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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 09/19/2022 AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR Monday, September 19, 2022, 5:30 – 8:00 pm via Zoom 0 9/1 9 /22 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:32pm 2. ROLL CALL • List of Board Members Present − Karen Artell – Chair − Wayne Chuang − Greg Boiarsky − Mark Houdashelt – Vice Chair − John McDonagh − Thomas Gifford − Sandra LeBrun • List of Board Members Absent − Greg Clark − Dan Welsh • List of Staff Members Present − Cassie Archuleta, Staff Liaison, Air Quality Program Manager − Honore Depew, Climate Program Manager − John Phelan, Energy Services Senior Manager − Kirk Longstein, City Planner − DeAngelo Bowden, Senior Specialist, Air Quality − Lindsay Ex, Environmental Sustainability Director • List of Guests 3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION • No public comment 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Greg B moved and Mark seconded a motion to approve the August AQAB minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously 7-0 5. PREVIOUS BUSINESS AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 0 9 /1 9 /22 – MINUTES Page 2 • None 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Our Climate Future (OCF) Overview − Honore Depew, Climate Program Manager, and John Phelan, Energy Services Program Manager, provided an overview of actions and decisions necessary to achieve 2030 waste, energy, and climate goals. − The Our Climate Future (OCF) plan (adopted 2021) updated the City of Fort Collins’ energy policy, zero waste plan, and climate action plan. − Implementation aligns many different parts of our community and the City organization to help further the goals. In April,2022 Council asked staff for an OCF roadmap to see the future of how we get to our goals for 2030 and 2050. It is meant for continuous calibration and update. OCF is a community vision. It is driven by the community and represents the future our community would like, and that is reflected in its 13 Big Moves. − City Council has a long history of championing climate action. The first climate action plan was adopted in 1999. OCF was adopted in 2021. It centers in equity and climate resilience alongside mitigation. OCF goals include reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 80% below 2005 baseline levels by 2030; become carbon neutral by 2050; provide 100% renewable electricity by 2030 with grid and local sources; and achieve zero waste or 100% landfill diversion by 2030. − Pathways in the roadmap are a way of grouping strategies together to show how much they can reduce emissions or waste in a particular sector. Each pathway has one or more specific strategies embedded in it. Primary OCF pathways include: i. Buildings: construction and electrification performance ii. Electricity: local renewables and utility renewables iii. Land Use: increased housing capacity iv. Industrial Manufacturing: in boundary v. Transportation: active modes, electrification, and transit AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 0 9 /1 9 /22 – MINUTES Page 3 vi. Waste: industrial diversion (e.g., recycling of materials from activities like industrial manufacturing, construction and demolition, and large- scale municipal operations like trenching) and organics (e.g., materials such as food scraps and yard trimmings out of the landfill). − Current projections for waste and GHG emissions show the community coming up short of 2030 targets. Reaching the targets will require more Council action, higher adoption rates, and more community leadership and action. − Greg recommended clarifying the critical path and what components were part of it. Sandra asked about electric cars being incentivized. John P stated that this is not a list of everything that is going on but a list of pathways they are quantifying to show results. − Thomas asked if the City has information on specific contributors to the local emissions. John said that is more covered in the inventory summary by source, and it is dispersed well between a lot of different players. − Honore stressed the idea of continuous calibration. The plan itself stands as a reflection of the community’s vision and Council’s direction. Staff will not to list all the next moves or activities that must happen to reach the goals, because the Oct. 11 Work Session is focused on the City Council actions in thei OCF Roadmap. Staff emphasized that there are also equity pathways and resilience pathways they are working on. There will be tough conversations Council will have to have, but they have stated they want to entertain the hard decisions and discussions. − The Board discussed the cost of action vs the cost of inaction, and Greg B mentioned not underestimating people’s desire to do the right thing. − Mark asked about natural gas and why cooking was not listed for electrification. John P shared that it has a small impact on the inventory. It doesn’t mean they won’t promote it though. There also might be some cascading effects from State regulations. − Greg B mentioned the last Council meeting