Posts tagged open
Boulder County Fire Ban: see details
Sep 2nd
Sheriff Pelle orders outdoor fire ban
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Contact: Jay Stalnacker, Fire Management Officer (303) 441-3642
Sheriff Joe Pelle has enacted a fire ban, which restricts open burning and prohibits the discharge of any and all fireworks and model rockets in the unincorporated mountain areas of Boulder County.
This includes all unincorporated areas west of U.S. 36 (North Foothills Highway), and west of Highway 93 (South Foothills Highway) as well as Rabbit Mountain Open Space (see map).
During the fire ban, open burning is permitted only under the following circumstances:
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Fire contained within liquid or gas fuel stoves
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Camp fires in U.S. Forest Service improved/maintained campgrounds that are currently open to the public*(see separate news release from the U.S. Forest Service)
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Charcoal grill fires on private property
Charcoal grills at county open space shelters on mountain properties are also closed during this ban. This includes, but is not limited to, Rabbit Mountain, Heil Valley Ranch, Hall Ranch, Betasso Preserve, and Walker Ranch.
The ban will remain in effect until the hazardous fire conditions subside. Anyone found in violation of the ban may be convicted of a Class 2 petty offense and may be subject to a $500 fine. Higher fines may be imposed for subsequent offenses.
Fire ban rationale
The Boulder County foothills have continued to dry out after months of moderate moisture. Currently, Boulder County has a high fire danger rating, as determined by the National Weather Service National Fire Danger rating System. This is due to a combination of dry fuels, hot and dry weather and an increase in regional wildland fire activity.
It is anticipated that with the continued late summer and early fall drying season and the expected beginning of the Chinook winds, Boulder County will continue to have a high fire danger rating.
State statutes authorize counties to impose fire restrictions when the threat of wildfire has been determined by credible and quantifiable data, to be “high.” The Sheriff’s Office relies upon data from the U.S. Forest Service, the National Weather Service, and local experience with fire conditions to make this determination.
*Note: as of Sep. 2, fire restrictions are also in place on portions of National Forest System lands in Boulder and Larimer Counties in support of the fire ban by Boulder County. (Read the news release from the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland)
Detective Commander Rick Brough
Boulder County Sheriff’s Office
303-441-3631
Funding requests sought for 2012 Community Events Fund
Aug 30th
The City of Boulder Human Relations Commission is now accepting funding requests for its 2012 Community Event Fund. This fund is a source of financial support for community-based events. Funding is limited specifically to public events that encourage education, youth involvement and respect and appreciation for communities in Boulder. Objectives of the fund are to enable members of Boulder’s diverse communities to celebrate events significant to them as well as to provide the general population with opportunities to participate in events organized by members of Boulder’s diverse range of cultures. All events supported by the fund must be free admission and open to the public.
Organizations are eligible for grants with a maximum amount of $1,500 for each event. An additional $100 is available for translation of promotional materials into Spanish.
Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m., Sept. 30, 2011. No late applications will be accepted.
Funding guidelines are available on the city’s web site:
or by calling Carmen Atilano, community relations and office of human rights manager, at 303-441-3141.
Mark Gelband Platform for Boulder City Council
Aug 29th
Dear Family, Friends, and Supporters,
I am proud to announce my candidacy for November’s Boulder City Council election. Thanks to all of you who quickly stepped up and signed my petition to get on the ballot. The real work begins now. We have eight short weeks to get the message out and your emotional, organizational, and financial support is critical to my success. Boulder needs a new voice on council. There is a growing chasm between the city’s aging leadership and the young families, young professionals, creative class and students who represent the future of Boulder.
Perhaps, some of you are thinking: Why did I receive this e-mail when I don’t live in Boulder, don’t know your platform, or don’t even know you all that well?
The easy answer is that I am reaching out to folks with whom I have felt a connection in my life. Whether you live in Boulder or not, I can still benefit greatly from your financial support, if you can afford the contribution and believe in me personally or in my vision for the city. Detailed contribution information is included at the end of this e-mail.
For those of you who need more information before committing your support, here are the critical issues that constitute my platform.
Open Space Access
The aging hippies currently running the show look nothing like the younger, progressive versions of themselves that supported citizen initiatives to create the Blue Line in 1959 and the Open Space program in 1967. We owe them for their past foresight, but their vision today is nothing like it once was. They’ve recently begun a campaign to “reclaim” shared recreational land with the mindset that we are loving nature “to death .” Current Council is prejudiced against dog owners and mountain bikers, with an anti-recreation mentality. Much of the open space we have all paid for is off-limits, with little or no access. Open Space is house poor with 47% of its budget spent on debt service. Why are we buying land in neighboring Jefferson County when we cannot even maintain the most precious resources outside our door? We need to refocus our priorities and better manage our open space, but the solution is not to deny access to the many people who have chosen Boulder as their home for its recreational opportunities.
Core City Services
Current council is challenged to manage a single council meeting, let alone the breadth of our core city services. We currently have a $700,000,000 dollar backlog in deferred maintenance projects and, yet, these folks seem to prioritize efforts such as prairie dog relocation, the minute alteration of snow shoveling ordinances to which they themselves are unable to adhere, and endless pontification about Arizona’s Immigration laws. We need leaders who will fix our potholed streets, who will plow side streets in the winter so that children can safely get to school, and who will address the traffic problems around town, libraries, public safety, decaying infrastructure and the growing homeless problem.
Homelessness
Boulder bears a disproportionate share of the county’s homeless problem. The county homeless shelter is in the city, and the city has become a “convention center” for chronic vagrancy and associated crime. We need to distinguish the working poor and the transitionally homeless in our community, and to ensure that they are first in line to receive the resources to help feed and clothe them, get them jobs and into affordable housing. But let’s confront chronic vagrancy head-on by actually enforcing the existing loitering, panhandling and public intoxication laws that are already on the books.
Overregulation
People in glass houses should not overregulate. Current Council “manages” meetings by restricting public input; this limiting approach to community involvement is just the tip of the iceberg. The council has now spent several decades implementing solutions in search of problems. As the city regulates and regulates and regulates, it continues to squeeze the working class. Their growing list of regulations is hurting those of us least able to afford it. For example, the city has 100 of 10,000 homes that are larger than 5,000 square feet (50% of them built prior to 1940) and, yet, our council has spent countless hours in the last few years developing an onerous, inflexible McMansion ordinance that has only served to ‘handcuff’ young families interested in expansion without relocation. The council’s “obsession” with controlling individual choices in the absence of a viable long-term city plan has led to a scary sort of Big Brother government.
I am interested in hearing your thoughts on the key issues that are facing Boulder and about proactive paths toward solutions. If you are unable to support me financially, maybe you would consider hosting a meet-and-greet, spreading the word about my candidacy, putting a yard sign up, or simply sending the campaign some good energy.
If you are in a position to help financially, Boulder campaign finance reform limits individual contributions to $100 per person. If you have a husband, wife or partner, and can contribute more than $25, it helps to receive two checks, one from each of you. This allows me to better access city matching funds, should I choose to go that route. I am currently working on a campaign website and should have it finished in the coming week or so. Until that time, I can only accept checks – payable to:
Gelband for Council – A Good Sign
Please mail checks to 505 College Ave, Boulder, CO 80302.
If you live locally and want to donate to my campaign, call me at 303-522-1192 and we can meet. Same limits and rules apply to locals.
