HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 01/23/2017Page 1
MINUTES
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD
Date: Monday, January 23, 2017
Location: Colorado River Room, 222 Laporte Ave.
Time: 5:30–8:00pm
For Reference
Mark Houdashelt, Chair
Ross Cunniff, Council Liaison 970-420-7398
Cassie Archuleta, Staff Liaison 970-416-2648
Board Members Present Board Members Absent
Mark Houdashelt, Chair
Gregory Miller
Jim Dennison
Tom Griggs
Vara Vissa
Chris Wood
Robert Kirkpatrick
Harry Edwards
Staff Present
Cassie Archuleta, Environmental Planner/Staff Liaison
Guests
None
Call to order: 5:35 pm
Public Comments: None
Review and Approval of Minutes:
Approval of December minutes was postponed to the next meeting on February 27th as discussion was
ongoing regarding some of the summaries presented.
AGENDA ITEM 1: New Member Introductions/Board Orientation
Each member introduced themselves, along with background and interest in the City’s role in air quality.
New member, Harry Edwards, was a professor of mechanical engineering at CSU, and taught classes on air
pollution control and prevention. He has completed research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Harry
served on the AQAB about 20 years ago for two terms. He also served two terms on the Citizen Review Board
and two terms on the Natural Resources Advisory Board.
Cassie Archuleta (AQAB liaison) provided a review/overview of staff and AQAB roles and responsibilities,
per the Boards and Commissions Manual.
Page 2
Comments/Q&A:
In the Work Plan, it states that we could potentially take up new topics proposed by City Council.
Can City Council approach us and suggest topics?
o Council does not direct the board. They can propose topics, and the board can then decide
whether to pursue topics.
The City is working toward consistency, and meeting minutes are very inconsistent across Boards.
Robert’s Rules guidance is that minutes should be a record of what is done, not what is said. A
hybrid between detailed and simplified notes could be used.
A benefit of having detailed minutes is that board members do not need to take as many notes during
meetings.
The Board suggested training for new minute-takers to ensure consistency.
Mark offered to talk to Ross and see what level of detail he needs in the minutes.
Detailed minutes can cause conflict and excessive discussion about he said/she said. Wordsmithing
can waste a lot of time; it is not productive.
What is the purpose of minutes? To record a meeting, or to summarize decisions?
o Can be used to refresh your memory on what was discussed. If a notetaker is qualified to
summarize the main conclusions of a discussion, then they should do so.
It is appropriate for the Chair to summarize the discussion after it has concluded, and repeat the final
decision of that topic.
o The minutes contain action items that the board members may forget after the meeting.
The minutes could consist of a summary of the issue, the actions taken, and extra notes as necessary.
Items for staff follow-up are often brought up during meetings.
o Cassie stated that she would keep a running list of requests by the board, and timelines of
when those things will be followed up on.
AGENDA ITEM 2: 2017 Workplan Discussion
Cassie presented an overview of the 2017 Environmental Services Air Quality Program Work Plan.
Comments/Q&A
Is there Council interest in talking about leaf blowers for City employees or citizens?
o There appears to be some interest in reviewing City policies regarding use of leaf blowers.
o Blowers are an important topic that the Board has discussed before, along with fugitive dust.
o The AQAB could invite Parks to come in and talk about their policies if the Board is
interested in pursuing the topic more.
Cassie prepared a new “AQAB Issue Index” to help the Board track and prioritize topics of interest that
could be prioritized based on the AQAB Work Plan and interest from the Board. Cassie asked if the Board
members could individually rate topics on the Issue Index with a 1, 2 or 3 based on their prioritization.
Comments/Q&A
There is a lot of redundancy when certain presenters visit multiple boards. Could we coordinate with
other boards? Can we meet together without Council approval?
o Rich had tried to create a “super board,” but it was disbanded because he had not asked
Council for permission.
o The AQAB could consider what information from other board meetings would be useful to
them and have staff or an AQAB member report back on topics discussed at another Board’s
meeting.
Page 3
There does not need to be a topic coordinator for every issue; board members should only volunteer
to be coordinators if they are well-versed or have a strong interest in the topic.
o Even if someone is passionate about an issue, they would need to remain objective and
unbiased.
Cassie agreed to collect everyone’s prioritized indices and offered to go over them during the next
meeting and make adjustments as necessary.
AGENDA ITEM 3: 2016 Annual Report
The Board reviewed a final draft of the annual report, due January 31, 2017.
Tom moved and Chris seconded a motion to adopt the 2016 Annual Report as presented.
Motion passed unanimously, 8-0-0.
Board Updates
Mark, Vara, and Chris attended Oil and Gas presentation hosted by the Larimer County
Environmental and Science Advisory Board.
o Next step is a health impact assessment. The presentation described rates of emission
primarily from pre-production processes.
The language in the asbestos forms suggests that contractors cannot sign the form.
o Cassie will follow up with Mike Gebo on this.
Recruiting New Board Member
o The AQAB needs one more board member.
o Any specific areas of expertise that should be represented?
Organics, the Growing Project, and professors at CSU.
o Board members should encourage others to apply.
Future Agenda Items
Climate Action Update
o Super board meeting February 6 with presentation, but the presenter can come to an AQAB
meeting separately.
Building Code Update from Mike Gebo
Presentation from Board liaison scheduled for March.
o Badge IDs will be issued. The board agreed that they do not need pictures on their badges.
Board Election Dates
o Elections are scheduled for April, when the Boards and Commissions Manual says they
should be held in February or March. Can be pushed to March if necessary.
Time of use study
o Work Session February 28.
o Would be valuable to hear from staff after the Council Work Session.
Meeting Adjourned: 8:15 pm
Next Meeting: February 27, 2017
______________________________
Signed by Chair