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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 08/20/2014NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 DATE: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 LOCATION: 215 N. Mason Conference Room 1-A TIME: 6:00–8:30pm For Reference: Joe Piesman, Chair 970-691-6697 Bob Overbeck, Council Liaison 970-988-9337 Susie Gordon, Staff Liaison 970-221-6265 Present: Harry Edwards Joe Halseth Alexa Barratt Robert Mann Liz Pruessner John Bartholow Rob Cagen Absent: Joseph Piesman Staff Present: Susie Gordon, Staff Liaison Dianne Tjalkens, Admin/Board Support Keith Elmund, Environmental Services Manager John Stokes, Natural Areas Director Guests: David Tweedale, citizen Jim Flesher, citizen Call meeting to order: Harry Edwards called the meeting to order at 6:00pm. Member Comments: None. Public Comments: None. Review and Approval of July 16, 2014 minutes Bob Mann moved and Alexa seconded a motion to approve the July 16, 2014 NRAB minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously, 6-0-0 (Rob Cagen arrived after vote). AGENDA ITEM 1— Flood Impacts to Poudre River Warm-Water Fishery Keith Elmund, Environmental Services Manager in Utilities’ Water Resources & Treatment Operations, reviewed results of the 2013 Poudre River Fish Survey Update. Fish surveys are done by Dr. Bestgen at CSU. Financial support and participation come from the City of Fort Collins, South Fort Collins Sanitation District, Boxelder Sanitation District, Town of Windsor, Carestream (Kodak), and the City of Greeley. They are monitoring ten sites on the Poudre River. There are two City water reclamation facilities in the section of river that is monitored. The Mulberry facility discharges directly to the Poudre and there is a diversion to a Timnath reservoir water right after the facility. The Drake facility serves as a redundancy in the event there is a process problem with the Mulberry facility. The Drake facility discharges into Fossil Creek Ditch which empties into Fossil Creek Reservoir. The ditch plays an important role in water rights. There is a discharge point from Drake to the river that has not been used in decades, but could be used for emergency purposes. The ten monitoring sites run from Lee Martinez Park to about two miles above the confluence with the South Platte River. They collect macro-invertebrate, fish, and water quality data. Dr. Elmund showed a graph comparing late fall biomass of fish. After the flooding there was an increase in the number of fish in late fall, showing recovery after the High Park fires. The largest spike in fish numbers was below Windsor in 2013. Brown trout appear to be reproducing throughout the Lee Martinez park area. They are seeing more diversity of fish upstream of Prospect Street. Near Boxelder Sanitation site, there are habitat challenges, but they are seeing an abundance of carp. At Straus Cabin there is evidence of good water quality based on the fish found. More surveys will be conducted this fall. It will be interesting to see what the flushing effect of the flood will have on habitat. Dr. Elmund was concerned after the fires that the ash would damage habitat and smother invertebrates. Discussion/Q & A: • John asked if anyone is trying to put together a picture of the health of the river with all of this information. Keith said no one has done it yet, but staff is working on this, as is CSU. They are trying to get a better handle on positive and negative impacts on habitat in the lower river. It is challenging to synthesize that information, but will help understand all issues that lead to success or failure in this portion of the water shed. Application of biological nutrient control regulations that is happening along the river will have a positive effect on water quality. Another big player is that segments 10, 11, and 12 have been designated anti-degradation review status. The water quality is good enough that you will not be allowed to use up the assimilative capacity of the river. This will change how discharge units from waste water treatment plants are operated in the future. 11 and 12 are impaired with selenium, and 12 is also impaired for E. coli. Selenium is naturally occurring. E. coli is difficult to control. Stormwater runoff and agriculture return waters play a major role. Boxelder and Fossil Creek are also impaired for selenium. The Stormwater department is working on these issues. • Rob asked if staff is considering the changes in the river that are proposed for development including downtown river improvements and the kayak park. Keith said there will be changes in the topography of the river and we have the opportunity to make improvements to the habitat in the area, and that will be part of the planning we do. There are places with inappropriate rip-rap, which could be resolved. • Bob asked what the most important items we learn from the fish surveys are. Keith said he is amazed at how inconsistent the data is from year to year. Every year the conditions are different and it is difficult to determine patterns. Brown trout and rainbow trout, even if stocked, do well, which shows possibility of what this section of the river could be. • Joe asked if there is state-level data for comparison. Keith said the state focuses upstream. • John said there were 38 native fish species in Colorado. Six became extinct and 13 are endangered. We need to be actively working on improvements. 