Big Thompson River Restoration Coalition
August 2015 Steering Committee Meeting Notes
Date: August 19, 2015 from 5 – 7 p.m.
Location: CDOT Residency, 2207 Highway 402, Loveland, CO
Participants:
Shayna Jones, Clara Moulton, Mary Myers (Reach 14), David Piske (Trout Unlimited),
Dan Waggoner (Reach 15), Frank Hotz (Reach 12), Jerry Dauth (Reach 18), Gene Downey (Reach 52),
Dave Johnson (Reach 51), Jennifer Sanders (Reach 22), Shar Wamsley (Reach 21), Bob Lecoq (Reach 9),
Rod McCauley (Reach 22), James Usher (CDOT), Gordon Gilstrap (BTCD), David Jessup (Reach 24),
Laura Emerson (Reach 9), David Thompson (Reach 28), Luke McNally (WRV), Beth Low (Reach 11),
James Gould (Reach 51), Coleen Johnson (Reach 50), Irven Johnson (Reach 50), Arnfinn Austerfjord
(Reach 29), Troy Jones (Reach 59), Jack Vaughan (Reach 50)
Guests: Eric Tracy (Larimer County); KC McFerson (DOLA); Tim Katers (DOLA)
Key Agreements from the Meeting
1.
2.
The Steering Committee voted to move forward with incorporating the Coalition. The intent is to
go for basic incorporation and not pursue setting up a full 501c3 at this time.
The Steering Committee voted to move forward with creating a Coordinating Committee that will
help provide strategic input to the Coordinators and Chairs in-between monthly meetings.
Additional Meeting Notes
I.
Larimer County Permitting Overview (Eric Tracy; Larimer County)
a.
b.
c.
Hydrology - mostly complete which provides guidance on how big to size bridge or
culverts.
Secondary homes can now be included in Home Access Program - Lori Hodges
recently put out a press release stating that US Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
recently issued updated guidance on the use of Colorado Development Block Grant
Disaster Recovery funding for private roads. Specifically, the county will no longer be
required to obtain matching funding from secondary homeowners if they are part of a
larger project assisting multiple primary homeowners. Funding is limited for the Home
Access program, however this will provide greater flexibility to serve homeowner needs.
Floodplain development permit & excess material potential use from CDOT - In
order for material to be utilized a County floodplain development permit will be required,
along with an Army Corps permit. To get a floodplain development permit from Larimer
County, a No Rise Certificate and supporting engineering analysis is required. If the
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d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
engineering work cannot demonstrate that the project will not generate a rise, a
Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) from FEMA is required.
Floodplain review process - Any sort of stream crossing would usually go through a
flood review process; however; Currently there is a process where on call consultants
review the designs and provide technical comments. This process takes 2 – 3 weeks
instead of months.
Stream Crossing Permit Process
i.
Must meet FEMA criteria and cause no impact on your neighbor for flood
insurance purposes.
ii.
Pre-application meeting prior to the issuance of a permit is required due to the
unique nature of each crossing.
CLOMR – If the floodplain modeling for a project design shows that the design will
cause a rise in flood heights, a CLOMR from FEMA is required.
Baseline data/ Existing Conditions – the state has decided to use post flood land
contours and elevations as the ‘current land elevation’ so floodplain modeling will be
based upon changes going forward will be based on this baseline.
Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) – A LOMR is required if a completed project shows
physical changes in the Base Flood Elevation (BFE), regulatory floodplain, or the
floodway. A LOMR is generally required if the project received CLOMR approval or if
the BFEs increased or decreased by more than 0.3 feet.
i.
State will remap the whole stretch, so they not requiring property owners to do the
mapping when done with a project.
Reach-wide permits – Landowners can get together and have one submittal for a
floodplain permit from the County. The modeling required for the permit will need to
look up and downstream quite a ways, which aligns with a reach-wide permit approach.
Q&A
a. If riparian restoration requires changing the river flow will a permit be required
(Gene)?
– County floodplain development permits are required for this type of project
and typically are required for any type of project that requires heavy
equipment in the floodplain.
b. Flow rates have changed. Is this information available? (Jenny)
– Information is available at the CWCB website.
c. How can we expedite multiple permits when we’re addressing a reach rather than
coming in piecemeal (Gordon)?
