Posts tagged Commissioners Hearing Room
Public invited to provide input on 2013 funding requests for county services and programs
0October 6, 2012
by Ron Baird, news editor
in News
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Commissioners will hold a series of public hearings in October to consider 2013 budget requests from county elected offices and departments, and by special funds and programs.
All hearings will take place in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room on the third floor of the Boulder County Courthouse at 1325 Pearl St. in downtown Boulder. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and comment at any of the following sessions (listed by office, program or fund):
| Tuesday, Oct. 9 | Thursday, Oct. 18 |
| 11 a.m.-noon | 9-10:30 a.m. |
| Surveyor | Administrative Services Department |
| Clerk & Recorder | Eldorado Springs LID Fund |
| Capital Expenditure Fund | |
| 2-4 p.m. | Risk Management Fund |
| Coroner | Recycling Center Fund |
| Assessor | |
| GIS Task Force | 11-11:30 a.m. |
| BC Voice! (Boulder County’s employee representatives committee) | |
| Thursday, Oct. 11 | |
| 9-10:30 a.m. | Tuesday, Oct. 23 |
| Land Use | 10-10:30 a.m. |
| Housing and Human Services Department | Community Services Department |
| Human Services Temporary Safety Net Fund | |
| 11 a.m.-noon | |
| 11 a.m.-noon | Integrated Treatment Court |
| Parks and Open Space Department | Public Health |
| Open Space Funds | Mental Health Partners |
| Parks – General Reconstruction | |
| Fair Board | Thursday, Oct. 25 |
| 11 a.m.-noon | |
| Tuesday, Oct. 16 | Sheriff’s Office |
| 11 a.m.-noon | |
| District Attorney | Tuesday, Oct. 30 |
| Developmental Disabilities Fund | 11:30 a.m. |
| Budget Public Hearing (public invited to comment on any 2013 budget requests) | |
| 2-4 p.m. | |
| Worthy Cause Fund | |
| Board of County Commissioners | |
| General Administration | |
| Soil Conservation | |
| Niwot LID | |
| Transportation Department | |
| Road Fund | |
| Fleet Fund |
A separate public hearing will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, to solicit input from residents on any suggestions and recommendations for the 2013 county budget.
Additionally, the Board of County Commissioners will review all budget requests and public input at a 2013 Budget Work Session to be held from 2-4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1 in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room. The public is invited to attend the work session, but no public testimony will be taken. A final budget hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday Nov. 20.
All of the hearings will be streamed live at www.bouldercounty.org/gov/meetings/pages/hearings.aspx.
All funding requests, which can fluctuate up until the time the County Commissioners make their final recommendations to budget staff for inclusion in the 2013 budget package on Nov. 1, can be viewed in-person Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Commissioners’ Office, also on the third floor of the Boulder County Courthouse.
Members of the public may also provide comments about 2013 county funding by email to commissioners@bouldercounty.org, by mail to Boulder County Commissioners’ Office, P.O. Box 471, Boulder, CO 80306, or by phone at 303-441-3500.
Information about current and prior year’s budgets is available on the county’s Budget webpage. Visit www.bouldercounty.org and search for “budget” in the search field at the top of the page.
The final 2013 budget is scheduled to be adopted by the Board of County Commissioners at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13. By state law, the county must adopt a budget by Dec. 15.
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Mountain residents urged to review insurance policies
0July 16, 2012
Boulder County and Foothills United Way to host two free insurance workshops
Boulder County, Colo. – Recent fires all along the Front Range have served as catastrophic reminders of the need for foothills and mountain dwellers to make sure they are adequately insured before disaster strikes.
Now is a critical time for mountain residents to check their insurance policies and ensure their homes are adequately covered and to take some easy steps to prepare for any disaster.
Foothills United Way and Boulder County are holding two free educational workshops to help residents make sure they are properly insured and to learn how to be prepared for any natural disaster:
- Nederland – Monday, July 23, 7-8:30 p.m.
Nederland Community Center, 750 Highway 72
- Boulder – Tuesday, July 24, 6:30-8 p.m.
Commissioners’ Hearing Room, Boulder County Courthouse, third floor, 1325 Pearl St.
The workshops will cover several topics, including:
- Lessons learned from Fourmile Canyon Fire Survivors
- Tips from United Policyholders’ ‘Roadmap to Preparedness’ Program (www.uphelp.org)
- How to ensure your insurance policy accurately reflects the real cost of rebuilding in the mountains west of Boulder
- Practical ways your family can be prepared in the case of a natural disaster
Often, the cost to rebuild, especially in the mountains, exceeds the amount of coverage policyholders carry for their homes and other property. Adding to this problem is the homeowner’s lack of awareness that the policies they carry are inadequate.
“One of the hard lessons of the Fourmile Canyon Fire was that more than 60 percent of property owners were underinsured,” said Garry Sanfaçon, Boulder County’s Fourmile Fire Recovery Manager. “These workshops will give people the tools they need to make sure they are adequately covered.”