2 • Liz asked about the western mosquito fish. Is it native, or was it introduced to control mosquitos?. She knows some states stock fish to control mosquitos. She heard the fat head minnow, which is native, was used for that purpose here. Keith will look this up and provide more information. Keith said there was an aggressive restocking effort after the fire and after the flood. After the fire, fish were moved from the hatchery in Bellvue to Horsetooth reservoir to save them. • Joe asked how long the sections are of the river they survey. Keith said surveyors look for where fish are hiding out, but it depends on safe access to the area and how many people are working the site. It could be several yards. They are very careful about counting, identifying, weighing and returning to the river quickly. • Harry summarized an article from Christian Science Monitor that said removing dams to restore a more natural river is a trend that is catching on. Keith said there are places in the Poudre River where dams have been removed. AGENDA ITEM 2— Downtown River Master Plan John Stokes, Natural Areas Director, provided a final update on the master plan, especially regarding modifications to the Coy Diversion reach of the Poudre River. Council gave feedback in a work session. They loved the plan overall, but thought there was too much hardscaping. Staff has revised the conceptual plans and some of the text as a result. They are looking for funding to launch improvements, so they have gone into additional detail with the new drawings. Habitat and flood mitigation are the main focuses, but recreation is more dominant in limited areas. Staff is going back to Council October 7 for approval of the Master Plan. Council has encouraged staff to return to various boards with the revisions. He showed the original drawing of the reach between College and the Burlington railroad. There is a big drop in the river, which can be used for kayaking, the structure in the river causes flooding over College in a 100-year flood, and the river has been 100% altered over time. The area can be re- vegetated with native species and opportunities for recreation can be added. Changes to the conceptual plan are to move the drop, scale back the hardscaping, and move some trails. It would have cost $3 million per trail underpass at railroads. The area will be terraced and the river channel will become narrower and deeper. Some infrastructure must remain in order to offer wheelchair access to the river. He showed a number of conceptual perspective drawings. There may be opportunities to acquire additional land in the area. Discussion/Q & A: • Alexa asked if there are rules for this kind of mixed use. Can people get in and swim? John Stokes said people can swim whenever they want. He has had questions about renting the park. Conceptually, renting the river may not be possible. Alexa asked if there was a specific location for swimming in the kayak park area. John said there was a plan for a beach area, but it was removed because it is not sustainable. • Rob asked if the Coy diversion would be removed. John said yes, as part of creating the kayak park. Rob said people get into danger at that spot when tubing. • John said if the board would like to provide feedback, staff would appreciate it. He added that stormwater owns the land where the parking lot is planned. • Alexa asked if the area would become a flood plain in the event of a 100-year flood. John said the area already is a floodplain. In a 100-year flood, we get a split flow on Vine Drive. If the City can 3 make the improvements it would like to do, we can mitigate that flooding. It is a dangerous area and the City is interested in acquiring those properties. • Harry asked if an endorsement would be helpful to staff for the appearance before Council. John said any feedback would be helpful. Staff has responded to critiques with changes and Council would appreciate more input. • Joe said addition of vegetation is a huge improvement. John said the vegetation was always in the plan but was left out of the initial conceptual drawings because staff did not want to mask the hardscaping. Staff believes they can have vegetation in the area. • Bob said the drops seem more natural and he approves of the changes. Liz agreed that the plan is getting closer to what people envision. Everyone is concerned about this becoming a higher use area. This is a large improvement and getting a natural feeling is important. In the winter there are ducks that live near Linden. She hopes these quiet stretches will be preserved. John said from Burlington downstream to Linden, nothing much will change. From Linden to Lincoln they have proposed reconstructing the north bank to naturalize it. • Liz said bringing the trail closer to the river makes animals nervous, but the connectivity is good too. John added that there are already many people walking in this area who have created paths. • John Bartholow and Liz volunteered to draft a memo to Council. The board will vote on the memo at the September meeting. • Liz asked if there are ideas for the properties that may be acquired. John said there are ideas for those properties, but no real plans. Staff will not be in the river working in this area until at least 2016. There is plenty of time to pull those properties into the design if they are acquired. • Bob asked if Liz is concerned that these properties would be used for more hardscape. John said most of the area would be vegetated with trees and grass. Liz asked if there would be a natural area in this spot. John said the hierarchy in this area is stormwater, recreation and habitat. As you move more away from downtown the habitat becomes prioritized. • Susie asked if there would be a restroom. John Stokes said a vault toilet is shown in the drawing near the parking area. Susie said bringing more activity down there will bring a different dynamic, but it is close to many social services. The bathrooms will most likely get a lot of use. • John Stokes