12 Apr Sheryl Cole – 2012 (Incumbent) Candidate for Place 6 – Answers to Multi-Environmental Issue Questionnaire

Each 2012 Austin City Council candidate was sent a Multi-Environmental Issue Questionnaire with 28 questions broken into seven subject areas. The blank questionnaire as well as information about the live, televised May 23rd Election 2012 Green Forum is here.  Below are the written answers submitted for incumbent Sheryl Cole:

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General

• What do you believe that Austinites think are significant environmental issues? How do you plan to address those?

1. Bringing forward the Waller Creek Tunnel Project, which will take a million of square feet of out downtown out of the flood plain, but more importantly improve water quality into Lady Bird Lake

2. Making sure we as a City continue to pursue the most effective programs that ensure the best possible plan for water conservation.

3. Ensuring that we continue to find a balance between the needs of our growing city while maintaining the proper practices to best protect our parks and environmentally protected lands.

 

• What positive contributions have you made to environmental efforts in the past?

1. Developing a partnership with H-E-B grocery and Austin Energy for $1 coupons on the purchase of CFL’s that resulted in thousands of CFL’s to be purchased in geographically diverse areas in Austin.

2. Sponsoring a resolution that has resulted in integrating the work of our City departments including PARD and Public Works to incorporate our sidewalk master plan and our trails department with our bicycle facilities that has resulted in the creation of the Neighborhood Connectivity Director.

3. Bringing forward the Waller Creek Tunnel Project, which will take a million of square feet of out downtown out of the flood plain, but more importantly improve water quality into Lady Bird Lake.

 

• What is the role of the sustainability officer and what changes–if any–would you like to see to increase sustainability practices in Austin?

The sustainability officer is responsible for establishing a citywide sustainability program that includes assessing the impact of sustainability practices to the City and broad community at large, while balancing the City's shared objectives for a healthy environment, an excellent quality of life, and continued economic vitality. 

 

• What is your strategy for engaging YOUTH and SCHOOLS in sustainability initiatives?

I believe we must have a stronger partnership with our school system and assist them in developing better programs to educate our children on the value of healthy and enviro friendly living.

Food

• What steps do you believe the city can take to ensure long-term sustainability of our local food system, including production, marketing and distribution, and preparation and consumption? How can the City make good food easily available and affordable for
  all of us living in Austin?

I understand that food that is flown or shipped in from outside of the area come with a lot of carbon costs. We are looking into City owned property that may be able to be used for community food gardens. The City of Austin offers a subscription CSA program that brings a produce delivery to our City of Austin staff at work. I hope to bring both the idea of green roofs and private-yard food gardens together and I plan to work with especially the minority communities in understanding the issues of nutrition, local and sustainable farming, and how our diets affects our planet and our public health.

Development and Transportation

• How will you take use of resources and resource availability into account when making decisions about local economic development and incentives?

As a Council Member I have always used every tool or resource available to me in order to make the best choices to improve our city in every way possible. I also value the ideas and wishes of the community and their help in the planning process.

 

• Do you support construction of SH 45 SW? Why or why not?

I would like to make it clear that I oppose the building SH 45 SW as either a tolled state highway or two to three lane road. When this issue came before the CAMPO board I voted in favor of it so that it would allow the community to engage in the conservation and voice their opinion.

 

• Going forward, what are your plans for improving Austin’s pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure?

I believe that we need more connectivity between bike routes and destination facilities. That is why I have supported creating a dedicated funding stream for the bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and will strive to increase the funding of bicycling and pedestrian facilities. However I do want to recognize the budget challenges the city is currently facing and the enormity of our transportation needs in Austin.

 

• Campaign finance reports for Council candidates are not due until the end of April, after Early Voting starts. In the past, candidates have made environmental promises which some believe were undermined by the influence of political donations. In the interest of disclosure and transparency, will you tell us who is bundling contributions for your campaign?

Yes I would be willing to disclose all of my bundling contributions.

 

• What will you do to create or attract high-wage, family-supporting green jobs to the Austin and Central Texas areas? What will you do to ensure that hard-to-reach populations and communities of color have access to these green jobs?

The city is responsible for encouraging economic development, which includes being attractive to new companies in terms of our tax rate, utility costs, services like solid waster, and creating incentives for sustainability rather than mandates. We also have a responsibility to provide access for opportunity including small business support, meeting MBE/WBE goals, and supporting education at all levels from public grade school to higher education. Chiefly, the best role for the city to create enviro friendly jobs is improving livability including creating viable transportation systems and maintaining quality of life like great parks and trails, cultural arts, and affordable housing.

 

• Politicians often say they are against suburban sprawl – yet they approve water and sewer lines and zoning changes that create it. How are you different? How will you ensure that development pays for itself, i.e. the extension of water and wastewater lines? Do you support or oppose giving a discount on electric and water rates to ratepayers living outside the city? Why or why not?

