Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutResponse To Constituent Letter - Mail Packet - 11/1/2022 - Letter From Mayor Jeni Arndt To Air Quality Advisory Board Re: Budget Offer Recommendations Mayor City Hall 300 LaPorte Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2154 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com October 27, 2022 Air Quality Advisory Board c/o Cassie Archuleta PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Dear Chair Artell and Board Members: On behalf of City Council, thank you for providing us with the October 17, 2022 memorandum regarding “Budget Offer Recommendations” wherein you summarized the Board’s support for air quality offers such as 32.11, 1.10, 24.5, 27.9, 27.11 and 59.6, as previously recommended in your September 25, 2022 memo. As you know, City Council will be voting on the proposed 2023-2024 Budget during the November 1, 2022 Council Meeting and we encourage you to attend the meeting or view the proceedings on the FCTV cable channel or online via fcgov.com/fctv/. Thank you for your continuing involvement in improving the air quality of our community. Best Regards, Jeni Arndt Mayor /sek Cc: City Council Members Kelly DiMartino, City Manager 1 Environmental Services 222 Laporte Ave PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970-221-6600 fcgov.com MEMORANDUM DATE: October 17, 2022 TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Air Quality Advisory Board; Chair, Karen Artell RE: Budget Offer Recommendations Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers, In recognition of City Council’s busy schedule and limited time to review the many written communications the Council receives, the AQAB is providing a summary of our 9-25-2022 Budget Memo. The summary includes our request regarding offer 32.11 Air Quality Monitoring Fund followed by budget offers that fell “below the line” in the City Manager’s 2023-2024 Recommended Budget and request that these offers be funded. We believe these offers to be very important to the City’s ability to achieve its climate and air quality goals. 32.11 Air Quality Monitoring Fund: We would like to see either increased funding for this offer or see it changed from an enhancement to an ongoing budget offer. 1.10 - ARPA - Utilities Light & Power: Manufactured Home Efficiency Acceleration Initiative (1- Time Enhancement): Building electrification and energy efficiency (EE) are key GHG emission reduction measures for the City, and this program will start to fill a critical gap in current home efficiency initiatives while also addressing equity, since owners of manufactured homes are often low-income but are not currently eligible for City EE programs and are thus incurring higher utility bills. 24.5 - Rental Licensing Program (Enhancement): This program would provide an opportunity for the City to include radon testing, indoor air quality and energy use into a City rental program, thus incentivizing EE (and reduced GHG emissions), healthier living environments and radon mitigation in rental properties through a more informed renter population. 27.9 - 1.0 FTE Contractual Planner & Electric Vehicle Readiness Program Funding (1-Time Enhancement): The EV Readiness Roadmap is an ambitious multi-departmental City Plan that was developed between budget cycles and so had no dedicated funding for its implementation. It is a key component of the City's efforts to reduce emissions of both ozone precursors and GHGs but has languished since its adoption in 2018. It sorely needs a manager focused upon its implementation if it is going to be successful. 27.11 - Mobility Innovation Zones Plan (1-Time Enhancement): Mass transit is a key component of the Our Climate Future roadmap for achieving the City's 2030 GHG emissions goal, but many low-density (and often disadvantaged) neighborhoods do not have good connections to the City's mass transit system. This plan would provide initial estimates of the City's needs in rectifying this situation and would be a crucial first step toward a more complete and equitable City transportation system. 59.6 - Urban Forest Strategic Plan (1-Time Enhancement): This plan is necessary to help the City meet its urban forestry goals, which will provide significant carbon sequestration, AQ, urban cooling and climate change resiliency benefits, which are especially important in underserved communities.