– If property owners want to get together and have one submittal for a permit
for a stretch, that would work and be easier for the County.
d. How are setbacks going to be used (Rod)?
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–
k.
II.
Setbacks will allow you to put the structure back where it was and not go
through the county application and process to obtain a variance from the
Land Code, however is only applicable outside of the FEMA floodplain
– New structures would have to meet setback requirements.
e. Any work within the floodplain requires a floodplain permit
– This includes restoration work and rip-rap stabilization work.
– All county and CDOT projects must also go through this permitting
process.
– Final permit guidelines/checklist/ info packet should be available in the
next week or so.
Contact for more information - Eric Tracy (970-498-5729; tracyel@co.larimer.co.us)
Crystal Lesmeister (970-498-5732; lesmeick@co.larimer.co.us)
Coalition & Project Updates
a. Approval of Minutes
i. Approved
b. Financial Report
i. No changes
ii. One consideration to keep in mind is if we had more flexible funding beyond our
federal funding, what other things could we do and how do we generate some money.
c. Recently Completed Volunteer Debris Management & Planting Projects
i. Completed Projects - Four projects were recently completed in partnership with the
Little Thompson Watershed Coalition, the Big Thompson Conservation District and
the Larimer County Conservation Corps that focused on the use of a sawyer crew for
woody debris and removal. Locations included Whiteside (Reach 28), Morey Open
Space area (Reach 29) and Glen Haven (Reach 50).
ii. Additional needs - If interested in debris removal or other volunteer projects, contact
Clara, there may be more opportunities this fall and next spring.
iii. Volunteer Riparian Planting Project – Recent project was completed in
partnership with One Tree Planted (onetreeplanted.org) on Moodie Street where
several hundred native riparian trees were planted, and a promotional video was
created to assist in fundraising for floods and fire in Colorado.
iv. Volunteer Project Equipment Rental – the Little Thompson Coalition had hopes of
securing a commercial grinder/shredder for $350 a day, but it was sold; now they
have a standard tree company chipper, which takes up to 12 or so inches. This
equipment may be available to rent for the Big Thompson Coalition, when the Little
Thompson is not utilizing it.
d. Long-term Recovery Group and Coalition coordination
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i. Coordinators will be meeting with Long Term Recovery Group on 8/20 to start
coordinating with them more closely.
ii. Coalition is currently working with the Long-Term Recovery Group and United Way
to apply jointly for acquiring Americorps Crew to do additional volunteer project
work. If we are awarded the grant, the crew would be available in late October.
e. CDBG Planning and Implementation Projects
i. Implementation project
1. Awarded $300,000 for small implementation grant on Sylvan Dale and
Loveland Water Treatment Plant
2. State hired Ageiss to specifically assist and execute the Environmental
Review, which must be complete before we can execute the contract and
begin work on the project.
3. One emerging issue is that we need to have our Army Corps Permit in order
to finish the environmental review, and the Coalition needs access to funds to
hire a contractor to secure permits in order to move forward.
4. The State is currently working on allowing a tiered release of funds so we
can acquire the permit; construction funds would be contingent on us
completing our environmental review once we have our Army Corps permit.
5. Environmental Review takes at a minimum 4 months to complete.
6. One issue that is dealt with during Environmental Review is USFWS
Consultation on endangered species, such as the Prebles Meadow Jumping
Mouse.
ii. Planning project
1. Awarded $300,000 for 30% design work; and the contract is currently being
signed by the state and our fiscal sponsor, Coalitions and Collaboratives.
2. Project Areas included in this project are: 1) Jasper Lake/Cedar Cove; 2)
Drake; 3) Glen Haven; 4) West Loveland.
3. State provided request for proposal (RFP) template and technical assistance
team, who reviewed the Coalition’s draft. Their comments have been
incorporated and the draft is now available for review by the Coalition’s RFP
Committee.
4. Draft timeline for the RFP has the Coalition accepting proposals through the
end of September; with design work slated to begin in October 2015.
f.
Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Emergency Watershed Program
Assessments
i. Draft list after July meeting of Coalition’s priorities for assessment was submitted
and accepted by NRCS and Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB).
