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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-07/17/2007-RegularJuly 17, 2007 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO Council -Manager Form of Government Regular Meeting - 6:00 p.m. A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins was held on Tuesday, July 17, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City of Fort Collins City Hall. Roll Call was answered by the following Councilmembers: Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw, Roy, and Troxell. Staff Members Present: Atteberry, Krajicek, Roy. Citizen Participation Joe Kissell, 913 West Oak, urged Council to adopt a resolution requesting the United States to withdraw from Iraq. Nancy York, 130 South Whitcomb, asked if Council and the City Manager listen to the public and truly wanted citizen input. She requested the Budgeting for Outcomes offers be posted online so citizens and boardmembers could give their input. She also urged Council to adopt a resolution calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. George Hoffman, 1101 Valley Oak Court, stated Council had missed a chance to participate in the Regional Transportation Authority. He suggested adding a fee to gasoline to pay for the RTA. He stated vendor fees should not be rebated. Al Bacilli, 520 Galaxy Court, asked what were the Chamber of Commerce costs to the City. He stated the vendor fees should not be returned as a rebate but should be retained by the City. Sarah Allman,1200 East Stuart, stated she had been denied access to Dial -A -Ride and asked Council to reconsider her situation. Eric Fried, 4255 Kingsbury Drive, thanked Council for the decision made against joining the RTA. He urged Council to adopt a resolution demanding the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Joann Ginal, 316 East Magnolia Street, member of the Human Relations Commission, stated the Human Relations Commission had recently adopted a new Mission Statement that read "as community leaders and advisors to City Council, we research, deliberate, and take proactive and responsive measures to promote the dignity of individuals and groups in Fort Collins." The members of the HRC looked forward to working with Council to promote "inclusivity" in Fort Collins. Trevor Trout, ASCSU Vice President, introduced Katy Freudenthal, new Director of Community Affairs. ':. July 17, 2007 Katy Freudenthal, Director of Community Affairs for ASCSU, stated she was acting as the voice of the CSU students and would work with the students to have a positive impact on the community. Jerry Gerber, 244 West Street, urged Council to adopt a resolution calling for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. Vivian Armendariz, 820 Merganser Drive, stated her experience with the Dial -A -Ride recertification process was painful as the form was long and difficult to understand. Under the recertification she was only allowed to use Dial -A -Ride in the event of snow or if the bus stop was inaccessible. She appealed the decision and won the appeal and can now use Dial -A -Ride with flexibility. The recertification process and appeal process had been very stressful, unpleasant and traumatic. She did not find City staff to be sympathetic or caring. Citizen Participation Follow-up Mayor Hutchinson stated every Councilmember listened to citizens carefully and the fact that the action requested by an individual was not taken or if a Councilmember did not agree with a citizen did not mean that Council did not listen. Councilmember Roy asked if there was any reason why the Budgeting for Outcomes drilling platforms could not be posted online for easy citizen access as having the platforms available to the public would allow citizens to become informed and share their input periodically on the budget process. City Manager Atteberry stated the platforms were provided to the public in the last budgeting process and would be available when the platforms are completed, within the next two weeks. The offer descriptions, as well as the drilling platforms, would be available for citizens to review well in advance of the recommended budget. Mayor Hutchinson stated the question regarding the amount of money the City gives to the Chamber of Commerce for any reason was answered at the previous meeting. City Manager Atteberry responded that the City pays no money to the Chamber in terms of membership. The City did make a one-time payment to the Chamber of Commerce for the sponsorship of John Maxwell, a leadership guru who spoke at the Lincoln Center. The City paid to send Councilmembers and key staff to that gathering. Mayor Hutchinson stated vendor fees were also explained at the previous meeting and the fees were adjusted to use some of the money for the economic health of the City. The fees were not given as a rebate, but as a compensation for the amount of bookkeeping necessary for businesses to meet City sales tax requirements. City Manager Atteberry stated as part of the Budgeting for Outcomes process, the City was scrutinizing all revenue sources and one area to be examined was vendor fees. Councilmember Ohlson requested a short report that defined vendor fee and the amount returned to businesses. City Manager Atteberry stated, in general, no vendor in Fort Collins gets more than $90 per month reimbursement for the business of collecting sales tax for the City. July 17, 2007 Agenda Review City Manager Atteberry stated the report on West Nile Virus would be given under Other Business. CONSENT CALENDAR 6. Consideration and Approval of the Minutes of the June 5.2007 and June 19, 2007 Regular Meetings and the Adjourned Meetings of June 12, 2007 and June 25, 2007. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 079, 2007, Appronriating Proceeds from the Issuance of City of Fort Collins. Colorado, Stormwater Utility Entmrise, Stormwater Utility Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2007A and Series 2007B, in the Maximum Aggregate Principal Amount Of $21,820,000 in the Stormwater Utility The Board of the Stormwater Utility Enterprise will be considering at its next meeting, which is scheduled to take place after the regular July 17, 2007 Council meeting, Ordinance No. 008 of the Board of the Stormwater Utility Enterprise, which authorizes the issuance of City of Fort Collins Colorado, Stormwater Utility Enterprise, Stormwater Utility Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2007A and Series 2007B, in the Maximum Aggregate Principal Amount of $21,820,000. The Bonds will be issued to refund, pay and discharge all or a portion of the outstanding Storm Drainage Revenue Refunding Bonds and Improvement Bonds, Series 1997, and a portion of the outstanding Storm Drainage Revenue Bonds, Series 1999. Approximately 25% of the overall aggregate amount of $21,820,000 will be assigned to the Series B, which will close by September 4th, which is the earliest date allowed by the 1997 bonds. However, the larger portion of the refunding (75% of the $21,820,000) will be assigned to Series A and is estimated to close by early August. This arrangement provides the City the greatest amount of flexibility for pricing the bonds. The City will be paying off higher cost bonds with new bonds that will have lower interest rates. The passage of Amendment 1 (the TABOR Amendment) by the Colorado voters in 1992, required the City to form enterprises in order for its utilities to be able to issue municipal bonds without an election. Since that time, all utility bonds have been issued by the appropriate utility enterprise. However, the City Charter grants only the Council the power to appropriate the funds. Therefore, this action by the Council is necessary in order to appropriate the bond proceeds for the Stormwater Utility. Authorizing the issuance of the bonds and appropriating the proceeds are both necessary to complete the bond transaction. 8. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 080, 2007, Amending Section 2-671 of the City Code Pertaining to Emergency Management Provisions. This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on June 19, 2007, amends City Code Section 2-671 to change the name of the Colorado state agency responsible for emergency management from "State Division of Disaster Emergency Services" to its current title of "Colorado Division of Emergency Management." The amendment provides a general term 100 July 17, 2007 for the state agency that will allow for any future reorganization and renaming of the State office so that the Code need not be amended each time the State makes changes. 9. Second Reading ofOrdinance No. 081, 2007, Making Various Amendments to the Land Use Code. This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on June 19, 2007, makes a variety of proposed changes, additions and clarifications identified by staff in the Spring 2007 biannual update of the Land Use Code. 10. First Reading of Ordinance No. 082, 2007, Amending Section 23-115 of the City Code to Allow fortheVacation ofCity Ri t-of-Way in Situations Where the Vacated Ri t-of-Way Will Still Be Used For Other Public Purposes. Section 23-115 of the City Code establishes a process whereby the City Council may vacate public rights -of -way in the City. It requires a finding by the Council that the public right-of- way to be vacated is no longer needed for "any public" purpose. Sometimes it maybe in the best interests of the City to vacate a right-of-way even though the real property underlying the right-of-way may still be needed and used for some other municipal purpose such as utility lines. Therefore, the wording of Section 23-115(a) should be changed to better address this type of situation. 11. First Reading of Ordinance No. 083, 2007, Calling a Special Municipal Election to Be Held in Conjunction with the November 6, 2007 Larimer County Coordinated Election. This Ordinance calls a Special Municipal Election to be held in conjunction with the November 6, 2007 Larimer County Coordinated Election, and preserves the opportunity for Council to place initiated or referred issues on the November ballot. 