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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 11/21/2019WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING November 21, 2019, 5:30-7:30 p.m. 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Community Room 11/21/2019 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:30 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: Michael C. Brown, Jr. (Chairperson), Jason Tarry (Vice Chairperson), Steve Malers, Greg Steed, Brett Bovee, Randy Kenyon, Kent Bruxvoort, Phyllis Ortman, Jim Kuiken, Andrew McKinley • Board Members Absent - Excused: John Primsky • Staff Members Present: Theresa Connor, Katherine Martinez, Mark Kempton, Dan Evans, Eileen Dornfest, Alice Conovitz, Kevin Gertig, Janet Freeman • Members of the Public: Michael Pruznick 3. AGENDA REVIEW • The agenda item “Harmony Gateway Plan Amendment/Standards & Guidelines” has been postponed until 2020 due to City Council continuing its review to a future date. 4. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION (3 minutes per individual) • Community member Michael Pruznick of District 2 stated his personal opinions regarding water conservation and the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP). He disclosed he is an elected director of the Fort Collins-Loveland Water District and has applied for one of the City’s boards and commissions. His home’s water use is 8,200 gallons per month, which is about 20% less than the Fort Collins average of 10,000 gallons per month. He said people ask him how he saves so much water, and he replies, “How do other people waste so much?” He calculated that if all 68,000 Fort Collins homes conserved water as he does, the City wouldn’t need to expand Halligan Reservoir. His thoughts on the agenda item “Funding Appropriations for Horsetooth Supply Line Shutdown Emergency Water Supply Projects” are that if the City joined NISP (which is FCLWD’s backup plan), it would have two backup water sources. He recommended the City give serious consideration to joining NISP. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Chairperson Brown asked for comments on the October 17 minutes. WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 11/21/2019 – MINUTES Page 2 Board Member Malers moved to approve the October 17 minutes. Board Member Bruxvoort seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 8-0, with two abstentions. Board members Kuiken and Ortman abstained due to their absence at the October 17 meeting. 6. AGENDA REVIEW (CONTINUED) • A board member inquired about the Halligan agenda item from the October 17 meeting (staff had requested that the item “Halligan Water Supply Project: Property Rights Acquisition Needs and Eminent Domain (a.k.a. Condemnation) Authorization” be tabled until the November 21 regular meeting and the Water Board had approved) and requested it be added to the November 21 agenda under Other Business to formally note that this agenda item has been postponed until the December 19 regular meeting. 7. NEW BUSINESS Staff Reports (Attachments available upon request)  Financial Monthly Report (meeting packet only)  Halligan Water Supply Project Quarterly Update o Special Projects Manager Eileen Dornfest summarized the project’s latest developments. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be published tomorrow; everything is uploaded to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website; public comment period will be two months; a public hearing is scheduled for January 13 at the Drake Center; comment period closes January 26; staff will link to the DEIS on the City’s Halligan project website (www.fcgov.com/halligan). Hardcopies of the 1,000-page DEIS will be available at the libraries of Colorado State University and University of Northern Colorado. o Discussion Highlights: Board members inquired about and commented on various related topics including comments process and how comments will be collected; timeline between public hearing and end of public comment period; possibility of extending the public comment period; whether Halligan is the Corps’ alternative (unknown); a request to focus the December 5 work session on Halligan; possibility of rescheduling December 5 work session to December 12 to allow time for board members to prepare for the discussion; possibility of making time on the WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 11/21/2019 – MINUTES Page 3 January 16 meeting; DEIS is 1,000 pages and executive summary is 150 pages; whether Water Board can give feedback as a board (it can); staff’s recently completed Water Supply Vulnerability Study; City staff will comment; whether resistance to the DEIS is expected (yes); what City Council’s role is (Council would likely refer this to staff); Water Board role in supporting staff and as advisory body to City Council; whether Council approves staff comments (it doesn’t; many comments are technical); timeline of the Water Board writing a memo summarizing its comments. Board Member Bovee moved that the Water Board hold a work session on December 12 at 5:30 on the Halligan Water Supply Project DEIS. Board Member Malers seconded the Motion. Vote on the Motion: it passed unanimously, 10-0. o Water Resources Monthly Report (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights: A board member suggested clarifying the page 6 chart showing snow-water equivalent because it’s unclear what “167% of average snowpack” means and suggested it would be useful to provide scale and list a water content number with that average. Staff Liaison Theresa Connor stated she would share the comments with Water Resources staff.  