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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Read Before Packet - 3/23/2021 - Memorandum From Sarah Kane Re: Leadership Planning Team Minutes - March 22, 2021 City Clerk 300 LaPorte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6515 970.221-6295 - fax fcgov.com/cityclerk MEMORANDUM DATE: March 22, 2021 TO: Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: Sarah Kane, Executive Administrative Assistant RE: Leadership Planning Team (LPT) Meeting Mayor Wade Troxell, Mayor Pro Tem Ross Cunniff, City Manager Darin Atteberry, Deputy City Manager Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager Kyle Stannert, City Attorney Carrie Daggett, and Executive Administrative Assistant Sarah Kane (all by video-conference call) met on Monday, March 22, and the following summarizes the discussions that began at 7:33 a.m. March 23, 2021 Adjourned Meeting: Agenda items for the meeting were reviewed. • This Adjourned meeting and Council Work Session will be remote. Public participation for the meeting will be available in three ways: by phone, online through Zoom and by email. • Appeal of 738 Campfire Drive Extra Occupancy Rental House - This item was heard by Council as an appeal on March 16, 2021 and the language of last week’s motion was used to formulate the resolution. • Agreement to Secure Public Benefits for Mulberry Development (Metropolitan Districts Nos. 1-6.). The item was revised on Friday to add information about the agreement. A copy of the revised Agenda Item Summary will be included in Council’s read-before packet. • Amending City Code to add provisions concerning the establishment of Tourism Improvement Districts. • Other Business items will be discussed if requested. March 23, 2021 Work Session: • Connexion Update - A PowerPoint presentation will be included in the Tuesday read-before packet which will contain a chart outlining project information that the City is currently making available in updates, additional information anticipated to be shared in the near term, and what information would remain proprietary. This will inform the discussion about transparency and how to reconcile differences from the original business plan in 2016 with the current status. • Municipal Immigration Legal Fund - This item was amended and the updated presentation will be included in the Tuesday read-before packet, along with the updated Agenda Item Summary. • Wastewater Utility Overview: Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 22, 2021 Page 2 of 6 o This is an update on the state of the wastewater utility and will discuss challenges and upcoming projects. These reports will be done annually going forward for all sectors of the Utilities, with one division being highlighted each quarter. o LPT discussed the innovative approach taken on effluent testing and the significant benefits to the community. o Staff can expect questions around Poudre River health and microplastics to occur during this item. o City Manager Atteberry will follow up with Utilities Staff on the long-term plans for the Mulberry Treatment Plant. • Staff report on Winter Storm Xylia’s Impacts on Water Supply and Quality: o Staff will discuss coordinating resources for wildfire recovery at a high level. o Mayor Troxell mentioned a letter sent to Governor Polis jointly from City of Fort Collins, City of Greeley, Larimer County, Colorado Trout Unlimited and Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed regarding the urgent need for resources from the State of Colorado and the Federal American Rescue Plan for wildfire recovery, including flooding issues. o Mayor Troxell mentioned the article titled “Cameron Peak Fire now poses flooding threat to anxious Colorado mountain residents” from March 19, 2021. March 25, 2021 Urban Renewal Authority Board Meeting: • This will be a remote meeting beginning at 5:00 p.m. • The main agenda item will be a resolution approving the Community Investment Plan for Prospect South. 6-Month Calendar: • March 30: o 5th Tuesday - time is held for Council meeting in case March 23 items are not completed. • April 6: o Canceled for the City election • April 20: o Due to a resignation on the Planning & Zoning Board, Mayor Pro Tem Cunniff asked if the recent backup applicant could be appointed by Council on April 20. • May 18: o Gil Boyer Annexation item has been moved to May 18. • May 25: o Regional Reignite Strategic Plan and City’s Economic Recovery Plan items were added last week and will be finalized when descriptive verbiage is available. Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 22, 2021 Page 3 of 6 Deputy City Manager Kyle Stannert on behalf of the City Clerk’s Office: • City Hall opened as a polling place for the April 6 election today. The lobby is being used as an extension of the City Clerk’s Office to support social distancing protocols. Staff will be monitoring the entrance to City Hall in order to greet visitors and masks will be required for those coming into the building. • A new committee registered last week in support of the ballot measure related to ban single-use plastic bags at large grocery stores. • Discussion of a new practice of reviewing items raised under Other Business during prior meetings after they had been discussed by the ELT. From the March 16 meeting, staff will be following up on the items raised by Councilmember Gorgol requesting additional work on manufactured housing, including:  Looking at the zoning for parks that are part commercial.  Code changes to provide local enforcement of house bill changes passed last year.  DOLA is not enforcing the State Law due to lack of resources. Staff is asked to provide a Thursday packet memo to Council. Deputy City Manager Stannert: • Discussed LPT’s preference for celebrating Councilmembers who are terming out or are not up for re- election this year. Due to current restrictions, staff was asked to investigate an in-person event in an outdoor setting, with a backup location of a City facility in the event of inclement weather. The timing would be late April or early May, either at 5:00 p.m. on a weeknight, or mid-day on a weekend. • Noted the Library Park reports forthcoming from Neighborhood Services. o While the March activities have mirrored prior updates, the April update will reflect the impacts of the shelter on Blue Spruce closing and the Fort Collins Rescue Mission re-opening, along with the warmer spring weather. o It is expected that changing facility operations may lead to impacts that will require further discussion. o The Rescue Mission has expressed interest in adding capacity and is in the early stages of planning. They are asking the City for assistance and the City will evaluate the request in light of future plans. o Linden Street is under construction now and pedestrian flow impacts could occur in front of the Rescue Mission. There was concern expressed that encampments may resume next to the railroad and by Mawson Lumber. • MOU Termination memo for Martin Marietta asphalt operations. o A memo will be included in Thursday Council packet. o In 2015, the MOU was created to address resident concerns, but Martin Marietta staff have requested this MOU be terminated now that concerns have been addressed. o While it is known that some issues have been resolved, LPT requested that a summary of ongoing protections for residents be provided in the memo (i.e. odor regulation, bike lane sweeping, air emission permit, hauling routes, etc.) Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 22, 2021 Page 4 of 6 Deputy City Manager Kelly DiMartino: • Broken tree branches from the recent storm are a significant issue. Right now, the Forestry Department is evaluating the impacts to the urban forest and residential areas based on the City’s Urban Forest Storm Response Plan. There are three categories and part of the community met the Level 3 criteria (most damage) and a majority of the community met the Level 2 criteria. o Information will be forthcoming early this week regarding the location of two free community drop-off sites and limited locations of on-street pickup of branches in areas that have the most damage. The City would then mulch the material and offer it for community use next year. o Staff is exploring options for the Adopt a Neighbor program or other community volunteers to assist residents who are unable to clean up or transport their own branches. o Concerns were raised regarding traffic congestion near the branch drop off sites and staff will address those. o The Council packet memo from last Thursday outlines the significant cost of this storm due to the increased level of service to the community. o LPT reiterated the importance of proactive tree trimming to mitigate damage and the importance of using professionals due to safety concerns with large branches. o The City-owned trees also suffered damage and will be evaluated in the coming months. Forestry staff will delay routine trimming for 8-9 months to focus fully on storm recovery. They will maintain Emerald Ash Borer work. • Microplastics Study o The study which costs $35,000 was put on hold 2020 due to COVID and Cameron Peak wildfire response. Ongoing wildfire response and Halligan work are high priorities which leaves sparce staffing to pursue this study at this time. The plan is to not conduct the study and instead monitor this issue through partnerships and professional affiliations. o LPT suggested partnering with CSU on a graduate thesis around this topic. o A Thursday packet memo is requested for March 25 outlining the situation. • Chromebook Laptops at Poudre River Library District. o The program is fully operational with 16 devices (with mi-fi hotspots) in circulation at all 3 Library branches. There have been 42 check-outs since December 2020. Library patrons are very appreciative