[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Additional January 15th Study Session items for consideration

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Jones, Suzanne

Dear Colleagues:


Happy new year!  Much thanks to Jane and staff for preparing an excellent Council Reference Notebook for the retreat. With apologies for my tardiness (my family celebrates the holidays for the week between Christmas and New Years), below are my requests for additional information/update for our January 15th pre-retreat study session.


The two new items I would like to add to the Jan 15th agenda are:
1) an update and/or initial findings on staff's research on Boulder's vulnerability to oil and gas development/fracking (see email below)
2) a brief explanation from Bob Eichem on the City's investiture policies (in particular with regard to fossil fuel development companies--see email below)


In addition, if time allows, I would like a little more detail on the following items that were addressed in the Notebook (either on the 15th or at the Retreat):
1) Regional Trail Connections (p 197): I am thrilled by the identification of regional trail connections as a workplan item. I would enjoy a more detailed explanation of how the City's trail efforts, including the North TSA, intersect with Boulder County's regional trail scoping effort and the Dept. of the Interior's 3 trail efforts, and what facilitating role, if any, the City Council can play.
2) Local Food Systems (p 80/154): Thank you for highlighting this issue. I would enjoy a brief discussion of staff's current thinking on the potential role of OSMP leased lands for enhanced food production: Can we get a copy of the agricultural assessment of OSMP lands or a synopsis of the findings? What is the status of the City's "natural" beef branding efforts? Are there additional roles for the City Council beyond simply approving an agricultural plan in the 4th quarter and do you see the local food summit
 as playing a role with this?



There are also a few other smaller topics pending from 2012 that I would like a brief update on (at the 15th study session or via email):
1) North Boulder Shelter operations--where do we stand on the process of tweaking operations to better address neighborhood concerns? 
2) Grandview Homes Demo--is there anything more for the City to do on this issue?
3) Eldora Ski Area expansion/watershed protection--will a proposed plan be coming forward in 2013 that staff will need to respond to?
4) Wildfire Mitigation: Given past summer's wildfire experiences, are there additional mitigation/fuel reduction efforts being contemplated? 
5) Railroad noise: Will we be taking any additional measures in 2013 with regard to mitigating train whistle complaints?
6) Airport eminent domain: where do we stand on this issue (to the extent not a confidential legal matter)?


Finally, there are also a few issues that I assume will be on our 2013 workplan that are not noted (although perhaps this is a discussion for the retreat):
1) Implementation of Amendment 64 with regard to recreational marijuana
2) Amending conflict of interest and financial disclosure measures with regard to City Council
3) Also the proposed North Boulder Arts District is not noted in the Notebook as an idea under either the Arts Commission or the North Boulder Subcommunity Plan, but I understand is already part of staff discussions, yes? 


Thanks again for all of staff's incredible work. Here's looking forward to a very productive 2013!
Suzanne



Begin forwarded message:



From:
"Brautigam, Jane" <BrautigamJ at bouldercolorado.gov>


Date:
December 21, 2012 2:12:08 PM MST


To:
"Jones, Suzanne" <JonesS at bouldercolorado.gov>, "Patton, Mike" <PattonM at bouldercolorado.gov>


Cc:
"Eichem, Bob" <Eichemb at bouldercolorado.gov>


Subject:
RE: Information Request


Hi Suzanne,  I did speak with Bob Eichem about our investments.  Divestiture should not be an issue for us as we do not invest in any private companies at all.  Our investments are restricted by state law.  I am copying Bob on this email to provide clarification if I have misstated anything.

As for the information you are seeking regarding our vulnerability to oil and gas development, OSMP has been and will continue to research all of this information, and in fact had undertaken this effort a number of months ago.  They have also been working with Utilities and the City Attorney's Office to provide information to council on this subject.  The CAO is in the process of obtaining outside counsel to provide expert advice regarding the regulation of hydraulic fracturing activity in the city.  With regard to the substantive information you seek regarding the extent of mineral deposits on private land, I doubt if we will be able to provide this information, but Mike can provide a status on the project at the January 15 study session.

Happy holidays,
Jane

-----Original Message-----
From: Jones, Suzanne 
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2012 12:43 PM
To: Brautigam, Jane; Patton, Mike
Subject: Information Request

Dear Jane and Mike--

Per discussions with both of you, I would like to request that city staff compile and provide to Council information on the City's vulnerability with regard to oil and gas development. My understanding from you is that this information is already largely gathered so would take a minimal amount of work to provide. But please let me know if you want me to first get a nod from my fellow Council members, who I think would readily concur (the few Council members I have talked to so far are all supportive).

As mentioned, Council members are already being asked by various residents to have the City take a position on fracking, so understanding our exposure to oil and gas past and future development would be useful information to help guide any future policy discussions.

As I discussed with Mike, I think it would be useful to include the following details if the information is available:
--known oil and gas reserves
--the location of proposed, existing, capped, and abandoned wells --the ownership and lease status of minerals under city open space (including joint city/county open space) and other city lands Ideally we could see this information in relationship to city
 limits and city land ownership, as well as the City's larger watershed. 

It would also be useful to know what is likely to happen on private lands/minerals within Boulder's city limits and immediate vicinity, although I understand that some of the mineral status information for private lands would be hard to come by. In talking with Boulder County folks, I think that the most likely guide to any future oil and gas activity is where there has been past activity as companies desire to go back in and frack existing well sites--so understanding that universe would be the priority.

This topic may be appropriate for a status discussion on January 15th if the information is available by then, depending on what other topics Council members put on the list.

Thanks again for your consideration of this request. 

Have a truly wonderful holiday!
Suzanne

P.S. Jane, the other issue I would put on the list for future consideration is the degree of Boulder's financial investment in the fossil fuel industry per our discussion about Bill McKibben. I would love to know from Bob Eichem the amount of work it would take to research our level of investment, and if appropriate, the amount of work it would take if Council decided it would be appropriate to divest. It seems we would want to understand what is involved before even considering whether the idea of divesting
 is worthwhile.