12. Resolution 2007-059 Finding Substantial Compliance and Initiating Annexation Proceedings for the McClelland's Creek PD & PLD Second Filing Annexation. The applicant, Stanley K. Everitt, on behalf of the property owners, McCreek, LLC, has submitted a written petition requesting annexation of 44.3 acres located at the southwest comer of Kechter Road and Strauss Cabin Road. McClelland's Creek runs along the southwest corner and Zach Elementary School is directly west of the property. The property is undeveloped and is in the FA-1 Farming District in Larimer County. The requested zoning for this annexation is LMN - Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood. The surrounding properties are currently zoned FA-1 Farming in Latimer County to the east, LMN - Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood in the City and FA-1 Farming in Larimer County to the north, FA-1 Farming in Larimer County to the south, and LMN — Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood in the City to the west. 101 July 17, 2007 13. Resolution 2007-060 Finding Substantial Compliance and Initiating Annexation Proceedings for the Rein Annexation. The Rein Annexation is 1.52 acres in size. The site is located 1038 West Vine Drive, between North Shields Street and Wood Street. Contiguity with the existing municipal boundary is gained along the entire southern and western boundaries. The proposed Resolution states that it is the City's intent to annex this property and directs that the published notice required by State law be given of the Council's hearing to consider the needed annexation ordinance. The hearing will be held at the time of First Reading of the annexation and zoning ordinances on August 21, 2007. Not less than 30 days prior, published notice is required by State law. 14. Resolution 2007-061 Adopting the Recommendation of the Cultural Resources Board Re ag rdina Fort Fund Disbursements. The guidelines for the Cultural Development and Programming and Tourism Programming accounts (Fort Fund) provide a three -tiered funding system. Organizations may apply for grants from these accounts to fund community events. Tier #1 was established as an annual programming fund for organizations whose primary purpose is to present three or more public events annually. These groups may apply for funding from Tier #1 each April. Tier #2 allows organizations that are not eligible for Tier #1 support to apply for funding of events that are not fund-raising in nature and do not generate more than $5,000 in proceeds after expenses. Tier #3 allows organizations that are not eligible for Tier #1 support to apply for funding of events that generate more than $5,000 in proceeds after expenses and are fund- raising in nature. Applications for support from Tier #2 and Tier #3 are accepted each January and June. Disbursements from funds in the City's Cultural Development and Programming and Tourism Programming accounts as shown on Exhibit "A" to the Resolution were recommended by the Cultural Resources Board at its regular meeting of June 27, 2007 for Tier #2 and Tier #3 applicants. Limited funds were distributed from the Tourism Account (Fund 2) during this session. The Cultural Resources Board is working with the Convention and Visitor's Bureau to establish a Cultural Entrepreneurial and Innovation Tier to further the Board's vision of "making Fort Collins a cultural center and destination." Applications for this Tier will be accepted starting in 2008. 15. Resolution 2007-063 Filling a Vacancy for the City's Appointed Director on the Platte River Power Authority Board of Directors. The Platte River Board of Directors is comprised of two representatives from each of the four member cities. The Mayor (or Mayor's designate) fills one slot and the second representative is appointed by the Council. Utilities General Manager Mike Smith has served as the City's 102 July 17, 2007 representative since 1998. Mr. Smith has resigned from his employment with the City effective July 30, 2007, and a representative needs to be appointed to complete the remainder of his term. This Resolution appoints City Manager Darin Atteberry to replace Mike Smith for the term which expires December 31, 2008, or until such appointment is changed by the Council. 16. Resolution 2007-064 Making Appointments to Various Boards and Commissions. Vacancies currently exist on the Affordable Housing Board due to the resignations of Rachel Davis and Kevin Brinkman. Applications were solicited and Councilmembers Poppaw and Brown conducted interviews. The interview team is recommending Ben Blonder and Marie Edwards to fill the vacancies with terms to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2011 respectively. A vacancy currently exists on the Community Development Block Grant Commission which was not filled during the annual appointment process. Applications were solicited, Mayor Hutchinson and Councilmember Manvel conducted interviews and are recommending Tom LeSavage to fill the vacancy with a term to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2009. Vacancies currently exist on the Commission on Disability due to the resignations of Robert Gerk and Joan Cook. Applications were solicited and Mayor Hutchinson and Councilmember Poppaw conducted interviews. The Council interview team is recommending Laura Burnett to fill one vacancy with a term to begin immediately and set to expire December 31, 2011. Interviews will be scheduled later this month for consideration of filling the second vacancy. A vacancy currently exists on the Human Relations Commission due to the resignation of Lisa Poppaw. Applications were solicited and Councilmembers Poppaw and Brown conducted interviews. The Council interview team is recommending Kelly Evans to fill the vacancy with a term to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2010. Vacancies currently exist on the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board due to the resignations of Michelle Brown and Greg Snyder. Mayor Hutchinson and Councilmember Manvel reviewed the applications on file and are recommending Trudy Haines and Raymond Boyd to fill the vacancies with terms to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2008. A vacancy currently exists on the Senior Advisory Board due to the resignation of Matt Malcolm. Applications were solicited. Mayor Hutchinson and Councilmember Manvel conducted interviews and the Council interview team is recommending Matthew Jackson to fill the vacancy with a term to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2008. A vacancy currently exists on the Telecommunications Board due to the resignation of 103 July 17, 2007 Robert Reichenberger. Councilmembers Roy and Ohlson reviewed the applications on file. The Council interview team is recommending Joseph Schneider to fill the vacancy with a term to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2011. Vacancies currently exist on the Transportation Board due to the resignations of Rick Price and Jeannette Hallock-Solomon. Applications were solicited and Councilmembers Troxell and Ohlson conducted interviews. The Council interview team is recommending Shane Miller and Scott Vantatenhove to fill the vacancies with terms to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2010 respectively. Vacancies currently exist on the Women's Commission due to the resignations of Mona Schatz and Shelby Maier. Applications were solicited. Councilmembers Roy and Brown conducted interviews and are recommending Hollie Kopp and Mary Beth Lathrop to fill the vacancies with terms to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2009. A vacancy currently exists on the Youth Advisory Board due to the resignation of Ryan Hennig. Applications were solicited. Councilmember Poppaw and Mayor Hutchinson conducted interviews. The Council interview team is recommending Josh Disney to fill the vacancy with a term to begin immediately and set to expire on December 31, 2011. ***END CONSENT*** Ordinances on Second Reading were read by title by City Clerk Krajicek. 7. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 079, 2007, Appropriating Proceeds from the Issuance of City of Fort Collins, Colorado, Stormwater Utility Enterprise, Stormwater Utility Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2007A and Series 2007B, in the Maximum Aggregate Principal Amount Of $21,820,000 in the Stormwater Utility Fund. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 080, 2007, Amending Section 2-671 of the City Code Pertaining to Emergency Management Provisions. 9. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 081, 2007, Making Various Amendments to the Land Use Code. Ordinances on First Reading were read by title by City Clerk Krajicek. 10. First Reading of Ordinance No. 082, 2007, Amending Section 23-115 of the City Code to Allow for the Vacation of City Right -of -Way in Situations Where the Vacated Right -of -Way Will Still Be Used For Other Public Purposes. 11. First Reading of Ordinance No. 083, 2007, Calling a Special Municipal Election to Be Held in Conjunction with the November 6, 2007 Larimer County Coordinated Election. 104 July 17, 2007 Councilmember Manvel made amotion, seconded by Councilmember Troxell, to adopt and approve all items on the Consent Calendar. Yeas: Councilmembers Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw, Roy and Troxell. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Staff Reports City Manager Atteberry noted the new Police Services building would soon be open and public tours were scheduled for Saturday, August 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will be August 27 at 10 a.m. He stated the City had received approval from the federal government for reimbursement to cover $150,000 of the expenses associated with the December snowstorm. He thanked City employees for the effort put forth during and after that snowstorm. He noted Bike Week was the last week of June and over 3,500 people throughout Fort Collins rode their bikes to work for Bike -to -Work Day, nearly double the participation from last year. Councilmember Reports Councilmember Troxell stated he and Marty Heffernan, Cultural, Library and Recreation Services Director, represented the City in Washington, D.C. when Fort Collins received an award for the Trails of Northern Colorado, awarded by Preserve America. The award was a $100,000 grant to be used for a project to create a cultural, natural heritage trail map, particularly the Cherokee Trail and the Overland Trail and develop educational materials to bring the area's cultural and natural heritage together around the established trail system and natural areas of Northern Colorado. Councilmember Brown stated he attended a ceremony for retired Colonel Bill Gordon, WWII combat veteran, who received from the French Consul the Legion of Honor, the highest honor that the French award. Mayor Hutchinson spoke regarding the Colorado Municipal League Meeting. Resolution 2007-065 Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Capital Funding Grant Agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration for Improvements at the Fort Collins -Loveland Airport Adopted. The following is staff s memorandum on this item. "FINANCIAL IMPACT The FAA Grant is in the amount of $1, 000, 000 and covers 95% of the project costs ($1, 052, 632). The local match (501o) for total constructions costs associated with the FAA Grant is $52, 632. The Cities have already approved a State of Colorado grant that will pay for half of the local match or $26, 316. The remaining local match that will be paid from Airport funds is $26, 316. The revenues 105 July 17, 2007 and capital expenditures associated with this project have been appropriated in the Airport's 2007 Budget. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Resolution authorizes the approval ofan FAA GrantAgreement in the amount of $1 million for making improvements to the Fort Collins -Loveland Municipal Airport. Work to be completed with these funds includes construction of a new taxiway, rehabilitation of taxi lanes, improve airport drainage and conduct a Wildlife Assessment Study. BACKGROUND The Airport is programmed each year to receive FAA Entitlement Funds in the amount of $1, 000, 000 as long as the Airport enplanes at least 10, 000 scheduled passengers per calendar year. The Airport enplaned approximately 33,000 passengers last year and as a result the FAA Entitlement Grant offer to the Airport this year is 1, 000, 000; the Grant Agreement is on f le with the City Clerk's office. The work to be completed under this Grant was identified in the Airport's Adopted Master Plan and is supported by the FAA. The specific projects to be completed under this project include: Construction of Alpha Taxiway A-1 Extension. This will create aircraft access to anew hangar development area on the south side of the existing hangar area. The taxiway improvement will enhance the ability to lease this land for hangar improvements and increase revenues to the Airport. Construction of an outlet structure on an existing Airport detention pond on the north side of the Airport. An outflow water pipe will be constructed to transfer the stormwater from the detention pond, which will then pass underneath the Louden Ditch and into an existing drainage easement. This work will allow the detention pond to drain out at historic flows and prevent the water from flowing into the Louden Ditch. A portion of the existing taxiways in the hangar area will be reconstructed and overlaid with new asphalt. The severe winter weather accelerated the deterioration process to a point where the pavement is failing. The repairs are necessary to maintain safe access to the hangars in this area. This work will repair the most severely damaged areas. As additional funds become available in the future more work on the taxiway system in the hangar areas will be scheduled. A Wildlife Hazard Assessment will be completed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture through the Colorado State Office of Wildlife Services. This Study is required by the FAA Airport Division to determine wild life attractants and assess potential wild life hazards to aircraft. At the completion of the twelve month long Assessment, a Wild Life Hazard Management Plan will be developed by the Wildlife Services which identifies Airport 1: July 17, 2007 personnel responsibilities and management activities to reduce wild life hazards at the Fort Collins/Loveland Airport. Purchase of Runway Friction Measuring device. This device is used to measure the braking action of the runway surface. The Airport's current machine is old and needs replacing. Engineering Services for design, bidding, planning, surveying, soils analysis and construction management services during construction. These projects will improve the safety of the general public and preserve existing airport infrastructure. " Dave Gordon, Airport Director, gave an overview of the projects to be completed with the FAA grant. The FAA was offering a grant of $1 million to be used for high priority projects. The projects are to construct Taxiway Alpha One Extension, construction of a detention pond outlet structure on an existing detention pond, reconstruction of a portion of the taxiway system in the hangar area, preparation of a wildlife assessment study, purchase of a pavement friction measuring device to be used in winter to measure the friction coefficient on the runway, and engineering services. There was a shortage of hangars at the Airport and the Taxiway project would extend into land currently vacant and help open that area to development and construction of more hangars. The detention pond, located on north side of the Airport, collects much of the drainage from the Airport. Currently it contains no outlet structure so when it fills, the water flows over the berm embankment and from the Airport property into the Louden Ditch. The proposed project will build an outlet structure to meter water flowing out of the detention pond through an outlet pipe and piped under Louden Ditch and surfaced drained into an existing drainage system. The grant money would also be used in the hangar area to improve taxiway access that currently is in poor shape. Councilmember Troxell asked if a long-term business plan was being developed to make the Fort Collins -Loveland Airport a regional transportation center. Gordon stated Airport management was working on a scope of services for a business plan. Once the scope of services was completed, a consultant would be retained to help the Airport develop a strategic plan that would go beyond the Master Plan. The Master Plan was a development plan that proposed future capital improvements to accommodate the 20-year projected growth. A business plan would give more direction for revenue potential and development of more business activity. Mike Freeman, acting Chief Financial Officer, stated a business plan would be developed that looked at financial models and the structure of leases and how to deal with potential development around the Airport that may have Airport - related uses. Councilmember Poppaw withdrew from the discussion as her husband was a pilot who used the Airport facilities and she felt she had a conflict of interest as she did not know how much he would benefit from the Airport improvements. Mayor Hutchinson stated Council had passed a resolution that streamlined the Airport Steering Committee to become more efficient in planning such as developing a business plan. That was a 107 July 17, 2007 separate issue from the resolution currently under discussion. He asked for clarification about the source of the money and the conditions for its use. Gordon stated the Airport has commercial service and the FAA's Airport Improvement Plan stipulates that if an airport has commercial service and enplanes at least 10,000 passengers per year, then the federal funds received are, at minimum,$1 million. There were over 30,000 annual enplaned passengers flying on Allegiant Airlines. When there was no commercial service at the Airport, prior to Allegiant, the guaranteed general aviation entitlement was $150,000. Discretionary funding was also available for more maintenance of the Airport next year. Councilmember Ohlson asked if any of the proposed construction projects had been started. Gordon stated no new projects were underway. Any construction currently in progress at the Airport was approved last year, but, due to winter conditions, was unable to be completed until now. Councilmember Ohlson stated the wildlife management plan did not appear to be a management plan, but to be a wildlife hazard study that would look at eliminating habitat and potentially eliminating wildlife in order to have safe aircraft. Gordon stated the purpose of doing a wildlife management assessment and wildlife management program was to assess the wildlife habitat present at the Airport and in flight patterns and to determine what can be done, under federal laws, to manage the wildlife so that it is as safe as possible for the traveling public and still abide by federal laws. Councilmember Ohlson was concerned that the wildlife management study was portrayed as a study to enhance and expand wildlife habitat when, in reality, less would be done. He felt the study was "mischaracterized". He agreed the study should be done and potential hazards removed for the public's flying safety, but wanted the proposal to be portrayed correctly. He asked what the potential environmental impacts of the proposed stormwater system changes and would water quality be enhanced or diminished by the proposed changes. Gordon stated the proposed changes should not affect water quality. The changes should have a positive effect on landowners downstream as the stormwater will flow into the natural drainage flows and not into the Louden Ditch. Councilmember Ohlson asked if any settling ponds would be added to increase water quality. Gordon answered in the negative. Councilmember Ohlson stated that, while the proposed projects were based on the Master Plan and this was a grant to fund the projects, there was no recommendation from the Transportation Board. He wanted any future additions or changes to the Master Plan or other Airport issues to be reviewed by the Transportation Board. City Manager Atteberry stated the Transportation Board's duties, as outlined in the City Code, did include examining air transportation issues and he would instruct staff to ask the Transportation Board to expand its scope and review major policy matters. Councilmember Manvel stated preparing a business plan was a good step forward. He asked if there was any progress made in resolving hangar lease issues that had been brought to his attention. Gordon stated the Airport was in the process of renegotiating some leases as well as negotiating with two groups to build more hangars at the Airport. The lease negotiations should be completed in a few weeks. July 17, 2007 Councilmember Troxell made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Roy, to adopt Resolution 2007-065. Councilmember Ohlson stated he had not received adequate information to make a decision on the impact of the projects and he believed the wildlife management study had not been correctly characterized so he could not support the resolution. Councilmember Troxell stated having the Transportation Board review Airport issues was an appropriate step to take. Mayor Hutchinson stated major progress had been made in the City's involvement with the Airport. He had confidence the FAA grant was being used productively and the projects would be beneficial to both Fort Collins and Loveland. He supported the resolution. The vote on the motion was as follows: Yeas: Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Roy, and Troxell. Nays: Ohlson. Withdrawn: Poppaw THE MOTION CARRIED. Resolution 2007-066 Concerning Implementation of Standards Created by Amendments to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 by the Utility. Adopted. The following is staff s memorandum on this item. "EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In August 2005, the United States Congress adopted the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58), which amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require state regulatory authorities and certain nonregulated utilities to conduct assessments regarding the implementation offederal standards relating to net metering, smart metering and interconnections. Because the City of Fort Collins Electric Utility (the "Utility') has retail sales in excess of 500 million kWh, it is subject to these PURPA provisions. PURPA, as amended, requires that regulatory authorities and utilities consider the standards after notice and public hearing and to make a determination in writing whether or not to implement such standards. A regulatory agency or utility may determine that it is not appropriate to adopt a particular standard and may decline to do so as long as it sets forth its reasons in writing. Staff recommends that Council consider each of the PURPA standards and that the Resolution be adopted as written. BACKGROUND The following is a summary of the PURPA standards that are to be given consideration by the City 109 July 17, 2007 of Fort Collins. Following each summarized standard is the applicable Utility practice or policy and associated staff recommendation. The PURPA standards in their entirety may be found at 16 United States Code §2601, et. seq. 16 USC §2601 Subtitle B, Section Ill, Standards for consideration, (d). (11) Net Metering —Each electric utility shall make available upon request net metering service to any electric consumer that the electric utility serves. The Utility currentlypermits net metering. For large commercial and industrial customers, Utilities allows net metering under the ' parallel generation "and "special services "provision of the current electric rate schedules. Customer -owned electric generation in excess of monthly consumption is credited at the appropriate avoided cost of purchased power in accordance with applicable rates and Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) tariffs. Net metering is currently available to residential customers under the demand (RD) rate or at the standard residential rate (R) through participation in a five year parallel generation pilot program. Staff will be using data collected during the pilot program to develop a separate residential parallel generation rate that includes a net metering provision similar to that currently offered to commercial and industrial customers. The Code, regulations, policies and practices of the City's Utility meet this standard. (12) Fuel Sources — Each electric utility shall develop a plan to minimize dependence on one fuel source and to ensure that the electric energy it sells to consumers is generated using a diverse range offuels and technologies, including renewable technologies. The Utility does not own any electric generation facilities, but rather jointly owns Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) with four other member municipalities. PRPA provides the Utility with wholesale electricity. PRPA uses multiple resources (fossil fuel, wind, hydro, purchased