where it seemed like everyone was looking at each other for an answer regarding a GHG interim (pre-2030) goal and asked when a number will be decided. John P stated in October they will bring the information to Council so they can make an informed decision about an interim goal. − Thomas asked about new building codes and requiring insulation. John mentioned, going out to the 2050 goals, it is critical to do the right thing the first time. In the short term, the existing buildings are the greater challenge. AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 0 9 /1 9 /22 – MINUTES Page 4 − Honore mentioned they will only have about 15-20 minutes to present to Council. They are looking to get Council buy-in and confirmation that this is a good overarching strategy that staff can map out for Council, so Council knows what actions will be required for them to consider along the way. Staff are aiming to clarify and validate OCF as a systems-based framework for action with Council in a lead role. In doing that, they will be confirming the Council roadmap and work plan as a framework to reach goals. They will also be discussing the GHG interim reduction target. Wayne clarified that staff are not going to be asking Council to pick through the pathways but rather telling them these are the things you must consider to get to the adopted goals, either through policy or other tools. b. Budget Recommendation − Karen Artell, AQAB Chair led a discussion regarding a budget recommendation related to air quality and the AQAB work plan. Karen and Mark created a draft memo with different budget offers for the board to discuss. − Mark looked at offers related to GHG emissions and air quality. Offers he thought that the Board should support that were funded were transformer replacement (offer 2.6) electrifying HVAC in City buildings (offer 15.29), replacing streetlights with LED lights (offer 2.7), implementing an EV monitoring and management program (offer 1.6), air quality monitoring fund (offer 32.11), lawn and garden equipment replacement (offer 83.1), land use code update (offer 23.8), two forestry offers (59.2 and 59.10) and regional transit (offer 51.4). The offers that he thought that the Board should support that did not get funded were mobile home efficiency program (offer 1.10), rental licensing program (offer 24.5), affordable housing utilities relief program (offer 31.22), urban forest strategic planning (offer 59.6), Power Trail construction at Harmony (offer 25.13), EV Readiness program personnel (offer 27.9), connecting people to transit (offer 27.11), West Elizabeth Bus Rapid Transit (offer 51.10) and North College Bus Rapid Transit (offer 51.32). Mark said his number one would be the EV readiness offer because it has a potentially big impact on GHG emissions and has been waiting since 2018 to be adequately funded. − The board discussed how many budget offers they want to prioritize in the memo. Greg B talked about getting the community invested, and Thomas mentioned getting the best bang for your buck. Wayne mentioned that information gathering is important as well. Mark mentioned that something like land use code won’t have impacts until further down the road, but if you don’t start now, you won’t get to your 2030 goals. − Mark thought for the three most expensive offers (25.13, 51.10 and 51.32), they could say these are critical but also expensive, so fund them as soon as you have the revenue, and that would leave six others to prioritize. − Greg B’s top three are urban tree, the EV readiness FTE position, and offer 1.10. AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 0 9 /1 9 /22 – MINUTES Page 5 Sandra’s top three are 1.10, 24.5, and 59.6. She understands the Harmony Trail offer is expensive but thinks it is important. Wayne’s top picks are 24.5, 59.6, and 27.11. The board decided to prioritize five of the six offers they discussed (excluding Offer 31.22). − The Board also discussed advocating and showing support for a couple of offers that are already funded. Those are 32.1 and 32.2. For the air quality monitoring fund (Offer 32.11), Karen would like to see that amount increased or changed to an ongoing offer. Cassie explained that even though the funded amount will not pay for monitoring alone, coming to the table with $100k is influential and allows the City to get their foot in the door with certain conversations. − Karen and Mark will update the draft for what the Board agreed on and will allow time for everyone to wordsmith. Memo is due the morning of Sept 26th. c. Oil and Gas Overview − Cassie Archuleta, Air Quality Program Manager was going to provide a progress update on considerations related to oil and gas development in the region, but the board ran out of time. She will send out her presentation and main talking points. Board members can share feedback as individuals if they would like. Cassie will also add it to the next agenda for discussion. 7. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS − Not discussed 8. OTHER BUSINESS − Not discussed 9. ADJOURNMENT − The Board unanimously voted to extend the meeting past 8pm. The meeting was adjourned at 8:28 pm.