to use these for Zoom meetings, etc. for the 2-week period. Several Councilmembers had a hand in getting this going. • Bloomberg Updates o Staff submitted a proposal for the Mayor’s Challenge, focusing on climate resiliency and using our established programs to address urban environment, tree canopy, etc. and the impact on low to moderate income residents. There were more than 1000 entries for 50 recipients, across the world. We expect to know more in June. o The City of Fort Collins was designated a “What Works City” for our data practices related to environmental data, the Strategic Plan and dashboards, and FC Lean/Performance Management. Bloomberg is conducting a virtual site visit this week. o The Asphalt Art Grant is due at the end of April 2021 and staff is on schedule to submit on time. This is a community builder project. Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 22, 2021 Page 5 of 6 City Manager Atteberry: • Regarding COVID vaccines, we are in a new phase now. As part of the continuity of government, Councilmembers are now qualified to get on the list for vaccines. o UCHealth and Banner Health websites contain a COVID-19 Questionnaire to be added to your healthcare provider’s queue. o Larger pharmacy providers are receiving vaccine shipments o The City is pursuing options to provide vaccines. o More options and availability may be found at: http://vaccinefinder.org/search/ • Planning Manager Cameron Gloss is leaving employment with the City and his last day is April 2. He has had two amazing stints at City of Fort Collins and is becoming a part time planner at a local firm working on projects in the western region of the United States. Appreciation for his work was discussed as Mr. Gloss has always thought creatively about long-range issues. • Noted he is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the North Fort Collins Business Association group on Wednesday and he will discuss hot topics and relevant topics in the City. Mayor Pro Tem Cunniff: • Noted that Thistle ROC resident owned communities is looking for a meeting with himself and Councilmember Gorgol regarding the sale of Hickory Village Mobile Home Park. Mayor Troxell: • Provided a Colorado Springs document related to Historic Preservation which outlines a master plan/systematic approach, building upon the Department of Interior criteria. He mentioned the long arc history of this area beginning with the Lindenmeier site, throughout history of settlers/fur trappers, to today. • Barbara Flemming’s historic writings which were published in the newspaper this weekend were discussed. • Kratom is a natural substance grown in the tropics and contains mind-altering chemical properties. Staff is asked to follow up on issues we may see within Fort Collins, law enforcement, healthcare, etc. regarding use of this drug. • Marijuana Advertising Issues o Mentioned a large sign above The Exchange which advertises marijuana. Relatedly, Mayor Troxell inquired if there are limits on CBD shops advertising. Staff is asked to follow up. • Colorado State University recently announced the installation of 5.5 MW of additional solar power on the Fort Collins campus (see attached article). Mayor Troxell asked for follow up on the City meeting our 2030 renewable goals in a thoughtful, comprehensive, best practices, systematic planning way. Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 22, 2021 Page 6 of 6 o City Manager Atteberry noted he is discussing this matter with Light & Power staff as well as with Platte River Power Authority’s General Manager and will follow up with Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem post-election. Meeting adjourned at 9:46 a.m. Page 1 of 9 Cameron Peak Fire now poses flooding threat to anxious Colorado mountain residents Miles Blumhardt Fort Collins Coloradoan Erica Michel's red Jeep Rubicon slowly slogs up Buckhorn Road, its tires churning through snow, mud and water from snowmelt and an overflowing Buckhorn Creek. Rounding one of the narrow canyon's sharp bends where mirrors are placed to help drivers avoid head-on collisions, the Jeep creeps to where a traffic flagger holds a stop sign. The beeping of heavy equipment breaks the silence of the otherwise quiet canyon. The remote traffic holdup, coupled with crews just now installing large box culverts to a road ripped up by the 2013 flood that scoured the canyon, is a perplexing twist to the Fort Collins resident's trek to the family's cabins an hour west of the city. Add to the mix hillsides and a creek bank littered with the torched remains of dead, standing and downed trees from last fall's Cameron Peak Fire and the red flags of impending disaster come spring snowmelt runoff are as obvious as the private property signs strung along the road. The 112 -day Cameron Peak Fire that wasn't fully contained until Dec. 2 left more than 200,000 acres of dead trees and unstable soil sterilized by the blaze