power) to meet the needs of the four member cities. PRPA plans for future resources by way of an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). This plan includes future capacity and energy supply resources, renewable energy and energy efficiency options. The IRP is updated annually, with a formal revision every five years. The IRP and associated budget is approved by the eight members of the PRPA board of directors. The City of Fort Collins is currently represented on the board by the Mayor and Utilities General Manager. Resources used to serve the PRPA member municipalities in 2006 included 74.8% coal, 18.7% hydro, 3.8%purchases, 1.6% renewable and 1.1 % natural gas. The Utility will continue to work jointly with other member municipalities to promote efficiency at currently existing generation plants and to diversify the range of fuels and technologies used by PRPA to generate electricity. The Code, regulations, policies and practices of the City's Utility meet this standard to the extent possible through its membership and participation in PRPA. (13) Fossil Fuel Generation Efficiency — Each electric utility shall develop and implement a 10- year plan to increase the efficiency of its fossil fuel generation 110 July 17, 2007 PRPA regularly plans for improvements to generation facilities including those mentioned in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). PRPA continues to make modifications to the Rawhide electric generation plant to improve efficiency. These include, but are not limited to: improvements to the boiler control system; turbine upgrades; pump motor upgrades; the addition of efficient lighting; emission control; and upgrades to the fuel ignition system. As a co-owner of the Craig electric generation facility, PRPA continues to participate in the evaluation and approval of similar improvements. The Code, regulations, policies and practices of the City's Utility meet this standard to the extent possible through its membership and participation in PRPA. (14) Time -Based Metering — Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment, each electric utility shall offer and then provide upon request to customers, a time -based rate schedule which reflects the variance, if any, in the costs ofgeneration and purchasing electricity at the wholesale level. The Utility wholesale rates are a monthly demand -energy rate. The time -based element is the day and hour of peak demand as determined by our wholesale energy provider (PRPA). The Utility passes this charge directly through to industrial and large commercial customers as a time -based component of our commercial rate structure. Approximately 500 customers are currently on this rate, which corresponds to roughly 50% of our electric load and 33% of our rate revenue. Presently, all other customer classes have the PAPA wholesale rates blended into their rate structure based upon their estimated contribution to the system peak. These estimates are developed from industry load data, in-house sampling and engineering calculations. Given the cost of time - based meteringand the lackofa consistentpeak-demand time reference, implementing a time -of --use rate and the associated billingfor residential and small commercial customers is not currently a cost effective alternative. Should PRPA develop future time -of -use wholesale rates, staff will respond with rate options reflecting these new cost components and present such options to City Council for review. Because PRPA does not currently offer a wholesale rate that includes a time -based component and because of the prohibitively high cost associated with the Utility providing the technology itself to measure time -based use, the Utility employs a modified approach to this standard as more fully described in the StaffReport (Exhibit 'B" to the Resolution). (15) Interconnection — Each electric utility shall make available, upon request, interconnection service to any electric consumer that the electric utility serves. The Utility has offered interconnection to customers who own approvedprivategenerationfacilities for several years. Currently, residential interconnection is allowed at the demand rate (RD) or with approvalfrom the Utilities General Manager. In an effort to streamline residential interconnection and collect cost -of -service data, the Utility established a residential pilot parallel generation program in 2004. This five year program allows for the first 25 customers who participate to earn 111 July 17, 2007 credit at the full retail rate for any electric generation (kilowatt-hours) in excess of their monthly consumption. Parallel generation for all other rate classes is permitted under the "special provisions "section of each rate schedule. The details for interconnection are described in the "Electric Service Rules & Regulations " and the "The Electric Construction Policies, Practices and Procedures. " A formal application process was developed in 2004, while technical interconnection requirements are reviewed and updated regularly. Staffhas developed a process to review each proposed installation to evaluate the safety and compatibility of interconnection equipment (breakers, relays, telemetry, disconnects) as well as the metering, monitoring and operational requirements. The Code, regulations, policies and practices of the City's Utility meet this standard. " Bill Bray, Electric Planning and Engineering Manager, stated adoption of the resolution would complete a federally mandated review and consideration of five government standards for electric metering efficiency, fuel diversity and interconnection of customer owned generation. There were three options to be considered: (1) adopt the Standards; (2) not to adopt the Standards; or (3) a modified approach to continue with existing policies and standards that substantially conform to PURPA. The modified approach was recommended by staff and the Electric Board. PURPA was an act passed by Congress in 1978 to promote conservation of energy, efficient use of electric resources and equitable rates. A modification made in 2005 added five new standards. The City was required to look at the standards and give consideration to the standards in a certain amount of time and decide whether to implement the standards. The five standards are net metering, fuel sources, fossil fuel generation efficiencies, smart metering and interconnections. The City meets or exceeds the federal standards for net metering and interconnections. The standards for fuel sources and fossil fuel generation efficiencies are not applicable as the City is not an owner of electric generation. A modified approach was recommended for smart metering. Net metering means all customers must be offered the opportunity to offset their bill by any electrical generation by a qualified generator and the City currently offers that option. The fuel source standard was put in place to encourage use of more than one fuel source for electrical generation. The City does not own any electric generation so, technically, the standard does not apply. However, Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) does use multiple resources such as fossil, wind, and hydro purchase power and does follow a documented integrated resource plan that is updated annually. PRPA meets the intent of the fuel source standard but it does not have to conform to the standard as PURPA only pertains to retail energy sales. The City conforms to the fuel source standard to the extent possible through the participation in the PRPA. The standard regarding fossil fuel generation efficiencies requires each electric utility to develop and implement a ten-year plan to increase efficiency of its fuel generation. The City does not own any electric generation but PRPA does. It regularly makes improvements to the Rawhide plant and increasing efficiency is part of its integrated resource plan. This standard does not specifically apply to the City, but the standard is supported through its participation in PRPA. 112 July 17, 2007 The standard for smart metering involves offering each customer a time -based rate schedule that reflects the actual cost to the utility if the utility has a time -based cost variance in the wholesale charges and to employ any metering or communication technology to provide that service. The intent of the standard is that with appropriate rate incentives, improvement will be made in the efficiency of the utility. Currently, PRPA's whole rate to the City does not include a time -based component so the City is unable to offer customers a time based rate schedule since it is not offered to the City. There is a coincident demand component which is based on the one time throughout the month when all the member utilities of PRPA have peak demand and each utility is billed on that peak. That charge is passed directly onto the commercial and industrial customers to provide them with an incentive to modify their use patterns. The coincident demand component is currently blended for residential customers. A study is currently underway to gather data and determine whether a rate can be created that takes into account the coincident demand component. Discussions are ongoing with PRPA about providing the City with a time -based, wholesale rate. Offering the coincident demand component to industrial and commercial customers does meet with the intent of the PURPA standard as it accurately reflects the cost of service. The interconnection standard requires the Utility to make available to all customers to interconnect their electric generation in parallel with the City's system and that interconnection standards are developed that are in compliance with Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Standard 1547. The standards cannot be discriminatory and the services promote current and best practices. The City does currently offer an RD rate to residential customers which meets this standard. Commercial customers have the interconnection option available by way of the special provisions section of each rate schedule. The City has developed internal interconnection standards that not only comply with Standard 1547 but also determines the safety and compatibility of interconnection equipment. Currently, there are 12 residential customers connected to the system and 4 large-scale installations with another one or two planning to interconnect. The City meets or exceeds the interconnection standard and is working to simplify the interconnection process. Adoption of the resolution does not prohibit any future review of changes to rates or energy efficiency or conservation policies; it does close the process as mandated by the federal government for review of the PURPA standards. Councilmember Roy asked what will it take to have the other partners in PRPA commit to same level of renewable energy as the commitment of Fort Collins. Bray stated the PRPA Board has talked using about a higher level of renewable energy but it will take action on the part of the other Councils of the towns belonging to PRPA to adopt energy supply policies akin to what Fort Collins has. Councilmember Roy stated it seemed as if the City was in a "gray area" with PRPA since Fort Collins does not own PRPA and if the partners of PRPA had similar goals for renewable energy use it would make meeting that aspect of the standards much easier. Bray stated the other members are starting to see more requests from their own customers for renewables. 