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Boulder sheriff wants a fireworks ban in county
0May 17, 2012
Commissioners to review burn permit policies and open fire restrictions for unincorporated Boulder County
Public invited to comment at hearing scheduled for May 22 at 9:30 a.m.
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Commissioners will review recommended modifications to the county’s existing ordinance restricting open fires on “red flag” days at a public hearing on Tuesday.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is recommending that the current ordinance be repealed and replaced with an updated policy that requires permitting for non-agricultural burns and further restricts open burning where the danger of forest or grass fires is found to be high. The new ordinance will address identification of red flag warning days, notification regarding open burning, and penalties for violating statute, ordinance, and requirements of the open burn permit system or the notification system.
“A relatively new state law requires counties to develop a permit system this year, for property owners wanting to burn slash and conduct open burning,” Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said. “The Sheriff’s Office has been working closely with the Department of Public Health to develop a ‘one stop’ permit process which incorporates both the requirements of the state regarding air quality, and our needs regarding safety.”
Part of the plan includes educational and training materials for the individuals seeking permits. It is being developed to be administered online. These proposed new permit requirements do not apply to agricultural burning. They would primarily affect people in unincorporated Boulder County wanting to burn slash piles.
Also to be considered is the recommendation that fire restrictions go into effect under an expanded list of circumstances that contribute to high fire danger, such as during High Wind Advisories. Currently the ordinance only specifies that all open burning, including agricultural burning, be prohibited when the National Weather Service issues a “Red Flag Warning” for fire danger.
“We have found that fires continue to grow out of control on days when the county is under a High Wind Watch or Advisory, and that common sense sometimes does not prevail when deciding whether or not to burn on windy days,” added Pelle. “We wish to include those windy weather conditions under the proposed new ordinance, as times when open burning would be illegal.”
Members of the public are invited to review the draft ordinance online and provide comments in writing or in person at the hearing.
The first reading for the ordinance will be held:
When: 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 22
What: Public hearing on an ordinance establishing an open burn permit system, notification process of open burns, and restrictions during red flag days, high wind watch days and high wind warning days
Where: Boulder County Courthouse, 3rd Floor, Commissioners’ Hearing Room, 1325 Pearl Street, Boulder
The hearing can be viewed online at: www.bouldercounty.org/stream.
A copy of the draft ordinance is available at: www.bouldercounty.org (search by keyword “ordinances.”)
On a related note, the Sheriff’s Office will be presenting an amendment to the fire ban currently in effect for the mountain areas of Boulder County at the Commissioners’ next business meeting. The proposed amendment will include a provision to extend the ban on the sale and use of fireworks to all of unincorporated Boulder County. The public is invited to attend and comment on the proposed changes at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 22 in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room.
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Fracking headed to Boulder County
0February 2, 2012
Boulder County statement on oil and gas drilling from Commissioners Cindy Domenico, Will Toor and Deb Gardner:
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County is concerned about the potential for significantly expanded oil and gas drilling within the county, and supports appropriate, tighter restrictions on drilling and increased local control to mitigate the impacts of these activities.
However, Boulder County and other local governments in Colorado do not have complete authority to regulate drilling. In order to ensure both our Comprehensive Plan and Land Use regulations are as thorough and up-to-date as possible, today we approved a temporary moratorium on the processing of the required development plans for local oil and gas permits under the county Land Use Code (Resolution 2012-16). This will give us time to make sure that, within the limits of our legal authority, we are able to mitigate local impacts from these activities and to maximize protection for the people and environment of Boulder County.
Boulder County does not voluntarily allow oil and gas drilling on its open space properties. Like many private landowners, we often do not own the rights to a given property’s oil and gas deposits. In other cases, the mineral rights were leased prior to acquisition of the land by the county. In those instances, the county does not have the ability to prohibit drilling, even though it is the surface landowner. As the surface owner, we do negotiate surface use agreements prior to drilling, and in doing so, we attempt to minimize those impacts to the maximum extent possible.
Through our Land Use Code, we do have some local authority over oil and gas drilling on private and public land; however, substantial authority for regulation of oil and gas operations lies with the state and federal governments, so there are limits on what we can restrict. For instance, it is unlikely that Boulder County could simply prohibit hydraulic fracturing on either public or private land in the county.
Boulder County has and is actively supporting efforts to strengthen state regulation, and to expand local authority in the area of oil and gas drilling. We supported legislation signed by former Gov. Bill Ritter to strengthen oil and gas rules and to reform the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. We have also advocated for a stronger disclosure requirements of fracking fluids, although the COGCC ultimately approved requirements that did not include our requests for a process that would allow any leaks to be traced, nor for pre- and post-drilling water monitoring. Finally, we are supportive of legislation that Rep. Matt Jones of Louisville is sponsoring in the 2012 General Assembly to expand local authority over drilling.
