Posts tagged public input
City of Boulder News Briefs: Creek and Hazzards
Apr 25th
The City of Boulder will hold an open house on Monday, May 2, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the West Boulder Senior Center at 909 Arapahoe Ave. to discuss the planned stream bank and riparian habitat improvements at Eben G. Fine Park along Boulder Creek.
At the open house, the city will solicit public input on various conceptual ideas for improvements along the south bank of Boulder Creek at Eben G. Fine Park. The proposed goals of the project include erosion control, habitat restoration, better recreational access and improved water quality. These improvements are necessary to maintain the aesthetic quality and ecological health of the area, which has deteriorated over time due to continuous usage.
Located along the western end of the Boulder Creek Path, Eben G. Fine Park is a popular recreation and relaxation destination for groups, families and individuals.
For more information, visit www.boulderwater.net, and click on “Projects & Programs.” For information on flood preparation, go to boulderfloodinfo.net.
Annual review of the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan released
The City of Boulder has released the annual review of the Utilities Division Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (MHMP), available at www.boulderwater.net. The annual review is part of the city’s voluntary participation in the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS).
The City of Boulder participates in the CRS program and in 2010, had a community rating of seven out of 10 (one being the highest rating). This rating provides an annual flood insurance premium discount of approximately 15 percent for property owners. Resident flood insurance premium rates are discounted based on a community’s efforts to reduce flood losses beyond the minimum requirements.
Participating communities must submit documentation annually to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for recertification.
For more information about the MHMP and to see the annual review, visit www.boulderwater.net and click on “Projects & Programs.”
City of Boulder kicks off Energy Future outreach efforts
Apr 8th
Boulder’s Energy Future goal, shaped during public forums last fall, is to ensure that residential, business and other institutional customers have access to safe, reliable energy that is competitively priced, increasingly clean, and as locally produced as possible — giving customers more choice and control in their power.
The city’s energy team is focused on gathering the facts and data needed to inform decisions about the best option for the community. While no decision has been made about how to accomplish this goal, analyses that take into account Boulder’s specific objectives are underway. Currently, three options are being explored:
forming a new agreement with our current provider, Xcel Energy; the creation of a local power utility; or,
a hybrid approach that includes elements of both of the previous options.
The city expects to begin receiving reports from consultants and committees who are studying the options in late April. Over the following few months, council will evaluate the information and determine whether to put any measures on the ballot for voter consideration in November.
In the meantime, the city is working to inform the community about the project and encourage public input about the important choices that lie ahead.
This week, the city posted a short animated video to its YouTube channel and on the energy future website to provide information about the community’s vision. That video can be viewed at . Members of the community are encouraged to share this through social media and other venues.
The city has also launched a two-minute online survey that gives community members the opportunity to share their energy knowledge and help prioritize the objectives the city is considering. That survey can be accessed and shared via the energy future website or at http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/503292/City-of-Boulder-Energy-Future.
Boulder’s Energy Future has already become a frequent topic on Boulder Channel 8 programming. This month, the program A Boulder View included an interview with Councilman Matt Appelbaum, who fielded many of the tough questions the community has asked about the initiative. That video can be viewed at http://bit.ly/energyfutureview.
In addition to these digital-based efforts, city staff and team members will be answering questions and talking to residents about Boulder’s Energy Future at a variety of community events over the next couple of months. You can find city staff each week at the Farmer’s Market, and on Tuesday, April 12, project team members will be at King Soopers, 3600 Table Mesa Drive, in south Boulder. Similar events will take place at other locations in following weeks. Please stop by.
Anyone seeking more information about the Energy Future project or community outreach is encouraged to visit www.BoulderEnergyFuture.com or call Andrew Barth at 303-441-1937 or Sarah Huntley at 303-441-3155.
Deadline approaching for public input to Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Jan 6th
The deadline for submitting recommendations and signing up for the Advisory Team is Wednesday, Jan. 12. Guidelines and submission forms are available at www.BoulderCountyCWPP.org.
“We have already received many important recommendations from residents on our website,” said Jim Webster, Community Wildfire Protection Planner in the Boulder County Land Use Department. “However, we know there are others who have come up with noteworthy ideas during this past year that have not yet shared their recommendations.”
Topics of the recommendations received to date include improving communication, planning evacuation and access routes, educating the public on wildfire mitigation, installing fire danger signs, collecting slash, funding fire suppression, and declaring and enforcing county fire bans.
“After this past year, not many initiatives are of equal importance,” Advisory Team member Kitty Stevenson said. “It is really exciting to see a community plan being developed on a larger countywide scale. It is important that people from all parts of Boulder County participate.”