HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 03/18/2019AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR
March 18, 2019 5:30 – 8:00 pm
Colorado River Room, 222 Laporte Ave.
3/18/19 – MINUTES Page 1
1. CALL TO ORDER
5:36 pm
2. ROLL CALL
• List of Board Members Present
− Karen Artell
− Greg Clark
− Harry Edwards
− Arsineh Hecobian
− Jakob Lindaas
− Jason Miller
− Matt Tribby
• List of Board Members Absent – Excused or Unexcused; if no contact with Chair
has been made
− Jim Dennison
• List of Staff Members Present
− Selina Lujan, Senior Air Quality Specialist
− Kirk Longstein, Energy Service Project Manager
− Amanda Mansfield, Transportation Planner
− Christine Macrina, Boards and Commissions Coordinator
• List of Guests
• N/A
3. AGENDA REVIEW
• Arsineh reviewed the evening’s agenda.
4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
• N/A
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
• Harry moved and Karen seconded a motion to approve the February 25, 2019
minutes as revised. Motion passed, 6-0-1.
AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD
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6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
• N/A
7. NEW BUSINESS
a. ID Photos, 5:45 – 6:00
Board members can now ride City buses for free with a photo badge; Christine Macrina
attended the meeting to take photos for AQAB Member badges.
b. Triple-Bottom Line Scan Overview, 6:00 – 6:15
Kirk Longstein, from Fort Collins Utilities Department, provided an overview of the City’s
Triple Bottom Line Scan tool in preparation for use of the tool at an April 11 joint board
meeting (Work Plan Item #9). There will be an opportunity at the meeting for Board
members to complete a sample Scan and provide feedback.
Presentation
• The Triple Bottom Line Scan tool was developed by the City for internal use to aid
Council with policy-level decisions. The tool consists of a standardized series of high-
level questions relating to environmental, economic, and social health to determine
the expected impact and scale of impact associated with individual policy decisions.
The outcome of the questionnaire is summarized in a one-page document that
highlights potential positive and negative impacts, and provides dashboard-level
graphics to aid in the decision-making process. The document will be attached to
memos from City staff regarding potential project/program changes. The purpose of
the tool is to provide a standardized means to perform interdepartmental evaluations
and present concise results to Council to aid in making policy determinations. The
evaluation was recently tested on the E-scooter initiative.
Discussion
• The Board discussed the quantitative nature of the Scan tool, which is supported by
an underlying spreadsheet that performs quantitative evaluations based on values
assigned to the answers of standardized questions. The City is hoping to adopt the
tool across departments and to incorporate its use into procurement teams. Council
will receive an overview generated from the results of the tool which highlights trade-
offs.
• The report generated by the Scan tool exercise will work in parallel with
recommendations, but Staff will continue to make formal recommendations as a
separate document. No specific metrics have been developed to aid Council in the
analysis of Scan tool results; some Board members expressed concern with Council
relying on dashboard graphics rather than a Staff summary to make policy decisions.
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• AQAB members are interested in testing the Scan tool independently (in addition to
the upcoming super board meeting) and providing feedback to City Staff.
Staff Follow-Up: Cassie will identify a suitable topic to utilize the Scan tool on at an upcoming
AQAB meeting.
c. Electric Vehicle Readiness Road Map, 6:15 – 7:15
Amanda Mansfield, Transportation Planner, provided an overview of the City’s Electric
Vehicle Readiness Roadmap and the current implementation phase (Work Plan Item #2).
Presentation
• The EV Readiness Road Map was generated for the City in conjunction with
numerous stakeholders to help increase electric vehicle use in Fort Collins, work
toward attainment of 2015 CAP framework goals, and to inform/align with ongoing
planning efforts including the City Plan, Transportation Master Plan and electric grid
distribution planning.
o Specific goals include: increasing awareness of EV technology, making EV
and EV charging more accessible, integrating EV with a renewable energy
power grid and integrating EV technology into the City’s infrastructure and
transportation fleets.
• Roadmap strategies include outreach and education, leading by example, City
planning and regional coordination policies, generating incentives, working with utility
companies and harnessing emerging technology.
o City Staff hope to focus outreach on those who can make the highest impact
such as employers and developers.
o To lead by example, the City will move to electrify its vehicle fleet and
encourage group buys of EVs.
o A code has been established for single family residences that allows for the
installation of a charging conduit in attached garages. In addition, 10% of
parking in at new multi-family developments must have conduits in place. The
next step will be to change land-use codes to state that all new commercial
and industrial developments need to have conduits installed as well.
• A project management team has been established to track Road Map goals and
oversee the implementation of its strategy plans. Members of the team will provide
status updates on assigned strategy plans at quarterly meetings throughout 2019.