Council Equity and Inclusion Priorities & Equity Team Overview (Attachments available upon request) Equity & Inclusion Coordinator Janet Freeman of the Social Sustainability Department presented definitions of diversity, equity and inclusion, which includes acknowledging and celebrating differences; a summary of the City’s equity projects; equity as both a process and an outcome (as an outcome, it means everyone has what they need to thrive; equity is achieved when a person’s identity no longer predicts outcome; and the City’s Equity Team history and current projects including reorganizing to address City Council’s priorities on equity and inclusion. City of Fort Collins: Equitable Service Delivery (we acknowledge American institutional systems carry important and documented inequities based on race, income, gender and more; City of Fort Collins’ role in advancing equity (definitions of interpersonal, institutional, and systemic racism); embedding equity (FoCo Creates Arts & Culture Master Plan, Community Trust Resolution that strengthens relationships with immigrant communities and helps the organization better serve them]; Climate Action Plan (first City plan to embed racial equity), etc. WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 11/21/2019 – MINUTES Page 4 The City of Fort Collins was the first Colorado jurisdiction to join the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), and Boulder and Denver joined soon after. GARE is a national network that provides technical assistance, free tools and learning opportunities. City of Fort Collins Equity Framework: “Equity for all, leading with race” (leading with race because there’s no other indicator that affects people’s lives as much). City of Fort Collins focus areas from 2015 to the present: equitable and inclusive workplace culture, consistent inclusive messaging, diversify voices that inform our processes, events that foster meaningful engagement and help leverage our diversity; enhances organizational capacity. Discussion Highlights: Board members commented on and inquired about various related topics including the City’s Equity Team Public Participation Subcommittee’s Boards & Commissions Report; the comment that City must attract a more diverse applicant pool; GARE’s tools help government go beyond the belief that the issue is simply about access; rate payers and how deep should we go into these; foundational training and implementing an equity lens; how the Water Board can learn more about its impacts and consider changes in recruitment, rates level, etc. Regular Items • Funding Appropriations for Horsetooth Supply Line Shutdown Emergency Water Supply Projects (Attachments available upon request) Water Production Manager Mark Kempton summarized the project and Water Conservation Analyst Alice Conovitz summarized the demand management strategy to reduce water demand to typical winter levels (15 million gallons per day)(MGD) by October 1, 2020 and the opportunity for local residents to contribute to community-wide resiliency. Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (“Northern Water”) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are planning to shut down the Soldier Canyon water line from Horsetooth Reservoir to the Fort Collins and Soldier Canyon water treatment plants in October 2020 for maintenance and repairs. The work will start approximately October 15 and last up to 60 days. The City and Tri-Districts (Soldier Canyon Plant owners) will rely solely on the Poudre River supply. To ensure that the City has WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 11/21/2019 – MINUTES Page 5 adequate water supplies during the planned shutdown, the City and the Tri-Districts have agreed to build an emergency water supply pumping station for alternate emergency water supplies in case the Poudre River is compromised during the shutdown. The City is also investigating the construction of a finished water interconnect with Greeley near Lemay Avenue and Vine Drive that will supplement water supplies in an emergency situation. The projects will require an appropriation of Water Fund reserves to ensure the completion of design and construction of the projects by late summer 2020. Staff seeks the Water Board’s recommendation for approval before taking the request to City Council. Discussion Highlights: Board members commented on and inquired about various related topics