[MissoulaGov] Committee Update 4-29-09

[Bob Jaffe]

Greetings,

This morning we learned about the new PM 2.5 air quality standards in
Public Safety committee from Ben Schmidt of the health department. PM
2.5 refers to the really fine particles in the air. The EPA has changed
the standard from 65 micrograms per cubic meter down to 35. 35 is where
we are today. So we need to take steps if we are going to avoid becoming
a "non-attainment area" in the future.  Being a non-attainment area
means that more severe measures must be put into place. Things like
mandatory replacement of woodstoves and industrial sources having to
install expensive technology. The cost of that technology cannot be
considered a mitigating factor if we are a non-attainment area.

So, if we can maintain our status below the 35 limit with voluntary and
softer restrictions all the better.  The primary contributing sources
are woodstoves (55%) , Ammonium Nitrate (19%), and Hog fuel boilers
(12%). Ammonium Nitrate comes from Nitrous Oxide which comes from a lot
of things but mostly cars.  Hog fuel basically means wood chips. I
learned that when I did a job for a company that makes those giant
grinders.

We already have pretty strict wood burning rules inside the "Air
Stagnation Zone." This is the Missoula valley and inside slope of the
surrounding hills. The problem is that the fine particles can come from
far away. So the new rules will affect the whole county. From Seeley
lake, to Lolo, to the Nine Mile. The health department is proposing new
standards that will restrict the installation of new wood stoves in
these areas.  It will also require that during the worst air days people
in these areas use alternative heating sources if they have them. Based
on the history of recent years this type of restriction would only
happen one or two days during the winter.

There is a fairly lengthy public process involved in making these rule
changes that is just starting. If you would like to learn more please
visit the health department web site:
http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/airquality/

 

We also learned about what the county health department is doing about
swine flu.  They expect we will see it in Missoula before long since
there is a lot of travel in and out of here.  They have set up a hotline
and all doctors in the state are requested to send in samples from
anyone with symptoms.  

 

The main item in Conservation was an update from the Conservation
District. They get funding from a few mills in the taxes and do a lot of
cool projects. My favorite is the cost sharing programs they offer for
weed and erosion control projects for land owners.

 

We traded our PAZ time for COW today to have our quarterly OPG review
interlocal meeting with the county commissioners. This time we heard all
about the Missoula Forum for Children and Youth.  This is an umbrella
organization comprised of a number of entities that are all involved in
stuff like reducing teen drug and alcohol use and teen pregnancy.  It
reminded me of something Wolf A. from the job service was saying at that
Missoula Economy meeting this week. He talked about how we have all
these different entities that do various parts of the economic
development puzzle. In other places they have these services coordinated
together and can present prospective employers with a more complete
package.  I'm pretty sure he was suggesting we need something for the
economic development world like the Forum is for youth substance abuse
and prevention programs.

 

They have all sorts of great programs to provide activities, support
families, and offer resources for troubled and at risk kids.  The one
piece that rubs me a little wrong is the whole abstinence/prohibition
approach to alcohol. They seem to understand that teaching kids healthy
choices about sex is more effective than teaching abstinence. But they
still think abstinence is the right approach with alcohol. I lean more
towards the idea that teenagers, especially 18+, should be learning how
to responsibly appreciate alcohol in an honest and open way. The illicit
nature of the whole thing leads to binge drinking and poor decisions.
That's my opinion but my kids are still a little young for this to be an
issue for our family. Maybe I'll see it different in a few years. The
stats and pretty much all of our personal experience tell us that a lot
of teenagers drink. Pushing it all into the dark just seems like the
wrong approach.

 

In Public Works we heard a cool presentation about a project to put
artwork on the big signal control electrical boxes around town. Here is
a link to the presentation with some neat pictures:

ftp://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/packets/council/2009/2009-04-27/Referrals/Tr
afficSignalBoxArtAttch.pdf

We also discussed waiving the noise ordinance for the reconstruction of
the Scott Street bridge this summer. They plan to work 16 hour days and
on some occasions straight through the night. The committee approved the
proposal but is expecting it to come back on Monday night with some more
specificity as to just how late they will go and how often.

We revisited the discussion of offering some kind of temporary discount
for folks who hook up to sewer.  It used to cost $350. Last year we
raised it to $1400. This more accurately reflected the costs of the
sewer development program. The issue was raised by someone who received
the notice that we were requiring folks to hook up when they sell their
property, but then waited a couple of years to actually come in and do
it.  Then he found that the price went up 375%.  

As a compromise solution I moved that we offer a $500 rebate coupon for
any existing homeowners in the city who want to hook up to the sewer
before 12/31/09. The money would come from the sewer development fund.
The fee wouldn't actually change so we would not have to go through the
routine of amending the ordinance. It would still be $1400 but a chunk
would be getting paid for by the sewer development fund. This way we
give an incentive to folks to get switched over and give one more chance
for everybody to get the word that the price is going up.  We actually
send them a $500 coupon as part of the publicity.  The idea was still
met with some skepticism but it narrowly passed. We will see what
happens to it on Monday.   

 

I had to skip out on A&F for some work obligations so I'm not sure what
happened with the rest of the CIP discussions.

 

Thanks for your interest,

 

 

Bob Jaffe

Missoula City Council, Ward 3

bjaffe at ci.missoula.mt.us <mailto:bjaffe at ci.missoula.mt.us> 

406-728-1052



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