strategic Financial Planning Manager for Utilities. As part of his job scope, Mr. Smith will be looking at long term regulatory impacts on Utilities. Future A2enda Items None Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:16 p.m. Submitted by Harriet Davis, Administrative Assistant. Fort Collins Utilities Approved by the Board on ‘XOO€4’LbeX 9 ,2011 Signed: Board Secretary L Date k Water Board Minutes 8 October 20. 2011