Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutResponse to Constituent Letter - Mail Packet - 09/24/2024 - Letter from Mayor Jeni Arndt to Air Quality Advisory Board and Natural Resources Advisory Board re: 2025-26 City Manager’s Recommended Budget Mayor City Hall Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2154 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com September 19, 2024 Air Quality Advisory Board c/o Selina Lujan, Staff Liaison Natural Resources Advisory Board c/o Honore Depew PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Dear Chair Welsh, Chair Metcalf and Board Members, On behalf of City Council, thank you for providing us with the September 16, 2024 memorandum regarding 2025-26 City Manager’s Recommended Budget. We appreciate the joint sessions that the AQAB and NRAB held to evaluate the budget based on the charge of both boards. We will review the specific offers within the Environmental Health Outcome and the Transportation and Mobility Outcome that the Boards think should remain funded or reconsidered for funding, as noted in your memo. Thank you for the expertise and perspectives that you bring to the Board and share with City Council. Best Regards, Jeni Arndt Mayor /sek cc: City Council Members Kelly DiMartino, City Manager City Clerk’s Office 300 LaPorte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6515 970.221.6295 - fax Boardsandcommissions@fcgov.com MEMORANDUM DATE: September 16, 2024 TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Dan Welsh, Chair of the Air Quality Advisory Board Dawson Metcalf, Chair of the Natural Resources Advisory Board RE: 2025-26 City Manager’s Recommended Budget Dear Mayor and Councilmembers, On August 19, 2024, and September 16, 2024, the Air Quality Advisory Board (AQAB) and the Natural Resources Advisory Board (NRAB) came together in two joint meetings to review original budget offers and the City Manager’s Recommended Budget. The purpose of this joint statement is to emphasize AQAB and NRAB’s support for and advise additional considerations of the City Manager’s Recommended Budget for 2025-26. With AQAB’s mission of improving and maintaining the city’s air quality, as well as NRAB’s mission of promoting sustainable natural resource management, budget offers under the Key Outcome Areas of Environmental Health, Neighborhood and Community Vitality, Culture and Recreation, and Transportation and Mobility were identified. Priority offers that are aligned with the charge of both Boards and unfunded (or underfunded) are identified in this memo. Environmental Health Outcome ● Offer #7.30 | Utilities: Wastewater - DWRF Sidestream Phosphorus Removal Phase 2 ○ We propose altering the funding support of $1,000,000 to the full request to meet current environmental regulations and protect and improve watershed and environmental health, as well as strengthen the resilience of the City’s utilities. ● Offer #42.10 | Environmental Services - Recycling Characterization Study and Measurement Consulting ○ This offer would allow a needed inventory and evaluation of the waste from Fort Collins homes and businesses, including greenhouse gas emissions impacts, to understand how recent policies and programs may have impacted waste composition and diversion since the last study was completed in 2016. Updated information will help Council design better policy instruments around waste handling and associated environmental impacts. ● Offer #71.1 | Parks Lawn and Garden Equipment Replacement ○ We support restoring funding to the original request of $100,000 each year. Lawn and garden equipment is one of the largest emitters of ozone precursors regionally and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Fully funding this offer aligns with Council priority 6 and leverages 2050 Tax revenue. ● Offer #72.1 | Poudre Flows Design and Permitting ○ This offer would allow for an existing diversion structure to be upgraded. Fully funding this offer aligns with Council priority 7 and supports regional cooperation in an effort to improve Poudre River health. ● Offer #74.1 | Carbon Sequestration in Areas Protected by the Land Use Code ○ This offer would allow the City to restore Natural Habitat Buffer Zones which will help mitigate the effects of climate change related disasters, as well as act as a nature - based solution for carbon sequestration storing up to 365 metric tons of carbon and help the city reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation and Mobility Outcome ● Offer #19.11 | Adaptive Program Specialist for Safe Routes to School and FC Moves ○ This offer enhances the Safe Routes to School program for students with special needs. Supporting Council priorities 2 and 6, these programs would provide similar opportunities to those of their peers, while promoting alternative forms of transportation to historically underserved communities that would otherwise rely on fossil fuel powered vehicles. ● Offer #21.9 | PDT Active Modes Facility Maintenance ○ This offer would allow for an expansion of active modes facility maintenance to further develop a bike friendly community during all seasons and promote alternative forms of transportation rather than relying on fossil fuel powered vehicles. ● Offer #65.11 | Transfort: Local Fund Match ○ This offer would allow Transfort to be competitive in various federal and state application processes - many of which require a local funding match. By funding this offer, Transfort would have the ability to submit stronger applications and secure additional funds to further Our Climate Future’s goal of implementing a 100% Zero Emission Fleet by 2040. The rationale for highlighting the selected offers lies both in the purpose of AQAB and NRAB, as well as in the established 2024-2026 City Council Priorities, specifically, “Priority #5: Accelerate zero waste infrastructure and policies” and “Priority #6: Reduce climate pollution and air pollution through best practices, emphasizing electrification.” The Boards view the inclusion of these offers in the 2025-2026 Budget as instrumental in City Council achieving goals outlined in the 2024 Strategic Plan and in alignment with City Council Priorities. Through this joint statement, AQAB and NRAB are expressing support of the City Manager’s recommended budget and propose that the offers designated as supported will remain as such. As for offers identified above, we strongly recommend the reconsideration of the proposed funding and advocate for including these offers in the City of Fort Collins’ 2025-26 Budget. Thank you for your consideration and the ability to engage on this matter. Very respectfully, Dan Welsh, Air Quality Advisory Board Chair Dawson Metcalf, Natural Resources Advisory Board Chair