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ii. Coordinators and Chair attended a meeting with NRCS, CDOT, CWCB and others
on August 3rd to discuss and coordinate the Assessment team. Assessments will be
executed the week of August 31. Assessment team may include agency consultants,
such as Kiewit for CDOT. The draft schedule for assessment will be posted on the
website or circulated to the Steering Committee. The schedule will be fluid, as the
Assessment Team will have to adjust as they go, depending on how long assessments
take in the field.
iii. Reach reps and landowners do not need to be present for the assessment, but if you
would like to be there, let Clara or Shayna know. If you would like your property to
be a part of the assessment, you need to fill out a landowner access form and return to
Clara.
iv. NRCS match will be required for 12.5% of project cost. Community Disaster Block
Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds can be used as match, however more
discussion is needed on how to best do so. Coordinators and the Chair will follow up
with Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for more information.
1. In the first round of implementation grants, it is allowable to use funds for
some design work and this will be allowed in the second round of funds that
the Coalition will apply for in late 2015/ early 2016.
g. Upcoming Larimer County and Statewide Planning Meetings
i. The state is currently competing to win a $1 billion resiliency award from the US
Housing and Urban Development.
ii. Larimer County and State will hold meetings on August 25 & 26 that are related to
current planning efforts as well as the resiliency competition.
iii. Coordinators and Chair are having monthly meetings with Lori Hodges and the
County engineering department to better coordinate restoration efforts.
h. CDOT & excess materials tracking
i. In order to use CDOT materials for any project in the floodplain, a floodplain permit
and no-rise certificate, as well as other permits are needed. The Coalition, CDOT,
Kiewit and Larimer County will need to coordinate further on this topic.
1. If you are interested in obtaining excess materials, please contact the
Coalition Coordinators to have your information entered on a materials
tracking sheet.
ii. CDOT now has Kiewit on board and the design process is starting to get underway
for the 23 miles of roadway. A project of this size would normally take 6-7 years and
CDOT is condensing it into three years. CDOT plans to collaborate with the
Coalition on design as much as possible.
iii. Scott Ellis passed away last week, and this is a significant loss to the community.
iv. Construction is anticipated to start in late winter (Dec-March), and is subject to
change as design work proceeds.
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III.
Governance
a. Considerations for potentially incorporating the Coalition
i. Incorporation allows the coalition to: 1) Open a bank account; 2) Accept donations;
3) Enter into contracts. If the Coalition incorporates, we would need to create by-laws
and have officers – President and Secretary/Treasurer, but not a board of directors.
ii. If the Coalition is not a full 501c3, donations would not be tax-deductible. However,
donations could be routed through our fiscal host, Coalitions and Collaboratives
(COCO) and become tax-deductible
iii. Costs would include $25 to file with the Secretary of State, and a few hundred dollars
to fill out the paperwork. Gordon will look into the process further and circle back
with more specific details.
b. Proposal to convene a Coordinating Committee
i. The coordinating committee would consist of the Chair & Vice Chair, Reps and
Alternates from Geographic Areas (North Fork, Upper Canyon, Middle Canyon,
Lower Canyon, Loveland, and a Member at Large. In the future, the committee could
expand to have an Eastern Rep and Alternate, if this region becomes active in the
Coalition.
ii. Committee meetings will be executed via teleconference, on an as-needed basis.
iii. As the Coalition ramps up the planning and implementation projects and NRCS
projects, there will be a need for an intermittent meeting between the committee and
the coordinators.
iv. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please let the Coordinators know.
The Steering Committee will confirm coordinating committee members at the next
Steering Committee meeting in September.
c. New chairperson election
i. Chairperson Roles include the following tasks: 1) Attend all steering committee
meetings; 2) Interface with community and represent coalition (shared with
Coordinators); 3) Identify potential funding sources for Coalition; 4) Represent the
Coalition on Thompson Watershed Alliance; 4) Provide strategic input between
meetings; 5) Conduct employee reviews
ii. Nominations for Chair were called for, and none were received at this time. Gordon
Gilstrap will continue to serve in the Chairperson role for now.
iii. Nominations for Vice-Chair were called for and none were received at this time. This
person could get up to speed in the Vice Chair role, and when Gordon steps down,
could serve in the Chairperson role. Nominations for the Vice-Chair role will be
revisited at the September 2015 Steering Committee meeting.
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