HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-02-2015 CC AshbaughB oil
COUNCIL MCETING: ( oL- AN
ITEM NO.:'.. -.�.,t
b-, Vtcc l•.toyor �+�... As�►bs��k
of San Luis Obispo — City Council
Council Communication - Vice Mayor
June 2, 2015
RE: Campus Master Plan Committee — Preliminary Comments due
Dear colleagues,
I
SLO CITY CLERK
As you know, I serve as the council's delegate to the Campus Master Plan committee of the California
Polytechnic State University Board of Trustees. In that capacity, I was able to review three alternative
Campus Master Plan diagrams for land use and circulation on April 4, 2015. I've now attended at
least five public events where these Campus Master Plan diagrams were made available, and I've
listened to considerable comment from students and members of the public. I've also listened
carefully as your staff and consultants have responded to input from the public at these sessions, and I
have discussed these issues with our City staff as well as your own planning staff.
Comments on these alternative conceptual diagrams were requested by May 29, but it is my understanding that
we may have a few more days to be heard. I intend to provide a letter to the University containing my views
about the draft Master Plan that is evolving in the public engagement process to date. I am soliciting the advice
of our staff in this letter, but I am also open to your views on the plan at this stage. You are welcome to share
any comments you may have with me, and/or to provide comments directly to Cal Poly on your own, as you
prefer.
Thank you.
John Ashbaugh
Vice Mayor
June 2, 2015
/S /V
Communication
^.
COUNCIL MEETING: U Z *361
ITEM NO.: °
o,-:1 dka b� �iict NA1�t S...w iQ54 �
Dear colleagues, SLO CITY CLERK
The following is a report on my attendance at the Integrated Waste Management Authority Board Meeting of
May 13. The IWMA Board voted unanimously to approve a conceptual plan for development of an anaerobic
digester facility near the airport by Waste Connections in order to handle greenwaste as well as food waste
from a service area that includes the City of San Luis Obispo. Anticipated date for this facility to begin
construction is not earlier than late 2017.
I understand from IWMA staff that this proposal will be brought before the City sometime this summer in
order to affirm the direction that Waste Connections is taking. The digester facility is being planned at a site on
Santa Fe Road already owned by WCI, with an active use permit that County Planning has assured WCI would
apply for the intended use. The financing plan for the digester assumes a minor increase in waste management
fees authorized by the City's franchise agreement in the amount of about 2 %. SLO is the first of the County's
waste management service providers where they will seek approval of such modifications to the franchise
agreement for this project..
I have expressed conceptual support as a member of the IWMA for improved ways to handle our greenwaste
for a number of years, for a variety of reasons. Among these reasons are:
• We should take responsibility for our own greenwaste, rather than exporting it (as we do now) across
County lines to the Orcutt -based composting facility owned by Engel and Gray. (Note that this facility
will still continue to handle much of the greenwaste for at least another 2 years, under this proposal).
• The anaerobic digester technology is very advanced and in widespread use in Europe, with virtually no
impact on land use, air quality, or odors.
• The digesters would produce energy from the waste — about which, see more below.
• By handling our greenwaste as well as food waste locally, we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions
from the transport of this material over 35 miles to Engel and Gray.
One key element of this proposal involves the possible generation of natural gas that can be used to supply
fleet vehicles such as those that we have now in use in the City, and/or those which we are about to purchase. I
wish to inquire whether the availability of this natural gas source is a consideration that should be built into our
purchasing decisions for the vehicles that are proposed to be purchased in our 2015 -17 Financial Plan. If so,
I'd like to propose that the City explicitly consider the use of natural gas as a fuel source for as many of our
fleet vehicles as possible, on a schedule that conforms with the expected availability of natural gas from this
digester.
It seems to me that we could end up with a "win win" here, if our fuel source can be planned from this point
forward to be supplied (at least in part) by natural gas produced by this planned greenwaste digester. It's my
understanding that one of the "unknowns" involved in the financial feasibility of this digester plant involves
the security of the local market for the gas that is expected to be surprised. Essentially, they will be producing
more of this fuel than WCI can possibly use in their own waste collection vehicle fleet. If we can provide a
secure source of added demand for their product — and if the price can be built into the modified franchise
agreement at a competitive rate — we can all come out ahead.
John Ashbaugh
Vice Mayor