Posts tagged pearl street mall
Boulder Ice cream Incentives
Apr 10th
Jane S. Brautigam, City Manager, has approved a flexible rebate application for Boulder-based Boulder Ice Cream for up to $25,000 in rebates. The rebates were authorized for sales and use taxes and permit-related fees.
The flexible rebate program is one of the City of Boulder’s business incentives, covering a wide range of fees, equipment, and construction use taxes. Under this program, the city manager may consider a specific incentive package for tax and fee rebates to meet a local company’s specific needs. The company is then eligible for the rebate after it has made its investment and paid the taxes or fees to the city.
“Boulder Ice Cream bringing manufacturing back to Boulder and continuing to expand its product lines is wonderful for Boulder,” Brautigam said. “Boulder Ice Cream has its roots here and embodies Boulder’s sustainable values and its strong natural and organic products industry.”
Boulder Ice Cream began as a scoop shop on the Pearl Street Mall in 1992 and currently manufactures and distributes to more than 300 grocery stores and 80 food service establishments. Boulder Homemade, Inc. manufactures Boulder Ice Cream, Yoki Bliss frozen yogurt, and Figo! Organic Gelato, one of the first organic gelatos on the market. Boulder Ice Cream will move its headquarters to a new space at 3220 Prairie Ave. and consolidate its manufacturing from two plants in Louisville and Denver into its new organic-certified facility in Boulder.
Source: City of Boulder
Boulder: Let the sun shine on city’s energy future
Sep 10th
Boulder to reach out to solar industry, customers
The City of Boulder announced today that it will create a working group of solar industry specialists and customers – both current and future – to explore motivators and barriers to implementing more solar throughout the community. The focus of the group’s work will be on defining the next-generation of incentives as well as providing guidance about how to handle solar contracts between now and the time when the city decides whether it will create a local electric utility.
“Supporting and increasing renewable sources of energy is a core value, and we see this discussion as an important next step in our effort to create the electric utility of the future,” said Heather Bailey, executive director of Energy Strategy and Electric Utility Development.
Bailey said the city has a unique opportunity to benefit from local experts to design programs that will encourage more local energy production. Expertise from the university and federal labs, as well as the numerous companies and entrepreneurs developing leading-edge energy technologies, has already helped Boulder achieve one of the highest levels of solar per-capita in the US, with close to 14 megawatts installed in the city.
The City of Boulder has also played a significant role in supporting local energy generation, particularly solar. This has included streamlining the permitting process to offering a local solar rebate and grant program. The concept of Solar Gardens was originally conceived in Boulder, and city staff members were on the drafting team of legislation that allowed this. The solar gardens law was signed by then-Governor Bill Ritter overlooking the Flatirons from a parking lot rooftop along the Pearl Street Mall.
“We don’t want to simply continue this tradition; we want to make it even stronger by working with stakeholders to identify ways to encourage even more locally generated clean energy sources. This is fundamental to achieving our community’s goals, whether we create our own electric utility or strike a new agreement with our current provider, Xcel Energy,” Bailey said.
One of the questions the city would like to resolve is how to encourage continued participation in solar installations during the ongoing deliberation about – and possible transition to – a local electric utility. Xcel Energy recently sent the city a letter requesting that the city agree to take over contracts it has with customers if Boulder forms an electric retail utility.
The City of Boulder is committed to protecting those who have made investments in solar energy in our community from any adverse impact related to the creation of a municipal utility. The city is also interested in working with Xcel on this important issue, not only to protect those who have already made investments, but to encourage growth in this area of renewable energy.
Boulder has no way, however, of evaluating the estimates that Xcel has made about these costs.
“Before we can agree to any arrangement, we need more information from Xcel Energy,” City Attorney Tom Carr said. “The company so far has declined most of the requests for data the city has made. Without detailed information about these contracts, we have no way of verifying Xcel’s assertions and perhaps more importantly, of making sure we are doing the right thing to protect our forward-thinking customers and other ratepayers.”
The city’s Energy Future team anticipates holding the first meeting of the solar working group shortly after the Nov. 5 election. Members of the community and industry who are interested in participating are encouraged to contact Heather Bailey at 33-441-1923 or baileyh@bouldercolorado.gov.