AQAB members are welcome to participate in the meetings and may call or email
Amanda Mansfield if they’d like to be involved.
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Discussion
• The Board discussed the dichotomy between the City’s efforts to reduce electricity
usage and to promote EV usage. For example, messaging used on utility bills and
recent rate increases contradict efforts to promote EVs. The City might consider
providing more incentives to purchase and use EVs.
• EV usage has not been adopted by the school system yet, but the City would like to
put together a plan for outreach and coordination (although cost may be a barrier).
The Board also discussed the use of EVs as part of the IGA for the Larimer County
Wasteshed Plan.
Staff Follow-Up: Amanda will address the use of EVs to transport waste to new facilities.
• The Board discussed barriers to purchasing EVs; according to data collected so far
tax credit confusion, cost, and lack of charging stations pose the most significant
barriers. City Staff hope to increase the number of chargers and educate citizens on
the cost savings associated with EV use.
• Outside of new purchases for the City’s fleet, there is no budget to install more
chargers. Staff hope to educate people on grant opportunities and encourage private
industry to aid the addition of more EV charging stations. Once installed, Staff are
considering contracting Charge-Point to help manage chargers throughout the City.
A charging demand analysis has been performed to help determine potential
installation locations. Initial installations will likely be based on demand, rather than
equity and City Code will need to be changed to make installation at public rights of
way, parking spots, and sidewalks possible. Board members believe it may be
possible to encourage communities and HOAs to aid in the effort by installing their
own charging stations.
• The Board discussed potential socioeconomic inequalities associated with Road Map
strategies. Outreach and education efforts will ensure that the City reaches out to
communities that have been historically excluded and will be equity-focused. The
new electric transit route will reach underserved communities. While renters will be
included in outreach regarding incentives and program developments, it will be
difficult to force landlords to provide EV charging. The City will make an effort to
ensure that landlords and building owners are aware of any available grants. In
addition, there is an action item to work with banks to provide low interest loans to
purchase solar panels and EVs.
d. Elections, 7:15 – 7:45
Board members elected Arsineh Hecobian as Chair and Greg Clark as Vice-Chair. They
also designated liaisons to other Boards and Commissions.
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• Liaisons have a commitment to monitoring the agendas of their assigned
Board/Commission and either attending the meeting, or emailing other AQAB
members if a relevant topic will be presented. The liaisons are:
o Transportation Board – Matt Tribby
o Energy Advisory Board – Arsineh Hecobian
o Natural Resources Board – Karen Artell
o Planning and Zoning Board – Greg Clark
o Larimer County Environment and Science Advisory Board (ESAB) – Greg
Clark
8. BOARD MEMBER AND STAFF REPORTS
Staff Report
• With regards to outdoor burning, Council unanimously adopted the decriminalization
of the nuisance code, changed the 15’ setback distance to 25’, and pushed the
midnight curfew up to 10 PM. In addition, resources will be allocated to ensure
compliance.
Member Reports
• Jim generated a radon memo, which Arsineh will distribute to the Board for comment
before the next meeting, when it will be finalized. If the memo is submitted by
4/15/19, Council may consider it at their annual retreat.
• On 4/5/19, the RAQC will hold its monthly meeting from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the
Larimer County Office Building at 200 Peridot Avenue in Loveland. Cassie Archuleta
and staff from the NFRMPO will provide presentations on efforts to improve air
quality in local communities. The meeting is open to the public.
o A representative from the AQAB will attend and express concern with the
current placement of two CDPHE ozone monitoring sites in Fort Collins. The
representative will also voice concern about increases in oil and gas
operations transporting VOCs and contributing to high ozone concentrations
in areas that don’t have well pads. The AQAB will then try to formulate a
memo based on the response at the meeting.
o Matt encouraged other AQAB members to participate in the RAQC’s monthly
meetings since Larimer County will soon be classified as a serious
nonattainment are for ozone, which will likely initiate serious reforms,
especially regarding Title V major sources.
• Arsineh will forward materials on the proposed Halligan Water Supply Project, which
will enlarge the current reservoir to provide extra protection to Fort Collins Utilities’
water customers. Members should respond with their interest in hosting an
informational session at the next AQAB meeting.
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• Greg expressed interested in discussing ozone nonattainment with a representative
from the City’s legal department.
Staff Follow-Up: Staff will determine if there is a specific entity that can address how the
change in nonattainment status will affect Fort Collins.
• Harry noted at article from the JA&WMA from March that discussed a linkage
between radon exposure and PMR2.5R mortality rates. Arsineh will share a digital copy
with everyone via email.
9. OTHER BUSINESS
• Board members should submit index issue rubrics at their earliest convenience.
• Arsineh performed a quick 6-month calendar review.
10. ADJOURNMENT
7:55 pm