113 July 17, 2007 Mayor Hutchinson stated he is a PRPA Boardmember and the July PRPA meeting will have an update of the renewable energy policy. Fort Collins has been a strong leader in the renewable energy area and reviewing the renewable energy policy is a good way to inform the other three owners of PRPA about the possibilities and the direction PRPA should take. Councilmember Roy asked what levels of each community has committed to using renewable energy. City Manager Atteberry stated staff would gather that information. Fort Collins was leading by example and continued to look at "best practices" which are moving towards a higher usage of renewable energy. Councilmember Ohlson asked what would be an approximate cost today of building a power plant such as Rawhide. Bray stated another 280 megawatt, fossil -fuel generator might cost $500 million. Mayor Hutchinson stated PRPA has not made a decision to build another plant and the decision for near to longer -term power needs does not involve creating another power plant. Councilmember Ohlson stated standards such as time -metering were to keep the peak load down as the peak demand has switched from the winter months to the summer months as more people air- condition their homes. He asked what was the expected time table to bring PRPA and the communities together to start using a time -based rate structure. Bray stated within five years would be reasonable guess but there has to be enough interest from the other communities to persuade PRPA provide that service. Councilmember Ohlson asked if PRPA only had 1.6% of its energy portfolio in renewables. Bray stated the state requirement of 10% renewable energy portfolio was being taken very seriously and the percentage would be increasing but it did not apply to municipal utilities. Councilmember Ohlson asked if the state requirement of 10% did not apply to PRPA. Bray stated it applies to municipal utilities of a certain size and investor -owned utilities. The requirement varies depending on size and ownership. Mayor Hutchinson suggested a work session to discuss PRPA as it was a complex issue. Councilmember Ohlson requested a memo providing more information about the requirements for PRPA and its energy portfolio. Councilmember Roy stated the City currently uses less than 2% of renewable energy and the City's policy is 15% by 2015. He asked how many households in Fort Collins generate their own energy and put it back into the City's grid and how do citizens begin the process. Bray stated there were 12 customers who generate some portion of their own electricity. Each of the 12 customers are photo- voltaic customers and have photovoltaic arrays on their homes that tie into an inverter system which in turn ties to a disconnect (a large switch to keep Utility employees safe if they need to work on the home). It is tied into the meter and the meter runs forward and backward when the home is 114 July 17, 2007 generating. The customer is billed on the net usage. Citizens can contact the Utility office to get more information or use the City's website which has information and forms. Councilmember Troxell thanked the Utilities staff for the services provided and the historic low costs of energy provided to the citizens. Councilmember Ohlson asked if the Electric Board had reviewed the PURPA standards and what were its recommendations. Bray stated the Electric Board did review the PURPA standards and the proposed resolution at its May meeting and unanimously endorsed the resolution and staff recommendations. Councilmember Roy made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Troxell, to adopt Resolution 2007-066. Yeas: Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw, Roy and Troxell. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. (**Secretary's Note: The Council took a brief recess at this point in the meeting.) Resolution 2007-062 Authorizing the City Manager to Appoint a Task Force of Citizens to Make Recommendations Regarding the Display of Religious Symbols on Public Property. Adopted. The following is staff s memorandum on this item. "EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the past, Council has received requests from citizen groups wishing to display, on City -owned property, symbols associated with the winter holiday season, some of which are religious in nature. This Resolution authorizes the City Manager to appoint a citizen taskforce to review this issue and recommend possible modifications to the City's holiday display policy and/or the provisions of the City Code pertaining to unattended displays on City property. BACKGROUND For some time the Fort Collins community has engaged in a dialogue about current policies surrounding the display of religious symbols on public property. In November 2005, requests were made to place a menorah either in the City's holiday display or elsewhere on public property, including Old Town Plaza and City -owned properties and right-of-ways. The City denied the request because its own holiday displays are secular in nature and because the City does not allow private, unattended displays on its property. Since then, the subject ofreligious displays on publicproperty has remained a topic ofconsiderable 115 July 17, 2007 discussion by City Council and the community as a whole. In 2006, City Council reviewed its holiday display policy, which addresses both outdoor displays in Old Town and displays on other Cityproperty. The decision was made to maintain the current policy and reduce it to writing, as shown in Attachment 1. The City Code provisions dealing with unattended displays are shown on Attachment 2. The proposed Resolution directs the City Manager to appoint an ad hoc citizen taskforce of up to twenty members to review and recommend modifications to the holiday display policy and/or the provisions of the City Code pertaining to unattended displays on City property. The task force is to be made up of a diverse cross-section of community representatives interested in resolving concerns around this issue. Members of the task force may include representatives of the Human Relations Commission, Interfaith, Fort Collins Church Network, Not in Our Town Alliance, Downtown Business Association and other faith, business or community organizations interested in participating. City staff will facilitate initial task force meetings in order to introduce members to one another, clarify the group's charge, explain the legal parameters related to the subject matter of their deliberations, and determine a decision -making process. Once the foundation for the group has been laid, the task force will be asked to elect a leader who will convene and lead remaining meetings. The group is expected to share its findings with City Council no later than October 31, 2007. " Tess Heffernan, Policy and Project Manager, stated Councilmembers had expressed a desire to form a citizen task force to review the City's policy regarding holiday displays and unattended displays on City property. In 2005, the City received a request to place a menorah on the Old Town Square, which is DDA property, or elsewhere on public property. That request was denied after much discussion and consideration. In 2006, Council reviewed the holiday display policy and decided to maintain the policy. Additionally in 2006, the City Code was amended to formalize the policy of not having unattended displays on City property, such as sidewalks, parks and natural areas. The holiday display policy covers the time frame from November 1 st through January 30th and pertains to City property that is open to the public. One provision of the policy concerns outdoor displays in Old Town and the policy states there can be one or a combination of white or colored lights, trees, wreaths, garlands, foliage and written secular holiday messages. Secular is defined as not overtly or specifically religious. The other provision concerns other displays on City property, City buildings and facilities and the decision is left to the discretion of the department head of that particular facility. The policy does specify that the display must be secular. The proposed resolution recognizes there are citizen groups that would like to display holiday symbols and some of those are religious in nature. It also states Council is interested in reconsidering the City practice of limiting the holiday displays to secular symbols and messages and prohibiting private, unattended displays on City property. The resolution authorizes the City Manager to appoint a citizen task force to review the issue and to submit some recommendations to Council. The task force can have up to 20 representatives of varied, diverse organizations from the business community, the faith community, non -profits and other community groups. It would have a staff facilitator and, once the 116 July 17, 2007 task force has begun, it would elect a leader who would convene the remaining meetings. Since this would be an ad hoc committee, its recommendation would be due by October 31, 2007. Additionally, an alternative resolution has been provided for Council's consideration. This resolution limits the task force's scope to review of the City's Holiday Display Policy and not include a review of the Code provisions regarding private displays on public property. Councilmember Brown asked what would the criteria be for selecting representatives to the task force and which organizations would be invited to participate. Heffernan stated there would be one representative per organization with as wide a variety of organizations represented as possible. It will be left to each organization to select a representative. There was no limit as to which organizations can participate. Councilmember Brown stated the October 31 st deadline creates a very tight window for this year's holiday season. Heffernan agreed the deadline creates a short time frame but staff felt that if the task force committed to meeting weekly and if the group is convened by mid -August, it would have 8-10 weeks to decide its recommendations. Councilmember Manvel stated the alternative resolution was a good option as it pointed out the distinction between the City doing displays and having private displays. He asked who proposed the alternative. Mayor Hutchinson stated the proposal came from the Leadership Team discussion regarding the scope of the task force and the differences in the issues. The City Attorney was asked to draft the alternative to limit the scope of the task force to consideration of holiday displays. It would be difficult for the task force to deal with the different issues in the short time frame. Consideration of the holiday displaypolicy is a reasonable first step to take in reviewing the entire issue of unattended displays on City property. Councilmember Ohlson stated consideration of only the holiday display policy at this time was the component in which many people were most interested. It made sense to do just the holiday display at this time. Another issue is holiday displays at other times of the year but should be considered at a later date. He asked if the task force finishes on October 31 and the holiday display policy begins on November 1, would any recommendations need to be adopted by ordinance or resolution and when would Council consider the recommendations. City Attorney Roy stated the holiday display policy is currently an administrative policy. If Council chooses to make a decision on the issue, it would be by resolution on November 6. Councilmember Ohlson asked if individuals who were not part of any organization would be appointed to the task force. Heffernan stated screening individuals would require a scrutiny of applications that would lengthen the process considerably. If an organization recommends someone, then the application process is not necessary. Councilmember Ohlson was concerned that by limiting the invitation to organizations, the task force 117 July 17, 2007 would not be diverse but would consist of a limited group that only represented a small portion of the citizens. He requested that a wide variety of groups be invited to join the task force. Councilmember Manvel hoped the process would be open to public comment so that people in the community who had strong views would be able to have input into the task force, either in person or by e-mail so all viewpoints could be heard by the group. Heffernan stated staff would ensure there was opportunity for public input. City Attorney Roy clarified that any Council decision by resolution concerned only the alternative resolution as it limited the scope of the task force to only the holiday display issue, which is an administrative matter. If Council chose the original resolution which directs the task force to review the City Code concerning unattended displays on City property, then it an ordinance to amend the City Code would be required. Councilmember Troxell made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Ohlson, to adopt the alternative version of Resolution 2007-062. Councilmember Ohlson asked that time be allotted before each task force meeting for public comment as well as accepting written or phone comments so people who are not on the task force can comment. He clarified that this policy dealt solely with City property and had nothing to do with any displays put on private property. Mayor Hutchinson stated the formation of the task force was a good step and will make Fort Collins more inclusive. Councilmember Manvel stated having a broad variety of people on the task force to look at the policy and the impact will improve diversity and will allow people to feel they have input. The vote on the motion was as follows: Yeas: Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw, Roy and Troxell. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Resolution 2007-067 Making an Appointment to the Water Board, Adopted. The following is staff's memorandum on this item. "EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A vacancy currently exists on the Water Board due to the resignation of Paul Czarnecki. Councilmembers Roy and Brown conducted interviews but did not agree on a recommendation for 118 July 17, 2007 the Water Board. The Council interview team wishes to submit two names ('fed Borstad and Gary Wockner) for Council's consideration for that position. Applications are attached for the two applicants being considered. " Councilmember Roy made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Manvel, to adopt Resolution 2007-067 and appoint Gary Wockner to the Water Board. Councilmember Brown stated four candidates applied for the opening on the Water Board but two of those chose to serve on other boards. After looking at the resumes of the two remaining candidates, he concluded Ted Borstad was more qualified to serve on the Water Board. Boardmembers needed to be objective and Mr. Wockner would not be objective on the issue of water storage projects as he has publicly stated he opposed them. Mr. Borstad was a civil engineer who had much experience in designing and evaluating water systems. Councilmember Manvel stated both candidates were well qualified to serve on the Water Board. Mr. Borstad is professionally qualified and has served on the Water Board before and is an expert in water matters. Mr. Wockner has strong ecological and environmental qualifications and has been a source for water policy. He has been very active in keeping Council informed about issues that are important to the City. Members of a board are to do more than approve staff recommendations but they are to bring their own ideas to the Council and Mr. Wockner would do that. Councilmember Troxell stated evaluating candidates required looking for the best candidate for a board. Mr. Borstad's qualifications included a degree in civil engineering, a professional engineer, active in four professional societies all related to water matters as well as working with and managing many projects related to all aspects of water projects. His expertise would be invaluable to the Water Board. Councilmember Ohlson asked if Mr. Borstad's term on the Water Board ended in 2006 and he questioned whether he could be appointed again to the Board so soon. He stated engineers and scientists both have their own convictions and both approach issues objectively. There are many engineers on staff working with the Water Board but there are no wildlife ecologists so having a scientist on the Board would make it more diverse in viewpoint and strengthen it. Having only engineers on the Board would not make the Board very effective as they would not look at the big picture. Councilmember Poppaw stated having diversity of thought on a board was very beneficial when issues were being discussed and she felt Mr. Wockner's opinion could be valuable to the Water Board. Councilmember Roy stated Mr. Borstad had provided invaluable guidance to the Water Board and made a difference when he served. Mr. Wockner is working hard to make a difference and he is exactly the right person at this time for the Board. 119 July 17, 2007 Mayor Hutchinson stated Mr. Borstad's background in many aspects of water including wastewater treatment expertise and stormwater expertise, and his broad knowledge was necessary to advise Council on upcoming issues. The vote on the motion was as follows: Yeas: Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw and Roy. Nays: Brown, Hutchinson and Troxell. THE MOTION CARRIED. Other Business City Manager Atteberry reported on the West Nile Virus issue as an issue causing deep feelings on both sides in the decision of whether or not to spray mosquitoes. The City has been contending with West Nile virus since the first outbreak in 2003 when it responded by implementing a mosquito trapping and larvicide program in conjunction with an educational outreach campaign. Because of the severity of the outbreak in 2003, Dr. LeBailley, County Health Department Director, recommended adulticiding mosquitoes and the City implemented a truck -fogging operation covering 13 square miles of the City. In 2004, the City contracted with Colorado Mosquito Control (CMC) to identify and map hundreds of mosquito breeding areas and to treat them with larvicide. CMC also did extensive mosquito -trapping to help determine the West Nile virus threat. The threat was again significant and Dr. LeBailley recommended adulticiding so the City implemented a truck -fogging operation covering six square miles of the most -threatened areas of the City. In 2004, Council adopted a West Nile Virus Policy directing the City Manager to implement a mosquito adulticide program if the County Board of Health trigger criteria were met. The program must include general public notification and limited exemptions for sensitive individuals and locations. The Air Quality Board and the Natural Resources Advisory Board were involved in the development ofthe West Nile Virus Policy. In 2005 and 2006, the City continued its West Nile virus education outreach efforts and its trapping and larvicide programs. The West Nile virus threat was not significant enough to trigger a County Health recommendation of adulticide. In 2007, the City has continued to address the West Nile virus threat with an aggressive larvicide program, extensive trapping and identification efforts as well as the public education campaign. The threat is once again significant, as advised by Dr. LeBailley, and the County's criteria for adulticiding has been met. On July 13th, Dr. LeBailley notified City Managers within the County of the recommendation for the cities to implement a citywide adulticide operation within the next two weeks. The City is moving forward with plans for a citywide truck -mounted fogging operation, starting Thursday night unless the Council overturns the current West Nile Virus Policy. The fogging will be done in two stages, a Thursday night - Monday night combination and a Tuesday night -Friday night combination. Council has expressed concern about the process of notifying citizens. The cost of a reverse-911 call was originally believed to be approximately 60 cents per call but because of a contract renegotiation, the cost is now 12 1/2 cents per call, assuming the message is less than 30 seconds long. Reverse- 911 will be the method of choice in notifying citizens of the spraying schedule. There are limitations with this method. The system does not contact cell phones, voice-over-internet-protocol phone 120 July 17, 2007 services or blocked phone numbers, but it will leave a message when a phone is not answered. The cost of the notification will be between $10,000 and $11,000 with about 80,000 calls made. The last time reverse-911 was used it had about a 50% success rate so it is an effective tool but it is not a guarantee, based on its limitations. There is also a subscription service available where people can sign up to receive an e-mail sent directly to them, notifying them of the spraying schedule. With the reverse-911 calls, internet technology and press releases, public notification should be widespread. The West Nile Virus Policy adopted in 2004 should be reviewed as soon as this winter as it has some ambiguity that needs to be resolved. More time needs to be spent on collecting data and gathering a wider range of professional and scientific input on the Policy. He did strongly recommend continuing the course currently set out in the Policy and begin adulticide fogging on Thursday. Mike Calhoun, Parks Crew Chief, described the logistics of implementing the fogging plan. Thursday evening the fogging would begin on the east side of town. Fogging will be done on the west side on Friday evening. This will be repeated on Monday and Tuesday. The operation will take until 1:00 a.m. each evening. It will cost approximately $70,000 to complete both nights applications through the City. The State's pesticide sensitivity list contains the names of three people inside the City and the City will make every effort to try to avoid getting any product on these people's property. Gary Wockner, 516 North Grant Avenue, stated he had opted out of the spraying done in 2003 and it was not successful. He opposed spraying as a "poisoning of his yard, home and family." Caryl Schonbron, 6327 Westchase, stated there was no proof that spraying will lessen the West Nile virus threat. Loveland, which has a spraying program, has more mosquitoes than Fort Collins, which has not had a spraying program. Many cities have stopped spraying because they have realized it does not help the problem but makes it worse. The toxic pesticides proposed for spraying are harmful to human health, wildlife and ecosystems. She opposed spraying. Robert Schonbron, 6327 Westchase, opposed spraying as the pesticides would harm children and the elderly and those with respiratory ailments. Jim Jeffreys, 612 Marigold Lane, stated he was chemically sensitive due to exposure to toxic chemicals. He opposed blanket spraying to control the West Nile virus as it would adversely affect his health and the health of other chemically sensitive people and would also negatively affect healthy people and the environment. Mary Porter, 5339 Cinquefoil, stated there were other ways to be protected from West Nile virus such as wearing long-sleeved clothing or applying mosquito spray that are better than spraying. Using non -toxic alternatives was a better choice and she opposed spraying. Eric Levine, 514 North Shields, opposed spraying as it should only occur as a very last resort when 121 July 17, 2007 all the public is in imminent danger. He encouraged Council to review the West Nile Virus Policy and develop a comprehensive prevention program. Andy Miscio, 2713 Aberdeen Court, stated there was not enough information given to Council to make the decision to spray. He opposed spraying and wanted alternatives used. Veronica Miscio, 2713 Aberdeen Court, stated she had multiple