Posts tagged Boulder County
Niwot gets open space trail loop
May 8th
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Commissioners and Boulder County Parks and Open Space staff will host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting for the Dry Creek Trail this Thursday, May 10 from 3-4 p.m. at the Lefthand Valley Grange Trailhead.
The Dry Creek Trail is a new 2.5-mile soft surface multiuse trail from Lefthand Valley Grange Park, along Dry Creek, to Niwot Road. The trail completes the loop in the Niwot Trails system and allows community residents to recreate and commute off-street throughout town.
Project partners include the Niwot Community Association, Niwot High School, Niwot Sanitation District and the St. Vrain Valley School District. The trail is part of the Niwot Trails Master Plan that was approved by the Board of County Commissioners in July 2006.
Visit the Niwot Trails website for more information about the trail system, including maps, recreation opportunities and the Niwot Trails Master Plan.
Boulder grabs the gold ring on energy merry-go-round
Apr 26th
The City of Boulder’s SmartRegs ordinance and the EnergySmart service were presented with the J. Robert Havlick award for Innovation in Government by the Alliance for Innovation at its annual conference in Kansas City, MO, on April 18.
Innovation Awards are chosen from the 70+ applications received by a multi-member selection committee consisting of city and county managers from across the United States and Alliance staff. The selection committee looks for local governments that have shown a dedication to stretching and improving the boundaries of day-to-day government operations and practices, implementing creative business processes, and improving the civic health of the community.
These programs “won the 2012 J. Robert Havlick Award for Innovation in Local Government for demonstrating a pragmatic and progressive approach for long-lasting energy savings in their community,” said Karen Thoreson, president of the Alliance for Innovation. “The work combined the successful and innovative approach of utilizing a regulatory platform, financial incentives and technical assistance tools for homeowners and renters in order to achieve measurable and meaningful results.”
In September 2010, Boulder City Council adopted three ordinances requiring all of Boulder’s rental housing – approximately half of the city’s housing stock – to meet energy efficiency standards by 2019. The new “SmartRegs” requirements went into effect in January 2011, and are part of the Climate Action Plan’s (CAP) “Reduce Use” strategy area, which was established to promote energy-conserving behavior in homes and businesses throughout Boulder.
To help homeowners, landlords and tenants navigate the new SmartRegs ordinance, the city and Boulder County created a SmartRegs path through EnergySmart. EnergySmart services provide efficiency solutions for homes, whether rental or owner-occupied, commercial businesses, and property owners in all Boulder County communities, resulting in permanent improvements to the existing building stock. The EnergySmart service provides people with an energy assessment, as well as an expert Energy Advisor who recommends upgrades specific to each property, helps with rebate and financing applications, and even helps collect bids from contractors to perform energy upgrades.
Some of the key results in the City of Boulder from 2011’s SmartRegs and EnergySmart efforts include:
- 678 owner-occupied units participated in the EnergySmart services, with 67% completing upgrades.
- 2,081 renter-occupied units participated in the EnergySmart service as a result of the SmartRegs policy, with 33% completing upgrades.
- Owner-occupied units that participated saw an average annual energy savings of 714 kWh of electricity and 226 therms of natural gas (equivalent to $219 per year).
- Renter-occupied units that participated saw an average annual energy savings of 217 kWh of electricity and 72 therms of natural gas (equivalent to $63 per year).
- 1,687 services were provided to 960 individual businesses.
- Commercial property owners and businesses receiving quick installs saw an average annual energy savings of 421 kWh of electricity (equivalent to $52 per year), and 14,930 kWh of electricity for businesses receiving upgrades (equivalent to $1,318 per year).
The results achieved through both EnergySmart and SmartRegs demonstrate an innovative approach to complementing a policy requirement with assistance and funding to ease the burden of compliance.
EnergySmart aims to reach at least 10,000 homes and 3,000 businesses throughout Boulder County by June 2013. It is designed to stimulate local economic growth; increase energy efficiency investment in Colorado; and advance the state’s energy independence through energy upgrades. EnergySmart is a collaborative partnership throughout Boulder County, funded by a $25 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Program, combined with contributions from the City of Boulder’s Climate Action Plan tax and the City of Longmont.
The Alliance for Innovation is an international network of progressive governments and partners committed to transforming local government by accelerating the development and dissemination of innovations. They seek out innovative practices, challenge existing business models, exchange knowledge, and provide products and services that help members perform at their best.
For more information on EnergySmart programs and services, visit www.EnergySmartYes.com, or call 303-544-1000 for residential information and 303-441-1300 for commercial information. More information about the Alliance for Innovation can be found at www.transformgov.org.
Get free music downloads at BPL
Apr 18th
For everyone who’s ever heard a song on the radio and wanted to add it their collection, wanted a hit single off an album, or just wanted to explore the work of new musical artists, Boulder Public Library offers a new, free online music download service. Freegal Music, a downloadable music service designed for libraries, is now available through the library’s website at: http://boulderlibrary.freegalmusic.com/.
Freegal is free for all Boulder Public Library (BPL) cardholders who live in Boulder County, and all downloads may be kept permanently. Each library cardholder may download up to three songs per week (156 per year) and keep the songs forever. All that is needed to access this service is a Boulder Public Library card number in good standing.
Freegal Music provides access to the Sony Music Entertainment catalog, which includes hundreds of thousands of songs, more than 100 genres of music, and more than 50 record labels. No special software is needed to use the service, and there are no digital rights management restrictions. Downloading of songs is completely free and legal for library cardholders. Songs are downloaded in a universally compatible MP3 format, so they can be saved to any computer, mobile device or MP3 player, including an iPod. Songs can be downloaded at home or at computer stations in libraries via a USB device, such as a flash drive or MP3 player. One click and you can save the songs to your iTunes or Windows Media Player.
“We are excited to be able to offer this free music download service to Boulder Public Library cardholders,” said Valerie Maginnis, library director. “It gives our patrons access to more of the materials they want, in a convenient, accessible format, while also being highly efficient for the library. We anticipate that this will be a very popular new service.”
More information and answers to frequently asked questions about Freegal are available on the BPL website, www.boulderlibrary.org. Music can also be found in the library’s catalog by searching for “Freegal.” BPL offers other music and film streaming services, such as Alexander Street, which offers 30,000 albums for streaming, at: http://research.boulderlibrary.org/music_film.