said the drawings will be available on the website soon. He will email the drawings presented tonight to the board. • John Stokes said September 3 staff will re-release black footed ferrets at Soapstone. The state has a statute that legislature has to pass a law to allow reintroduction of species. Fish and Wildlife Services has agreed to provide ferrets. They are also working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. It is a management challenge to get them thriving due to plague that effects prairie dogs and ferrets. They have been using a new vaccine which has been working well. On the evening of the celebration, a few ferrets will be released. More will be released later in the week at two locations. Ferrets feed on prairie dogs, so they must thrive for ferrets to thrive. • Susie asked if bison would be reintroduced as well. John Stokes said staff has been working on bison for a long time. The City does not want commercial bison. The department has been working USDA APHIS, which has been breeding genetically pure bison. There is a 1,500 acre pasture where they could go, near the south parking lot, and they are working on an agreement with CSU and the federal government to make it clear that the City will not own them. The Bronx and Denver Zoos are working with them to develop a genetically pure bison population that can be brought to national parks and tribal lands. 4 • Rob said these animals can be aggressive and wondered if that would affect visitation. John Stokes said there will be no trail through the area, there will be signage, and no older bulls will be kept there, which are the most aggressive ones. • John asked if John Stokes had additional BFO information. John Stokes said he has no new information. Liz said she heard the integrated pest management position would probably not be funded. John Stokes offered to have another staff member come back in September to discuss budget. • Rob suggested rounding up support to lobby Council about the integrated pest management position. Don’t give up. Council has the final say, not the City Manager. • Harry asked John Bartholow and Liz Pruessner to draft a memo on behalf of the Board to City Council noting the positive changes in the plan and the Board’s recommendation for approval of the master plan. AGENDA ITEM 3— Nature in the City Lindsay Ex, Sr. Environmental Planner, described a Visual Preference Survey being designed for a survey of the community that will be administered this fall. Presentation postponed until September. AGENDA ITEM 4— Other Business Review City Council’s 6-Month Planning Calendar • Aug 26—Work Session Bicycle Master Plan • Sept 2 Regular Meeting—Larimer County open space tax renewal • Oct 7—expansion of smoking ordinance, Natural Areas Master Plan, Housing Affordability Policy Study, Clydesdale Park, Downtown River Master Plan • Oct 28—Climate Action Plan status report, Nature in the City, On-Bill Energy Financing • Dec 2—Bicycle Master Plan • Dec 9 Work Session—Climate Action Plan Climate Action Plan—Committee Report: Harry Edwards CAC met July 23: There were three areas of activity: 1. Guiding principles (operating rules for the subcommittee); 2. Bonnie Pierce presented a report on the City’s activities, and 3. Becky Fedak from Brendle Group discussed climate action strategies. The guiding principles discussion was to come up with rules and practices to which the group would adhere, and to set goals and guidelines. Bonnie said 84% of surveyed residents feel a personal obligation to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHG), reducing gasses has co- benefits, for example reducing CO2 reduces particulates has economic benefits, etc. The City has established a set of goals around GHGs relative to emissions in 2005, with the idea to be carbon neutral by 2030. The presentation was hard-hitting and had lots of facts. The City’s GHG emission level has turned upward since 2011. That may be due to population, or there may be more to it. The important thing is that nationally GHGs are on a downward trend. If we are going to be a model city, we have work to do. 5 • Harry said he spoke with Glen Colton, who is a proponent of zero population growth about the correlation to GHGs. Harry also spoke with Bruce Hendee about the need to burn less coal at Rawhide to become carbon neutral. Harry thinks the main issues are population growth and coal burning. He asked Glen if it would be a good idea to gather materials on Boulder’s growth limit. Are there features that we could support in what they are doing? These need to be factored into the overall plan. The review is to be done by January at the latest. The City is putting together the CAP, and the committee is reviewing the plan. • John Bartholow asked if the four cities that are participating in Platte River carved out a budget to reduce the amount of coal, would it be better to use the money at Platte River which is already pretty efficient, or to put the funds into another less efficient plant elsewhere to get more carbon reduction for the dollar? Harry said the City ought not to be part owner in the single largest carbon producer in the area. If we are serious about this business, we need to reduce our own carbon emissions. The four cities own Platte River, and according to Bruce all but one (Longmont) have bought into fuel switching. If we can phase out coal and phase in combined cycle gas, that is the direction we should be going. • Bob supports Harry’s position. We should act locally. This is a place where the better job we do locally, the better we model to others, the better we can generate activity in the direction we want to have here. • Rob said at last night’s disposable bag ordinance meeting, Darin and