ready to clog roads and creeks come spring, with little time to bandage the wound. Page 2 of 9 Sobering assessment: Cameron Peak Fire scars land, watershed The willow-choked Buckhorn Creek cuts through the family property, its frozen edges already abnormally high, creeping within feet of a 101 -year -old barn and swelling with each freeze-thaw cycle. It follows Buckhorn Road south out of the canyon where it imperils many more properties along its banks, some of which also have been impacted by the fire. Few places in the fire's burn scare are in as much peril from potential flooding as the property in the Upper Buckhorn Canyon, according to the Larimer County O ffice of Emergency Management. Other areas in the greatest risk category of the county's post-fire risk assessment include Monument Gulch/Pingree Park, Laramie River Valley and Rustic/Glen Echo/Goodell Corner. "I hear trees fall almost every time I'm up here and have had two fall within 5 feet of the cabin,'' Michel said on a recent visit to the property. "I'm afraid Page 3 of 9 sometimes. I don 't know if I want to stay up here at night because of the wind. Even though some of the trees around here are not damaged by the fire they could fall because the soil around them will erode and could smash me.'' And as spring approaches and the threat turns from fire to flooding, Larimer County is racing against time to keep that from happening. Larimer County fire recovery projects prioritized Three months is little time to plan the recovery effort of the largest wildfire in Colorado history. But with the recent snowstorm dumping 3 to 4 feet on the burn scar and repairs from the 2013 flood incomplete, the threat to life and property is real. Page 4 of 9 The prospect of the fire's blackened remains washing down into the creek looms large with snowmelt runoff and potential heavy rainstorms only months away. The task of securing funding and coordinating recovery on public and private land is being spearheaded by Lori Hodges, director of the county's Office of Emergency Management. Even before the fire was extinguished, the county began working with the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed, cities of Fort Collins and Greeley, water suppliers and the U.S. Forest Service on fire mitigation projects and the National Resources Conservation Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency for funding. The county hired a private consultant to establish a priority list of projects, the first of which will start as soon as crews can access the areas. A private contractor has been hired for debris removal. Page 5 of 9 "We have been already getting reports of erosion and flooding going across some roads and fillin g culverts,'' Hodges said. "You add 4 feet of snow and if it melts quickly it could get pretty bad.'' Hodges said the recovery protection priority is to mitigate risk to life, safety, water and other environmental impacts. Cameron Peak Fire: How much is forest management to blame? The first order is to remove hazardous trees that could block roads, threatening residents' ability to evacuate in case of flooding or other emergencies. At the same time, crews will work to remove debris in and near creeks and rivers and upgrade culverts to increase water flows. This will be done on public and private land. "We will work as quickly as we can, but the fire ending when winter started made it hard to get in those areas to start projects,'' said Hodges, who added it will take years of mitigation work in the burn area to fully recover. "People will need to have safety plans in place in case we have emergency issues.'' Hodges hopes to have crews start by the beginning of April if weather allows. She said the county's cost -share of erosion and debris flow control is estimated at $9.2 million. Cameron Peak Fire suppression cost more than $134 million, an amount greater than all the other Colorado wildfire suppression efforts last year combined. The fire remains under investigation but is suspected to have been human-caused. Page 6 of 9 Ground zero The Upper Buckhorn Canyon and surrounding neighborhoods, including Monument Gulch and Crystal Mountain, have the largest amount of area potentially impacted by debris flow, burn severity and risk to roads, according to the county's risk assessment. They also were among the neighborhoods that suffered the most property loss in the fire . Michel said her parents, Judy and Terry Jones, and other family members worked to mitigate fire risk when the Cameron Peak Fire started. Still, she said if not for firefighters digging fir e lines around the property's four cabins and drawing water from Buckhorn Creek to supply sprinklers that soaked the buildings, the fire would have consumed the property her parents bought four years ago. "I feel like we are blessed and someone watched over us because the fire came down the hillside close to the cabins,'' said Michel, whose family