We also authorized staff to set a public hearing for Thursday, March 1 to take public testimony on the local impacts associated with oil and gas development, and on the appropriateness of continuing or amending the temporary moratorium on the processing of land use applications for oil and gas development which we approved today. This meeting will begin at 4 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room on the third floor of the Boulder County Courthouse at 1325 Pearl St. in Boulder. Staff from several county departments will be making presentations regarding our current regulations and the development we have seen on our open space properties.
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Boulder County gets lottery “star” for trail network
0November 8, 2011
Boulder County awarded Colorado Lottery Starburst Award for Mayhoffer-Singletree Trail
Boulder County, Colo. – The Colorado Lottery will present Boulder County with the Starburst Award for the Mayhoffer-Singletree Trail project. The ceremony will take place this Thursday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Boulder County Courthouse in Boulder in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room.
The Starburst Awards recognize excellence in the use of lottery funds for community and conservation projects. Starburst nominations are reviewed by lottery commissioners and winning projects are chosen based on the creativity of the project, economic and social impact to the community, and whether the project achieved its goal.
In 2009 and 2010, the Boulder County Transportation and Parks and Open Space departments added 1.5 miles of new trail in eastern Boulder County near the Town of Superior that provided a tremendous opportunity for recreational trail users with the assistance of a lottery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado trails grant.
This trail extension completed a 13-mile loop trail that includes the City of Boulder’s Greenbelt Plateau, Community Ditch Trail and Cowdrey Draw trails that now connect to the Town of Superior and Boulder County trails. The project area includes the former route of the Morgul-Bismarck Loop of the Coors International Bicycle Classic from the 1980s. This new section of trail also provides a highly anticipated link to the City of Boulder Marshall-Mesa trails, the Rock Creek Trail system and the Coal Creek Trail system.
Trail users can now connect to significant open space in Boulder County, including the Southern Grasslands open space complex to the south of this trail, to the City of Boulder open space, to Eldorado State Park open space, U.S. Forest Service open space to the west, Town of Superior open space, City of Louisville open space, City of Lafayette open space and City and County of Broomfield open space to the east.
Project partners include:
- Boulder Area Trails Coalition
- Boulder County Horse Association
- Boulder County Parks and Open Space Foundation
- Boulder County Youth Corps
- Boulder Trail Runners
- City of Boulder
- Colorado Lottery
- Great Outdoors Colorado
- Town of Superior
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Tell Boulder County where it can put its $$$
0October 24, 2011
by Ron Baird, news editor
in News
Boulder County Commissioners to hold public hearing on Oct. 27 to solicit input from residents
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Commissioners will hold a public hearing at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27 to solicit input from residents on suggestions and recommendations for the 2012 county budget.
The hearing will take place in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room on the third floor of the Boulder Courthouse at 1325 Pearl St. in Boulder, and members of the public are invited to provide input on 2012 funding for county services and programs.
During the months of September and October, each county elected office and department, along with representatives from local nonprofit human services agencies, presented their 2012 budget requests to the commissioners at a series of public hearings.
Those funding requests, which can fluctuate up until the time the County Commissioners make their recommendations to budget staff for inclusion in the 2012 budget package, can be viewed in-person Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Commissioners’ Office, also on the third floor of the Courthouse.
The Board of County Commissioners will review all budget requests and public input at the 2012 Budget Work Session to be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3 in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room. The public is invited to attend the work session, but no public testimony will be taken.
Members of the public may provide comments about 2012 county funding at Thursday’s hearing, by email to commissioners@bouldercounty.org, by mail to Boulder County Commissioners’ Office, P.O. Box 471, Boulder, CO 80306, or by phone at 303-441-3500. A final public hearing on the budget will be scheduled in mid-November.
Information about current and prior year’s budgets is available on the county’s website at: www.bouldercounty.org. Search for “budget” in the search field at the top of the page. By state law, the Board of County Commissioners must adopt a final 2012 budget by Dec. 15.
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Commissioners to jiggle district boundaries?
0September 12, 2011
by Ron Baird, news editor
in News
Boulder County, Colo. – The Board of County Commissioners is now considering a fifth proposed district boundary alignment for Boulder County.
Based on public feedback to the original four options, the commissioners directed staff to draw up an additional option for them to review before making a decision prior to the redistricting deadline of Sept. 30.
Option E is the latest option available for comment and was created according to the following guidelines:
• Keep communities of interest intact (for example, commissioners heard that Niwot and Gunbarrel prefer to be aligned together with east county communities).
• Use clear boundary lines.
• Allow for growth.
o Option E places more population (approx. 100,000) in District 1, which includes the city of Boulder, because it is expected to grow the least. Districts 2 and 3, which are expected to grow more, have populations of roughly 96,000 and 98,000, respectively.
The commissioners will consider all district options and make a final decision at a business meeting scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sep. 27, in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room.
Additional comments may be submitted to commissioners@bouldercounty.org.
Per state statue, County Commissioners’ districts must be revised after each federal census to assure roughly equal population per district. Boulder County is divided into three districts and one commissioner is elected from each district by the voters of the whole county.