chemical sensitivities and her research had shown spraying was not the action to be taken to deal with the West Nile problem. It only creates more problems. She opposed spraying. Eric Kronwall, 1119 Monticello Court, stated there were consequences if spraying was not done. as people, such as his daughter, do contract West Nile virus. He supported spraying. Cheryl Distaso, 135 South Sunset Street, had concerns with the fogging method and opposed spraying. She also questioned if the notification process would include bilingual messages. Nancy York, 130 South Whitcomb, opposed spraying as she did not want pesticides on her property. She did not think enough preventative measures had been taken. Councilmember Brown supported a review of the West Nile Virus Policy and developing a comprehensive plan. Since the trigger point has been reached, there did not seem to be any options other than spraying. Delaying and studying options would be "fiddling while Rome burns." City Manager Atteberry stated Dr. LeBailley's recommendation was clear that adulticide spraying needed to occur within the next two weeks. Delaying would not help the current situation. The current Policy states that when the recommendation is made by the County Health that adulticide spraying is necessary then the City Manager shall begin spraying. If Council wants to change the Policy, then a motion should be instructing the City Manager not to proceed with spraying. If no action is taken, then the plan for spraying will move forward. Mayor Hutchinson stated the decision was not about whether to spray, as the Policy is already in place, but the issue is whether to overturn the Policy or follow the Policy with the intent of reviewing the Policy later when there is time to examine all available data to create a more detailed plan. Councilmember Brown asked to have a work session on the Policy at a future date. Councilmember Roy stated when the Policy was made four years ago, although he was a Councilmember then and opposed spraying at that time, he was out of town and did not participate in the discussion. The Policy was made at the beginning of the West Nile virus epidemic and no one understood how big it could get. In the past four years greater understanding of the virus has developed. He felt the Policy failed the citizens of Fort Collins and he wanted to discuss whether spraying should occur or why it would not be a good choice for Fort Collins. Councilmember Brown asked if there were organic chemicals that could be sprayed on ponds that 122 July 17, 2007 would kill mosquito larvae. Mike McGinnis, owner of Colorado Mosquito Control (CMC), stated his company provided an extensive larval mosquito control program to the City. The primary product used is BTI, a bacteria -based product that is put into water to kill mosquito larvae. That has already been done this year. Councilmember Brown asked what the mosquito population would be if the larvicide were not used. McGinnis stated in 2003 conditions were good for mosquitoes with a wet spring, very full ponds and much saturated ground water. This year started out worse than 2003 and there has been continuous breeding of the Culex mosquito, the carrier of West Nile virus very early in the season and, even with extensive larval control, it is not enough to keep the adult mosquito population controlled. Most mosquito control programs in the country are integrated pest management programs which means larval control, surveillance of adults and very limited, targeted adult mosquito control. The City's current program only has larval control and surveillance of adults and only adult mosquito control in emergency disease situation which is the current situation. Councilmember Brown asked if there was a different, organic spray that could be used. McGinnis stated permethrin is the most common, widely used, least toxic product available. It is a synthetic version of a natural insecticide. The natural insecticide is available and does come directly from the chrysanthemum flower but it is approximately 40% more expensive than the synthetic permethrin. It would greatly increase the cost and not provide any greater benefit. The application method would be the same. Councilmember Roy asked how far a mosquito might travel in one night. McGinnis stated a mosquito can travel one to two miles, depending on the wind. Councilmember Roy asked if Larimer County had declared an emergency. Jerry Blehm, Larimer County Health Department, stated no public health emergency such as was declared in 2003 has currently been called. The County is making a recommendation as it believes the situation is approaching to cause a huge potential problem for the community. Councilmember Roy asked what was the difference between making a recommendation and declaring an emergency and why had an emergency not been declared. Blehm stated there was no real difference in responsibilities to the County whether it is making a recommendation or declaring an emergency. The County is making a recommendation as the West Nile virus threat is creating a critical situation. Councilmember Roy asked if state law required the City to use spraying as a means to protect the population. Blehm stated he did not know of any specific statutory obligation for any entity to spray. The County Health Department felt it had an obligation to monitor the conditions in the community and, if any potential problems are detected, then to share those concerns with the community. No one specific agency has the responsibility for mosquito control. Councilmember Roy asked for any concerns the County Health Department might have with regard 123 July 17, 2007 to detrimental effects of spraying. Blehm stated the County recommended using the safest product available and it be applied appropriately and the risks from spraying is less than the risk of not trying to reduce the adult mosquito population. Councilmember Roy stated the pesticide was a class 3 carcinogen and asked how safe was the product. Blehm stated it was a class 3 carcinogen under laboratory conditions where the application rates are much higher than what is proposed for the adult mosquito control. The risk to the community would be minimal. Councilmember Poppaw asked if there was any concern for those who have asthma. Blehm stated he was not aware of any special concern for those with asthma. Prudent application of the chemicals minimized any risk. If they are misused, there is potential for problems for individuals. Mayor Hutchinson stated the public health statistics on asthma attacks after the previous spraying showed there no increased problems. While spraying is not totally risk -free, the risk can be minimized with the proper application methods. Blehm stated the County Health Department specifically looked at local hospitals and the types of cases handled during the spraying time and there was no statistical difference in hospital admission or emergency room visits. Councilmember Poppaw asked if the opt -out option would be available during the spraying as it was during the spraying of 2003 and 2004. Calhoon stated in 2003, there was an opt -out provision but this time, the City is honoring the State's Pesticide Sensitivity Registry. In 2004, an opt -out provision was not offered as it was discovered there were large holes in the program if an opt -out option is offered. Offering an opt -out option decreases the effectiveness of an adulticide program. Councilmember Poppaw asked what percentage of households chose to opt -out in 2003. Calhoon did not have that figure available. Councilmember Manvel asked about the residual effects for people the day after the fogging is completed. McGinnis stated CMC is spraying ultra -low volume spraying and while it looks like a lot of spray is being produced, a very small amount of spray is actually produced. At 15 mph, the truck puts out 9 ounces per minute, or 1 ounce per acre of microscopic -sized droplets. The amount of permethrin is .023 pound per acre, an extremely small amount. It breaks down quickly when in contact with water or in sunlight. The half-life of the product is 12 hours. There is a very small amount of material in any one place so there is no toxic effect. Councilmember Manvel asked which of the City's criteria listed in the Policy have been met to sound the alarm. Blehm stated not all the criteria have been met as the vector index has not met the 0.75 criteria. Currently, the index was at 0.17 and had doubled from the previous week's reading. The figures on the total mosquito numbers, percent of the total that are Culex mosquitoes, number of mosquito pools that tested positive for West Nile virus, animal and human cases did meet the City's criteria. There are now two human cases in Fort Collins and three horse cases in northeastern Larimer County of West Nile virus. The transmission to mammals had started and the County feared 124 July 17, 2007 it would get worse. McGinnis stated this was a regional situation and Weld County had given the recommendation to its municipalities to consider spraying. Greeley will begin spraying tomorrow. Boulder County Health Department had given the recommendation to Longmont, which had exceeded the vector index of .75 and Longmont will begin spraying. This was a wide -spread situation and it was escalating regionally. Councilmember Roy asked what percentage of mosquitoes are killed when spraying occurs. McGinnis stated generally, 80-85% of mosquitoes are killed, but results can varying depending on the wind and temperature conditions. Councilmember Roy asked about the content of the warning labels on the containers of pesticides. McGinnis stated the labels say "caution" and contain environmental precautions. Councilmember Roy stated material he had read indicated possible endocrine disruption and asked what that meant. Blehm stated he was not qualified to answer. Councilmember Ohlson stated the City's West Nile Virus Policy contained many details about what the City should be doing besides directing the City Manager to authorize spraying and asked if the entire Policy was followed. City Manager Atteberry stated a staff memo would be provided. Councilmember Ohlson asked the source of the funds to pay for spraying. City Manager Atteberry stated the funds would come from the Community Opportunities Fund which contains money set aside for unanticipated occurrences such as West Nile virus or sponsoring a particular event. Councilmember Ohlson stated using the natural form of permethrin would cost $98,000 instead of $70,000 for the synthetic version and asked why spending the added costs was not being considered. McGinnis stated CMC recently did a product test with the natural permethrin product and saw no difference in effectiveness from the synthetic version. Both are very effective. The natural form of permethrin is still mixed with PVO, a synergiser, so even the natural form is not completely natural. Using the natural form would cost more, but would not provide any greater effectiveness. Councilmember Troxell stated Dr. LeBailley had presented facts that the West Nile virus impacts a person's central nervous system and can cause death. Blehm stated the West Nile virus does affect the central nervous system and can cause fever, encephalitis and meningitis. There have been deaths in the community specifically attributed to the West Nile virus but no deaths have been associated with spraying. Councilmember Troxell noted the product information sheet primarily contained information about application and had only one column discussing potential hazards such as are on household cleaners. Councilmember Roy quoted a statistic that 80 to 85% of the people who contracted West Nile virus did not know they have it and asked what was the percentage of people who have had the West