More information about the Energy Future project is available at www.BoulderEnergyFuture.com.
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City of Boulder News Briefs
Aug 1st
Boulder Parks and Recreation fall recreation guide arrives soon; registration begins Aug. 6
The City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department’s fall registration begins online at 8:30 a.m., on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Boulder area residents should receive the new recreation guide in their mailboxes the week of Aug. 4. The guides are also available in city recreation centers and many local stores and restaurants. The fall recreation guide is currently available online at www.BoulderParks-Rec.org.
Parks and Recreation Department’s annual tulip bulb giveaway Aug. 8
The City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department’s annual tulip bulb giveaway will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8, on the 1300 block of the Pearl Street Mall (in front of the Boulder County Courthouse). There will be 320 bags of tulip bulbs available, and the bulbs are given away first come, first served.
Parks and Recreation staff changes the variety and color of the tulips planted on the Pearl Street Mall every year to provide a unique and impressive display each spring. Last fall, staff planted about 11,000 new tulip bulbs. After the bloom, staff removes the bulbs to make way for summer plantings, storing them until the annual tulip bulb giveaway each August. Pearl Street Mall tulips are imported directly from Holland from a wholesale provider. A small donation is requested for each bag.
Parks and Recreation has been giving away the tulip bulbs in this annual giveaway format on the Pearl Street Mall since 2006, and department staff estimate that around 56,000 tulip bulbs have been given away since then. For more information, call parks and recreation, at 303-413-7200.
South Boulder Recreation Center annual maintenance shutdown Aug. 10 through Aug. 18 with additional closures through Sept. 3
The South Boulder Recreation Center (SBRC), located at 1360 Gillaspie Drive, will be closed from Saturday, Aug. 10, through Sunday, Aug. 18, for the annual maintenance shutdown. The recreation center’s upstairs and the locker rooms will reopen on Monday, Aug. 19; however other maintenance items will require a longer shutdown.
One of the larger projects for this year’s annual maintenance shutdown is to re-plaster the lap pool, which takes longer than the normal shutdown. The lap pool will be closed through Sunday, Aug. 25, reopening on Monday, Aug. 26. In addition, the basketball gym, racquetball court, and downstairs studio will be closed through Monday, Sept. 2, and reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 3, due to upgrades to the ramp required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The North Boulder Recreation Center, Boulder Reservoir, Spruce Pool and Scott Carpenter Pool are open regular hours during the SBRC shutdown. The East Boulder Community Center will be open extended hours on Sundays during the SBRC shutdown. For a full schedule, visit www.BoulderParks-Rec.org. For more information, call Whitney Oftedahl, parks and recreation, at 303-413-7214.
City of Boulder Seeks Applications for Human Services Fund Advisory Committee
The City of Boulder Department of Human Services seeks qualified candidates for the Human Services Fund Advisory Committee (HSFAC). The HSFAC annually reviews proposals to the Human Services Fund and makes recommendations to staff and the city manager about the allocation of funding to community agencies to promote community health and well-being.
HSFAC members serve two-year terms and may be appointed for an additional two-year term. Committee members are expected to actively engage in the annual proposal review and deliberation process, which requires approximately 30 hours for deliberations, plus additional time outside of meetings for proposal review. In 2013, the fund round process will take place from August through December.
Expertise in one or more of the following areas is preferred: human services research and analysis, finance, youth development, early childhood, health/mental health, senior services, or community planning. Applicants must reside in the City of Boulder and may not currently serve on any other city or Human Services Department funding or advisory committees, boards or commissions.
To apply for the HSFAC or for more information, visit https://bouldercolorado.gov/human-services-plan/human-services-fund-advisory-committee-hsfac to download the application. Applications should be submitted electronically and are due by Aug. 19, 2013, at 4:30 p.m.
For more information, please contact Wanda Pelegrina Caldas at PelegrinaW@bouldercolorado.gov or 303-441-4059.
Boulder Municipal Court closed all day Aug. 9
The Boulder Municipal Court will be closed all day on Friday, Aug. 9, for a staff meeting.
