Posts tagged city
Public input sought on Goose Creek ecosystem restoration project
May 16th
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps), in partnership with the City of Boulder, is accepting public feedback from May 16 through 25 regarding a potential aquatic restoration project. The proposed project would improve degraded habitat for approximately 4,000 feet of South Goose Creek, from Foothills Parkway to Cottonwood Pond, as well as Cottonwood Pond itself.
The proposed Goose Creek Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project would be a joint endeavor by the City of Boulder and the Corps. The project would be led by the Corps, which has been working with the city to plan for the project since 2002. These efforts complement the City of Boulder’s “Greenways Master Plan” and past investments in protecting open space.
Under Section 206 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996, the Corps can undertake restoration projects in aquatic ecosystems, such as rivers, lakes and wetlands, with a non-federal sponsor, such as the City of Boulder. The program provides up to $5 million in federal funding, based on a 65 percent federal and 35 percent local sponsor cost-sharing agreement.
The Army Corps of Engineers has prepared a Draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) and an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the proposed project. The document is posted under “Related Documents” on the project website.
Comments for the Corps should be submitted to:
ATTN: Ms. Cynthia Upah, CENWO-PM-AC
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District
Planning Branch
1616 Capitol Avenue
Omaha, NE 68102
Cynthia.s.upah@usace.army.mil
402-995-2672
“Boulder is for Startups” from White House Office Of Science and Technology Policy
May 13th
Fifteen years ago, Boulder was considered a sleepy college town known mostly for its great rock-climbing. Today, Boulder is home to one of the strongest entrepreneurial communities in the country, with close to 200 fledgling tech companies and a city campaign that proclaims “Boulder is for startups.” In fact, last year BusinessWeek named Boulder America’s best town for startups, and it was featured in The New York Times for its entrepreneurial scene. Part of its success rests on the fact that Boulder has the highest U.S. concentration of software engineers and PhDs per capita. It is second only to Silicon Valley in percentage of workers employed in the technology sector.
In discussing the success of Boulder as an entrepreneurial success story, I speak from personal experience, having worked at the University of Colorado Law School and run the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship from 1999 until joining the Obama Administration in 2009. The success of Boulder as an entrepreneurial ecosystem is not merely attracting smart people—it’s really about the community. Notably, in Boulder and the surrounding areas, there is an amazing willingness of successful entrepreneurs to help the up-and-comers.
The rabbi of the Boulder entrepreneurial ecosystem—and someone who has done more than anyone to set this tone—is my good friend Brad Feld, who along with his co-founders of the Foundry Group have given enormous time and energy to building an entrepreneurial community. Brad also brought a number of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to the White House last summer to talk about what could be done to celebrate, support, and spur entrepreneurship. Along with input from many others, that discussion helped shape the Startup America initiative.
One of the great success stories in Boulder is the rise of TechStars, which is now the top startup accelerator in the world and a key partner of Startup America. Since TechStars was founded in Boulder by Brad, Jared Polis (now our representative in Congress), and David Cohen, it has since expanded to four other cities, with offices in Boston, Seattle, and New York City. The program accepts applications from early-stage startups and provides them with seed funding and mentorship opportunities from some of the best and brightest minds in tech. Boulder TechStars alums include Brightkite, which was acquired for $1.5 million; Ignighter, which has received $4.2 million in funding; and, Graphic.ly, which also now has received $4.2 million in funding.
Later next week, Boulder will hold its second annual Startup Week. Startup Week Boulder is five spring days full of events and stars from inside and outside the Boulder tech community. From May 18-22, the city’s startups will be rolling out the red carpet for talented developers, designers, marketers, and general startup enthusiasts.
Many entrepreneurial communities ask how they can be the next Silicon Valley? As Brad has often explained, that’s the wrong question. The right question is how any entrepreneurial community—whether Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix, or Portland—can be the best it can be. Each community has its own particular attributes and leaders. Working together and supporting each other, as Boulder leaders have done, is a core part of building a more successful ecosystem.
Monday’s discussion reflected the level of engagement and thoughtfulness that I have come to expect from the Boulder entrepreneurial community. We touched on a series of topics, ranging from access to capital to attracting great employees to reforming regulation to enabling better technology transfer from government labs. As the Roadshow effort comes to a close, I know that these ideas will inform a number of ongoing policy development and implementation initiatives, including the Commerce Department’s upcoming report on innovation and competitiveness.
Phil Weiser is Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation to the National Economic Council Director
City appoints community group, launches plan to restore facilities
May 2nd
The city is following a multi-year plan to finance and complete needed repairs to city facilities, and the city manager today appointed a 16-member community stakeholder group to advise the City Council and staff on priority projects.
“Tough economic times forced the city to defer maintenance in order to provide important community services,” said City Manager Jane Brautigam. “As a result, many of our buildings, parks, roads and other facilities require significant attention to avoid much higher costs later.”
Brautigam explained that the city plans to initiate needed maintenance and repairs over the next several years. The first phase includes using existing city revenue to finance accelerated work to fix significant deficiencies that could pose health and safety risks if left undone. Currently, the city has over $60 million in unfunded significant deficiencies and approximately $150 million in unfunded high-priority projects.
Boulder said it has the funds to finance some of those projects next year without raising taxes. Bonds supported by existing revenues could be issued to pay for up to approximately $60 million in repairs in capital improvement projects.
To help determine which projects should receive immediate attention, Brautigam appointed a 16-member Capital Investment Strategy stakeholder group to advise staff and City Council about how to prioritize maintenance and repair projects.
“This is a community issue that requires input from a cross-section of our city,” said Brautigam. “We’re looking at this project through the perspective of businesspeople, students, parents, renters, homeowners, board and commission members, as well as nonprofit organizations to ensure our priority list reflects community needs.”
The 16-member Capital Investment Strategy stakeholder group will review the projects and advise council on which maintenance and repair efforts should be included in this first phase using existing dollars. It also will make recommendations about how to effectively invest in Boulder’s capital improvement program for the next several years to ensure the city can catch up and sustain a maintenance and improvement program.
The following individuals were appointed to the Capital Investment Strategy Stakeholder group from a pool of nearly 50 applicants:
Leslie Brown
Natalie (Tally) Costa
Steve Fenberg
Nino Gallo
Cynthia Huseck
Dan King
Michael Kruteck
Kristin Macdonald
Victoria Marschner
Miriam McGilvary
Michael Minard
Bill Shrum
Max Taffet
Leonard Thomas
Bob Yates
Jessica Yates
Dan King, owner of the Boulder Outlook Hotel & Suites, has agreed to serve as chair of the stakeholder group. For more information about Boulder’s capital improvement program, visit www.bouldercolorado.gov/cip.