was Page 7 of 9 evacuated twice during the fire. "The fire was feet away from a Mother Mary statue. It’s magical the firemen came to save it. And now we transition to another fear that we may lose it again.'' The 2012 High Park Fire spared the property, burning just up the mountain, but the 2013 flood damaged some of the property. That makes Michel uneasy about what lies ahead come the spring runoff. Fire mitigation: Program helps private landowners "Wh en the dead and burned trees start to fall and the ash, debris and loose soil come down, they will block up all the channels in the creek in all the watersheds that come down here,'' she said. "There's no place else for it to go.'' She said the family has prepared the property as best it can and she has been encouraging neighbors to do the same. She hopes the U.S. Forest Service, on which the vast majority of the Cameron Peak Fire burned, does the same on its nearby property to give the peaceful canyon a chance at averting yet another disaster. "Many people up here don't have the equipment to do it ourselves,'' she said. "We will need the government's support because they have the means and most of it is on their land. My actions will hurt it or defend it and their actions will hurt it or defend it. If we can work together and open the lines of communication, whether a fire or flood does come we will have done the work to give us the best chance.'' Page 8 of 9 Ways to help and get help Here are ways for property owners impacted by the Cameron Peak Fire to get help and community members to help with the recovery effort. Webinar: Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed will host a citizen science webinar at 5 p.m. March 31. Register at bit.ly/3eQPBEW. Website : larimer.org/emergency/recovery/wildfire-resources To volunteer: For fire recovery volunteer options, visit nocovolunteers.org or visit uwaylc.org/post/Larimer -County -Fire - Recovery-Fund . Social media: For up -to-date information on activities and ways to get involved or stay informed, follow the Larimer Recovers accounts Page 9 of 9 on Facebook at facebook.com/LarimerRecovers and Twitter a t twitter.com/La rimerRecovers. Reporter Miles Blumhardt looks for stories that impact your life. Be it news, outdoors, sports — you name it, he wants to report it. Have a story idea? Contact him at milesblumhardt@coloradoan.com or on Twitter @MilesBlumhardt Retrieved from https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2021/03/19/colorado-largest-wildfire- cameron-peak-fire-poses-flooding-threat/4714355001/ on March 22, 2021 CSU begins installation of 5.5MW of additional solar power on Fort Collins campus New project will almost double university’s solar capacity By BIZWEST/REPORTER-HERALD STAFF | https://www.reporterherald.com/2021/03/18/csu-begins-installation-of-5-5mw-of-additional- solar-power-on-fort-collins-campus/ PUBLISHED: March 18, 2021 at 4:06 p.m. | UPDATED: March 18, 2021 at 4:06 p.m. Colorado State University in Fort Collins has begun to install solar resources to almost double the amount of solar power generated on campus. The project, to be installed by Namasté Solar and financed by Solaris Energy, will total 5.5 megawatts of solar power across 21 sites on the campus. CSU already has 6.8MW of solar installed. The new project will produce 7,532 megawatt hours of electricity per year — the equivalent of the power needed for 900 homes, according to information provided by Namasté Solar. CSU has targeted 2030 as the year it will use 100% renewable energy sources. Sites for the solar installations include the Johnson Family Equine Hospital, Laurel Village, Richardson Design Center and the Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center. Installation will be complete by late 2022. “Our nonprofit and local roots have been a guiding north star for us when it comes to serving our community. As a solar finance company, we also deeply value climate solutions and protecting our environment,” Solaris Energy CEO Alex Blackmer said in a written statement. Solaris Energy is the trade name for Fort Collins company Solaris Investment Group LLC. “This project brings it all together, with our local university leading the way to boost the local economy and provide a sustainable future for the very students it serves. We’re proud to be a piece of the magic,” Blackmer said. For Boulder-based Namasté Solar Electric Inc., the collaboration was an important part of the project. “When we work together to pursue sustainability goals, we can have a much larger impact on our communities than if we strive toward them alone,” said CEO Jason Sharpe. “Last year’s fires had a devastating impact here in Colorado and provided an even greater sense of urgency to address the climate crisis we all face.” The plan calls for CSU to buy power from Solaris, which will fix the rate for 25 years. Solaris will own and manage the system. © 2021 BizWest Media LLC