I would like to work with more public-private partnerships, especially for projects like Waller Creek, which could have more investment by the private sector. I also want to make sure we are careful with TIF’s and PID’s and use them only when we feel that the improvements will more than offset the lost to the general fund. TIF’s can be attractive, but they do pull money away from the general fund causing an overall spike in property taxes. Although right now it may seem expensive, we need to go forward with investing in green energy because we know that carbon costs are coming from the federal government making our coal and natural gas power very expensive. I am glad that we can offer this in our green choice program for people who want to pay extra for the renewable energy, but in the long run, I believe that water and energy conservation as well as diverting recyclable material out of our landfills are ways we can keep those rates low.

 

• Between urban rail, expanding the current light rail system, bus rapid transit, a monorail system or HOV lanes on major roadways, toll lanes which transportation options do you believe would be best and worst for Austin and why?

As a member of CAMPO and the Austin-San Antonio Rail Corridor, I understand my responsibility to the community for a multi-modal future for Austin and our Central Texas region. I strongly endorse an urban transit system linked to a regional transit and more sidewalk connections, bicycle facilities, and improvements to I-35. Most recently myself and the other Council Members approved an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with Capital Metro to fund additional Metro Rail service on Fridays and Saturdays to help relieve some of the congestion caused be weekend activities downtown.

 

• As more families are forced to move further out of Austin to find housing they can afford, our traffic is becoming more congested, earning us another distinction as the third most congested city in America and our air quality deteriorates as a result. What would you do to address these interconnected issues? How would you help more residents secure affordable housing in the city?

Although I know the cost of housing is market driven, our population has doubled every twenty years. I want to encourage the building of more new homes in our City limits, especially in our desired development zone, out towards SH 130 and more dense housing in our urban core. Even though we are seeing an improvement in our economy we as City must still make sure that we maintain our quality of life and keep investing in infrastructure, transportation solution, and find more ways to partner with our development community to keep building. I want to make sure that we do not unnecessarily burden homeowners with fees and taxes that do not add value to their investment. I also want to find more ways to work with the middle-income residents in our city and use bond dollars to invest in our TOD’s and downtown areas for ways to buy down market rate development and so our middle-income citizens can participate in our affordable housing program.

 

• Do you believe that the Formula 1 deal is an “historic agreement” for sustainability? Please explain why or why not. What are your concerns around Formula 1 and what should be done to mitigate the impacts?

While I would not go as far as calling the F1 track an historic agreement, I do believe it will have a positive economic impact on the city of Austin. I do believe the city must work with the track in the planning processes to make sure the day-to-day activities of the City are not disrupted during the weekend of the race.

Zero Waste

• The City Council has passed a plan to reach 90% diversion of our discards from landfills by 2030 and 95% by 2040. Would you support any changes to the Zero Waste plan?  Phase 1 of the Universal Recycling Ordinance (URO) requires all multifamily buildings, office buildings, and institutional properties in the City to recycle. In Phase 2, the City will add a citywide policy for diverting compostables. Phase 3 will include single-family residences in the requirement to recycle and compost. Do you support all three phases of this ordinance?

I support the zero-waste goal and would like to work with the minority community to engage in the necessary community effort. I am committed to a MRF in Austin and hope that we can show both the mulit-family and business properties the fiscal sense it makes for ratepayers when we do not have to find new landfill capacity. I do believe that more financial imperative to recycle may bring more people to embrace this goal and I am interested in curbside composting, but know that there are significant challenges given our climate in Central Texas and the cost of more trucks picking up this material.

 

• Do you believe Austin should ban certain problem materials, such as styrofoam, to keep them out of our waste stream? If so, which materials should we target? If not, how will you deal with problem materials?

Recently I voted for the bag ban ordinance and would like to work with our business community to continue their efforts in reduction and on-site recycling as they have done in the past.

Water, Streams and Trees

• The health of Barton Springs and its aquifer are always a concern to us. How would you use land acquisition to protect the aquifer? How much would you allocate for this purpose in upcoming bond packages? What new ideas do you have to stop pollution of our waters?

In my decisions on the Oak Hill neighborhood plan, I hope that I have shown that I am committed to protecting the environment in our sensitive aquifer recharge zones and water sheds by limiting the commercial areas to key nodes and encouraging less dense developments in others.

 

• Austin’s residential water rates are among the highest in Texas, and unless Water Treatment Plant 4 is put on the shelf, the cost of water will continue to rise. How will you stop the increase in Austin’s residential water rates?

The City must plan for the future of Austin and our water needs as water becomes more precious. That is why I have supported the completion of Water Treatment Plant #4. I have always recognized that the delay of construction could mean an even greater cost and the potential to not have enough water to meet the needs of all our citizens.