including surprise the reservoir was not designed with redundancy (single outlet; as the pipeline ages, shutdowns will continue as necessary for maintenance and repairs); resiliency; source of water to pumping station (Horsetooth Reservoir); reason for goal of reducing water demand to winter levels by October 1 rather than a couple of days before the project begins on October 15 (preparation, safety, consistency with seasonal messaging), which a board member found insulting to community members’ intelligence; another board member commented that October 1 is reasonable given that some customers would wait until just before the deadline to blow out their sprinklers; plans for education and outreach; suggestion on messaging (encourage residents to stop irrigating rather than pressure them to blow out sprinklers by October 1); timeframe for vendors shutting down customers’ sprinkler systems (incentives include coupons, etc.); impact of messaging on water demand the last week of September; impact of a possible deep freeze (staff would turn on pumps). 1st motion Board Member Bovee moved that the Water Board recommend to City Council the appropriation of $3.2 million from Water Fund reserves to develop a backup water supply system during the planned repair of the Horsetooth Outlet water supply line in fall 2020. Board Member Malers made a friendly amendment “of which approximately 58% percent will be reimbursed by project partners.” Board Member Ortman seconded the motion. Vote on the Motion: it passed unanimously, 10-0 WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 11/21/2019 – MINUTES Page 6 Discussion before the 2nd motion: Board Member Bruxvoort made a friendly recommendation outside of the motion regarding the possibility that a customer does not comply (staff stated the City has not historically fined customers for this reason; possibility of warning, citation, etc. and staff would visit customer to provide educational information); clarifying voluntary and mandatory restrictions (staff stated that the mandatory irrigation restriction would begin October 1, 2020 with some exceptions for sports fields and new plantings; City uses primarily raw water (a different water source) for parks and fields. 2nd motion Board Member Bovee moved that the Water Board recommend to City Council the implementation of mandatory outdoor water use reduction measures to lower water demands to typical winter levels of 15 million gallons per day on October 1, 2020 or after for the planned repair of the Horsetooth Outlet water supply line in Fall 2020. Discussion on the motion: Board members commented “or after” is confusing and that staff knows how long a message takes to get out (messaging will begin in spring 2020). There was no second or vote on the motion. The motion failed. Board Member Bovee moved that the Water Board recommend to City Council the implementation of mandatory outdoor water use reduction measures on October 1, 2020 in order to lower water demands to typical winter levels of 15 million gallons per day for the planned repair of the Horsetooth Outlet water supply line in Fall 2020. Board Member Ortman seconded the motion. Discussion on the motion: None Vote on the motion: the motion passed, 9-1, with Board Member Kuiken dissenting due to disagreement with the lead time of 15 days, which he found excessive. Staff plans to impose a deadline of October 1 for mandatory outdoor water restrictions [irrigation]; the project is scheduled to begin October 15. WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 11/21/2019 – MINUTES Page 7  OTHER BUSINESS o Halligan Water Supply Project: Property Rights Acquisition Needs and Eminent Domain (a.k.a. Condemnation) Authorization. Postponed until December 19 regular meeting. Board Member Malers moved that the Water Board table the Halligan Eminent Domain agenda item until the December 19 Water Board meeting. Board Member Bruxvoort seconded the motion. Vote on the Motion: it passed unanimously, 10-0 o Harmony Gateway Plan Amendment/Standards & Guidelines. Postponed until the December 19 regular meeting at staff’s request due to City Council continuing the item to a future date to be determined, possibly January 21. O 2020 Water Board Work Plan Board Member Malers moved that Water Board approve the 2020 Water Board Work Plan. Board Member Bovee seconded the motion. Discussion on the motion: A board member commented that the work plan is a good one. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously, 10-0 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS • December 5 work session has been rescheduled to December 12. 9. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Board Member Ortman reported that she has attended the October 14 pilot of a joint boards and commissions meeting at the Fort Collins Senior Center focused on Our Climate Future. She encouraged more Water Board members to attend because water is a factor and most people attending these meetings are not knowledgeable about water issues. 10. ADJOURNMENT 7:47 p.m.