Council had a discussion about the City being an example to the populace in terms of its use of plastic. There is support for the concept of local, city involvement. Susie added that renewable energy credits are available and can be part of the portfolio. Council has voted against investing in credits in other communities. Steve Catanach can speak to that. • Harry said other communities are ahead of us in getting coal-fired plants retired. That is a path we ought to follow. It will require capital expenditures and our consumer cost for electric power will rise. We are on the low end of the scale. • Alexa asked Harry to bring up solar power on affordable housing at the next CAC. Liz said it would be nice if they did real recycling as well. The Villages at Cunningham Corner’s trash hauler provided a 96-gallon bin, rather than a dumpster, for recycling at the apartment complex. Susie agreed to check into this issue. She said the people at Fort Collins Housing Authority have worked hard to have very good recycling at their units. The people have also dumped television sets near the trash cans. Susie said it is a chronic problem that those with fewer resources have more difficulty disposing of mattresses and electronics. • Harry said he would like to see a cost to the community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Harry calculated it at approximately $250 per person per year based on Brendle’s assessment. People want to know what it will cost them individually. We have seen what happens when public support is lacking. • Bob said he has Bonnie’s PowerPoint for the greenhouse gas inventory and he can share it with the board. Announcements • Susie said Bruce Hendee is postponing his retirement until June 2015. • Bob asked about the integrated recycling center. Susie said she has been asked to look at other sites and it is in the BFO process. 6 • Susie said Council took about three hours last night to work through the two versions of the disposable bag ordinance. They stayed with the first ordinance, and shifted elements of the second ordinance into it. The fee was reduced to five cents and it was expanded to all retailers with some exceptions. The retailers must ask first to use a bag and can use the funding however they want. The City will prepare educational materials and make them available to retailers. The start date is April 1, 2015. Susie provided a copy of the press release and clarified some specifics of the ordinance. Council heard a number of negative comments, but many came out in support as well. Washington DC has been using five cents and has had good results. o Joe asked if there was mandatory education or reusable bag supply with the funds collected. Susie said administering the program has inherent costs to the retailer of training checkers and adding signage. The five cents covers those costs. They will not walk away with a windfall. It has been demonstrated that the retailers have costs. Staff estimates it will have to contact over a thousand of retailers to inform them of the new requirements. o Liz said the City won’t have to do the accounting, so that will be much cleaner. Susie said the City will ask for numbers on bags sold each year to calculate reduction in use. o Harry asked how the success of the program will be measured. Susie said it will be measured in bag sales. In a few years we should see sales of only 10% or 20% of bags previously used. o Liz said a number of places are already doing on-site bag recycling. o Rob said Rivendell is woefully inadequate. Susie said staff is looking for the right piece of equipment that will compact the bags to keep them from flying away. Staff has purchased a baler to test with shrink wrap used at the City. She expects there will be more programs to recycle plastics coming soon. o Bob said he came away with new respect for the Council, because they worked hard and did a lot of research on the issues and were passionate about them. He thinks it is a bad idea to go immediately to retailers. Grocery stores know how to do this. They are doing it all over the country already and have the resources. That is not true for a lot of our retailers. He would have preferred working with the grocers for a year before moving to retailers. o Rob added that the biggest help came from the opposition because they were rude and obnoxious. Because they show up in greater numbers, they seem to think that reflects on the whole community. He does not agree with that perspective. He thinks more people aren’t coming out about it because most people don’t care that much one way or the other. To him this is a leadership issue. We look to Council to represent all 150,000 residents. o Bob said most opponents were not there about plastic bags, they were there because they believe government is interfering in their lives. o Liz added that Gerry indicated he is okay with changing things down the line. She thinks there may be room for phasing and outreach to smaller retailers. Susie said staff needs to approach this with great care and sensitivity. Creating a personal connection around the WRAP program has had positive results and can be used as an example of good outreach. • Rob said last month he brought up the issue of urban agriculture. He has spoken with Mary Atchison. They brainstormed, and have agreed to bring together a group around this topic. She thought this board would be a good umbrella for this issue. The board agreed it is okay for him to pursue this issue. 7 Adjournment: Rob moved to adjourn. Alexa seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:27pm. Approved by the Board on September 17, 2014 Signed ____________________________________ 9/29/2014 Dianne Tjalkens, Administrative Clerk II Date 8