 

• We’re in one of the worst droughts in Texas history yet we are still watering our lawns. What stronger measures do you see as necessary to conserve water beyond the city’s current goals? How do we get to 140 GCPD or less?

I have been amazed at the resourcefulness of Austin residents and the commitment the community has shown to water conversation. Our Austin Water Utility customers have been able to conserve millions of gallons of water in years past and I continue to fight for even more conservation efforts through education, rebates for efficient appliances, and even considering increasing the rebates we currently offer to middle-income homeowners. I support energy audits and would want to have more instructive programs on making residential properties, included rentals, more efficient.

 

• Austin has lost thousands of trees during the recent drought, posing a serious threat to our urban forests. What will you do on the Council to protect and replenish these forests? How do these concerns figure into your priorities when it comes to drought response?

I support more efforts to maintain and replenish our urban efforts and in the past have voted to protect mature shade trees in the Heritage Neighborhood. I am looking to the community to find ways we can better support our urban tree canopy and will support better polices for drought response in regards to our urban forests.

 

• The City of Austin is currently engaged in a public input process to amend the Watershed Protection Ordinance to help preserve east side creeks. Based on this input the Watershed Protection Department will probably recommend headwater setback buffers to be set at 64 acres in east Austin and the ETJ. Would you support or oppose allowing developers to use expanded creek protection setbacks as part of their Park Land dedication requirements?

While I do not have the specific details that would allow me to vote for this recommendation, I believe a better examination of the parkland ordinances is needed in order to find the best resolution for this issue.

Air

• What air improvement strategy or set of strategies would you advocate to help clean our air? How can the City leverage its purchasing power to impact air quality?

As a member of CAMPO Transportation Policy Board, I am most concerned about our ozone levels and making sure that we stay in attainment of federally mandated emission standards. I want the City of Austin to do our part which we have by increasing the number of vehicles in our fleet that our not using just traditional gasoline including natural gas and hybrid technology.

 

• Pure Casting Foundry emits toxic metals and carcinogenic compounds/particles through the manufacturing process of steel and aluminum products. Residents have registered odor complaints from this facility and others, most of which are located East of IH 35. The TCEQ has installed an air quality monitor on top of Zavala Elementary, which is located directly south of Pure Castings. Would you support the passage of an air quality nuisance ordinance as part of the solution? Also, What steps would you take to relocate this facility in order to protect the health of the children at Zavala Elementary and area residents?

I would need to investigate the matter further but I would be open to an air quality nuisance ordinance as well as looking into the process of relocating the facility.

Energy and Austin Energy

• Fayette finally has sulfur dioxide scrubbers installed after many years of delay. Fayette doesn’t have SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology to reduce NOx emissions that contribute to ozone. Fayette has not installed the technology to control the fine particles (PM2.5) that cause premature deaths and asthma attacks within a few hundred miles. Do you support getting Austin out of Fayette, and off of fossil fuels and nuclear power altogether? How do you propose that we do so?

Right now, I believe that it is important to keep our share of the Fayette coal plant as the cost of fuel without a carbon tax and the reliability of the coal-generated power is vital to our energy mix. In the future, especially if it is determined that the central Texas area exceeds federally set levels of ozone and is non-attainment, the addition of a carbon tax, and the addition of new renewable energy technology, I would support investigating the sale of our share of the Fayette coal plant.

 

• As the board of directors for Austin Energy, the City Council sets environmental policy for our electric utility. What are your environmental priorities for Austin Energy for the next 3 years? What will you do to increase energy efficiency savings so that we meet our 300 Megawatt savings goal by 2020? Proposed hikes to minimum charges are a disincentive to conservation. Will you raise minimum charges for residential users, and if so, by how much?

Although I have to weigh the interests of the large industrial users, the residential ratepayer, with the cost of renewable energy projects. My record always shows my support for both the biomass project and the solar array in Webberville.

• Currently Austin's water rates have 5 tiers. The lowest "lifeline tier" is less than 10% of the highest tier. Do you support a similar rate structure for Austin's electric utility?

Yes I would support a similar rate structure.

 

• The City Council adopted the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure ordinance in 2008 as a key component of the Climate Protection Program, with the goal of retrofitting older properties with energy efficiency measures at the point of sale. The program has not yet lived up to expectations, with only 5% of properties sold retrofitted. Would you support mandating some energy efficiency improvements when a home is sold?

As a City Council Member I try to make balanced and thoughtful decisions regarding property usage rights. I would be open to discussing this issue further and possibly proposing a revamp of the Climate Protection Plan.

 

• What role does rooftop solar energy have in Austin’s renewable energy mix?

I have always been a strong opponent for the solar array in Webberville and would like to use more public and private partnerships to include more rooftop solar energy.

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