Nile virus. Blehm stated a large percentage of people do contract West Nile virus and do not know they 125 July 17, 2007 have it. A large percentage of people do not get a specific diagnosis as it an expensive test to perform. The County believes approximately 96% of the community has not had West Nile virus and is susceptible this year. There are some indications that even those who may have had West Nile virus, but did not know they had it, may have some long-term effects such as pre -Parkinson type of symptoms, loss of motor skills, loss of memory from the mild fever form of West Nile virus. Councilmember Roy read from the product information sheet about the toxicity to aquatic organisms and that it should not be applied to blooming crops as it is toxic to bees. McGinnis stated one of the reasons for spraying at night was to avoid exposure to people and non -target insects such as honey bees. The product hydrolyzes rapidly so it breaks down with any contact with water. It has to be applied continually in water to provide a toxic dose to fish. Councilmember Brown spoke about the severe symptoms of West Nile virus as shared with him by Lera McMillen and stated it is a very devastating disease. Councilmember Roy made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Manvel to rescind the City's Policy based on new information rendering past language and direction inappropriate. Councilmember Troxell asked what new information was available from a health professional. Councilmember Roy stated Council had received its information from only one source. There was other information now available, such as a Center for Disease Control study by Roger Nassey of the 2004 Fort Collins adulticide spraying program that showed the spraying was possibly effective in reducing mosquito numbers in the sprayed areas, at least temporarily; however, the CDC study failed to conclude that adulticide spraying curtailed transmission of West Nile virus to humans. Councilmember Manvel stated there is much information available and Council did want to review the current Policy but to overturn the Policy and go against the recommendation of the County and staff did not make sense at this point. He did not support the motion Councilmember Ohlson stated this was a difficult decision and the Policy does need to be changed. Spraying an entire city twice seemed an antiquated method to deal with the problem. However, he did support spraying at this time as the Policy was developed over a period of time and the short amount of time Council currently had to devote to the topic was insufficient to make good policy decisions. There was no overwhelming data indicating the Policy should immediatelybe overturned. He would not support future policy that would dictate spraying the entire city. Councilmember Poppaw stated the Policy lacked choices and did not promote personal responsibility in this issue. She wanted to review the Policy and create one that did not include spraying. However, the time was too short to adequately rewrite the Policy and she would not support the current motion. Councilmember Roy stated times were different than when the Policy was enacted. Spraying half 126 July 17, 2007 of the City one night and the other half the next night did not seem efficient or effective. It would not kill all the mosquitoes. An emergency has not been called by the County. 80% of people who have contracted West Nile did not show any symptoms and there seems to be a good chance that a large number of Fort Collins citizens are already immune to the West Nile virus. Since spraying will occur at night and the pesticide has a half-life of 12 hours, it will still be in the environment in the daytime when bees are moving, so it could affect such non -target insects. The personal precautions that should betaken need to emphasized. Spraying is putting far more people in jeopardy than will be in danger from the virus. He apologized for his words about the City Manager earlier in the week. Councilmember Brown urged Council to undertake a comprehensive study of the issue in the future. It was too late now in this mosquito season to change the Policy and the County has recommended spraying now. Waiting two weeks will be too late and there could be a full-blown breakout of West Nile virus. That is too great a risk to take. He did not support the motion. Councilmember Troxell thanked the City Manager and staff for its balanced approach to the issue and the care and concern for the safety and health of the citizens that had been shown. The recommendation from the public health professionals was based on a science -based balanced approach of looking at all the risks. Consideration must be given to the recommendation from the health professionals. It will be appropriate to review the Policy at a future date. He did not support the motion. Councilmember Ohlson stated if Council waits two weeks and studied the issue in depth, it would be too late for any benefit that might come from spraying. Either the decision is made now or spraying is not done at all. It was unknown if the two people currently diagnosed with West Nile virus even contracted it in Latimer County. It was troubling to make this decision with the vector index at only one -fifth of the trigger point for the vector index listed in the Policy. The Policy was in place and there did not seem to be overriding, compelling reasons to overturn it at this point. Mayor Hutchinson stated Council was very concerned about both sides of the issue. It was good governance to follow through on thoughtful policy that was determined through a reasoned process and not throw out a policy quickly. The timing of the spraying is very important and cannot wait. The vote on the motion was as follows: Yeas: Roy. Nays: Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw and Troxell. THE MOTION FAILED. Councilmember Ohlson asked when reexamining the rainfall standards might occur. Any change in the rainfall standards would affect the $20 million Red Fox Meadows project. City Manager Atteberry stated any change in the rainfall standards would be a significant policy -level discussion. The last rainfall standards discussion was more than a year long and involved a significant, well- informed task force process and many of the City's facilities have been redesigned as a result of those standards. A work session on the pros and cons of examining the rainfall standards is 127 July 17, 2007 necessary before launching any significant evaluation of the standards. Staff intended to bring the Red Fox Meadows project to Council for a formal hearing. He was concerned about delaying the Project for a rainfall standards evaluation that could take a long time. The Project is well underway in terms of design and hundreds of thousands of dollars have already been spent on public outreach, design and groundwork for the project. He did not want to pull Red Fox Meadows Project off the capital construction projects at this point. Councilmember Ohlson did not agree and stated he had taken a tour of Red Fox Meadows a month ago with a high-level staff person. At that time he asked why was it not done right the first time. The response was the rainfall standards were changed and required the proposed changes. If the Project is based on the current rainfall standards and then the rainfall standards are changed, then $20 million will have been spent on a project built for standards that are no longer in effect. Mayor Hutchinson asked if the hearing would include discussion of the rainfall standards. City Manager Atteberry stated much money is spent daily on designing the Red Fox Meadows Project. He requested Council to make the decision on Red Fox Meadows after being better informed. If work was stopped between now and the time of a work session on rainfall standards, then contracts would be put in jeopardy and would have a profound impact on the clear direction already received from adopted policy and the work session held earlier this year. Councilmember Ohlson stated if Council decides not to change the rainfall standards, then the vote on Red Fox Meadows would be taken. However, if Council did decide to reexamine the standards after having the work session, then it would not be wise to proceed with a $20 million project while the potential exists for the standards to change significantly which would impact the Project. Councilmember Manvel asked if contracts were already in place to begin the Red Fox Meadows Project or would it be possible to declare a six-month moratorium. City Manager Atteberry stated there were design engineers and landscapers already under contract, but he did not know if there were contracts to begin moving dirt. He requested Council to delay making a decision about postponing the Project until after a work session so Council could be fully informed of all the ramifications of a postponement of the Project to evaluate rainfall standards. Work would continue on the Project until the work session is held. Councilmember Ohlson stated his understanding from staff was that the reason the Red Fox Meadows Project existed was because of the current rainfall standards. He did not want any other contracts for the construction to be put in place. City Manager Atteberry clarified the money that would be spent would be design and process dollars, not money for construction. A team of over 20 people are currently working on this Project that have already received clear policy direction from the Council for the past five years. Councilmember Ohlson stated if examining the rainfall standards would change the scope of the Project so that it saved millions of dollars then a delay would be acceptable to him 128 July 17, 2007 Mayor Hutchinson stated having a data -driven approach is essential to making the decision. Councilmember Troxell shared information he received at the CML session on transportation issues. At the federal level there is less support and the state is now required to provide more dollars for transportation. The state, in turn, is asking for more local dollars to resolve these issues. The ramifications ofCouncil's decision not to proceed with the RTA are that the current draft of the RTA proposal only contains road improvements in an east -west direction. City Manager Attebeny is listed on the proposal as an advisory member, but he has no say in any decisions. Councilmember Ohlson made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Manvel, to adjourn the meeting until the conclusion of the meeting of the Stormwater Utility Enterprise Board. Yeas: Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw, Roy and Troxell. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. (**Secretary's note - Council adjourned at 10:45 p.m. for the Stormwater Untility Enterprise Board Meeting and reconvened the Regular Meeting at 10:50 p.m.) Meeting Extended Councilmember Manvel made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Brown, to suspend the rules and extend meeting past 10:30 p.m. Yeas: Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw, Roy and Troxell. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Executive Session Authorized Councilmember Ohlson made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Poppaw, to go into Executive Session as authorized by Section 2-31(a)(2) and (a)(3) ofthe City Code, for the purpose of discussing the possible acquisition of real property and to discuss any related legal issues. Yeas: Brown, Hutchinson, Manvel, Ohlson, Poppaw, Roy and Troxell. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. (**Secretary's Note: The Council adjourned into Executive Session at 10:50 p.m. and reconvened following the Executive Session at 11:25 p.m.) 129 The meeting adjourned at 11:25 p.m. ATTEST: C- City Clerk Adiournment 130 July 17, 2007